maui budget
 

Hi. I was wondering if anyone who has been to Maui could share on what a week is going to be. I will be there in march of 2006 to stand in a wedding. My only problem is I have a bachelorette party in Vegas in June, a wedding in Portland in Sept.,and a wedding in Cancun in Nov. on top of the wedding in Maui. I am trying to figure a budget right now so I know how much to set aside per month. I hear Maui is expensive, but how much. I was also wondering when would be the best time to start booking things to save money. Also, those of us in the wedding party are thinking of renting a condo or house, is that cheaper to do then finding a little hotel somewhere? Thank You.

We went Feb. 2003. We took $2,000 in spending money. We spent approx. $1,600 of that on food/drink. Our hotel included daily breakfast and 2 dinners. We did not eat any place fancy except the Planation Inn, which we had a $50 gift certificate and even with that applied we still spent $120.00 of our own money. Food/drink os very expensive. That's why most people recommend condos with kitchens and cooking in most meals.

Wepre-booked ourexcursions on-line 3 months prior to leaving and it came to another $1,000.

Sharing a condo is a good idea (or even rent several units in one building, or a house), you can save on meals and have more room. There are TONS of reasonably priced condos on Maui. We stayed at the Kihei Surfside near Wailea for around $125/nt, nice place, sits on the shore, and a one minute walk to the beach next door, and each unit has a terrific view. We used www.crhmaui.com.

You don't have to spend $100 on dinner everynight, there are plenty of cheap places to eat, in fact, you can do a search here for cheap maui dining and you'll come up with a few lists.

Also, wow, $1000 on excursions! That isn't necessary to have a good time, we hardly spent anything on activities and had a great time everyday snorkeling and hiking and beaching and exploring. Although we did go on an awesome kayak trip, which was around $85 each.

The point is, Maui doesn't have to be expensive, it's easy to do on the cheaper side. Also, sounds like all your friends got the marriage bug at once!

Here's my trip report with all the fun stuff we did in July 2003: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34436140

love
roxy

To my experience it is the fancy restaurants and high-tech activities (helicopters, cruises, submarines, etc.) that can make Maui an expensive proposition.

As mentioned you can beach it, hike, bike, and generally hang around for not much money at all.

If you get a condo and shop at Safeway for some meals there's another way to save. Grab wine or liquor & mixers if your group enjoys cocktails, and make them up "at home" as well. Eat wonderful "plate lunch" dinners on a patio somewhere for under $10.

The only expense tour we went on was a day trip to Oahu to see the Pearl Harbor exhibit. 2 of the tours we did was included in our package.

Here's a link to our trip report with an additional link to our pics.

http://mytravelboard.com/alohasplash/messages/437.html

Thank you very much for your help. It is a relief to know Maui will not be as much as I thought it would. I know we are going to be busy with wedding stuff, but my boyfriend and I would like to do one activite while we are there. Is there one that is a must? The kayak trip sounds fun, what did that involve? Thank You.

The kayak trip we took was in July 2004 through www.mauikayaks.com. Our trip was through the La Perouse Bay/Ahihi Kinau preserve area, which is no longer open to commercial tour operators. I did look at their site though, they do have a trip through the south Maui area, and also several other parts of the island.

When we went, they only took like ten of us in tandem kayaks, which was good because watching some other companies trying to wrangle like twenty people was nerve wracking and a little scary. Whatever company you go with, I would inquire as to the size of the group, you'll get more personal attention that way, and will worry less about being mixed into someone else's group or forgotten about (really, the other tours were THAT confused looking).

Kayaking on the open ocean is awesome, and the waters were calm, especially if you go in the early morning before the wind kicks up. Have fun!

love
roxy

You will be in maui when the humback whales are there. i would reccomend a cataman tour (mine was combined with a snorkeling, food and drinks) for about $85 per person.

I think my budget was $300 a day for food drinks and activities in Maui. It's EASY to spend more with all the good food and activites.

Enjoy your trip

If you are concerned about the budget, you can still take a whale watch for $15-20, without the snorkeling and the open bar.