Hello everyone,

I will be staying at the Hyatt @ Ka'anapali beach and my travel agent booked my flight to arrive at the Kahului(OGG,which is 40 mins or so) airport instead of Kapalua (JHM, which is much closer,about 10 mins or less).

Interstingly, the Maui Revealed book actually recommends scheduling the arrival at OGG even though and that even though it is a longer drive, it is "dramtic and worth the extra time". Would you agree?

So my question for everyone is since we will be driving to Ka'anapali beach from Kahului airort are there any sights I should be looking out for?

Thanks!

Kapalua does not handle the big aircraft.

So Kapalua is more for the propeller passenger planes on Island Air or small jets.

If I had the option, I certainly would have choosen JMH. While the drive is pretty, if you do it in the afternoon, it can take twice as long as it should due to traffic. Plus, you'll likely make that drive during your stay anyway.

The big problem is that OGG is a real mess of an airport. When we arrived from Kauai, there was no information as to which of the 4 carossels our flight's bags were on (actually there was no info on where the bags for any flights were coming out) so people were running around all over the place trying to find their luggage. Of course, there were no airport employees around to help the problem either.

Other problems include bathrooms with 2 out of 6 toilets and 2 out of 4 sinks working (this situation lasted at least 5 days), people violating no-smoking rules, and long lines for the rental car buses, and a strange dispatching system for taxis which just seems to slow everything down.

And as you enter the terminal, there are big yellow signs stating that "all baggage" must be screened at the argicultural check points prior to checking in. Ok, wait in that line, put bags on machine only to be told that only checked bags need to do this at this point (not carry-on bags). What does "all baggage" mean to them?

To be fair, check-in and security was a breeze, nothing like the madhouse that has been reported in guidebooks.

I don't pretend to be a Maui expert, but this question blew me away. The AOPA Airport Directory shows OGG and the 3600-foot Hana airport and that's it. JHM is not listed.

Fortunately we will only have carry on bags. Thanks for the tip!I won't be standing at the agricultural clearance line

Well, OGG is the main airport and JHM much smaller but still should be listed. Strange that it's not.

Btw, thanks to all for replying. I 've posted same messages in Frommers too and never seem to get any response. I guess Fodorites are more active..I bought the wrong guide book!

Besides not handling large aircrafts, Kapalua does not operate after sundown. Depending on the time of your arrival and whether you are transferring aircraft in Honolulu, flying into Kapalua might not have worked into your itinerary anyway.

I am arriving Maui by Delata dn departing for Kauai via Island Air.

Anyways, this is my flight info:

Delta Flight 1760
4/30/2006 12:00 PM Salt Lake to Maui - Kahului 4/30/2006 2:52 PM

Departing Maui
Inter-Island:
Island Air Flight 1493 5/5/2006 9:30 AM Maui - Kahului to Lihue 5/5/2006 10:25 AM

I think Kapalua airport works well for interisland travel between Kapalua and Honolulu. Other routes like yours--flying in direct from the mainland, or going to Kauai both would require a stopover and a change of aircraft in Honolulu. You would probably lose more time at the airports with stopovers and/or having to change airplanes than you would having to drive from Kahului. Flying in and out of Kahului was the more reasonable choice.

Brian in Charlotte, you must not fly too often. I average two - three flights a month between OGG and assorted mainland airports, and I fly in and out of many horrible "messy" airports. OGG is a dream. You couldn't find your luggage on one of the 4 (!) carousels? Egads! You must have had to walk 10's of feet to figure this out! (Hint: read the info displayed above the luggage carousel. Flight numbers are there.) And as for the ag thing, I have never in probably 100 flights out of OGG spent more than a few minutes in the ag line.

JHM is a small airport and only commuter flights, prop planes fly in and out of here. Had you been booked into JHM, you'd first fly to Honolulu on the way in, change planes, and then back to Honolulu again on your way to Lihue. Island will starting one flight a day from Kapalua to Lihue direct, but not until June. Car rental in Kapalua is less than perfect as well.

I also think OGG is no problem; never had any kind of delay with luggage or rental car! (Plus, it's nice to hit the Costco and K-mart.)

Perhaps OGG was having a bad day. There was no information posted on the carousels and a couple hundred people running around trying to figure where their luggage would come out with no airport employees in sight. A poorly managed mess. And understand, when there is no way to tell which carosel your bags will come out on, you have to somehow watch 4 full carosels at the same time. Not easy to do with 2 people.

And there's no excuse for broken plumbing (to the extent it was) to not be addressed for 5 days.

And the ag inspection isn't a problem, it's the misleading signage that should be changed.

I've flown into many smaller airports like Maui's and all of them have appeared to be run better.

Thanks so-o much to all for responding. HNL is actually my last stop in Hawaii. Maybe I should 've planne dgoing to HNL first...but wante to go to Maui first. But, the airport thing should not be a biggie. I do appreciate feedback from everyone!