No, bugs are not a *problem*, but this is the tropics. I suggested you use a repellent at Iao Valley because of the heavy vegetation -- same would be true along Road to Hana. Most properties are visited quarterly by an extermination service to prevent roaches, ants, centipedes. (Only the centipedes are a real threat, and you will probably never see one!)

You can find anything you've forgotten to pack at a Safeway grocery store or Long's (CVS) Drugs, Walgreen's, etc. There's an ABC store half a block from Worldmark.

Here are some notes I compiled a few years ago for some relatives who were going to Maui for the first time. They were staying at Kaanapali and were snorkelers, but perhaps there is some info you can use:
General snorkel advice: Get where you are going early enough to find a place to park, but the fish aren’t very active until the sun has been up a while, 8:30 – 9:00 or so. Stand and stare at the waves and current for several minutes, choose your entry and exit point carefully. Watching other snorkelers can be helpful. Remember where your exit point is, sometimes you have to go over and through rocks, so sometimes picking out a landmark on the shore is useful. The wind starts blowing around noon. Beware of urchins. The public parking lots often fill up by 9:30 -10, then people start leaving again around 4-5.

Snorkel spots, north to south

Honolua Bay – park on the road above, then walk down the obvious trail through a tree shaded gully. You can park anywhere on the road that doesn’t say No Parking. Entry/exit is slippery boulders, difficult and strange. Nowhere to sit except on large boulders, almost no sand. Snorkel towards the bay walls to the left and right. No restroom.

Kapalua Bay – beautiful sheltered cove, easy sand entry. There is a parking lot to the right of the Napili Kai hotel, but if it’s full you can park up on the road and walk down. Reefs in the middle and at both sides. Has restroom and shower.

Kahekili – haven’t tried this one, but off the beach just to the north of your hotel supposedly there is a little reef, probably in front of the public park picnic area.

Black Rock – right in front of the Sheraton on Kaanapali beach, easy sand entry, you just follow the rock wall along its left side. Usually lots of turtles. You can follow the wall out past the point, but be VERY careful of surge and/or currents out there, and watch for people jumping off the rock. Walk here from your hotel, you kinda go behind and through the Sheraton.

A lot of guides mention Olowalu, right off the road south of Lahaina, but we’ve found it to be pretty lousy lately. It’s very shallow and flat and there are some nice trees in the sand, lots of shade. Some portapotties. Lots of people, it’s a pretty spot.

Mokapu/Ulua (Wailea area) – IF the water is very calm, there are some rocks in between the 2 beaches, Ulua to the left, Mokapu to the right. Look for the parking lot marked Ulua, it gets filled up early. These are nice beaches for just hanging out on. Restroom & shower.

The beach in front of the Makena Beach Resort sometimes has nice snorkeling at the edges. There’s parking near an old church, restroom.

Ahihi-Kinau reserve – this place can be great. You head toward the end of the road, past Wailea and Makena and Big Beach, the coastline gets very rocky, just start looking for an obvious small black lava cove with houses on both sides and snorkelers there. Park on the road just past the cove. Entry is either directly off the rocks, or on a little concrete ramp at the right side. Head out of the cove and to the left. No restroom.

Dumps – just past the Ahihi cove, as the road gets past the homes there’s a little dirt parking lot to the right. Park and walk down the obvious rocky trail to a little rocky beach. Entry can be VERY tricky, only go here if the water is VERY calm. You snorkel to the right toward the Ahihi cove. Portapotty only.

Other stuff:

Haleakala – it’s about a 2-3 hour drive up to the top. Lots of people like to go up for sunrise, do this early in your trip when you’ll be 3 hours ahead anyway. REALLY cold up there, you can pack some lightweight layers, or take blankets from your hotel. Take a flashlight, the parking lot is DARK. Interesting driving going up and down, there are a couple of funny towns along the way.

Hana – at least 3 hours one way, lots of curves and waterfalls. A little bit past the town of Hana is the Oheo Gulch (7 Sacred Pools). They aren’t much to look at but the forest is beautiful. If you have to choose between Haleakala or Hana, I’d suggest Hana. There’s a little town called Paia at the beginning of the drive that is sort of hippy/surfer/touristy cute. I think it’s kind of touristy, but lots of people love it. There’s also a beach park there where you can watch windsurfers. Go back the way you came, even if it’s open, the road that continues around the bottom of the island isn’t all that interesting and it takes forever. If you’re getting carsick and/or tired, even just going half way to Hana and turning around is beautiful. Beware of mosquitoes around the waterfalls.

