ttyme

Kauai/Maui Trip Report

Feb 3, Friday-American Air to Kauai, Lost Luggage Adventure

American airlines flights went fine. 32 degrees at home and getting colder. Rain at Chicago made us happy to be heading to the Aloha! Upgraded to 1st class for 9.5 hour flight from ORD to HNL, very comfortable. However, we had just eaten breakfast (Cinnabun) and the flight departed at 9am and they began serving the meal at 10am. They ran out of pasta so we only had Beef as a choice…a take it or leave it choice is not what I expected in 1st class and we’ve never had that happen before, but oh well, hang loose! Salad, bread, seasoned mashed potatoes, green beans, and beef (roast beef) were all very average, we’ve had much better on other flights with American so were a bit disappointed not to mention that at 10:30am CST we were not really hungry. Flight was fairly bumpy but not turbulent, we slept some (having to get up at 4am CST to depart) and watched a movie and played some games and it went by pretty fast. At about 7 hours into the flight they served a fruit and cheese tray which was a wonderful snack, very good and hit the spot. Arrived HNL at 2:30pm and strolled through the open air walkways to our connection on Aloha Air. Deep breath, soak in the warm 75 degree air and the fragrant Hawaii…yeaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Now the 10+ hours of flights are worth it.

We had a 4pm flight to Kauai, but as we got ticketed noticed that the 3pm flight was just finishing boarding (it was about 2:45) so we walked on to get a jump on things knowing we’d have to come back to the airport to get our luggage. Flight was fine, sat on left side of the airplane and saw Waikiki on take off and Kauai shore as we landed, great views…only complaint, we typically fly Hawaiian Air and like the Passion Orange Guava Juice they serve as a nice Island welcoming touch, and nothing like that on Aloha, coke and my wife had some Kit Kats and that was our snack. Arrived at Lihue at 3:45 and to Thrifty to get our Jeep, no problems, headed over to check in and drop off our carry-ons at the Courtyard Marriott. Lots of traffic but only about 8 miles, took us about 15 minutes to get there, check in was quick, and 15 minutes back to the airport and I was standing at the baggage claim for the 4pm flight (now 4:50) as the baggage came and our two checked bags, yep, not there. I went to Aloha Claims and I had left our claim checks in our carry-ons back at the Courtyard…oops, I’ve never needed them in 100’s of flights, never had lost luggage. I called American and they gave me the claim check numbers but she insisted they had to have “the claim tag” so back to the courtyard and then back to the airport wasting the time we had gained by jumping an early flight and our hopes for catching the sunset on the North Shore…oh well, hang loose. Kauai was beautiful, low hanging clouds but almost mystical, and chickens chickens everywhere…very unique. Got back to the Bag claim and the bags were rolling off for the 5pm flight (now 5:50) so I took a look and BINGO, there came our two bags. Why American/Aloha didn’t get them transferred with a 2:30pm arrival and 4pm departure I don’t know, but this averted me having to work with claims and my wife was happy to have the luggage and her clothes!

Since our North shore sunset plans were blown, we decided to take a detour to Opekaa falls lookout, which was beautiful. Then back to Coconut Shopping Center to get some souvenirs and some stuff for breakfast in the room on Sat and Sun and back to the Courtyard. We wend down to the Grill for supper, Grilled Hawaiian pizza and a Lava Flow…Pizza as buttered thin crust, pineapple and ham, very good…we claimed a table out in the dark right at the edge of the property overlooking the beach and admidst tiki torches, absolutely the Aloha relaxation we wanted. It was chilly so sweatshirt and shorts, but watching the waves crash in and soaking in the ambience was a great way to wind down a long day. We split the 10 inch pizza and Lava flow and a Sprite and headed back to the room (very nice, recently renovated), excellent décor of classy and a touch of island in it, not very big but for $123 a night (yes plus the $6 a day self parking, but who cares for $123 a night right on the ocean!). Turned in around 8:30pm (12:30am our time, we were cashed out!).

