must see and do's in Maui?
 

Trip to Maui with another couple in January for our Anniversaries. what are some places to see, eat at, explore ,snorkel ,surf etc. that are a priority? thanks for any input. Randy

While you're waiting, type "Maui" in the "Search the Forums:" box at the upper left of your post.

And meanwhile, go to the Fodors online travel guide for Maui here.

http://www.fodors.com/world/north-am...a/hawaii/maui/

Fodors business is selling travel guides. Thank them for providing these forums by buying their paperback guide to Maui. It's very cheap.

http://www.fodors.com/guidebooks/978...ors-maui-2015/

How long is your trip? What is your food budget?

On our brief trip to Maui last year, we snorkeled at Ulua Beach (rented gear at Snorkel Bob's), spent part of a day in Paia, and drove the road to Hana.

Lee Ann

What are the sort of activities your group interested in? I hope you don't mind but I linked to some sections of my blog that has trip reports to Maui. It would give you an idea of what we did over several trips:

Maui 2009: http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?page_id=38
Maui 2013: http://sulynnchen.com/travelblog/?page_id=545

Most people who come to Maui do the following activities (and which I documented in the blog links above): Road to Hana, either driving yourself or by tour...I recommend going at your own pace and driving yourself. Sunrise or Sunset up at Haleakala (cold all year long! bring warm layers). Snorkeling at some of the many beaches (I like Blackrock in front of the Sheraton on Kaanapali beach, or go for one of the many snorkel excursions). You will also be there during whale watching season so take advantage of that when you're on a boat excursion.

I also highly recommend a drive Upcountry (maybe after you view sunrise at Haleakala), it's a beautiful drive and shows you how diverse Maui is, not just beaches, sand, and lush rainforest. We visitied the Lavender farm, Surfin' Goat Dairy, the town of Makawao, had a farm to table-luncheon in Kula...lots to do up there too.

If it's fine dining, I like Mama's Fish House, Merriman's or Lahaina Grill. There are lots of restaurants on Maui, and good for every price point. For cheaper local food, I'd try Sam Sato's, Da Kitchen, and some of the many food trucks in Kahului and around the beaches. For something unique, Ono Farm Luncheon (the one I mentioned upcountry), or a decadent lunch for cheap at the Maui Community College Culinary Academy.

For spas, the spa at the Grand Wailea is an adult playground, the Kapalua Spa looks heavenly, but our favorite is the uber-chic Awili Spa at the Andaz Wailea.

We've also been zip-lining twice on Maui (great fun!), and taken a tour of Ocean vodka distillery complete with tastings.

Lots of stuff to do on Maui, hope this helps!

We just celebrated our 40th anniversary last week at Mama's Fish House and they made it a night we will always remember. They have amazing food and attentive service.

We also went on a submarine ride with Atlantis and had a fabulous time. Dove to a depth of over 100 ft and saw lots of cool marine life.

Topped it all off with a return visit to Warren & Annabell's, a great magic show that always gets rave reviews.

Where are you staying on Maui? How long do you have? What's booked already? (Whale Watch, Luau, dinners?) Got your rental car(s) booked?

Agree that you MUST go to Mama's Fish House. Great fish and a beautiful setting.
There is a good reef for snorkeling out from the Maui Prince Hotel. We have our own gear and always get out well before tours go out.

South Pacifc Kayaks runs good trips for kayaking and snorkeling. We avoid the big catamaran boats as it doesn't seem like fun to be in the water with 100 people, but that's us.

Maui Revealed is a good guide book that will give directions to some of the spots you can get to on your own.

If you do the Road to Hana, leave early so that the road is not so crowded and you will be ahead of most. Plan for a full day so that you can stop along the way.

hello everyone and thanks for the replies and sorry I haven't been on here in a while. Well our trip is getting closer 01/13/16- 01/22/16. We're open to anything ,we're all in our late 50's but active so I would like snorkeling, hiking, maybe try surfing again , shopping swimming maybe zip lining too. I also would like to just chill and relax and not do anything some of the days to recharge my batteries, working a lot. We all do like to eat out and since this is our anniversaries we want things to be special. I do appreciate all advice and input and I do have the book Maui revealed, got it for a birthday present, so I will get reading that also. Feel free to post anythingyou want to this question. thanks Randy

Where are you staying Randy?

There's a "swap meet" I recall going to. Had the best chow fun there while wandering around looking at local art & stuff to buy.

Well, I don't usually do much when I'm there (was there a couple of weeks ago), but if you like to hike, I can recommend hiking into the crater at Haleakala. We did about 5 miles round-trip, but you can go a longer or shorter distance. Do remember that you go down into the crater, so the return is all uphill!

We had a nice meal at Monkeypod Kitchen in Wailea (Thanksgiving dinner - pizza and a hamburger). As always, we loved our breakfast at Kihei Caffe. Star Noodle in Lahaina is good and fun - great bartenders and service, although you wouldn't be sitting at the bar with a group. The sister restaurant at the Marriott in Wailea is nice, but the food isn't as good. A few years ago, we had a fabulous dinner at the Lahaina Grill - no view, but fantastic food.