Your recommendations for Maui, Hawaii? (1 Viewer)

[TheOffalo]

Family and I are going to Hawaii for the first time, specifically Maui, next month. Staying in the Kaanapali area, north of Lahaina, for just under a week. Not going to any other island, but will have a car to drive around Maui. Been reading through various guides and have an idea of some of the popular sights and activities, but I'd be glad to get any personal recommendations from people who have traveled there often or live there. Thanks in advance!

 

[Marius L]

@davin

 

[Lil Tuna]

Stayed for a week at the Westin Kaanapali back in 98, I’m sure much has changed since then.
Traveled the road to Hana. Left the hotel at 2:30am one morning to travel to the top of Haleakala to catch the sunrise. ( Wear something warm) it’s pretty cold on top of the volcano.
If you like golf, make sure to book a round at Kapalua Bay.
Sunset dinner overlooking the ocean at the Hyatt Regency Kaanapali was incredible. Also attended the luau hosted at the Hyatt.
Spent much of the rest of the time on the beautiful beaches.
If I’m ever to return to this beautiful island though, I’d definitely seek @davin s advice.

Hope you have an awesome trip.

 

[gopherblue]

There used to be a catamaran snorkeling trip to Molokini Crater that left directly from the Makena Beach. It leaves earlier than the bigger boats so you get the dive site to yourself, and it returns back when the crater starts to get crowded. Totally worth waking up earlier. And it’s a large sailboat rather than a tourist motor launch.

 

[warma]

I was going to suggest a spa/pool day at the Grand Wailea, but it looks like they rebuilt their spa and got rid of their hydrotherapy (Terme) service. You can walk along the water in Wailea and stop in at all the nice hotel bars, including the Four Seasons shown in the show White Lotus.

If you don’t, and are interested, it’s a great place to learn how to surf. There are some quiet beaches with good learning waves just south of you that pair well with long soft tops. If you’re at a hotel, they can hook you up.

The Restaurant at Hotel Wailea has an elevated sunset view (a bit pricey), but it’s nice.

I’m checking with a few locals on a couple of other great truly local spots.

 

[gopherblue]

Also a very touristy, but fun, meal is Mama’s Fish House.

 

[davin]

Family and I are going to Hawaii for the first time, specifically Maui, next month. Staying in the Kaanapali area, north of Lahaina, for just under a week. Not going to any other island, but will have a car to drive around Maui. Been reading through various guides and have an idea of some of the popular sights and activities, but I'd be glad to get any personal recommendations from people who have traveled there often or live there. Thanks in advance!

You picked the best side of maui for sure… Kaanapali usually has less wind and always sunshine. Are you traveling with kids or just you and the wife? If kids there’s a lot of fun stuff to do. Feel free to pm me with any questions. I’d adding breakfast spots to your itinerary ( gazebos, sea house ) lunch and dinner spots ( down the hatch, Mala ocean tavern, Honu Oceanside, monkeypod, mamas fish house ) all these places have ocean view while you eat except Down the hatch. Weather should be awesome so any beach you decide should be awesome

 

[gopherblue]

There used to be a catamaran snorkeling trip to Molokini Crater that left directly from the Makena Beach. It leaves earlier than the bigger boats so you get the dive site to yourself, and it returns back when the crater starts to get crowded. Totally worth waking up earlier. And it’s a large sailboat rather than a tourist motor launch.

Here it is--definitely book ahead.

https://www.kaikanani.com/snorkeling/signature-deluxe-snorkel/

 

[davin]

Key tip do no buy the full face snorkel mask , there has been a lot of fatalities with those mask!!! They sell them at a lot of convenient stores here like ABC stores.

Also if you can’t swim good do not swim at black rock in front of Kaanapali, many many many tourist drown from the strong currents in that spot. Never turn your back to the ocean.



Do not I repeat do not take anything that belongs to the island such as Sand, Rocks, etc…..

 

[clapton77]

There used to be a catamaran snorkeling trip to Molokini Crater that left directly from the Makena Beach. It leaves earlier than the bigger boats so you get the dive site to yourself, and it returns back when the crater starts to get crowded. Totally worth waking up earlier. And it’s a large sailboat rather than a tourist motor launch.

This was going to be my recommendation as well.

 

[TheOffalo]

Wow, thanks everyone for all your recommendations, and in under 12 hours. @davin I'll definitely PM you when I get a chance. Really appreciate a local's perspective!

 

[JMC9389]

You picked the best side of maui for sure… Kaanapali usually has less wind and always sunshine. Are you traveling with kids or just you and the wife? If kids there’s a lot of fun stuff to do. Feel free to pm me with any questions. I’d adding breakfast spots to your itinerary ( gazebos, sea house ) lunch and dinner spots ( down the hatch, Mala ocean tavern, Honu Oceanside, monkeypod, mamas fish house ) all these places have ocean view while you eat except Down the hatch. Weather should be awesome so any beach you decide should be awesome

+1 on Monkeypod Kitchen. Ate there 10 years ago in Maui and again at their Ko Olina location on my honeymoon a few years later. Had a great meal both times.