Sat, Feb 4-Wiamea Canyon and Ku-uhao Ridge Road Adventure

Up at 5am, continental breakfast in the room and got our stuff ready for the day. Headed out to the beach in front of the Courtyard for the sunrise, too cloudy so not much sun but a wonderful setting. After losing and finding the car keys on the beach, we were off at 7:40am in our Jeep to the Wiamea canyon. Took the 550 up stopping a few places for the views and waterfall shots. Wiamea Canyon lookout was spectacular, even though it was overcast and only 52 degrees with wind-chill taking it down to about 45…yikes! We had sweatshirts, jeans, and jackets on and the wind was still bringing tears to our eyes! Gorgeous, just cold. On up to the ?? lookout, we went to see the canyon and then I took a not much used short cut through the jungle to the Ni’ihau lookout, it was a bit of an adventure hike, but short at least. After we did the lookout we could plainly see a very short, much more used trail that would have been easier and shorter…but the adventure was fun too. Finally arrived at the end of the road at the Kalalau Lookout, but the road was suppose to go further. So we parked at the gate and walked about 1 mile on the old road to the Pu’u o Kila lookout. Even though it was overcast and chilly this was a spectacular view and worth the walk…it only took us about 15 minutes each way but we cover a lot of ground quickly when the terrain is good, and this was a paved road hike/walk.

Back down to the lodge for snacks and then the adventure, we found the Ka-uhao Ridge Road and put the Jeep in 4 wheel drive and headed down the dirt road. The first 2 miles were not bad at all but also not much to see, just tropical jungle and dirt road. There are several smaller roads that criss cross and it’s confusing but we managed to stay on the right one and at about mile 3 we were treated to some views off the ridge up and down the valley on the right side of the road, some small waterfalls and just sheer massive views of the Na Pali. We had three or four more of these little pull off opportunities and each one was worth a stop to gaze and shoot some photos that will never do the sight justice. Miles 2-3 were rough, but miles 3-5 were the reason you can’t do this in a rental. It was dry so mud was not a real problem, but the ruts and wash outs were at times a couple feet deep and without jeep clearance and 4WD you would never make it. At the bottom was an ample turn around space with a bunch of red dirt hills that were fascinating. We hiked a little ways down from where we had to leave the Jeep, maybe 2 or 300 yards and we were treated to a spectacular view of the Ocean, and looking back towards Polihale State Park Beach we could see the whole thing practically as well as the beginning three ridges of the Na Pali, did I mention it was spectacular. We must have been standing on a 300 foot cliff and had a clear view of Ni’ihau from here as well. Seeing the flat part of Kauai and the golden strip of beach meeting the deep blue ocean and then jutting straight up to the dramatic Na Pali cliffs was a sight I’ll never forget and made the whole trip to Kauai worth it. After collecting some of the neat red dirt we headed back up the ridge road, took us about 40 minutes, no stops on the way up, just slow going over and around all the ruts and washouts.

By now it was about 12:30pm and time for us to head down to our HoloHolo Na Pali cruise for our 1:45 check in. We stopped a couple more places on the way down to take in the waterfalls and the sweeping Canyon views…and thankfully it was warming up the more we continued down. Got to HoloHolo at about 1:30 and I thought the ocean looked rough, but they told us they made it to Na Pali yesterday and it was rougher, so we had hope. Watched the free hula show out in the mini-mall and the Captain came and gave us a big pitch on how many whales and dolphins they were seeing and then told us it was too rough to go to the Na Pali but we could still go do a South Shore whale cruise. Well, nobody, including us, wanted to do a $95 whale watch when the Na Pali was what we came for so most of the boat cancelled…bummer. We headed back towards the East shore stopping at the Hyatt to explore and the Marriott, went to see the blow hole which was not spouting much, eventually concluding the evening at Dukes on the beach for supper…great view of the bay with stunning mountains on one side, very good food and Lava Flows.

