5 days til Maui! Last minute advice
 

We're leaving for Maui on Sunday, and I thought it might be good to get advice on my itinerary (more like a plan).

Here's what we're doing:

- Staying 4 days in Kihei @ Kihei Surfside condo. Spending 1st day at beach/snorkelling at Ulua beach or Honolua bay.
-Haleakala for sunset (to beat crowds and cold) on 2nd or 3rd day; might hike part of the trail
- road to Hana on 3rd or 4th day, hiking Pipiwai trail to Waimoku Falls, stopping at Blue Pool and 7 pools (and possibly other waterfalls/pools)
- haven't planned a snorkelling tour. Wanted to do La Perousse Bay kayak tour but no longer available. Are we missing out if we only do offshore snorkelling?

- Spending 3 nights at Sheraton in Kaanapali. Will spend first day at beach/snorkelling Black Rock
- spending one day touring Island (stopping at beaches,shopping)
- booked 2 diners, one at Old Lahaina Luau, other at Hula Grill. Is Mama's much more expensive than Hula Grill, or is it similar but much better?

Any comments on my itinerary?

Hula Grill is not in the same league as Mama's. Hula Grill is a fun spot for music and sunset and a place to have your feet in the sand while you people watch as they walk along the beach walk or around Whalers Village. Mama's is all about food and scenery. It's substantially more expensive at Mamas

Offshore snorkeling in Maui is fabulous. We were supposed to take a catamaran trip which was cancelled. In hindsight we thought we were lucky. I was glad not to have been aboard one of those trips with so many people. We saw great fish and had no hassle.

If you get a chance while you're in Kaanapali, do the sunset cruise with the Kapalua Kai. It's really nice and you're picked up and dropped off in front of Hula Grill. While in Kihei, eat at Sarento's. It's pricey but very good. Also check out the Kihei Caffe for breakfast - cheap and delicious. There are a bunch of bars in Kihei with local bands if you're looking for something to do in the evening. Snorkeling at Ulua beach is great as long as you're there early in the a.m. (8ish). Have fun! It's the best time!

Your itinerary sounds very good to me.

I really enjoyed the snorkeling at Honolua Bay. Just a warning - some parts of the water were quite chilly!

Suzie is right - Mama's and Hula Grill cannot be compared. Mama's is MUCH more expensive.

Ka'anapali is very cool. There is a lot of shops/restaurants in Whaler's Village and the beach is very pretty but somewhat crowded most of the time. Hula Grill, Rusty Harpoon and Leilani's are all right next to each other and have menu's outside their front doors. I would check each of them out before making a decision. We did that and picked Rusty Harpoon (because of certain menu items). We were very happy with our choice and surprised by the huge size of the meals just at lunch!

An idea for a quick, easy sight-seeing trip is going to Iao Valley.

I highly recommend David Paul's Lahaina Grill in Lahaina if you have the time/money for a nice meal...

There are two truly magical, spiritual places on Maui that provide a feeling I do not find duplicated anyhwere else - Iao Valley and Upcountry on the way to Haleakala (Kula or Waipoli Road especially). Do not miss the Iao Valley.

Go to Mulligan's on Tuesday night and do the Wailea Nights dinner show. The music will blow you away. - And the food is great as well. Just got back and the things I listed above were the highlights of our trip!

Thanks for the recommendations...guess my itinerary is good!

I wasn't really comparing Mama's and Hula Grill, just wanted to know how different the prices were, and if not that different whether I should consider Mama's. At this point, this vacation is costing us enough, I don't care about getting excellent food. I can do that at home (San Francisco). Just wanted a nice view and nice dinner. Looks like Hula Grill will be fine, otherwise I'll consider another place as well.

I will note Mulligan's and other suggestions and will check them out.

Sounds like a great itinerary. I wouldn't be concerned about offshore snorkeling, we thought the offshore spots were much better for snorkeling. Honolua was fantastic, what a variety of fish!! Be careful there, though, the rocks are extremely slippery and it's easy to lose your footing. You can go at your own pace, and are not surrounded by several other tour groups (like with Molikini). We took the Four Winds tour to Molikini, and it was the one thing I wished we had not done while in Maui. The trip left early in the morning and we returned around 1:00. I was ready to return after about a half hour there! We saw fewer types of fish there than any offshore locations.