 

[JMC9389]

Also, the Road to Hana is something you do once and never again. It's a nice drive but very tortuous and lots of turns and twists and not straight forward. It's at least a 6 hour round trip ride from your side of the island. I'd have a big lunch one day and tackle it in an early afternoon into evening one day. Not a lot of places to stop and eat.

 

[davin]

Also, the Road to Hana is something you do once and never again. It's a nice drive but very tortuous and lots of turns and twists and not straight forward. It's at least a 6 hour round trip ride from your side of the island. I'd have a big lunch one day and tackle it in an early afternoon into evening one day. Not a lot of places to stop and eat.

Right now the back side is closed we had a huge rain this past weekend and the entire road washed away in one section!!! Locals are advising not to take this drive as of now to alleviate the traffic going in as there is only one way out

 

[davin]

@TheOffalo also if you guys are projecting to see the sun rise at Haleakala Crater make sure you make reservations, you now have to pay and make reservations to go up to the crater. Most tourist don’t know and can’t get a spot when they find out.

Working at sea house rest. This morning, how’s the surf and view at this rest.

 

[TheOffalo]

@TheOffalo also if you guys are projecting to see the sun rise at Haleakala Crater make sure you make reservations, you now have to pay and make reservations to go up to the crater. Most tourist don’t know and can’t get a spot when they find out.

Working at sea house rest. This morning, how’s the surf and view at this rest.View attachment 906469

Sunset may be more our speed, if they do reservations for that at Haleakala Crater.

 

[davin]

Sunset may be more our speed, if they do reservations for that at Haleakala Crater.

Sun sets on opposite side of island you will be in a perfect spot in Kaanapali to see the sun set…..

 

[TheOffalo]

Sun sets on opposite side of island you will be in a perfect spot in Kaanapali to see the sun set…..

D'oh, of course. That makes sense. Though I wasn't sure if the crater was high enough that it'd have a great view of the sunset across the island.

 

[Lil Tuna]

This thread is really making me want to look into another trip back to Maui, it’s been waaaay too long.

 

[JMC9389]

This thread is really making me want to look into another trip back to Maui, it’s been waaaay too long.

Same. Five years is too long to not be there

 

[TheOffalo]

I should get commission or something...

 

[Samuel]

Last time I was there was 2019 - three families with 2 kids each - stayed at the Whaler on Kaanapali Beach. Trying to remember a few of the things we did:

Dinner at Roy's (Kaanapali Golf Course)
Dinner at Ruth's Chris in Lahaina (closed now I think, maybe Fleetwood's instead?)
Walking/shopping around Lahaina
Food runs to Kapalua
SkylineHawaii.com ziplining
Brunch at the Plantation House (Kapalua)
Nakalele blowhole
Beach, jogging, hiking
Hotel room poker
Gym & pool
Paddleboarding
Went to Kihei one day but forgot what we did there
Considered ATVing, but ended up not doing
Thought about some of the waterfalls but ended up not going (did Hana on another trip)
Drums of the Pacific Luau (Hyatt Regency)

Have a great trip Bro!

 

[TheOffalo]

Focusing on food first, here's my current list, alphabetical, compiled from various recs including @davin's above. (I am putting them onto a Google Maps list so that I can see them better geographically.)

Down the Hatch
Foodland (poke)
Gazebo (breakfast)
Geste Shrimp Truck
Honu Oceanside
Ichiban Okazuya
Kihei Caffe (breakfast)
Leoda's Pies
Lineage
Mala Ocean Tavern
Mama's Fish House
Monkeypod
Only Ono BBQ
Papa'aina (breakfast)
Sam Sato (noodles)
Sea House (breakfast)
Star Noodle
Tamura's (poke)
Takamiya (poke)
Tasaka Guri Guri ("sherbet")
Tasty Crust (pancakes/breakfast)
Tin Roof
Ululani’s Shave Ice
Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade

How many can we fit into just under a week?

I didn't put notes for each place, since some are self-explanatory from the name, and most seem to be good for lunches and dinners. Still a work in progress....

 

[davin]

Focusing on food first, here's my current list, alphabetical, compiled from various recs including @davin's above. (I am putting them onto a Google Maps list so that I can see them better geographically.)