Sun Feb 5-Kauai N Shore Adventure

Up early, continental breakfast and off to the North Shore of Kauai. A beautiful scenic drive all the way to the Ke’e beach. Waves were 15-20 feet, dramatic, and we hiked up the Kalalau trail a couple thousand yards for some sweeping views of the beach and a bit of the Na Pali. Then we came back down and hiked the trail along the rocks on the left of the beach about 15 minutes and also got some spectacular vistas and even better views looking back up to the Na Pali Ridges. After our brief hiking adventure and avoiding the giant spider webs in the tropical jungle, we were off to see Tunnels beach which was stunning. Looking back at the Napali, and with huge, huge waves that were rolling in all the way to the top of the beach, we were just soaking in the sun and empty beach. An eyeful for sure. We stopped to see some of the sites along the way and were back at the Hanalei Bay Resort for lunch at the Bali Hai restaurant. When we got seated taking in the spectacular views of the Na Pali and the ocean, it was 11am and they were not serving lunch until 11:30 so we settled on some decent omelets and headed out for the lighthouse. We spent about 15 minutes watching the huge waves crash all the way up the cliffsides on both sides of the lighthouse peninsula. Overall, the lighthouse was less impressive than the beaches and the bay. Back to the Courtyard enjoying the sweeping East coast views and on to our flight to Maui, we had an hour to kill so stopped at the Wailua Falls, they were doing construction on the viewing area and had it all fenced off with 8 foot high fence back away from the ridge completely making the lookout horrible, so I climbed up on the fence to at least make the drive out worth a picture, which turned out okay, but you could see the falls were beautiful if we could have gotten closer or a better look…didn’t have time to take the trails down so back to catch our 3pm flight that connected in Honolulu, got our own bags this time and transferred them to our 5:20 flight to Maui on Hawaiian Air and plopped down in the airport restaurant to watch the Steelers win the superbowl.

Easy flight to Maui, POG in the air to set the tropical tone, and sat on right side (assigned seats) with neat views of Kaho’olawe and Molokini crater as well as Haleakala. Our bags for some reason were already there ahead of us, so we picked them up and bused to Thrifty for our convertible rental and we were out of the airport in less than 20 minutes! Arrived at Ka’anapali Beach Hotel at 7pm, partial ocean view room in the Kauai wing, not a 5 star resort but clean and comfortable and excellent value for what they charge and we got a deal that conveniently included the (average but sufficient) breakfast buffet…again for the location, you can’t beat this value…especially since we spend most of the day out adventuring and away from the resort. This was our second stay at KBH in two years so we knew what to expect, value and function over form. KBH does an excellent job of giving the Aloha feel to those who want a place on Ka’anapali beach without breaking the bank. They constantly keep the courtyard beautiful and being this close to a super beach and wonderful Whalers Village Shopping center makes the KBH an excellent overall choice for us. Tiki Grill to watch the show and had some very mediocre food, and of course they were taking a break at 7:30 right when we got there so we ate half our supper and back to the room to crash for the night.

Mon Feb 6-Getting Settled in Maui / Fish Bowl Snorkel

6:30 breakfast at the KBH Mixed Plate breakfast buffet and off to shop and make reservations for the week’s activities. Got our supplies and hit CocoNuts activity reservations for our Blue Water Rafting excursion, saved about $30 booking thru them. They were cheaper than booking direct or thru the KBH activity desk. Did some shopping at the flea market in Lahaina and then headed down the coast to the Grand Wialea for lunch out by the pool and some shopping. We stayed there for our vacation a couple years ago and really fell in love with the place. So I booked a surprise night there for our last night of this trip so we could enjoy our two favorite hotels in the same trip, we like both the GW and the KBH for obvious different reasons.

The ocean was rough but better than in Kauai and the temperature was nice and warm, 82 degrees, ahhhhh. This is what we came to Maui for. We headed down the coast to the Ahihi Cove and hiked out across the lava trail to snorkel FishBowl since the ocean was so turbulent. We started out on the wrong trailhead which took us through some very difficult terrain, but found the regular trail in about 400 yards, and wouldn’t you know it just about 10 yards from the main trail I fell and didn’t have a shirt on…right on an extremely sharp lava rock…what a blessing that I landed on the only 12 inch square area covered by my fanny pack and it completely saved my lower back…unbelievable, no injury or even a scrape…I would have otherwise needed stitches. The regular trail was much, much easier and we got there just as some others were leaving and had it all to ourselves. Good fish life, but most importantly, calm protected waters. We saw several small to medium sized crabs jumping, yes jumping from rock to rock. After snorkeling we hiked back over the hot lava, good thing we brought plenty of drinking water. Headed back up the coast watching the sunset and then scurried to get ready and change into island wear to get to Hula Grill for supper. Excellent Mac Crusted Mahi, Mahi…our favorite fresh fish dish and called it a night.


