annahead

I took the plunge and purchased plane tickets to Maui for early May, staying at Maui Kai for one week. I've got Maui Revealed and Snorkel Maui for reference materials, but still would like recommendations. Are there any other books that I should invest in? What can I reasonably expect to pay for a car rental? Are there any car rental places that offer better deals? I don't need anything fancy, compact will do just fine (better gas mileage is a plus).

As far as activities we're planning on sunrise at Haleakala, tbe road to Hana, Molokini crater, and possibly a day trip to Lanai or Oahu. Any other must see opportunities? We're not big hikers, we like to stick to water sports.

We haven't made any plans as far as dining, we usually eat out one big meal per day and have small snacks the rest of the time. Any recommendations for seafood and sushi? I don't plan on eating anyhting oher than fish for lunch/dinner. I can get plenty of red meat in Chicago, but fresh fish is hard to come by.

Lastly thanks to everyone on this forum. I never would have found the tremendous deal I got for air fare without your help!

suze

I'm no expert but have been to Maui and Oahu. With only a week and all you have planned I would not do a day trip to Oahu (unless you have to go there for your flight home, and even then, only maybe).

I wouldn't buy any more books as you can pick up free entertainment guides and a local paper easily after you arrive. Enjoy and aloha.

sceneisle

Definitely do a Lanai day trip, save Oahu for another time. Some of our favorite fish restaurants: Kimo's & Lahaina Fish Co. (Lahaina), Hula Grill & Leilani's (Kaanapali)& for sushi, try Sansei's (Kapalua or Kihei). Probably the best fish restaurant on the island is Mama's Fish House in Paia....very expensive and most people say it's worth it. Enjoy Maui.

carbogilligan

For car rentals, I use travelocity or orbitz online. Both websites allow you to compare the rates for all car rental companies and pick the cheapest. For a great dining experience, go to the Plantation House north of Napili Bay. Its open for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I prefer lunchtime because the views are great.

ajcolorado

When we went to Maui last summer, I compared the Orbitz and Travelocity car rental rates - then called the cheapest company directly and asked their rates, using the Entertainment Book coupon for that company. The Entertainment rate was the best.

I'm not a sushi eater but my guidebook recommends the Sanei & Sushi bar in Kapalua (west Maui). It recommends Hapa's Rockin' Sushi in South Maui.

dianal84

Make sure you go to the crater early in the morning after noon you cannot see a thing!
Make sure you do a Polynesian show.We did the one that is the most recommended (can't remember the name) and we found reservations by calling the place itself through their 800 number. They get sold out months in advance, but they usually have a few seats left for their customers. We did a snorkle trip with the Pacific Whale foundation and it was great!
Make sure you go to see the black beaches in Maui. They are spectacular and also the Lava fields, they are so impacting! You will feel like you went to Kuai too!
The road to Hana....we were a little dissapointed. It was beautiful, but it's hard to stop at the places stated in the Maui revealed and Hana is very small and kind of....not what I expected. Do try Maui tacos, they are cheap and just fun.
Have a great time.

here_today_gone2Maui

AJ--It's time for a new guide book. Hapa's hasn't had sushi for 4, maybe 5 years. The restaurant next door to Hapa's (the night club) is Horhito's. While they have pretty good Mexican food, you'll not find any sushi there.

Some great places for sushi, way off the tourist track, are Isana in north Kihei, Hana Hou's Sushi by Harry in Ha`iku and Ichiban in Kahului. Seafood can be had everywhere, from the Jawz Taco truck in Makena to the Plantation House in Kapalua. Best fish value is undoubtedly Pa`ia Fish Market--fresh seared fish for under $10. Also, Eskimo Candy Seafood Market in Kihei. Look for the truck parked along S. Kihei Road near Lipoa St.

