Tammi

Hi- I've posted my Kauai itinerary ideas before and got great responses. This is my idea for our Maui itinerary for July 2004. It will be our first week in Hawaii, and my fiance and I are in our late 20's.

Any comments or suggestions would be so greatly appreciated!

Maui!

Day 1 - Monday July 5th - Arrive Maui Airport. Stop at K-mart (or such place for a cheap cooler and some breakfast type food for hotel, and maybe reef shoes)
Arrive Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel (Wailea) - Relax at pool, walk around the beach in front of hotel, see sunset
Dinner at Nick's Fishmarket - Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel

Day 2 - Tuesday July 6th -
AM: Explore snorkeling south
of Wailea
PM: Lunch Bubba Gump Shrimp
Boat Co. (Forest Gump)
PM: Check out town of Lahaina
PM: Warren & Annabelles?

Day 3 - Wednesday July 7th -
AM & PM: Road to Hana
PM: Dinner Mamma's Fish House

Day 4 - Thursday July 8th -
AM: Explore Kapaula Bay &
Napili Beach areas, snorkel at
Honolua
PM: Dinner Humuhumu. Grand
Wailea
PM: Tsunami Night Club Grand
Wailea

Day 5 - Friday July 7th -
AM:
PM: Shop in Lahaina
PM: Old Lahaina Lua (already
reserved)

Day 6 - Saturday July 8th -
AM: Hotel Pool & Beach
PM: Sunset Cruise America II
PM: Dinner Cheeseburgers in
Paradise (Lahaina)

Day 7 - Sunday July 9th -
AM: Maui Prince Champagne Brunch
PM: Dinner - Sarento's

Day 8 - Monday -
Leave for Kauai

Extras?
See diver at Black Rock Kaanapali???

It seems like we are driving to Lahaina more than I would like, and I'm not sure how to avoid that..

turn_it_on

To avoid driving to Lahaina more than you would like, maybe you should stay up there instead of Wailea. Personally, I don't like Lahaina, it's very crowded and feels like Anywhere USA except it's wearing a cheap sarong.

Day 4, for example, maybe since you're going to be in West Maui you could get in an afternoon/evening visit to Lahaina and get in whatever shows/restaurants you want to see. Instead of driving up to Lahaina just to eat/shop, combine it with other West Maui day trips. I mean, yr leaving the wonderful Wailea area for Lahaina/West Maui four days out of seven. I think you could easily consolidate a lot of that stuff. You're going to get there and find yourself REALLY not wanting to make that drive, again. There's plenty of great restaurants in the Wailea/Kihei area. Or, just stay in Kaanapali or someplace near there. Wailea is much quieter than Lahaina/Kaanapali, maybe one might be better than the other for you. I wrote a trip report that has my feelings on the different areas and activities if you're interested, just click on my name and look for "Maui trip report--action packed with details".

love
roxy

hotandsweaty

hi and congratulations on your honeymoon.

you should consider the kapalua area- both the ritz carlton and the kapalua bay hotel are quiet and luxurious and would make more sense for you as a base to explore lahaina as many times as you want to.

otherwise, i would consider splitting your stay so that you are staying half the time in wailea, half up north (kapalua).

personally, i do not know why people stay in wailea at all. the beach is not as pretty as either kanapali or kapalua or napili.

maybe you want to check out some other hotel possibilities, if you can afford the fairmont, you will have no problem finding something in your budget closer to lahaina where you seem to want to be spending a lot of time.

also, hana in one day is not as romantic as an overnight or two at hana ranch- a perfect honeymoon destination ) )

travelisfun

Hi there! Congrats on the upcoming wedding! I like your itinerary--it's a lot like my husband's and mine for our honeymoon three years ago. We stayed at the Kea Lani and LOVED it--I wouldn't change it. We didn't mind the drive to Lahaina--we did it 3-4 times at least. It's a pretty drive. My suggestions:

1. I agree with combining some of your Lahaina things. You definitely won't need a whole day to "check out" the town and a whole separate day to shop there.

2. Dinner at Nick's Fishmarket--I would postpone for a later night. You will probably be tired from the flight and not really into a big fancy dinner that night. You don't want to pay a lot of money for an experience when you are dead tired. My husband and I just grabbed a quick dinner at one of the other restaurants at the Kea Lani that night. Definitely do Nick's, though--it's great!

3. Mama's Fish House--better to do this as a lunch or an early dinner before the sun sets. The best thing about this place is the view, which is lost if it's after dark.

4. May I suggest dining at Cheeseburger instead of Bubba Gump's on day 2 (better atmosphere and food IMO) and David Paul's (in Lahaina) on day 6 to replace Bubba's? David Pauls is an EXCELLENT restaurant in Lahaina--no ocean view, but the food and service is wonderful. Get the firecracker shrimp if you like shrimp.

5. I'd add a trip to the Haleakala crater into your itinerary. You don't have to do the sunrise, biking thing (I actually don't recommend it), but at least drive up there to hike around it and see it. It's amazing!

