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Mplwdladee
Citizen
Username: Mplwdladee
Post Number: 145
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 1:17 pm: | 
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Im going for the first time for my birthday, no kids just me and the hubby any advice on things I must do other than water sports and stuff |
dougw
Citizen
Username: Dougw
Post Number: 776
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 1:55 pm: |
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There is a Cirqe du Sole meets Polynesian history show in Lahaina. It is called something like Ulalena. Very good. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 315
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 2:01 pm: |
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The large volcano, can't spell Heleakali, get up early one morning and get some pictures of the wonderful view. Don't go in the afternoon as there is no view left when the clouds come in. Or take the bike tour down the slope.
If you rent a car, there is an old fashioned twisty road going around the northwest and north of the island bringing you back to the middle. It is difficult and somewhat dangerous, but in my opinion worth the experience and view. It gets you away from the tourist industry. |
Innisowen
Citizen
Username: Innisowen
Post Number: 1783
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 2:28 pm: |
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Make sure you take the road to Hana, beautiful, sometimes rugged, and still a bit isolated from the rest of Maui. |
eliz
Supporter
Username: Eliz
Post Number: 1380
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 2:45 pm: |
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I love Maui!
1. Drive to Hana - set aside a whole day. Stop and swim in the waterfalls and take time to enjoy all the views. This is a slow drive and something to enjoy as you go and not just to arrive at the destination.
2. Whale watching depending on the time of year - combine with a snorkeling trip.
3. Lahaina town is a great spot to just wander around - have lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise.
4. The Old Lahaina Luau is probably the most authentic - make reservations before you leave. There is another called Feast at Lele (same organization I think) that we went to last year - more Polynesian than just Hawaii.
5. As mrmaplewood said - Haleakala - good to do in your first day or so when you are still jet lagged and don't mind getting up REALLy early.
6. Our favorite restaurant is Hail'i Maile General Store (Upcountry) and you can't beat Mama's Fish House for atmosphere.
7. Just drive and find your favorite spots - ours is Paia - a sleepy little surf town.
8. There's a great snorkeling spot between Kaanapali and Kahului that you can ask someone about otherwise just drive out that way and you can tell by the cars parked on the side of the road.
Have fun! |
Wendyn
Supporter
Username: Wendyn
Post Number: 2837
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 3:00 pm: |
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We took a sailboat out to some island preserve to snorkle. The snorkling was great but the best part was the sailboat. Simply wonderful!
Agree on the road to Hana, although keep in mind that it is the journey that is interesting, not the destination. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 7021
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 3:08 pm: |
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Haleakala is best if you go before sun up and watch it rise. It is the most incredible sunrise you will ever see.
There are all kinds of tour groups that drive up by van at 3am or you can take a van up and bike ride down. Make sure to take a sweatshirt; it is very cold up there. There were dozens of people wrapped in their hotel bed spreads when we were there. |
algebra2
Supporter
Username: Algebra2
Post Number: 4016
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 22, 2006 - 4:34 pm: |
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When you get past Hana there's a waterfall ... I think we packed a picnic and a bottle of wine. I loved Hawaii, are you just going to Maui? |
Eric
Citizen
Username: Ericactive
Post Number: 88
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 7:20 am: |
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In 1976 the Eagles recorded the album "Hotel California" and the anti-development song "The Last Resort". The album was one of my faves.
The lyrics went:
You can leave it all behind
and sail to Lahaina
just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming".
In 1977 I was there as a teen and on the drive west out of town I saw the church with the "Jesus is coming" sign. I thought that was pretty cool.
If it's still there and the location ironically hasn't become condos, take a picture and post it for me.
I haven't had the pleasure of returning since. |
mrmaplewood
Citizen
Username: Mrmaplewood
Post Number: 316
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 1:20 pm: |
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In Lahaina you have to see and photo the Banyon tree. You won't believe it until you see it. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 3265
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 1:38 pm: |
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We really enjoyed both the road to Hana and the pre-sunrise drive up to the top of Haleakala on our Hawaii trip in 1989. Ditto all the comments above about both of those excursions, especially dressing warmly for the top of the mountain! 10,000+ feet in elevation is cold at any latitude.
When we stayed on Maui, we found a bed & breakfast network and through it rented a room in a private home. It was great! The particular home had a guest quarters that had a separate entrance and was separated from the house by a patio. They also had lots of beach chairs, etc. that we were welcome to borrow. So, we stayed out of the tourist fray for almost our entire visit and spent quite a bit less money on lodgings than might have been the case otherwise.
Our trip also included three other islands over a total of two weeks. I think we were on Maui three or four days. Let me also recommend a book called "Hidden Hawaii", if it is still in print and updated within the past couple of years. I think we found most of our lodgings for the trip through mention in that book - unique, interesting and, for the most part, quite inexpensive options that were very different on each island, but I can't swear that was how we found the place on Maui. That book also had recommendations for some great "off the beaten track" excursions and sights to see. |
doulamomma
Citizen
Username: Doulamomma
Post Number: 1271
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 2:32 pm: |
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In my next life (if there turns out ot be one), I want to come back as eliz...she seems to have taken amazing trips!
