Maui Trip Report: mid 20s
 

We?re a late 20s couple ? pretty active (we went snorkeling or hiking everyday). We went in mid-February.

General Maui: It?s expensive. Pretty touristy, we loved Hana the most (stay overnight there at least one day!). Probably next time we?d go to one of the less-developed islands. But it?s Hawaii, and it?s gonna be great no matter what.

Sheraton Kanapali: We found a good deal online (garden view) and then they sent us an email to upgrade to Deluxe Ocean View for $75. We woke up to whales blowing really close outside our door. Awesome. We splurged there for one night.

Condo in Kihei: We stayed with parents at a timeshare for one week. Kihei?s a good central location if you want to explore. Read Maui Revealed for (not) swimming at some Kihei beaches. Good way to cook and save money. Snorkeling was best in South Maui ? so this was a quick trip down the beach.

Plantation Inn: We stayed here our last night and booked a ?Superior Room? ? we checked in and got #21 a.k.a. ?the pink palace? ? wall to wall pink carpet, pink walls, no lanai, views of the garbage, so dark that at noon we had to have all the lights on. My parents have stayed here and loved it, but I wouldn?t book anything less than a deluxe and if you get the superior call ahead and cancel if it?s #21. Our biggest Maui disappointment.

Bamboo Inn / Hana: I think we found this through Maui Revealed. It was great. Not sterile (some ants) but clean, and our studio opened to a deck that opened to the ocean and we slept with the waves crashing. Big Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. Really reasonably priced. Only complaint is you could hear some of the neighbors on their lanais. Bring food (nowhere reasonable to eat)! Frozen lasagna and wine never tasted so good. Our favorite place we stayed on Maui. Wished we would have stayed two nights. Do drive all the way around ? it?s not that bad (in a convertible it?s better).

Lanai / Ferry: This was one of our favorite Maui days. We took the ferry to the island of Lanai ($50/each round trip) ? don?t take the boat tours there if you?re an independent type ? it takes you to the same place and for the price of food you could eat well at the hotel on the bay. Awesome snorkeling, whale-watching on the way, cool little beaches and lava flows nearby. Good cocktails at the hotel manele bay too.

Snorkeling: The best in South Maui. Get Maui Revealed for where to go ? and go early for best viewing. Lanai was great too.

Warren and Anabelle?s: This was one of the funniest shows we?ve been to in a long time. Plus really crazy tricks. Go see it.

Whale Watching: It?s fun to go out on the boats, but if you?re patient, and there in the a.m. you can often see them close from Kanapali. If you?re on a budget go to Lanai ? you?ll see whales on the way. We went on two boat trips ? by far the better was the one that looks like a big raft (but hard bottom) ? it had a race boat design so could zip around fast, crew was nice, and not too many people.

Hi big red. How did you find the "back side" of the road to Hana? It seems when the blacktop ends, the state road ends also - that the road past that point is private property. Did you encounter private property signs or no trespassing signs? Did you encounter snares from residents along the way?

We are headed to Maui in October and had planned to go full circle.

Pardon me for answering, Maui Revealed (http://www.wizardpub.com/maui/maui.html) shows the route (look for the unpaved section in the maps).

We did not see any trespassing signs and very few people are on this road and in Kaupo there is even a general store where we had Haagen Daazs ice cream. Here is a link to some photos of the region:
http://mauimountainbiking.com/mauiroads3.htm

:S-

Hey JohnD: I know MR shows the road but do you know if the road is private or public? I would think if there is a "town" then there must be ingress and egress available to the public. When did you last travel the road? Sometimes these posts make it sound like the residents of Maui are "out to get" the blue book readers.

we traveled the backside of the road to hana in july and it was beautiful and not that bad of a road. there were lots of other cars that we saw along the way, including some tour vans.

We travelled the road at the end of October, it was no big deal. Thanks for giving me an excuse to top my " Hanging Loose in Maui Trip Report" where you can read more about it. :S-

bigredoso, where did you find the online deal for the Sheraton and how much was it?

