Dejais

My husband and I are well traveled but this will be our first trip to Hawaii. I have booked us into the Doubletree Alana Waikiki for 5 nights and then on to the Ka'anapali Beach CLub in Maui for another 5 nights. We leave on Thanksgiving day.

We would like to do a luau but I am finding all of the information a bit overwhelming. We would like to do a more intimate luau without the 400 people on the buffet line. We did find the Feast of Lele in Maui which sounds perfect but I have a seafood allergy and can not get confirmation from anyone that this can be accomodated. Has anyone else had issues with seafood allergies and can recommend a good luau? Any other recommendations for luaus either on Oahu or Maui?

Also, we are pretty laid back and looking for other activites for 50+ people to do. Any recommendations? We heard that the Pearl Harbor tours are very crowded. Is there a best time to visit? And what about a drive to Hana in Maui? Is this recommended?

I appreciate your help and comments! Thank you!

montereybob

Pearl Harbor is not a laid back visit........Very busy and crowded with tourists. The drive to Hana can be exhausting but you don't have to go the whole way to see great scenery. If you don't like heat and humidity, winter months are better to visit and there are less kids and teens. Feast at Lele has all private tables with servers, not a buffet. I highly recommend it. Call their 800 number to ask about menu options. I recommend getting the travel guides Maui Revealed and Oahu Revealed. They list and describe all the activities so you can read before your trip to decide which seem right for you.

BillJ

Do you snorkel? If so, great. No need to read any further.

If not, you should absolutely begin. Your hotels can usually set you up with equipment and guided excursions for the first time or two. If you have a car, you will be able to drive to many great snorkeling sites on both islands. After a time or two to gain confidence, you will be able to go on your own, and can expand the places you can go to snorkel. Your hotels and dive shops can help you find good snorkel spots as well as excursions, which are usually with small boats of a dozen or so people. Go for it!!!! The things you will see are awesome.

hpeabody

Here are some ideas of things to do on Maui. In Lahaina there is a comedy magic show called Warren & Ananbelle's. Kinda cheesy but fun. Reservations required, it sells out. There is a show by the producers of Cirque du Soleil called Ulalena. Also, maybe consider a cocktail sunset sail on a catamaran.

mztery

can someone explain the attraction for luaus? It's not like you're experiencing g anything authentic or in someone's home or something?

Placename

Variety of food, entertaining dancing by fit and attractive people. Fun evening.

If you want to be a sourpuss, then, by all means, don't go.

Placename

Spend a day driving upcountry in Maui to the winery, the goat cheese farm, the lavender farm. Visit galleries in Makawao. Get a sandwich at the deli across from the (little) winery and enjoy a picnic under the trees.

CYESQ

A must - catamaran around Diamond Head. Ask the concierge at your hotel for directions to the beach where the catamaran sails. It's wonderful.

suze

I really enjoyed the Old Lahaina Luau. It's true it is not intimate, but it's an incredible setting, decent traditional buffet, high quality show for the dance and music. I also liked the show U'lalena at Myth & Magic theater in Lahaina (already mentioned, kind of a cirque de soile style history of the islands through music & dance). Also going up the crater of Haleakala was my other Maui favorite. We didn't go for sunrise (because no one wanted to get up and drive in the dark early morning) just mid-morning. It's incredible. We didn't attempt drive to Hana as my family all gets easily carsick, and getting up Haleakala was enough!

In Honolulu/Waikiki you can visit Doris Duke Shangri La Estate (tour through Honolulu Academy of the Arts), Bishop Museum, and Iolani Palace, spend time in the parks right in Waikiki (Kapiolani and Fort de Russy).

Placename

The Doris Duke home tour is very interesting. Do the first one in the morning because it gets hot and humid there rather quickly. Then have lunch in the very nice cafe at the Honolulu Academy of the Arts (make reservations!) and spend some time enjoying the museum and their very good gift shop.

