5 days in Maui, early September
 

We're attending a wedding in Oahu, so we'll be there for 3 nights. After that, we're flying to Maui, renting a car, and I've rented a 1 bedroom condo on the beach near Kaanapali. I'm trying to work out an itinerary that will let us enjoy some of the special parts of the island, but I don't want to run around like crazy and not just relax and enjoy being there.

So, what are the musts? The road to Hana looks great, and it appears to take the better part of a day. We'll go to the volcano, but not at dawn, I don't wake up that early when I'm on vacation! We like snorkeling and there seem to be many good options for that. What else? All suggestions greatly appreciated.

Oh, I guess I should mention that beaches are great, but I stay OUT of the sun as much as possible.

Thanks as always for your help.

Alice

A trip out to Ho'okipa Beach to watch the kite surfers followed by walk around and some shopping up in Makawao is a fun way to spend a half day. I like to combine that with lunch or dinner at Haliimaile General Store just down the road from Makawao.

The last time we were on Maui we enjoyed a visit to the Schaefer Gallery at Maui Arts and Cultural Center.

RTH is a 12-hour day if you stop to sightsee -- which is the point of the drive. You'll pass through Paia enroute, but that might be better combined with a trip up to the crater and Upcountry. Iao Valley in Wailuku is and worth an hour-plus.

Drive north to piney Kapalua. Go into Lahaina Town for a little history and a lot of 'galleries', restaurants, bars.

Would you be interested in the Maui Ocean Center at Maalaea?

Drive into South Maui. Good beaches start with the Kamaole Beach Parks in South Kihei and go on through Wailea and Makena. Past Makena you'll see the black lava from Haleakala's last eruption as it meets the blue sea -- starkly different from the hotels and shops in upscale Wailea.

If you're going to go to the volcano during daytime, combine it with a trip to upcountry (per wekewoody). Last time we were there, we hiked about 5 miles (round trip) into the crater late morning/early afternoon, and stopped in Makawao on the way back to Kaanapali (we would have loved to have had a meal at Hailemale General Store, but we were there "between times" - too late for lunch and too early for dinner.

We are planning to drive to the crater today and was also thinking of doing Upcountry if there's time in the afternoon. Makawao sounds great. Any other recommended sights along the way? We are staying in Wailea. Thanks!

Upcountry Maui, the grounds of the Tedeschi Winery are very nice, for a short visit. It's surprisingly cool up there, and way down below, you can see the Makena Beach Resort. The Lavender Farm also has some interesting gardens, with a lot of unique (at least, to me) plants. Then there's Surfing Goat Dairy, if you want to try something a little different. You can see it fairly quickly. The kids are really playful and cute!

Well, I should certainly be able to put together an itinerary with all these suggestions! Thanks, wekewoody, ChiSue,sf7307 and kanunu. Really looking forward to the trip.

Alice

Have a great trip!

Remember that your 'list' can be thrown away or the activities postponed. Just enjoy being on this pretty island. I would probably do ONE of these things if I had 7 -10 nights on Maui. Enjoy Island Time and take some of it home with you. Aloha!

I love the sunset from the west-facing pull out parking lots on Haleakala, esp. when the clouds are just below your level.

Alice, it's easy to wake up early on HI - don't know where you live, but they are 3 hrs behind CA, 6 hrs behind East Coast.

This might be interesting reading.

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...about-maui.cfm

Good link, wekewoody! And Dayenu (love the handle), we're on the east coast, and you're probably right about the waking early, at least to start. sylvia3, I read about seeing sunset from Haleakala, maybe we can make that happen. And ChiSue, I am going to try HARD to keep a relaxed, enjoy just being there attitude. At some point we'll take a longer trip and can fit in more activities without running all day every day.

Alice