My husband and I will be in Maui for 5 days. Does this sound like a good plan for our time without getting too exhausted?

1 - arrive in the afternoon; spend the rest of the day shopping around Lahaina

2 - helicopter tour around Maui in the morning; relax on Kaanapali beach the rest of the day

3 - drive to Hana

4 - more of the beach; luau in the evening

5 - drive to the volcano (?) and/or shop and beach the rest of the afternoon

6 - depart

Sounds like a GREAT plan! Here's some suggestions:

I would probably do #5, which is the Haleakala crater, earlier during your stay IF you plan to see the sunrise...just remember to dress warm. It takes over an hour from Kaanapali to get to the top of Haleakala and you should arrive at least 30 mins before sunrise.

As to #2, after having relaxed at Kaanapali, check out Black Rock around sunset and stroll over to Whaler's Village (Hula Grill, Leilani's and more shopping).

As to #3, road to Hana, leave real early (7am) and make sure to plan in a few uncrowded side ventures or you might fall into the category of "hated it..thought it was a tourist trap." Read some posts from others and myself as to suggestions.

As to #4, I would drive down to South Maui and check out La Perouse Bay, kick back at Makena (Big) Beach or other less-touristed beaches (Palauela or Ahihi) around there. Then stroll from Polo Beach (free parking), checking out the expensive Wailea resorts and beaches, up to the Renaissance or the Shops at Wailea (wife loved it there). Then take a courtesy shuttle from there back to Polo Beach via Kea Lani.

But if you want to skip South Maui altogether, check out the other beaches in West Maui like Kapalua and Napili or snorkel at Honolua Bay (out and to the right).

Have a BLAST!!!

You may consider going on a snorkeling trip. We had a great time going to the Molikini Crater. We had a continental breakfast on the boat on the trip out to the crater, snorkeled for about 2 hrs, then had sandwiches for lunch on the trip back in. It was wonderful. We also rented our own gear, got a snorkel map & drove around to the different beaches. It was great. Just an idea.
We missed the sunrise at Haleakala our first trip, but saw it on our second. It was beautiful, but I don't mind that we missed it the first time.
We drove the road to Hana, but only made it half way. We climbed up the side of a waterfall, and went swimming in a secluded pool that had another waterfall behind it. Awesome! Then we just drove back, we were soaking wet & saw what we came for.
Maui is amazing! Have a wonderful vacation!