hello, i have been using these boards a ton in planning our hawaii trip next week. thank you everyone who reads and posts on these boards, you are all extremely helpful.

i have finally put together our trip and i just wanted to post it and see if anyone had any thoughts.

it is a honeymoon trip and we are both in our mid 20's, so i was trying to keep it fun and kind of active as well. here it goes:

1-Oct - Fly to Honolulu (arrive 2pm), staying at Park Shore Waikiki

2-Oct - visit Arizona Memorial, Fly to Kauai (leave 6pm), staying at Princeville resort

3-Oct - Hike to Kalalau Valley, camping there for 2 nights

4-Oct - explore Kalalau Valley

5-Oct - Hike back from Kalalau Valley, stay at Princeville resort

6-Oct - driving down to Poipu, staying at Sheraton Resort

7-Oct - camping this night at Hanama'ulu Beach Park

8-Oct - Fly to Maui (leave 10:30am); Old Lahaina Luau; staying at Maui Coast Hotel (it is in Kihei)

9-Oct - Kayak with Maui Kayaks doing the La Perouse Dolphin and Turtle Adventure; staying at Maui Coast Hotel

10-Oct - Self-Guided Sunrise Bike Tour w/ Maui Sunriders; flying back at 9:10pm


so, thats the vacation. i know we are staying a different place almost every night, but we are ok with that. mainly, if anyone has advice one eating, that would be awesome.

the only place we really want to check out is mama's on maui. i was thinking of going there before our flight out on the 10th. if anyone can give me an estimate of how far this is from the airport, that would be great.

thanks so much, and looking forward to any feedback.

Sounds like a fun, active trip.

I live on Kauai, I would probably not recommend Hanamaulu Beach Park for tourist camping, there are alot of "long term campers" there, it doesnt seem 100% safe to me. But heck, you may think it's great. If you can swing another night at the Sheraton I'd recommend that!

Maui Coast Hotel is a good choice. Try to at least upgrade to an "alcove suite"...there is more room. You will not have any good views at this hotel. However it isn't too pricey and there are tons of reasonable places to eat nearby. You will have to be careful about alcohol consumption a the Old Lahaina Luau as it is about a 45 minute car ride back to Kihei.

How are you going to handle checkouts on the days you have early excursions planned, i.e., Pearl Harbor and Bike Tour? I usually like to sleep in on my checkout day and take advantage of the pool and amenities I've paid for, for the last time. Therefore, it works better to schedule early morning trips for days when I can return to my hotel room for an afternoon rest.

If you do go ahead with these plans, you will be closer to both the Maui and Oahu airports after your activities; returning to the hotel will be extra driving in both cases. So. make plans for the afternoon. Going to Mama's Fish House is a great way to spend your last evening; it's only 15 minutes from the airport. It's never too soon to make those reservations! Have a great trip.

So you are staying one night at Princeville, checking out to camp two nights and then check back in at Princeville? Wow. Princeville Resort is a beautiful property with really nice restaurants, pool, beach, etc. Too bad you won't really have time to enjoy it! But have fun on the hike on Kalalau. We just came back and hiked to the waterfall. Beautiful scenery - enjoy!

Thanks for the responsesand advice so far - going to bring it up with the future wife tonight

as for camping, yea, we are kind of iffy on camping at hanama'ulu, but we are bringing our gear for the hike, so we wanted to try and use it one more time...the other campground we were looking at was Niumalu Beach Park, i don't know Vivi if you have any insight into this campground?

I am planning on this hike also in December but I am struggling with what gear to pack. A tent and raingear definitely, but as far as sleeping bags or pads etc. I am not sure. I have never camped in warm weather before. What are you thinking of packing in?

i think it's cool.
i would say to stop off in kapa'a on the way to princeville for your camping provisions cause there is no decent sized grocery store up in princeville. you can always keep the stuff in your room overnight. i assume you're leaving some gear at the princeville- like return tickets, nice clothes, etc. so you can just drop your backpacks and swim at the beach and not worry (ke'e beach is at the start of the hike).
i think you are very very smart to leave yourself enough time for the kalau'lau trail. its' steep at the start and in the middle.
there is a spur trail to a waterfall- don't know if it is still open for hiking, but 6 years ago it was pretty cool.
bring something for misty weather while you're camping.
have fun- sounds great. if mama's isn't doable- try manana garage- it's 2 minutes from the airport and has amazing fish. ask a local.

Sounds great, have you got your camping permits for Kalalau ? Saw somewhere there were problems due to lack of state maintenance of toilet facilities etc somewhere along the route. Have a wonderful trip.
Paul

Inevitable question "manana garage", are they still in business ?

In regards to camping at Niumalu, I dont think the county allows camping there. Its not a beach either, its on the shore of the huleia river. Also forget Hanamaulu beach,every place has its toilet, and hanamaulu is kauai's. The best camping is definetly the Na Pali. Polihale is also good, but can get really hot.

I've just returned from BI and Kauai. In Kauai , my husband and I stayed at The Sheraton. I wouldn't stay anywhere else, it's very romantic! We ate twice at Keokis at Poipu shopping village. It's very good and the price is right. Roy's is very good too but a little more expensive, it's also at Poipu Shopping village. Congratulations and a wonderful trip!

Koa is right, I dont think there is any camping at Niumalu/Hule'ia. I really suggest extending that Sheraton stay for an extra night instead of camping at Hana'maulu which has some rough clientele at times.

Wait, my husband just said Yes, he has seen campers at Niumalu. Still, I personally would not recommend it. As much as Kauai seems like a paradise, there are still creeps lurking around. Niumalu is near Nawiliwili/Kalapaki Beach Park which can attract undesirables at night. The only campground I would consider for myself on Kauai would be Anini Beach.

Two thoughts: we met a young man who was really roughed up at Hanama'ula. He was in bad enough shape that he flew home after the experience. (We met him on our flight home.) We have camped up at Koke'e. It was fine, gave us good access to hiking. We've also stayed in the state park cabins up there. It was nice to have a woodstove as the evenings get a little chilly up there. You might check and see if there's any availability. Plus, you'd get to see a different side of the island. You might also consider camping at Polihale. It feels a bit remote but that's part of the beauty of it. We have friends who spent one night out there recently and thought that it was really cool. The facilities are a little rough. They look like they were never improved after Iniki. It is a pretty amazing place. You might also want to try a B & B for that last night. The Rosewood B &B in the hills above Kapa'a is a great spot.

Re: Mama's. It's a Maui institution and an expensive one. We've had great meals there and just okay ones. At their prices, they should always be excellent. The restaurant does have an old Hawaii feel and killer mai-tai's and sits on a really pretty cove. It is 15 - 20 minutes max. from the airport. You might also consider lunch at the Hailemaile General Store which is in the same general area and is very popular. You drive through cane and pineapple fields to get there and it's in a pretty area that many visitors miss.

Thanks for all the input, especially on the camping. We ended up getting a 2nd night at the Sheraton, we will probably scout out some other camp grounds though for next time

we also got a reservation at Mama's for our last night, so that should be great!

and eduardo, i will let you know about what we end up bringing, since we are only going for 2 nights, right now i think we are just going with minimum amount of stuff - 2 sleeping bags, tent, a little sterno stove, rain jacket and some clothes. i will let you know once we get back how well-prepared we were

oh yea, also, we already got our permits for Kalalau, so hopefully we won't run into any trouble. we have those bookend nights at the princeville, so we will leave most of our stuff there, and just leave the car at the trail head (hopefully without incident