LindainOhio

The Old Lahaina Luau in Maui has a lovely setting, entertainment, dinner, usually beautiful sunset and seems to be recommended as one of the most traditional luaus, therefore no fire dancers (or whatever you call them--I personally think those dancers are pretty impressive and would not mind is they added something non-traditional). Many visitors to Hawaii want to attend a luau. That's not a bad thing.

We attended this luau on our first visit to Maui--I was surprised--our teens loved it. The earlier you book this luau, the closer you sit in the front. I think they call the low seats in front(where you sit on mats on the ground)traditional sitting. The rest of the seating is at tables.

I have not been to Pearl Harbor but if I was on Oahu, I sure wouldn't miss it. I would go when they first open in the morning. I would go even if it was crowded.

We loved the drive to Hana. The Maui Revealed guide book suggested above is great. I also had the Driving and Discovering Maui by Richard Sullivan book--with all the fabulous photos and had decided before we ever left home that I wanted to do that drive. It is a great drive with lots of fabulous scenery and places to stop. I would recommend it. It is a long drive though--took us most of the day. We packed a lunch and ate on the Kaenae Peninsula, looking out at the ocean across some huge boulders on the beach.

I would also recommend that you spend a day visiting the Wailea beaches and resorts, Big Beach and LaPerouse Bay.

You don't mention the dates of your trip, but if you are visiting this winter during whale season, I would definitely recommend a whale watching trip with Pacific Whale Foundation. I would also suggest you take binoculars (even those small ones) for whale watching from your lanai or the beach. Seeing the whales in Maui and Kauai when we were there one February has always been one of my alltime great travel experiences.

I can't imagine recommending anything to you that I would not recommend to a 30 year old. The snorkeling recommendation is also a good suggestion--even though if you have snorkeled the Caribbean, you might be disappointed. The visibility is better in the Caribbean. Plan on snorkeling in the morning when the water is calmest. It is easy to try snorkeling in Maui since so many of the spots are accessible from the beach.

I think you will fall in love with Hawaii. Be sure and come back to Fodors and tell us about your visit.

Placename

The easy access to snorkeling is one reason Hawaii is so nice. In Maui, especially, there are mulitple hotels/condos on beaches that have really good snorkeling and you don't have to drive anywhere, you just walk out from your hotel with your snorkel stuff.

mztery

I was just asking..most of the posts I read on travel boards about the luaus express disappointment on quality of the food and the price.

sf7307

If you're fairly fit, I highly recommend kayaking in Kailua - went through Kailua Sailboards and had a blast, but there's a fair amount of work to do (I was 58 when we did this and I'm in Ok shape - not Jack LaLanne, but not Roseanne Barr either!)

http://kailuasailboards.com/

charnees

Most luaus have a pretty good choice of foods, and of course kalua pork is one of the features. You don't have to have seafood. Is your allergy to shellfish or to all fish from the ocean? If you can eat salmon, you can try lomi-lomi salmon, which is shredded dried salmon mixed with green onions, tomatoes, etc. There is also a dish called chicken and long rice, which is shredded cooked chicken with transparent noodles, and there is lau-lau, which is food cooked in ti leaves, usually pork or chicken.

By the way, many of the big luaus start you at the buffet where there's all kinds of non-Hawaiian foods like cold cuts, cheeses, etc. You have to skip all that and go the the place where the more genuine stuff is.

suze

I think that may just be the internet phenomena of people posting negative comments more frequently. For example, I've never posted a "review" about Old Lahaiana Luau anywhere, but I do say how much my entire family (9 adults) enjoyed it each time the "luau question" is asked.

No (mztery) of course you are not experience something in someone's home, like you might if you lived on the islands and had local friends and got invited to a party island-style.

Yes it is a commercial venture, like any kind of show or entertainment. That doesn't mean it is not "authentic" or a whole lot of fun.

Old Lahaina Luau's setting is incredibly beautiful. And a really well put together event. I am not a person who normally goes in for the "touristy" stuff. But I had a great time at this luau. It was not cheap but worth the ticket price imho.

Feast of Lele is supposed to be very nice but more of a dinner theater setting (my hotel was next door and I saw a peak of it over the fence).

I think either of these on Maui are a better choice than what is available on Oahu, along these lines.