jenblase

Leaving for Maui on Feb. 10 and just getting around to finalizing everything. We're coming from Chicago but spending 2 nights in Seattle first - hoping that will help w/the jet lag?

I do need some help though sorting everything out, so if you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate them!

Feb. 8-10 Seattle

Sunday Feb. 10 - arrive in Maui 1:30, pick up rental car, do Costco/Walmart for necessities, head to the Hyatt Maui to check in. Merriman's for dinner. Figure this will be an early night to bed.

Monday Feb. 11 - Road to Hana? We thought we'd be up early this morning so it would be a good day to plan this. But then I'm guessing we wouldn't feel like doing anything in the evening, and we have a lot of evening events we want to do (see below) so I don't want the evening stuff to be back of the week heavy. If we do decide to do RtH this day, then I'm guessing we'll be exhausted and dinner will most likely be snacks in the Regency Club!

Tuesday Feb. 12 - Hotel resort day - enjoy the pools. Maybe walk down to the Sheraton and snorkel Black Rock. Have dinner reservations at Mama's Fish House at 5:30.

Wednesday Feb. 13 - Molokini Snorkel tour w/ either Trilogy or Pacific Whale - haven't booked this yet. Any preference one way or the other? Evening plans undecided

Thursday Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day. Our plan is to take the early ferry to Lanai, take the shuttle into Lanai City ,have breakfast, and then meet up with a volunteer from the Lanai Animal Rescue Center. Spend the day there volunteering w/the kitties. Probably try to be back on the 2:00 ferry. Thursday evening's a toughie - I want to do Warren and Annabelle's (late show), but I don't want to eat the food there. So thought we'd make reservations somewhere nearby, because I'm sure everything's going to be packed for V Day. Lahaina Grill is not available. Any suggestions?

Friday Feb. 15 - Shopping day, relax, etc. DH wants to see the 'Ulalena show in Lahaina so we might do that. I really want to eat at Leilani's once so this might be a good night for that.

Saturday Feb. 16 - Up early to check out of hotel and head to airport for a 8:30 flight to Big Island.

We also considered doing the Old Lahaiana Luau, but since we'll be on the Big Island and then Kauai following Maui, we figured we can always do a luau on one of those islands instead.

bouldercolo

Molokini Snorkel tour is not worth it in my opinion. Expensive and very time-consuming. You won't see anything there that is any better than what you can see snorkeling Black Rock. If you need any more restaurant recommendations our favorites are Lahaina Grill and Pacifico's in Lahaina and Roy's in Kaanapali.

suze

No Haleakala?

I loved Ulalena!! I also really liked the Old Lahaina Luau.

sf7307

I'm exhausted just thinking about your schedule!

edjim

You might be able to get up early for sunrise at Haleakala if you are still on Chicago time.

We did a Molokini tour in the a.m. and enjoyed it ... with one of the smaller boats from Kihei. Lots of turtles. Left us plenty of time in the p.m. for other activities.

I might wait at least one more day for Hana Road until you get into the swing of things in Maui.

Ulalena is a very good show ...

jamie99

Why not stop for dinner at Mama's on your way back from Road to Hana unless you are driving all the way around.

Samsaf

We enjoyed snorkeling at Molokini. Just make sure you are on a boat that gets there early compared to the other boats.

Also, be sure to realize that the Road to Hana is best enjoyed if you know that the fun of it is the drive. Hana itself isn't much to see. Take snacks with you, or a picnic. We picked up picnic supplies and had a picnic with our kids on a huge rock overlooking the ocean! Make sure you have hiking shoes and bathing suits with you. (We wore our suits under our clothes.)

Have fun!!

sassy_cat

I never have much of a problem with jet lag heading west and we fly 'direct' to Hawaii from east coast (no overnight en route).
We find we're up early on day 1 (around dawn) but by day 2 an early start would be 7am for us (normally we'd lie in until at least 8 am).

We enjoyed our day out with Trilogy last Feb. Great info from the crew and we saw so many whales, close up on our Molokini snorkel trip. Enjoyed the turtles too.
The benefit of this boat trip is that you get to snorkel at 2 different spots that would be difficult from the shore, the food and ambience is good, interesting knowledgeable guides and it was fun to hang out on the deck.
Don't forget sunscreen, cover ups and hat though or you will burn on the open deck (only real shade is below deck).

Didn't really enjoy the road to Hana, just too busy and too many bends for us so we gave up half way. Haleakala was amazing though and we're making another trip up the volcano this year but will be more prepared to hike this time (last time it was too cold as we only had sweatshirts).

We'll be at the Hyatt the week after you, enjoy!

suze

My family skipped Road to Hana. Several of us get car-sick, and getting up Haleakala was enough for us (lol)!

MichelleY

Skip Molokini. Add Haleakala, which is amazing. Get there by 9 am

wekewoody

I don't know. I think you're trying to do too much in too short a period of time. Pick one major activity. It sounds like the trip to Lanai is important to you. Do that and don't plan the rest in advance. Enjoy the beach and relax.

While I disagree with the statement that there isn't much to see in Hana, I wouldn't do the drive with the limited time you have, as it really should be done as an overnight or multi-night trip so one can really enjoy this special part of the island. Not many people do this and that is a good thing for those of us that do.

I think Molokini is very over rated, but if you've never been out on a snorkeling trip like this it might be fun for you.