The Wailea beaches are beautiful. There’s a walkway that connects lots of them, so you can also check out the hotels there.

Big Beach down at the end of the road past Wailea is really huge, lots of people like it but there’s no snorkeling.

If you want to drive through some lava flows, keep going once the pavement ends down at the south past Ahihi Kinai. You can go to La Perouse bay and look at it, it’s kind of interesting to see, then turn around. Supposedly there is snorkeling down there but we’ve never found it.

Iao Needle – this is fun to go see once, it’s a historic site and it’s pretty and green.

Don’t bother with:

Maui Ocean Center
Molokini
Going to Kahului or Wailuku for anything other than the airport




Check with your auto insurance company and credit card to see if collision damage will be covered on the rental car. Usually the rental car is covered under your insurance policy, but the rental company will have a large collision deductible. Often the credit card that you use to charge the package will have a thing where it covers the collision deductible.

At the airport, Lynne can wait for the luggage to arrive while Bruce goes and gets the rental car. It’s real easy, it’s a small kind of open air airport, Lynne can just wait out by the curb, Bruce can just drive by and pick her up. In the baggage claim area, load up on the free tourist brochures. Lots of misleading crap in there, but sometimes there are good restaurant coupons.

Stores:

The closest place to get drinks & snacks & fruit is Whaler’s Village. There are stores all over the island called ABC stores, they are great and have all sorts of stuff. There’s a Time supermarket nearby, roughly where lower Honoapiilani road hits the main Honoapiilani highway. A chain of stores is Foodland, they have a discount club card called Maikai. There’s one in Lahaina, a new one at 345 Keawe St. (uphill near Lahaina) and one in Kihei. There’s also a Safeway at the Lahaina Cannery Mall, this is right on the highway not far from your hotel.

Whaler’s Village is an easy walk. There’s a beach path that starts between the Sheraton and the Kaanapali Beach hotel next door, and runs south all the way to the end of Kaanapali beach, Whaler’s Village is right in the middle. Fast food, lots of shops, and 2 good restaurants, Hula Grill and Leilani’s. These are both right on the beach path and have bar/happy hour menus that can be a bargain, and Hula Grill sometimes has good music. There’s a charge for parking there but I think the stores & restaurants validate.

Kaanapali Beach Hotel has a nice hula/music show every evening, reasonable bar prices. First hotel to the south of the Sheraton.

Lahaina has shops for every kind of stuff you can think of but it can be touristy and overpriced, sometimes there is a sort of market underneath the huge banyan tree.

ABC Stores are great for souvenir stuff.

Kihei is more of a normal town. Keep an eye out for open-air markets, you can pick up nice fruit and handmade stuff. Surf shops are good places to get Tshirts.







Restaurant suggestions, north to south:

Honolua Store, on Office Road in Kapalua. Great for lunch or take home, local type food. No beer.

Castaway Café, on the beachwalk just to the north of your hotel, next to a pool in a condo complex. Good breakfast, really nice outdoor setting, low key bar, may have some good dinner specials.
Hula Grill and Leilani’s at Whaler’s Village, decent happy hour/bar food, the regular dinners are expensive. Usually music at Hula Grill. Right on the Kaanapali beach pathway, beautiful setting. The Hula Grill bar is more fun.

Lahaina: tons and tons of restaurants, they all have menus posted so you can see prices. Captain Jack’s isn’t too pricey, upstairs kind of kitty-corner from the banyan tree. Moose McGillicutty’s has a really cheap happy hour but the food is blah. Pioneer Inn has great breakfast. The Maui Revealed guidebook has directions to a good free parking lot.

Kihei: all sorts of things. Good Pizza Hut right across the road from one of the Kamaole beach parks.

Down by Big Beach there’s often a local guy with a food truck, we’ve never had the nerve to try it.

Keep your eyes peeled for the usual fast food places, they are all over the place.

Check out Maui Revealed for the locations of good shave ice places, there are lots of them. Shave ice is DELICIOUS.

Driving:

Maui Revealed has excellent maps, plus your rental car company will probably give you one. It’s really simple to drive there, there are only a couple of traffic spots. In Lahaina,
don’t drive down Front Street, just park nearby and walk around. In Kihei, if you just want to get through it quickly, there’s a road further uphill that parallels the main Kihei Rd. that has all the shops on it.

considering it's history I would never call Io Needle 'fun' Far too much blood on the aina 'land'

You lost me when you said "Good Pizza Hut" :-)

Thank you so much gigib for all that information! That was great!

Sorry.

You are welcome palmtree, have a lovely time.