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A few thoughts/recommendations from our trip to Maui

A few thoughts/recommendations from our trip to Maui

Old Apr 11th, 2015, 01:45 PM
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A few thoughts/recommendations from our trip to Maui

We spent the week after Easter in Maui. Actually, we arrived Good Friday. We had been to Oahu about 15 years ago, but this was our first trip to Maui. It was me, DH, and 8 year old daughter.

We stayed in a condo at Kaanapali Alii that we rented through VRBO. The condo itself was fine. We could see a sliver of the ocean if we sat in the corner of the balcony, but we had nice views over the mountain behind. It was a bit dated, but we didn't really care about that. One weird thing is that there were only bath sized towels when we arrived. No kitchen towels, no hand towels, no wash clothes. After contacting the owner some were delivered, so that problem was solved.

The complex is nice, with a couple small pools and spas. There is a beach towel service, and you can get chairs for the beach. They also have a bunch of nice gas grills you can use. But, we were overwhelmed by the masses of people. This was partly due to the holiday. There were tons of large family groups taking over the shared areas.

I chose Kaanapali beach because we could walk to restaurants. In the end, we wouldn't stay here again. It was so crowded. I guess we have finally realized we just don't really like being around other people! We typically spent some of the morning at the pool/beach by the condo and then hopped in the car and went to some other beaches in the area.

Here are some reviews of things we did and places we ate:

Trilogy snorkel tour to Molokini. We did the 8am trip on Easter day. It was great. We saw a bunch of whales on the trip. We snorkeled at Molokini and then at turtle town. I have motion sickness issues. I was really feeling gross at Molokini, but once we got to calmer waters at turtle town and after eating lunch I felt better. They serve cinnamon rolls as you leave and then a pretty nice chicken/rice/salad lunch after the second snorkel. I would do another tour with this group again.

Maui Surfer Girls surf lesson. My DH and daughter did a two person lesson. It was from 8-10. The first thing I should have been aware of but was not is that not all instructors are women. They got a man, Sharkie. We may have gotten him, because all the other groups were all women. In the end he was great with DD. They spend some time on land learning how to stand up and then go out in the water. I was worried they were getting short changed by spending so much time on land, but both of them were exhausted when they finished, so really couldn't have done much more. I guess it was really tiring having to paddle back after every try. They both did well and managed to get up and stay up several times. DD really wanted another lesson, so clearly it was a great experience for her. They do the lessons at Ukumehame beach. There was no one else out there during their lesson. I would never do the surf lessons at Kaanapali beach. There are lots of beginners on surf boards interspersed with people swimming and boogie boarding. It didn't seem safe to me, and would have made DD really nervous.

Old Lahaina Luau. I booked this way in advance, so we had great seats. But, the place is designed so there is reasonably good viewing from all over. We did a Luau in Waikiki last trip, and it was bust. We ended up seated in the way back corner and a big table with only one other couple. The food was mediocre and we couldn't see the show at all. DH was not excited about doing this again, but I knew DD would love it. In the end, it was better organized than our last experience. Before dinner, they have a bunch of stations set up where you can learn how to do a dance, play their drums, play a traditional game, etc... This is the kind of thing our daughter eats up. Dinner was ok. There were lots of meats, but not so many veggies. The show was good too.

Beaches we visited: Honokohau Bay and Olowalu. We snorkeled at both. We really liked Honokohau and went there twice. There is limited parking, so a limit to how many people can be there.

Restaurants:

Frida's (Mexican in Lahaina). We liked this place a lot - we went twice. The Ceviche was really good.

Sale Pepe (Italian in Lahaina). We ate here the first night. I really enjoyed the meal, but we were so tired from the time change, I can't remember much about it!

Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop (just north of Olowalu). We ate here twice too! Once for lunch, after surfing and once for dinner after snorkeling at Olowalu. They have interesting sandwiches and potpies. They also have fabulous pie. We had key lime and coconut cream.

Iron Imu BBQ (in a resort at Napili). We stopped here after an afternoon at Honokohau Bay. They have a playroom for kids. I saw it and thought it was perfect for 3-4 year olds. But, my 8-year old loved it. The food was pretty good too.

We also ate lunch at a BBQ place in the mall with the supermarket right off of 30 in Napili. DD loved the beans so much we bought extra to bring home for later.

One last comment is that I was amazed at how many times I saw people doing things that seemed inappropriate. I am not sure why this seemed to happen more on this trip than others we take. Mainly it was parents not really attending to their children. We would often hear one parent asking the other, oh, where is so and so. And then you would realize they were talking about their 3 year old who was out of their sight sitting in the hot tub. There were the kids who got yelled at for climbing on the rocks around the pool (lots of signs indicating this was a no no) while their parents were two feet away. There was a woman on the beach who was feeding the birds so they would sit on her kid's hands. The snorkelers who stood up on the coral. The people who would come down to the pool when it opened and reserve 10 chairs with chair covers and then disappear until after lunch, etc...
eastave is offline  
Old Apr 11th, 2015, 05:22 PM
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thanks for your post. will be going to Maui for 25th anniversary. want it to be special. we did a Hawaiian cruise 15 years ago. wife wanted is to stay on Maui, so I hope it 'll be worth it staying on the one island.
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Old Apr 12th, 2015, 11:37 AM
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*Next* trip to Maui, try a low-rise, low-density condo complex at one of the "ends" of the island -- Napili or Kapalua in West Maui or South Kihei or Wailea in South Maui. Holidays always mean a lot of visitors, but by staying Kaanapali...you're in an densely developed area.

I only wish I had a suggestion on avoiding "that guy or gal" and "that parent"! There is no chaise-saving at our condo. (Disclaimer: We own in South Kihei.)
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 05:33 AM
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Thanks for the report. I'm looking forward to my first visit to Maui--and don't have high expectations because I LOVE Kauai. But I'm hoping to be surprised.
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Old Apr 13th, 2015, 02:23 PM
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I realize that had I done a bit more research on this, we probably wouldn't have ended up where we did. But, I was a little overwhelmed with other stuff, and was just happy I got the plane tickets, lodging and few activities planned that I did!

Songdoc, I am thinking if we go back we will try Kauai. But, we typically are in the NE, so the time costs of getting to Hawaii are generally too high. (We are on the west coast at the moment.) It may be awhile before we get back.
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