greetings in june we are going to visit my son in honolulu. we plan totake a three day trip to maui when we are there. in a nutshell, what would you/anyone recommend as a must see and do. and where would be the best location to stay so as to get around, or perhaps we will travel, stay three differ places to save time, keep the trip moving. i have been to kauai and oahu several times, but this is my first to maui. is the sunrise at 10,000 feet worth the early morning drive? thnaks alot for your insight in advance. would the best place to sa

With an early morning flight, I would rent a convertable, check out Paia and head to Hana, staying the night at the hotel....explore and continue on around and spend the second night in Wailea or Makena, head from there to Kapalua on the third night and ouch!!!! time's out....good luck....I've been there 5 times, so I'm not just making this up............

Had a similiar Oahu/Maui trip last year and I agree that a "must" is a stay overnight in Hana. We enjoyed the first part of the drive without a rush, till we got to our lil cottage rental in Hana. That way we were able to see the red sand beach, venus pool, etc. nearby. In the morning we finished the the drive by getting to Ohe'o Gulch early to see the pools and take trailed hike to the waterfalls. Continue on and you can even stop at the winery and then to Haleakala. We found this was a great way to see the major sites while still having a couple days lounging time in Napili.

An overnight stay in Hana is not for everyone. Hana is EXTREMELY quiet and EXTREMELY isolated. Very few people actually stay overnight there. Unless you really want to get away from it all Hana is not for you !!

The drive to Hana was great but my friend who gets carsick had some problems. The scenery was wonerful and definitely worth it! We didn't stay there overnight - we pressed on, driving on the rental car company's self proclaimed 'off limits' road on the western part of the island. An adventure, yes. Now we know why it's off limits. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone. On a subsequent trip I did the sunrise/bike down Haleakala. The sunrise was OK. The trip downhill on a bike was great. A walk into Haleakala was nice too - the moonscape is a contrast to the tropical island. I'd suggest a trip into Lahiana too. I'm an eater/shopper and you can do both there. Both times we stayed at low cost hotels and had good experiences. Most of your time will be out of the room, so you may want to splurge on activities and not accomodations. It worked for us!

Splurge on activities?? The best activities on Maui are free. If you have to pay for it you shouldn't be doing it (with a few exceptions such as dining) !

I would take to time to check out Lahaina- spend the day there, spend a day in Wailea (if you aren't planning on staying in Wailea for your few nights)- beautiful. If you want to spend an entire day in Hana, you can easily get there and back to your hotel in a day. I don't think it is necessary to spend the night. We did most of the road in about 6 hours and I am not sure I would make as many stops as we did next time we go.

Unfortunately I think you will wish you had more than 3 days when you are in Maui. See/hike Haleakala, snorkel, sight-see, drive road to Hana (being sure to stop and do hike to Waimoke Falls), etc. I got the Maui Revealed guidebook and it was great!

thanks for all the insight. i think we will definitely see lahaina, forego the area north of there, and the 'hollywood' south of three. we plan to do the volcano sunrise and probably hana, taking the trip out there for scenery and hiking. again, thanks for the 'food for thought'

"Hollywood" south of Lahaina ?