Tues Feb 7-Blue Water Rafting Kina’u Coast Adventure / Black Rock Snorkel

6:45am check in at Kehei boat ramp for the Blue Water Rafting Kina’u coast/Molokini five and a half hour snorkel adventure. We headed down the coast around La Perouse just as the sun came into full view above the back side of Haleakala, a wonderful sunrise. Then on around the point to the South shore, much rougher ocean and they took us way out and dropped a sonar phone in the water and we could hear the whales singing very clear and loud, a neat experience as they talked about the singing and pointed out various things on the back side of the island. Now for what they called, Level 3, around the final point and it was not for the queasy…probably 10-12 foot waves and the captain was very good at adjusting the throttle to try to smooth out the raft over those huge rise and fall waves but it was still not for the faint of heart…which they warn you several times before you go. This was a double dose Dramamine trip for sure. We got to the sea caves and several very interesting lava formations, honestly some you could see very clearly in the lava you’d almost claim somebody made them on purpose, we saw the Budwiser lizard, Walter Mathaw, an Indian Chief, a sea turtle all carved in the lava very easy to see. They took us in a sea cave and showed us some really interesting arches and then back around to La Perouse to a calmer spot for lunch and our first snorkel. It didn’t look like a very interesting reef, about 400 yards south of the parking lot, sheltered by a lava outcropping, so DW and I decided not to go in, but ate breakfast while everybody else went in and came back quickly freezing cold and confirming for the most part it was a fairly boring snorkel. Glad we stayed warm. Now off to Molokini, the trip this direction was easier since we now had following seas, the waves were still big, but we went over them in seemingly smoother fashion, easier on the stomach. We saw several whales within a few hundred yards, but none breaching anywhere close, just out a mile or so from us and that was still neat. Snorkeled Molokini, not as much fish life as we had seen here a couple years ago, but plenty of fish. Last time we saw an eel and a shark, nothing like that this time. Then, they took us to the back side of Molokini, the wall, they are the only boat that I know of that does this with snorkelers. It’s not for the fish life, but for the dramatic drop off into the deep, deep blue abyss. You are bobbing basically in the open ocean, up and down 10 feet and you can get about 3 feet from the back side of Molokini in what they call “the elevator” where it’s sheer straight up and down…but mostly it’s just dramatic how you can see down 100+ feet and it’s kind of freaky to see the water turn so dark, and darker blue until nothing. You could really hear the whales sing out here, without even diving down, just ears in the water and hold your breath…crystal clear. The whole abyss thing freaked DW out, she kind of starts hearing the jaws theme in situations like that so she was back on the raft fairly quickly. Then we were off to turtle town, saw some turtles which was neat. We’ve seen them before but this time I purchased a waterproof bag for my camcorder, took it down and video taped them and it turned out remarkably good. Much clearer video than I thought and for only approximately $100. I actually didn’t think it would work, but now I’m a believer!

We got back to Kihei at about 1pm and then we headed to Black Rock at Kaanapali beach out in front of the Sheraton just up from our place. We did some more snorkeling and video taping and it was very good. We have shorty wetsuits so that made it warm, and the fish life was very good around Black Rock…weather was perfect, warm and sunny with calm seas…just gorgeous. We laid on the beach and soaked in the rays and the views and the Aloha snickering when we thought about 20 degree highs back home.

After the afternoon at the beach, we got ready for supper at the Plantation House. Since we had some time to kill we explored Kapalua beach and Napili Bay Beach, and took some pictures, very nice, crescent sand beaches with only a few people but looked like they were all enjoying themselves. The sunset at Plantation House and the ocean views were breathtaking. We had two different types of fresh fish, both very good, and the bananas foster for dessert, yummie! Back to crash for the night.

Wed Feb 8-Shopping and Resting

Slept in till 6:30 and then headed to Lahaina for some shopping. We got some great deals at the flea market, some neat jewelry for DW and some souvenirs. It was rainy on and off and the ocean was really rough today. We spent most of the day shopping at Lahaina and Whalers Village. I took a nap with the Lanai door open just listening to the waves roll in, man what a great feeling. Lunch was at Cheeseburgers in Paradise, the food was pretty mediocre, but a great location and view. Tried to get into Warren and Annabell’s dinner show but they were booked, so we ate at the Hula Grill again and watched the sunset. We were really tired so just opened the sliding doors and listened to the waves crash in while we watched Lost and American Idol.