But, if you really like beef, I do suggest you give a go at the Maui-grown beef. I don't eat meat, but my husband and my father both agree that they have never had beef as good as our Ulapalakua Ranch pineapple, guava and grass fed local beef. The cattle are not fed any grain, hormones por anit-biotics. DH has become so poiled by it that he won't eat mainland beef at all anymore.

bluemonkey

i recommend you get reservations for a comedy-magic show in a great venue on maui: warren and annabelle's. great fun and amazing. you will leave scratching your head; how did he do those things??? tip: bone up on your andy griffith show trivia and win free prizes with the correct answers.

go to the top of haleakala. go early, early and watch the sun rise: beautiful. tip: take a blanket and warm jacket.

on the way down, stop and watch the hang gliders.

have fun,

keith

mollmatt

Since you are coming from Chicago and will most likely wake up VERY early on your first morning in Maui due to the time change, do the Haleakala trip the first morning you are in Maui. Or, if you are interested in a snorkel trip to Molokini, do that the first day, as most of the trips leave pretty early in the morning and you will most likely be up very early the first couple of days.

If you are taking a night flight home to Chicago, make a reservation at Mama's Fish House for the night you leave, probably about 4 hours before your flight. You can have a wonderful, albeit, pricey, last meal in Maui before you head home. The airport is only 15 minutes or so away from Mama's. Be aware though, rush hour traffic TO Mama's can be tough. It took us nearly 2 hours to get there from Kapalua last August, leaving at 4:00pm!. Getting back to the airport was no problem at 7:30pm.

annahead

Thanks mollmatt. We planned on doing Haleakala the first morning, but hadn't thought of saving Mama's till the end. Our flight leaves around 4:30 pm, if Mama's serves lunch that will be perfect.

Thanks to everyone else on the restaurant recommendations. All of these places sound incredible, especially the sushi.

I'll make sure to post my trip report to help any newcomers like myself.

eeyann

We loved eating at the beautiful Planation House. Took a day tour to Lanai, saw whales on the boat ride over, ate on the beach and snorkeled and swam after a bus tour of the island by a very nice and knowledgeable local. In Lahaina, go see the show "Ulalena", at the Maui myth and magic Theater. It's sort of Cirque du Soleil with Hawaiian legends and history--great music and spectacle. SSee http://www.mauitheatre.com/

We also took an easy hike, customized to our pace, through some private land to see the Maunalei Arboretum; an exclusive tropical rainforest above Kapalua with exotic plants and trees from around the world. This was followed by a kayak / snorkel with the same tour outfit, Maui Eco-Adventures. They were very accommodating and brought a simple picnic lunch that we ate in the rainforest. We loved the privacy we had on this adventure after the crowds in Lahaina.

Aloha and enjoy!

annahead

Hi eeyan, What tour company did you use for your day trip to Lanai? We're planning on doing some sort of tour to Lanai and your tour sounds like what we're looking for.

johng

my 3 cents:

1- don't feel you have to drive all over the place. Traffic is bad in Maui, and too many people spend half their vacation driving from beach to beach. I'm not a big kaanapali fan, but Black Rock is a sweet, if crowded spot, and just up the road Napali and Kapalua beaches are as nice as Maui gets. No need to drive all over looking for one better beach. That said -- if you mush, Makena is awfully nice.

2- When you drive to Hana, leave b4 dawn. Really. Hana and the Oheo gulch are blissful until noon, after that it's wall-to-wall rental cars. Staying overnight is best.

3 - Maui Kai is a condo resort, right? I like Sensei, but if you run up the road to the Star market and the farmers market and cook what you find on the condo grill, you'll save enough money for a return trip.

kkraczek

Hi Anna,

Whatever you do, try to RELAX and truly enjoy the beauty of Maui. I was saddened by the feeling that I had to go-go-go all the time without taking a deep breath to just take it all in.

Enjoy the road to Hana's beautiful scenery, and stop at the overlooks for some amazing photographs. As someone else stated, don't get to the Ohe'o gulch any later than about 11a.m., as it will be PACKED.

Definitely try a Kayak tour. It is so quiet, and you are right on top of the water- perfect for seeing the beautiful sealife beneath you.

As far as a book goes, I recommend "Voices of Wisdom- Hawaiian Elders Speak". It is obviously not a guidebook, but it is full of fascinating information about the Hawaiian culture... the "true" Hawaii- not to be overlooked!

I hope this helps, and that anyone else who reads this will take a break from being sucked into tourist mode, and enjoy Maui as deeply as I did.

Aloha!

TravelDiva

Hi there,

I did a detailed report on my 9 day trip to Maui. You can view it at http://traveldiva.marsik.org. Hope it helps and have fun!

