Travel
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Maui: What activities are must-do/must-see?
This is in reference to the post I just did- trying to get a list of activities we could pre-purchase tickets when my mom and my step-dad go to Maui.
I was thinking:
- Old Lahaina Luau
- Road to Hana (they can rent a car)
- Bike to Haleakala- any specific tour/company you'd recommend?
- Surfing lesson- any specific tour/company you'd recommend?
- Helicopter Tour
Any other ideas?
ETA: Do you think they'll need a car while they are there? They're planning to stay either at Hyatt in Ka'napali or Four Seasons in Wailea.
Re: Maui: What activities are must-do/must-see?
sorry this is from my phone so the formatting is horrible but we loved
the old lahaina luau
helicopter over malakai
tour of the pineapple fields
and kayaking and snorkeling with the sea turtles
i would skip
snorkeling at molokini
and sailing to lanai
Which companies did you use for helicopter tour, tour of pineapple fields, and the snorkeling with sea turtles?
We used Goofy Foot Surf School for our surf lessons and I would highly recommend them. If you're buying for them, coordinate to buy the professional photos as well. They're pretty cool, and we regret not getting them ourselves.
There's great snorkeling off Kaanapali Beach -- both at Black Rock in front of the Sheraton (though this got quite crowded), and in front of the Westin Villas.
We also enjoyed our drive up the northwest coast to see the Nakalele Blowhole.
We rented a car and I'm glad we did. It's just more convenient.
Did you rent a car for the entire time you were there or just for a few days?
We had it the whole time.
I don't see Haleakala on your list (i mentioned it in your other post), which I would definitely recommend. It looks like they still do it (I wasn't sure it's been about 10 years since i did it)
http://www.bikemaui.com/
I also remember really enjoying a sunset booze cruise they did on maui. I would recommend that, we had a lot of fun.
Thanks- I know they'd love the bike ride. I'm still on the fence about Warren & Annabelle's.
They don't drink, so I'm trying to find them some night activities they can do instead of hanging out in the hotel...
I would definitely recommend the road to Hana. Rent them a condo for the night so that they can drive all the way up and spend the night before having to drive back down.
Also, get them a gift certificate to eat at Mama's Fish House. The food there is amazing!
Snorkel trip to Molokini/Turtle town
Depending on the time of year - Whale watching tour
Doens't need to purchased ahead of time, but Friday night is Art Night in Lahaina - free wine in all of the art galleries.
Day trip over to Molokai
oh yeh Molokai is a good one too. we did a donkey tour/ride.
Did you take the Honoapi'ilani Highway past Honolua Bay? I was just reading an article about how this stretch of road was unsafe due to being extremely narrow in parts and possible rock slides. The article was a few years old...have the roads been improved? We're in the planning stages for a Maui trip late summer.
In addition to the other suggestions, I would also recommend exploring some of the small towns like Paia and Makawao. They're charming and have some cute little shops and restaurants. There's a glass shop in Makawao that I thought was fascinitating, I think it was called Hot Island Glass. They blow the glass there and some of the pieces were just beautiful!
Ditto pp about the northwest drive, it's definitely worth it. We did both that one and Hana on our trip.
ETA: yes, they definitely need a car!
I JUST got back from Maui. Here's my 2 cents based only on my personal experiences:
Road to Hana - Honestly I would have been ok just doing the first half or so. Favorite stops were Jaws, and some of the early waterfalls (the ones you could swim in). We also did the last few miles past Hana (the ones that violate your rental contract). I hate, hate, HATED those couple miles. But it was nice not having to backtrack the whole thing and being on the inside lane in a jeep made it not as bad. Incidentally, I think the stretch of road a couple pp mentioned are also considered dangerous enough to violate a rental contract. Not sure but I'd check.
The sunrise at Hal. was awesome. Even better was the 20 min or so before the slightest hint of sun appeared. So pitch black and a perfect view of the stars. Do the first day of vacation before you've adjusted to timezone changes. Also - maybe I'm a big wuss but biking down those twists and turns when I was still half asleep did not interest me.
We stayed at the Sheraton and didn't find the crowds at black rock bad for snorkeling. Every time we went out we ran into giat sea turtles, tons of fish, etc. Just as good as Hanama Bay (sp?) and Molokini (and less crowded).
We did whale watching with Pacific Whale Foundation. We did the raft tour and it was nice being eye level with the whales and being able to let our feet dangle in the waters along with the whales, but I think the bigger boats with an upper deck would have given a better view.
Snorkeling to Molokini with Four Winds II. Great group. Included detours to see giant sea turtles and whales as well as snorkeling.
I really enjoyed Lahaini (again, sp?) Lots of the same tacky tourist shops but I nice way to waste an afternoon.
If they stay near Whalers Village - eat at Lelhani's restaurant.
we used south pacific kayaks and outfitters and air maui
we also rented a car and snorkel gear for the entire time we were there. our favorite place to snorkel was just north of kaanapali shores. i think it was called honolua bay. you just drive there and park by the road with all the other cars and walk down the path through the forst to the water. there is no sandy beach but the sborkeling is great.