Part I
This was our 4th trip to Hawaii and the 2nd to Maui. It was somewhat of a budget trip as we had already spent 2 weeks in Hawaii during the summer. Having "done" the road to Hana, Haleakala, and the West Maui drive on a previous trip, we did not repeat these-only had a week this visit. Most important to me was seeing the whales and getting certified for scuba diving.

On Xmas Eve, we flew from Portland Maine to Cincinnati and then flew Delta's new route direct to Honolulu. It was a very long time on one plane but did make the overall trip a few hours shorter so I would do it again. We were delayed 1 hour at take off (computer problems, plane was overloaded-glad they figured that one out before we took off..., and then we had to get de-iced). Overall, a smooth trip and all luggage arrived with us!!

Used VIP transportation shuttle to get to the Outrigger Waikiki. We had used them last summer to go to Pearl Harbor and the swap meet-we have found them to be very reasonably priced, prompt and friendly. Even though our flight was late-they were there waiting. This was our 2nd visit to this hotel-we really enjoy it. Used the entertainment book to get on OV room (approx $220)-I really wanted to wake up Xmas morning and see beautiful Waikiki!! Had Xmas brunch at Dukes-another favorite. Spent a short time on the beach and then it was back to the airport for the quick trip to Maui.

Part II

Flew Aloha airlines and were able to go standby on an earlier flight-luggage arrived with us so we were actually ahead of schedule. Took the shuttle to Alamo-no lines, no waiting!! I know others have had bad experiences but we have rented with them on all of our Hawaii trips and have never had a problem. In less than 5 minutes we were loading our bags into a brand new Saturn Ion (only had 10 miles on it) and we were off. Found an open supermarket, stocked up and headed to our condo at Maui Kai.

We stayed in unit #306 (a studio) and really enjoyed our time there-it was perfect for 2 people. Everything we needed was provided. It was a quiet complex-never heard slamming doors or people yelling...only the sound of the waves!! It is VERY oceanfront. We rented directly from the owner who was great. We thought this condo was an excellent value for the money and I would definitely stay there again.

The weather this trip was not as good as what we have experienced on our previous summer trips. Lots of overcast days but we felt lucky that we only got daytime rain the last day and a half despite predictions all week for heavy rains and flooding.

Part III
Whale watching..
After hearing the weather forecast, we decided to try to get a whale watch in while the weather was still good. The Pacific Whale Foundation (Lahaina-Ocean Explorer) was booked but lucky for us, there was a couple that didn't show for the 7:00 AM boat-I will be forever grateful to them!! We hopped on and had a spectacular show-lost count of the number of breaches (at least 10)-the whales were very active this day especially for so early in the season. We were very lucky!!

I just couldn't get enough of those whales...we went 3 more times (they are only 2 hr trips and if you go early-our 2 best trips were 7:00AM-you're back home by 9:30). The next trip was on the same boat-a 4:00 PM trip-the sunset was great but the whale watching wasn't. Did see a newborn with it's Mother that was very cool.

Decided to try something different for the next trip-scheduled a 7:00 AM on the Wiki Wahine (an ocean raft)-it was a fast, fun ride and you felt much closer to the whales-could really hear them blowing. Didn't really see anything very spectacular on this trip so decided to schedule one last 7:00 AM trip on New Year's Day (our last day)-we signed up again with Wiki Wahini but they didn't show up!! PWF bailed us out again as they had no shows-we hopped on for another spectacular trip!! Only one breach but lots of pec and tail slaps, twice they poked just their heads up like they were checking us out and twice we got "mugged"-the whale comes closer than the 100 yards and the boat must be put in neutral til the whale decides where to go and moves away. Once, the whale swam right under the boat!!!

Given how early it was in the season, I was very happy with our whale watching experiences. I highly recommend the PWF!!

Part IV
Scuba Diving
We had done our class and pool work in Maine but it was too cold for me to do the check out dives here so we waited for Maui!! We decided to do them with Maui Dive Shop-we went 2 afternoons in a row and did 2 dives each day at Old Airport beach. I think they did a good job-my only complaint is that we had a different instructor each day (it wasn't supposed to be that way and it was never really explained why). They were both very good but it would have been better for continuity to have just one. But hey, we're in Hawaii and going with the flow... And we passed so all is well!!