Thurs Feb 9-Road to Hana / Wiakamoo Falls Hiking Adventure / Warren & Annabelles

Off to Road to Hana at 7:30am. Since we’ve been on the road two other times, our main mission was to get to the Haleakala Nat’l Park to hike the Pipiwee trail. The waterfalls were not flowing much, but we did drive down and hike to Blue Pool, which we’d never done and it was very neat. Got our favorite banana bread at the “Halfway to Hana” stand and had it for lunch at Wianapapa State Park watching the huge wave crash in and over the sea caves. Got onto the trail at 1pm, the infinity pool falls were not flowing at all, bummer, but we hiked down to the infinity pool anyhow for the neat view. We hiked and saw all the stop off views, took some self portraits by the Banyan Tree and took our time admiring the bamboo forest in several places. The Wiakamoo Falls at the end were not flowing heavily but were still gorgeous and worth the hike. The whole trail was quite a bit of fun, a good trail with some parts on a boardwalk making easy duty of it. All in all we hiked in 2 miles in about 75 min making several stops along the way and hiked out in about 45 minutes. We spent about 15 minutes at the falls at the end just taking it all in. We headed back on the road to Hana taking some time to drive down the 3 mile road to our favorite ocean-side point just before the 17 mile marker.

At 9am we had called Warren & Annabelles to be put on the wait-list for that evening’s 8pm show. We got back from the Hana Road at about 6:30pm and cleaned up in case we made it into the show, and called at went to the theater at 8pm and we got IN! By now we were super tired and the worst part of the show was waiting till about 9:30 to get passed the “waiting in the parlor” part and to the real show…this was 12:30am our time back in the Midwest! But, the wait was worth it, Warren was HILARIOUS, and the magic show as really, really great. Not your typical saw the girl in half stuff, he really does some amazing things. Show got out at about midnight and we were soooo tired.


Fri Feb 10-Ocean Rafting Whale Watch / Grand Wialea
7:45am check in at Lahaina Harbor Slip 1 for Maui Adventure Cruise 40 person raft whale watch. This was a much bigger, more stable and a bit slower raft than the blue water raft. No ocean sprays and not as bumpy as you’d think for a raft, it was probably twice as big as the smaller rafts and twice as stable. We went way out into the channel between Maui and Lanai and saw whales coming up for air in several places but the highlight was that at one point our boat and another boat were cruising about 200 yards behind what looked like 4 whales that were moving away from us when all of the sudden two of the whales turned and came right back at us. The boats are not to come within 100 yards so our boat (and I noticed the other boat captain do the same thing) killed the engines immediately and the crew said stay alert, every now and then the whales get curious so keep watching under the water under the boat…and sure enough two whales swam under our boat then went over to check out the other boat and from what I could tell (by all the people looking from one side to another and oohing and ahhing) they swam under it a couple times then came up for air in-between our two boats which were dead in the water about 100 yards apart and then they came over and swam under our boat three times! I got some great pictures, once in a life time, they were so huge, it was kind of creepy thinking these huge things were right under our boat, probably about 50 feet underwater. You can see the pictures at http://photos.yahoo.com/ttgarnett !!


Back to the hotel at 10am and I launched the surprise on DW that I was taking her back to the Grand Wialea for a surprise overnighter for our last night on Maui. We had stayed there for a week two years ago, and really loved the place so I had arranged with them for an early check in at noon to a deluxe ocean view room on the 9th floor. After lunch at the poolside patio again, and soaking in the views from our Lanai, we spent some time down the road at our favorite beach, Poolenalena. Did some snorkeling and good boogie boarding there and got some sun. Then back to Wialea beach out in front of the Grand Wialea and relaxed on the beach. We headed back up to our room at 6pm for room service on our Lanai while we took in the spectacular sunset. We fell asleep with the sliding door open listening to the GW waterfalls and the waves crashing in, sooooo relaxing, and they have the most comfortable beds in the world!