HAVE FUN! You'll absolutely love it and wish you could go back for every anniversary--I do!

lcuy

I'm sure it's just a typo, but visiting an old Lahaina Lua might not be that interesting....although, you will probably be happy to see one after the Luau.

(Lua is the hawaiian word for bathroom!)
;-)

Tammi

Thanks for the comments so far, keep them coming!

Two things though. Staying at the Fairmont is non negotiable. I did so much research and stressed myself out about it, and well that's where we are staying. I've heard so many people say how beautiful Wailea is. And we really don't want to stay at two hotels, since we are doing that in Kauai and repacking is sort of a hassle.

Old Lahaina Lua is also non negotiable. I've never been to Hawaii and my mom does fake luas in our backyard all the time. I want to be a cheesie tourist and see one once in my life.

Tammi

mari808

tammi, pls reread lcuy's post. she's telling u it's LUAU, not LUA. one is a feast, the other is a hole in the ground that serves as a toilet.

Tammi

wow sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

susie96

I think your itinerary sounds great! I great with all of travelisfun's advice.

We went to Maui last month. I was excited that our arrival time was 2:45 in the afternoon. I was thinking, "Great, we'll have time to do some exploring!" By the time we got our car, drove to the hotel and checked in, we were worn out and just plain cranky. I'd save Nick's for another night, too.

I also agree about Bubba Gump. We did that, and it was OK, but nothing exceptional. Some of our group went to Pacific O's and raved about it. I've heard wonderful things about it and would try that if we go back. It's on the other end of Front St.

We ended up doing the Road to Hana and Mama's Fish House on separate days. I was glad, too, since we felt kind of gross after Hana. Something you might consider is shopping in Pa'ia the day you do Mama's. (That's where Mama's is.) We loved that little town. It's filled with great boutiques, and my husband even liked it, too.

We didn't do the crater thing, but we did a snorkel cruise to Molokini crater and enjoyed it.

Hope that helps. Enjoy your trip!

travelisfun

I just want to second suzi96's advice on Pa'ia--we stopped there to pick up a lunch on our way to Hana, and ended up coming back to shop. Very cute, nice shops and a great atmosphere--more "local" than the rest of the island. Also, the snorkeling cruise was a great part of our trip, too.

Lastly--don't be worried about the Kea Lani!! You will ABSOLUTELY love it. My husband and I are in our 20s, too, and we will always stay in Wailea. I feel that it is more laid back and the hotels are beautiful. The Kea Lani, specifically, has great rooms, beautiful pools and grounds, and good service. Look into a breakfast deal with them, too. They have a great breakfast buffet every morning that is filling enough that you can save a few $$ on lunch.

dreamathers

We just returned from our honeymoon in Maui and loved the Wailea area. My only suggestion would be to trim down your lists of Must Do activities. My husband and I started with a jam packed itinerary and ended up picking one thing that we for sure wanted to do each day. Looking back our favorite times were the most relaxed ones- dinner on our balcony at sunset, spending all day snorkeling along South Maui beaches, etc. It was hard to realize we couldn't do "everything" especially since we don't know if we'll be able to afford another trip anytime soon. But since it was our honeymoon, we wanted to build in some relaxing time! Your first three days are jam-packed and you will have some jet lag. Maybe leave room for one of the more relaxing days on day three. Like others said, combine your Lahaina/Kaanapali activities- personally, we made a special trip up there for the Black Rock diver and it was nothing special, so I wouldn't go out of my way to see that. The drive isn't too bad either- about 40 minutes but pretty for the most part.

kanderomero

After reading one of the advice posts to you I started getting worried about my trip to Maui that starts this Saturday, we arrive in Maui from LA at 2:05 and we're planning on going to the Feast at LeLe as a surprise for my husband's birthday... After getting up early in the morning (5am PT) to drive from San Diego to LA do you think that going to a feast will wipe us out too much to enjoy the scenery and show? Please respond soon, all you nice people with great advice!

krysti

LavaCrazy

"Travelisfun" gave you some great advice! I agree, skip Bubba Gump's (has a cute name, but that is IT) and go to Cheeseburger In Paradise. MUCH better food and great ambience (nice place to watch the sunset).

Also, you MUST go to Mama's Fish House. If possible, do lunch. If it must be for dinner, get there early enough to watch the sunset.

Go to Haleakala but don't do the bike thing. I've done the sunrise and the sunset; the sunset is better! I first got the recommendation to do the sunset from a guide who works for HikeMaui. At the time I had already done the sunrise on several Maui trips and then this guy tells me I've really been missing out by not doing the sunset instead. Took his advice and he was right! Bring a jacket and gloves! (I heard more than one person say, "I wish I had gloves like her!") I also took a pair of those zip-up cotton-lined, nylon pants and slid those on over my shorts once I got halfway up the mountain. You're in the car but you're constantly stopping to take pictures and stuff, so you'll be getting out of the car a lot and WILL get cold.

Have fun!

bquarre

Too much driving back and forth. Pick three things you REALLY want to do and then underplan the rest of the time. Once you're at a beach you may just want to stay there the rest of the day instead of leaving because that is what you had planned. This happens everytime I go. Just enjoy the hawaiian air, the scenery and eachother. Congrats.