They were booked for boat dives for the rest of vacation so we pulled out Maui Revealed and started calling others. Prodiver Maui and Mike Severns both felt they weren't the right choice for us given how new we were and how experienced the others were who were already signed up. I appreciated their honesty-the last thing I wanted was to be in over my head (literally)!!

Ed Robinson was next on the list-he had 2 boats going out and one of the boats was all newbies like us and he had 2 slots available-we signed up and were so glad we did!! They staff was just great (4 staff-2 on the boat and 2 in the water) and 12 divers. Again, all of us were pretty new and there were 6 kids on the boat with the youngest being 12. They did an excellent job with everyone-I highly recommend them!!
After struggling in and out of the water during the shore dives, this boat dive was just a joy-especially with the crew doing all the work!!


We dove at a man-made shipwreck in South Maui and out at Molikini-even though it was a rainy day, the visibilty was still excellent. We saw lots of fish and turtles and 2 small sharks.

Part V
Last, but not least, food and drinks...
We ate many meals in or just got quick food like pizza and salad or subs. There is a mini mall walkable from Maui Kai with a grocery store and quick food places which was very convenient.

More notable places where we ate:
Maui Tacos-Ok-nothing special IMHO.

Charley's (In Paia)-love this place for breakfast. Hubby had eggs benedict with Ono and I had mac-nut pancakes/portuguese sausage and fresh OJ-everything was delicious!!

Bubba Gumps-I know it's a tacky tourist trap but we like this one and the one on the Big Island-views are great and the food is good.

One of our 2 splurge meals was Kapalua Bay Sunday Brunch-food was very good but the service was well below what I would have expected. There was a long line when we arrived with reservations and non reservations all mixed in (when I asked the hostess about this I was told everyone had reservations and I should just get back in line and wait my turn-as I talked to those around us, many did not have reservations). Oh well, I got back in line and waited... The hostess was quite something-I overheard her say to a group that was unhapppy about something "I told you, my manager will be here to deal with you people in a minute..."-yikes-obviously missed customer service 101. As we approached the check-in (had reservations for 9:30 and now it was close to 10:00-and we're on East Coast time and starved!!) a co-worker beside her accidently knocked the phone on the floor and she looked at me and said "what an a**hole". And when I gave her our name-guess what-we weren't on the list!! I calmy explained I made reservations 2 weeks ago and would like to be seated please-we did get a great table at the edge of the patio-view was beautiful!! Our waiter was attentive but not particularly friendly-everyone seemed very rushed and not well organized. As my husband said "Don't they do this every Sunday?" Maybe we just caught them on a bad day. It didn't spoil our meal-we are pretty easy going and happy to be on vacation!!

Our best meal by far was at Mama's on the way to the airport. It was pouring and they had big umbrellas ready, we were seated promptly (had resevations) and service was excellent. We got into a discussion with the waiter about why I didn't eat the coconut and, anyway, when he found out we'd never had the juice from a cocnut he went to the kitchen and got us a glass so we could try it. That is good customer service!! Food and mai tai's were also superb and I think worth the price. We had a window seat and it was beautiful even though it was raining.

Took a trip up to the winery-I know many frown on this wine but I really like that sweet pineapple stuff!! We bought a case of assorted bottles (including the raspberry dessert wine-yum!!) and brought it home as one of our checked luggage pieces-they did a great job packing. So when it's a blizzard here, I can pop open a bottle and dream about Maui...

What a wonderful report. We're just back from out second winter trip, and you make me think I shoulda done a whale trip. Also from NE, really dig whales, but spent our time kayaking to see the dolphins, who missed us! Que sera? When on these fine islands the magic of improv and taking it as it comes is what aloha is all about. Thanks so much for such a lovely report. I will definately try to spend time with the whales more, either in the Atlantic or Pacific. G