Taking a drive out to Hookipa Beach on the north shore and then upcountry to Makawao is a nice half day trip. You could continue on up to Haleakala if you wanted.

I think the beaches in Wailea and especially further south in Makena are truly one of the natural gifts on Maui. It took me several trips to Maui before I explored this part of the island and looking back, I wish that it hadn't taken me so long.

Have a great trip.

logandog

You are only in Maui for five days. Why spend one second of it in a Costco or Walmart? What are you going to buy in volume that will make it economical?
I find it more interesting to visit local markets and see how different they are than mainland stores.
Molokini is a nice boat ride but there is better snorkeling off Maui beaches.

sf7307

Last time we went to Haleakala to hike, not to see the sunrise. Left Kaanapali mid-morning. It was a beautiful drive, both up and down, and a great hike. Do remember that "what goes down must come up". -- you hike DOWN into the crater(s) and the return is pretty much all uphill and it isn't easy. We hiked in about 2.5 miles, until we could see into one of the craters.

tifa2276

I have done "jam-packed" Maui on our first trip with my husband. I agree that it's good to intersperse activity days with relaxing days so you'll feel like you're on vacation. We did the RTH the day after we arrived, and we left for the road at around 6am so we had plenty of time to enjoy the sights and the drive. We drove around past Hana to Oheo gulch and spent time relaxing at the falls there. On the way back, we stopped in Paia for dinner at the Paia Fish Market. It was casual and the food was great.

If you don't mind the drive from West Maui, I really liked this place http://waterfrontrestaurant.net
They have a new restaurant space now, and I hear it's really nice. Back when we went, it was a shabby chic establishment with wonderful food. I still think about the amazing Caesar salad we had. Maybe if you plan to do Haleakala for sunset, you can stop here for dinner on the way back to West Maui.

jenblase

Hmmm it's funny that a few of you think this itineary seems ambitious. I think I've planned plenty of "down time" for us. After Big Island we are spending 5 days in Kauai where we don't plan on doing much of anything, so that will be the main relaxation portion of the trip. But I do appreciate all of the thoughts and input so far!

If we drop anything, it will be the Road to Hana. While it sounds exciting, I know my DH will get stressed with all the driving and we already decided he will probably be too drained to do a nice dinner out, so that's why we thought we'd either go super casual that night (like Lahaina Pizza) or even just eat in the Regency Club (we are Diamond members w/Hyatt).

I was looking at the Molokini snorkeling tour w/Trilogy, mainly because I've never snorkeled before, and I know they provide some instructions. So I actually initially thought I might like to do this the first full day of the trip so that I could get some snorkeling experience under my belt and then I'd feel comfortable renting equipment with which I could snorkel the rest of the week (Black Rock, etc). But then we thought Road to Hana might be better that first day, since it would be "easier" for us to get up super early.

Yes, the day in Lanai is important (I really want to volunteer at the cat shelter, even for a few hours) but I feel like I already have such little time in Maui, so I do feel bad taking the "diversion" for the day to go to Lanai.

So I'll talk to DH tomorrow (he's already in bed for the night!) and discuss possibly scrapping RtH and see what he says. Also, are there any other snorkeling tours that would be better suited for me than the Molokini Crater tour?

As you can see I still have a lot to mull over, and I appreciate the comments so far. Keep em coming!

jenblase

Also Costco just because we go through bottled water like crazy and we have gotten into the great habit on every vacation of stopping at a Costco on the way from whatever airport and getting a 35 pack of water for like $3.99. DH packs a soft sided cooler and we fill it with ice from the hotel, and we always have cold water with us when driving around or hiking.

And Walmart as DH and I are both extremely fair and burn easily. He wants to load up on sunscreen ahead of time... I told him instead of packing it, we can just run into to Walmart or Kmart and get it there! But I don't plan on being there long AT ALL.

sf7307

We always stop for us screen on the way in, too, because we take carrion luggage and can't pack the kind I like and need (spray, 70SPF).

As for snorkeling, you do not need instruction, and the trip to Molokini would just be an expensive way to "learn" (I'm not saying not to go, just that you can easily teach yourself at Black Rock or elsewhere. Put on the mask, put the snorkel in your mouth, and put your face in the water. You might hyperventilate at first, but you'll get used to it. At first, just do it where you are standing, and then as you get more comfortable, swim out abut toward the rock. You don't have to go far to see turtles and fish).

hpeabody

I am here on Maui right now and it is cold and windy (especially after the sun goes down) which I am not used to over here. I am on a combo Molokini-Lanai snorkeling trip tomorrow with Pacific Whale Foundation. I will report back, I am not expecting to like Molokini too much, but we'll see. I love Trilogy and will go with them Whale watching only on Wednesday from Kaanapali Beach.

If possible find some time to drive around the West Maui mountains, it is a beautiful coastline (north side of the island) not like RtH, which I happen to like.

I just came in from going to the luau at the Hyatt. I won it it was just OK. Old Lahaina Luau gets the best reviews and I think about the same price. Really need reservations for Old Lahaina Luau I understand

Paul

Ulalena is a great show. I have seen it on three occasions and love it more every time I see it.

Sounds as if you are getting great advice here.

pijeta

I do not think your schedule sounds too busy, but I'll add my two cents in.

I think the road to Hana is overrated.

I would definitely wake up early for the sunrise at Haleakala!

I hope your shopping includes walking around Lahaina; it's a sweet town.

Have a fantastic trip!