Bigredoso: Did you rent a car on Lanai?

I'd recommend renting a Jeep on Lanai. With a car, you're limited to paved roads and there aren't too many of those on Lanai. And don't make the mistake we did of getting the open top one unless you like having all of your belongings (and yourself) covered in a thin layer of red dust ;)

I have a funny picture of my in-laws sitting in the back of the Jeep with towels over their heads cause they couldn't take the dust anymore :d

Thanks, Patty, good to know about the jeep.

I can't figure out why people think that the graded part of the highway around the back of Haleakala is a private road. It's on maps as the highway.

And driving it wasn't too bad, although for a little while we couldn't go very fast because our teeth were rattling in our heads. The views are unbelievable. It was totally clear that day and we saw all the way to the Big Island, and then as you start to round north you can see the entire Kihei/Wailea area and all the neighbor islands, our jaws were dropped the whole way.

love
roxy

Bigredoso,

You guys sound like you experienced Maui the way we did too last summer (we're in our 20s too). We adored the Bamboo Inn and were there for two nights in the main house with the jacuzzi tub on the porch! We could've stayed longer too, there were too many hikes to go on (and rained out of our second and last chance at the Venus Pool). And yeah, there were ants in the kitchen, but there was also a resident albino gecko, which was awesome, and a million stars, and total quiet. And, also, not much to eat. We had breakfast for several meals.

I knew Maui would be crowded/touristy, and MR helped us seek out a lot of quiet places (we even took the hike through the lava field to the unnamed beach, THAT was solitude!), and LOVED snorkeling south Maui, especially with the aid of a kayak in La Perouse, and ESPECIALLY at six am everyday when the water is empty and serene.

We're going to Kauai in June and will hopefully have similar experiences. Thanks for posting the trip report! If you're curious, my trip report is at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34436140

love
roxy

Hey Roxie. I know of at least one person on these boards (sweetj) who says she lived in Maui for 5 years and was in the "travel business". She says, "15 miles past Hana, past O'heo Gulch the state road ends, and the road that's there is on PRIVATE PROPERTY, and you're not allowed to go on it. So, if you do intend to do the Full Circle, basically you're tresspassing. The tour companies have contracts with the owners of the land, so they can legally cross it."

Are there really private property signs on the road back there? Well, anyway just wanted to respond to your post about why ppl are concerned.

Reces,

No, we never saw any "private property" signs. I don't have Maui Revealed in front of me right now, but I seem to recall their map gave that section a highway number, just like the other highways. I hope my memory is right...if it is, how can it be a private road if it has a highway number? And with everything that MR is so thorough and knowledgable about, it would surprise me if they left out the fact that it's private property. I'll dig out my book and maps...

love
roxy

Sorry I posted this trip report and didn't check back! I thought they had deleted it since I had some negative comments on Plantation Inn.

To answer some of questions - I think Sheraton was $250/night before upgrade - I could be wrong.

Driving around to Hana - don't worry, just drive the whole way. It's not private property - it's just a road. We did it in a convertible and it was totally fine.

Lanai - no need to rent a car. The ferry leaves you a super short walk to the beach where there is great snorkeling (the same place the tours go). The nice hotel is steps away (you can see it from the beach) and we had great pina coladas there.

The road past Hana is a public highway. It is clearly marked as highway 31. There are no signs indicating that it is private property.

Bigredoso, it is nice to see that you indicated your age in your trip report. There are so many posts that say things like "We did this or we stayed here and we loved it, and you will love it too". There is no way of knowing if it is 75 year olds talking to 25 year olds, and obviously different age groups usually have different preferences and likes.

I agree! I'm sure we'll wamt to be staying in slightly different places too when we're 75. :)

No need to rent a car on Lanai if you just want to swim/snorkel from Hulopoe beach, where the Manele Bay hotel is located. But if you want to see the interior of the island, you'll need to rent a Jeep. The cost a few years ago if I remember correctly was $175 a day, so not cheap but pretty much the only way to explore the rest of the island on your own.