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connied76
Citizen
Username: Connied76
Post Number: 17
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, March 23, 2006 - 9:23 pm: |
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Drive to Hana and stay overnight at the Hotel Hana Maui. Most beautiful hotel we ever visited. |
susan1014
Supporter
Username: Susan1014
Post Number: 1442
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, March 25, 2006 - 1:15 pm: |
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Hotel Hana Maui was indeed lovely, and made the drive to Hana much more relaxed than it would be as a day trip..if we ever go back, we may splurge and go for one of the cottages with hot tub on the lanai! I will note that the hotel pool is lovely, but it doesn't really have much of a resort beach, so get that at some other point on the trip! |
dc906
Citizen
Username: Dc906
Post Number: 25
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, March 25, 2006 - 1:27 pm: |
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Although the road to Hana was very scenic and lush, I think it is one of the most dangerous situations I have ever been in. There are tons of steep, narrow curves, where many times you cannot see the oncoming cars and there are no guard rails- just the ocean below. Nobody ever talks about that |
noracoombs
Citizen
Username: Noracoombs
Post Number: 139
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 8:31 pm: |
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You are so lucky--we went last June and LOVED it. We literally had to be dragged kicking and screaming onto the plane to go home.
If you do the road to Hana (and you should--and make sure you go ALL the way around the bottom of the island even tho the rental car places tell you not to), be sure to visit the grave of Charles Lindburgh--it on the grounds of a small church past the actual town of Hana, I believe. Make sure you have a guidebook and watch for signs for the church like a hawk, as it's easy to miss. It's completely worth it, though--the grave is such a quiet, peaceful place close to the water, and it's hard to believe that one of the most famous figures of the 20th century is buried there. Also, wear your bathing suit, as there are a number of caves you can swim in along the road to Hana--there's a really cool one in a state park whose name I don't remember (it's before you hit Hana, tho).
The Grand Wailea hotel in Wailea is worth a stop--probably the most amazing hotel pool complex I've ever seen.
Make your reservations for the Old Lahaina luau NOW. TODAY. We tried for reservations about three weeks beforehand and couldn't get any. We did the Hilton luau in Ka'anpali (sp??)--it was great but supposedly the Old Lahaina one is by far the best.
Definely take some time to explore Paia. There's a restaurant whose name I forget but that is mentioned in Rachael Ray's $40 a Day book where you will get the best pancakes you ever ate.
We did the Haleakala bike tour--it's fun, but I found that I didn't appreciate the scenery since I was completely scared of wiping out on the bike (you travel at about 25 mph the whole way down).
And definitely take the time to sit on the beach with a frosty drink. You will have a blast! |
Ryan D
Citizen
Username: Moboozehound
Post Number: 8
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 28, 2006 - 10:08 pm: |
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there's a book about maui, which I think is called Secrets to Maui Revealed. It's got a blue cover. I found it very useful when I went. |
Dego Diva
Citizen
Username: Fmingione
Post Number: 697
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 8:34 am: |
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Rather that just visiting Hana for a day, I would recommend spending a night or two there. When we went, we actually began our trip with two nights in a private hut nestled in a forest-like setting. It was amazing to take bubble baths outside on the deck, under the mango trees! I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the place we stayed - it was several years ago.
Hana just has a feel that is so different from the rest of the island. It really started us off in a "do nothing, laze about" kind of mood, and it was very romantic. From there we headed south and stayed in Waikoloa, which was a little more upscale then Lahaina. We visited Lahaina, but decided it was a bit too family-oriented for our romantic get-away, so we chose not to stay there. In Waikoloa, we stayed at the Marriott. I highly recommend renting a car and driving around at your liesure. The entire island is gorgeous, but it's those two nights in Hana that stick out in my mind as one of my favorite experiences.
Enjoy! |
Chicken_legs
Citizen
Username: Chicken_legs
Post Number: 23
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 9:58 pm: |
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No one mentioned the beach known to locals as "Little Beach" over a steep path from "Big Beach" on the Wailea side of the island -- actually past it, around Makenna. It is a clothing optional beach, if you are into that. Even if you're not (and I'm not really) it is secluded, great waves for low impact body surfing or boogie boarding. You have to park over by Big Beach and walk to the end and walk up a path over a hill to get to it. Make sure all of your valuables are taken out of your car, though. People say that locals will take stuff if you're not careful. It is just a really beautiful little beach, and then you have the other "scenery" to take in, which can be humorous. Big Beach itself is really nice too. It isn't overrun with tourists. However, I haven't been down there for a while. I go to Maui every two years to visit family at the holidays, and going over to Big and Little Beach is always something I keep wanting to do again.
I second eliz's recommendation for Mamma's Fish House -- really romantic sunset view and great food!
Mplwdladee, where are you staying? Do you know yet? |
Dego Diva
Citizen
Username: Fmingione
Post Number: 700
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Monday, April 3, 2006 - 4:12 pm: |
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I'm sorry, it was the Marriott in Wailea that we stayed, not Waikoloa. |
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