Down the Hatch
Foodland (poke)
Gazebo (breakfast)
Geste Shrimp Truck
Honu Oceanside
Ichiban Okazuya
Kihei Caffe (breakfast)
Leoda's Pies
Lineage
Mala Ocean Tavern
Mama's Fish House
Monkeypod
Only Ono BBQ
Papa'aina (breakfast)
Sam Sato (noodles)
Sea House (breakfast)
Star Noodle
Tamura's (poke)
Takamiya (poke)
Tasaka Guri Guri ("sherbet")
Tasty Crust (pancakes/breakfast)
Tin Roof
Ululani’s Shave Ice
Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade

How many can we fit into just under a week?

I didn't put notes for each place, since some are self-explanatory from the name, and most seem to be good for lunches and dinners. Still a work in progress....

For poke I would not recommend Foodland as they are not fresh caught fish but frozen from China. For poke your best poke will be from Kaohu Store or Island Gourmet in wailea

The rest are all spot on, if you want a good Thai food truck check out Thai Me Up and another good food truck which serves my fav mahi mahi is from Kaleis food truck or they have a restaurant in town, fish is called Mahi Ala Kalei.

 

[davin]

Focusing on food first, here's my current list, alphabetical, compiled from various recs including @davin's above. (I am putting them onto a Google Maps list so that I can see them better geographically.)

Down the Hatch
Foodland (poke)
Gazebo (breakfast)
Geste Shrimp Truck
Honu Oceanside
Ichiban Okazuya
Kihei Caffe (breakfast)
Leoda's Pies
Lineage
Mala Ocean Tavern
Mama's Fish House
Monkeypod
Only Ono BBQ
Papa'aina (breakfast)
Sam Sato (noodles)
Sea House (breakfast)
Star Noodle
Tamura's (poke)
Takamiya (poke)
Tasaka Guri Guri ("sherbet")
Tasty Crust (pancakes/breakfast)
Tin Roof
Ululani’s Shave Ice
Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade

How many can we fit into just under a week?

I didn't put notes for each place, since some are self-explanatory from the name, and most seem to be good for lunches and dinners. Still a work in progress....

Also if you guys like a really good açaí bowl quick grab and go check out Mo’ oNO

 

[Mongoose]

Enjoy your trip to Maui @TheOffalo! I’ve been to Maui twice and loved it. However, I can’t contribute any suggestions here as the last time I was there was 1986, well overdue for another trip. Sounds like you’re getting a lot of great tips here!

 

[Nanook]

This thread is really making me want to look into another trip back to Maui, it’s been waaaay too long.

Me too. It's expensive and a pita to get there, but well worth it. Of the dozens of vacations I've had to beachy locations, Maui is certainly right at the top of my "most favorite" list. It's been way too long for suggestions but I'm following and looking forward to going again

 

[davin]

We have been having some funky weather lately

 

[TheOffalo]

Two activities we'd like to try as a family are snorkeling (and seeing sea turtles) and ziplining. We've found the following companies for each, if anyone has any experience with them and would be willing to share, or have other recommendations for these two activities?

Snorkeling
https://mauikayaks.com/tours/makena-turtle-town/
https://quicksilvermaui.com/afternoon-snorkel/
http://www.keliiskayak.com/kayaking-tour-south-shore-turtle-adventure/

Ziplining
https://www.junglezip.com/
https://nszipline.com/
https://www.skylinehawaii.com/maui (@Samuel mentioned above)

 

[Samuel]

https://www.tvfoodmaps.com/restaurants_on/Diners-Drive-Ins-Dives/HI/Maui
https://www.romvarirealty.com/blog/2021/11/9/guy-fieris-maui-favorites

IIRC, one of the reasons why we chose Skyline was because it was close to where we were staying in Kaanapali. The "storefront/office" at the time was in the Round Table pizza strip mall sandwiched between Kekaa Dr and Honoapiilani Hwy and really close to the hotel (not sure if it's still there). We did the 8 line Kaanapali tour and it's also close, west side of Maui, just a little ways east/north/east uphill from Lahaina. https://www.google.com/maps/place/K...5163230de1477!8m2!3d20.9358982!4d-156.6900541 (if you zoom the area between Crater Reservoir and Kahoma Reservoir you can see a few of the zipline station rooftops and ramps/stairs, the area above Halona Stream)

You get pretty nice views of the west side (Lahaina + areas north and south), the ocean, and Lanai (I don't remember 100% but I don't think Molokai was visible):

Don't remember the names of our two guides but they did a great job and we all tipped extra at the end. I believe all the lines we rode on were single and one person at a time (as opposed to Climbworks Keana Farms in Oahu that has mostly, if not all, dual lines - IIRC). Everyone had a fun time and although it wouldn't be on my personal "must do again" list if/when we go back to Maui, it wouldn't be too hard to talk me into doing it again, especially if we were with people that have never done it or done it there before...

ETA - I think one of my buddies went on a snorkeling or diving tour with his daughter - lemme find out more and get back to you...

Also, just came across this - https://www.kapaluaziplines.com/