I would also suggest attending Warren & Annabelle's Magic/Comedy show. I was a bit hesitant about going at first, but I had more laughs that night than I've had in a long time! They do book up fast though, so make your reservations before you leave if you are interested.

If you don't already have the book Maui Revealed, it is worth picking up.

There are three musts on all my trips to Maui.

We must eat pupus/light dinner at Hula Grill and buy a couple of
shirts...sunset of course, and overtip the entertainment.

We must eat Sashimi Napolean at Haillimaile General Store, available lunch or dinner.

And we must hang at Makena beach for a few hours with no we need to go next thoughts while there....simply taking it all in and savouring it. You really can bottle it in your mind and take it with you~!!!
Last minute advice??? Don't try to hard. And be flexable. Fun!!!!!!!!!!!

Aloha Celine...

Have an awesome time!

...and heed g'lou's advice, Makena Beach, ohhhh yaaaa... still can put myself there in my dreams...

Celine, you said

>>Staying 4 days in Kihei @ Kihei Surfside condo. Spending 1st day at beach/snorkelling at Ulua beach or Honolua bay.<<

You'll be better off saving Honalua Bay for when you are staying in Ka`anapali. It is quite a distance from Kihei, way up on the other side, at least an hour away.

Just returned from Maui (trip report coming soon!). If snorkeling at Ulua beach, recommend getting there very early. It was very crowded by 10 AM and there seems to be many beginning dive classes here making things worse. Have a great time and make sure you plan some time to do nothing :-)

BdFamilyman, thanks for the advice...we plan on going snorkelling pretty early, but I'll go there first (while still jet lagged).

Any chance you can post that trip report before sunday? :)

Celine, hope to have TR posted by the end of the day. I didn't go up myself (for similar reasons)but it appeared to be raining on most afternoons on Haleakala (mornings seemed clear). I think you can call to check weather before you head up there.

Celine,

I have a Maui trip report from last July (we even stayed at the Surfside!) here: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34436140

Sounds like we have a lot of the same things on our itinerary, you should check it out, it's very detailed.

Also, agree with saving Honolua Bay until you're in Kaanapali; there's no reason to be near all that wonderful south Maui snorkeling only to drive over an hour up to Honolua. My trip report gives some of the areas we snorkeled in south Maui. Also, the wind kicks up down there around midday, we always snorkeled at like 7am to avoid this; it gets VERY windy; the Surfside turned into a freakin' wind tunnel where we struggled to get in and out of the condo if the lanai was open.

And there is PLENTY of wonderful offshore snorkeling, don't worry!

Pipiwai Trail is wonderful, it follows the stream the whole way so it's constant swimming in falls opportunities.

We had fun outside at the Hula Grill, though we had to wait an hour at their bar because we didn't have a reservation. It is a very lively atmosphere though, tons of fun, my only disappointment was that the "sand" you sit with your feet in is like kitty litter.

Anyway, read my report, it has lots more stuff!

love
roxy

Roxy, your post is funny because I've been reading your trip report since I started thinking about Maui! You're the reason I considered the Kihei Surfside!!! :)

Guess I should have mentioned it...thanks for the advice, it's greatly appreciated. We made reservations for the Hula Grill.

As for the rain, what's the situation right now? Is it raining like crazy at Haleakala? Should I bring a raincoat? We'll go in the morning if we have to...I don't want to see any rain!

Oh, one last question...for the hike at Pipiwai trail, how long does it take to get to the falls? Will it take too long to enjoy the rest of the road to Hana?

We plan on leaving very early for the road to Hana, but don't want to stop too much is a lot of time is spent on the trail (which were doing because I want to see a bamboo forest and the waterfalls!).

Who named the Pupu Lounge the best seafood on Maui?

here...today:
Jersey1 did, anyway. He contributed 6 posts today (his entire portfolio with Fodors), to 6 threads, all touting that restaurant. Obviously a believer. Or more.

Well, I have eaten there--once. I certainly would not consider it "most affordable." I found the food to be unremarkable, the drinks to be too sweet and heavily fruit-juiced and the prices to have a poor price-to-value ratio. I may also add that we were the only ones in the place at the time, which struck us as odd, given the location in Kalama Village. Of course, YMMV, as is apparently the case with our overly-enthusiastic Jersey1.