Sat Feb 11- Wialea beach and Travel Home
Room service breakfast on our panoramic ocean view balcony and then headed down to Wialea beach for some snorkeling in the calm morning waters around 9am. We snorkeled for about an hour, we had never snorkeled here and there was some really good snorkeling off the south point, we saw a black and white striped eel, some large fish that changed from colorful to black when against the coral, and some good coral and underwater topography. Good fish life here. I’d say this would have to be added to my top snorkel sites on Maui which include, La Perouse Bay, Honolua Bay and now the Wialea South Point. DW went back in to the beach to lay out in the 82 degree sun and I went back out and saw a HUGE sea turtle, it must have been almost the size of a small volkswagon, I’ve seen many turtles and this was the biggest I’ve ever seen. I came in to relax around 11am and DW went up to the room to freshen up and I took in the warm heat and beautiful views of the West Maui Mountains, Lana’I, Molokini and Kahoolawee. I went up and showered and we just relaxed on the balcony for the last half hour to soak in the views until our 1pm checkout. Then we put our bags in the car and had the valet park it and we back out to the Wailea beach to burn that image into our minds while we laid in beach chairs and listened to the surf for a couple hours until we had to head to the airport for our 5pm flight home. Flight to DFW with tailwinds only took 7.5 hours, seemed quick compared to the 9.5 hour flight against the headwinds and leaving from O’Hare. First class upgrade was definitely worth it for the reclining seats on the long flight home! We slept most of the way after they served supper.

Now we are back in Iowa and the forecast is for highs in the mid-teens later this week, I’ll be out of place with my Maui Sunburn, but plenty of memories to keep me warm! Thanks for all the Fodorites who post Trip Reviews which helped us plan a great trip! Even cold weather and Wind in Hawaii is better than winter in the midwest, anyday!!!

iceeu2

Beautiful, stunning photos! Thanks for sharing.

sherrie

Hi ttyme. We don't get to travel too often by plane, but have a trip scheduled in June from East Coast to Honolulu and BI. Flying Continental and I have checked differences between coach fare and first class fare. BIG difference. I'm curious about how you upgraded to first class. Did you have a large amount of FF miles that you used or were you offered the upgrade at the airport and paid something for it? We're willing to pay a couple hundred $$ to fly 1st, but going rate today is about $2,500 difference. I was just wondering how this works. Any advice or tips on how to get upgraded without having to pay thousands of dollars is very much appreciated.

kamahinaohoku

Mahalo for the wonderful report! Great photos too.

travelisfun

Great report! We were on the Waimea canyon road at the same time!! We were on our last day of the trip, though. Did you see us in the white Dodge Stratus? (JK!)

bonniebroad

ttyme, thank you so much for sharing your trip with us! Beautiful pictures ... (handsome couple! )

ttyme

You guys are welcome!

Sherrie: I fly alot for business so upgraded with frequent flyer miles. Sorry, no tips on how to upgrade. That's a lot of $$$ for an upgrade, but the difference in seats for 20 hours of flying might be worth it, hard to say, depends on the health of your back/neck. At $5000 for two upgrades, I'd suggest buying some back pain pills, purchasing a portable dvd player and taking a couple movies and keep telling yourself on the way over that the beautiful Hawaii will be worth it, and tell yourself on the way back, I can sleep when I get home and count to 5000.

Travilisfun: YES! I think we did see your white stratus!!! How funny

sherrie

Thanks for the info ttyme. Yeah, I try to understand the cost difference between first class and coach. I keep thinking, we all arrive on the same plane at the same time, how can there be such a difference in price? Anyway, I think our budget doesn't allow for such a large difference in price and we'll have to be happy with going to Hawaii, coach or not. Thanks for your great trip report and pictures.

JohnD

Mahalo for the great T.R. and appreciate the Wailua Falls update

dantheman

I got worn out just reading your trip report. You guys know how to stay busy!!!Thanks for the great report and pictures.

visormom

What a magnificent trip!!! You will be going with us on our trip in March...printed you out and added you to the blue bible too. Thanks so much for taking the time to enlighten all of us "can't wait to gos". What a precious couple too!!!! Mahalo...