I highly recommend doing the chef's tasting menu at Sansei Kihei. Outstanding!!

travelDIVA

eeyann

Hi annahead;
We went to Lanai with Trilogy, leaving from Lahaina, and it was great. We took our kids and all the crew was really nice to them.

http://www.sailtrilogy.com/adventures/lanai/

I echo the post after mine about relaxing. Some of the best times were drifting in shallow, warm water, talking or watching the sunset from the lanai of the house. Wish I were going back right now! Aloha!

CaliNurse

Oh dear, I just lost my reply, so forgive repetition if it suddenly appears!
YES! There IS another great and unique guidebook: Richard Sullivan's "Driving and Discovering Hawaii: Mauia and Molokai" which has gorgeous photos of the island, with accompanying direction of how to get to that spot. (It's available from Amazon.)
Also, since you are staying on the NW side of the island, one morning take few hours, head north, and take the country road to Kahakuloa. Stop by the roadside stand where the wife of one of Hawaii's great artisxits, Richard Ho'opi'i, sells gifts and some of her husband's CDs. Continue on that road, and you will come to Wailuku town. Walk arond, check out the superb European bakery, maybe the Bailey House Museum. From there, visit the nearby beauiful Iao Valley and its stream. From this hald-day out, you will get a sense of "old Hawaii" quite differnt from the beach resort areas nr Kaanapali. Have a wonderful trip, and ALOHA! And as others wisely said, try to relax and not feel compelled to do every activity or drive that you read about!

KalenaLK

Wow! Everyone really had good tips and recommendations. We've gone to Maui for quite a few years and I think we've pretty much done all there is to do. Now we have the luxury of doing only the things we love doing. If you're a snorkeling fan, try one of the snorkel trips to and around Lanai. There are some that are high speed rubber rafts and others that have boats a little bigger. We had some awesome dives on the other side of Lanai. Going to Haleakala your first day is a great idea since you really will be up early anyway. We did the bike ride down the volcano and loved it (we were in our late 40's at the time). Take a "tour" to do Haleakala and you can snooze all the way back to your hotel. It's really, really cold up there so dress appropriately.

I love/hate playing the rental car game and when I find a good price, through the car rental agencies, I lock it in. I keep checking back with all of them and cancel and rebook if the price is better. There's no penalty for canceling with them but not sure that's the case with Travelocity or Expedia.

Like one reader stated, try to slow your pace and enjoy the island's laid back way of life. You truly don't want to spend most of your vacation in the car, though the sites out the car window are always beautiful. If you do have a day to explore, head Upcountry. We love Makawao! Check out the glass blowing studio there. Beautiful! We ate at a little restaurant in Haiku called Colleen's, I think. It was the best fresh fish wrap I've ever eaten. The road to Olinda, just beyond Makawao has stunning scenery. While the ocean is spectacular, don't forget the mountains.

For an inexpensive lunch in Lahaina, try the Alexander's up near the Ace Hardware. Great fish and chips!

With only a week to stay, there's just no way you're going to be able to work your way through the great list of things everyone has mentioned. That means, of course, that you'll have to plan a return trip. Traveling from the midwest, I'd try to work it out so you stay at least 10 days the next time. The four hour time change is a killer. Try to stay up as late as possible the night you arrive. We've learned that by taking a Tylenol Pm before finally crashing, we can manage to stay asleep until a decent time in the morning. We repeat that again on the flight home. It just seems to take the edge off and while I don't sleep soundly on the plane, I'm at least able to snooze a little.

Last of all, enjoy your trip to paradise. Most of us here are repeat customers and I think it's a magical thing that just happens after visiting the islands. It gets into your blood, your head and your heart. We'll all be waiting to hear about your trip in May. Keep the questions coming! We Maui people love nothing more than sharing the reasons for our love affair with Maui.
Kalena

annahead

Thanks everyone for the great advice. We've decided to definitely do sunrise at Haleakala, the Road to Hana, Snorkeling at Molokini and a day trip to Lanai. The other days we plan to just spend snorkeling off of Maui's many fabulous beaches.

BevS

Mostly repeating other opinions, but:
Some of our best experiences in Maui:
Bike ride down Haleakala
Parasailing near Lahaina
Eating at Roy's
Taking Maui Revealed as our guide and one by one checking out all the beaches in South Maui (check out their website too)
And defintiely "Warren and Annabelle's for one of the most fun evenings:http://www.warrenandannabelles.com