Hawai'i Travel Thread

[UMTerp]

I just got back from honeymoon in Hawai'i, so I thought I'd start a trip report / Hawai'i travel thread. I can answer any questions about the trip, and hopefullly others that have been there can chime in with their own experiences, and this thread can serve as a reference to those going in the future.

This first post will be an abbreviated trip report. It was difficult to pare this down to ten photos or so since we took so many (and the pictures don't even do the place justice), but I'll give it a shot:



This was the view off our balcony in West Maui. We spent seven days in a condo that my wife's sister lent us, then three days at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the Big Island. We didn't get to explore the Big Island as much as we probably should've, as we did a lot of relaxing towards the end of our ten days. But the trip was awesome, and hopefully I'll get to go back every five or ten years or so. After being there, I think the ideal Hawaiian vacation is probably Maui for half the time, then an island you haven't been before for the other half. I think I'd like to do Kuaui next. The only other really tiny regret I had was not bringing my golf clubs. I thought I wouldn't want to play because I didn't have any friends to play with, but I really wanted to after seeing some of the courses (and weather.) Guess I could've rented. Oh well.



This picture was from a hike through a small bamboo forest at about the 6-mile marker on the Road to Hana. It was amazing how you could really just go off on your own just about anywhere on the island to explore, be totally secluded from just about any other people, and see such beautiful sights. I guess I'm just used to suburbia where that's impossible. We saw a few waterfalls on this hike too, but I liked the lighting and the direction of the bamboo in this picture, so I chose it for this thread.



These next three pictures are also from the Road to Hana on Maui. This one was just a typical view from the road - high above the water overlooking a peninsula in the distance. I was actually a little nervous before making this trip - everyone I'd talked to about it was like "Yeah, the road really is pretty dangerous. You need to be careful." And while it wasn't like driving the highway, I never felt like I was cheating death or anything. I was definitely expecting worse. Just drive ~20mph, keep your eyes on the road, be careful when you approach one of the 36 one-lane bridges, and you're fine. At times I wished I was in the passenger seat to enjoy the scenery a little more, but there are pull-offs for many of the better views, and being in the passenger seat would also mean that I'd have to endure six hours of the wife's driving, and much of the road had no guardrail. So I guess I was fine where I was.



Not much to say about this one - I thought the shadows on the branches made it a cool shot. The perspective is a little deceiving though, as we're standing at least 100 feet above the water here, looking down/out over the shrubbery onto the rocks.



This one of the biggest waterfalls we saw. There are so many of them along the Road to Hana, that you really have to pick and choose which ones to pull over and see. Many of them require a short (or not-so-short) walk. This one was called Lower Puohokamoa Falls, and was a couple minutes into the woods at about the 11-mile marker on the road. And again, I'm not sure that this picture does justice to the enormity of the falls. We're looking thousands of feet away, and I'd guess the waterfall is over 200 feet high.



This picture was taken in the town of Paia in the late afternoon before our dinner at Mama's Fish House, which I may write about in another post. Paia was a neat little town - seemed kind of hippyish, lots of little surf shops and markets and art galleries - cool place to kill a couple hours. Apparently they're known for their great windsurfing too - something about how the winds blow across the beach rather than perpendicular to the shore. Hawai'i was weird like that, where you'd have very drastic differences in culture, pace of life, and even climate just miles apart. Check out this rainfall map of Maui. There's literally places that get almost an inch every single day less than 10 miles from areas that get less than an inch of rain a month. In Paia, it rains almost every day, but not very hard. I thought this picture of the rainbow turned out well. Before my trip, I've have said that it looks like someone put a picture of Kansas in the foreground of a Hawai'i picture. But you name it, they have it. Farms, grassy plains, desert-like areas, lush rainforests, lava rock - a little bit of everything. There were actually some really bad wildfires while I was there too that I wish I'd have gotten some better pictures of.



These next four pictures are all sunsets, which probably make the best pictures, though I tried to pick some diverse and interesting ones. The first two, including this one, are from Maui, and next two are from the Big Island. This particular one was at a little dockside bar called Kimo's in Lahiana. Lahaina was probably the most commercial/touristy spot we went in Hawai'i, but there was decent shopping, it had about the only discernable nightlife in the area, and it was about 15 minutes away from were we were staying, so we ended up there a few times. I like the flames in the foreground in this one.



At least for the time being, this is probably my favorite picture I took the whole time. I just love the focus on the clouds and the coloring the sun gives. This was just a sunset taken off our balcony on a random night. The island of Molokai is in the distance on the right side of the photo. There was a raincloud over Molokai 100% of the time. They said that's how explorers back in the days could spot islands from great distances away - they'd just look for the clouds that didn't move. We could see Lanai to the left from our balcony as well, though that island didn't make this picture.



OK, on to the Big Island. These next two sunsets are from Kona. This one was the view off our patio/balcony at the Resort.



Here's another one from the Big Island. This was the view from a place called the Lava Lounge before dinner on our final night. We really had some incredible meals over there, and I'll probably post about a few of them in other posts. We ate at a place called Pahu i'a after this - the star of Four Seasons' resort on Kona. I took a bunch of pictures there, so I'll definitely post about this meal, and I may do a few others too. Mama's Fish House, which I mentioned earlier, was also wonderful, and we really enjoyed a sushi place called Sansei, which was on Kapalua's property. It was great value and a lot of fun - I think we got out of there for less than $100, and it seemed like we had tried half the menu by the time we were finished. Two great breakfast we had were at the Gazebo Restaurant on the shores of Napili Beach, and The Plantation House, which overlooks the Championship course at Kapalua. Both breakfast spots were actually the same price, down to the penny. I thought the clubhouse at Kapalua was very reasonably priced as well - I'll probably look into staying in that area if/when I go back to Maui in the future.



He we are outside of Lava Lounge / Pahu i'a about an hour before the previous picture. I'll post a mini trip report on that meal in this thread at some point too.

There's a ton of stuff I didn't get to yet either - snorkeling in Honalua Bay was cool (I'd never been snorkeling before), and we also took a boat trip to Molokini Island for more snorkeling. The Aquarium in Ma'alaea was worthwhile. We did a luau in West Maui one night. I skipped over a lot of the Hana stuff, etc. But I guess this is enough for now...

[KJS]

Good timing. I am heading to Maui for the first time in October with my wife and another couple. We have not found a condo yet. I would love to hear impressions about what town to stay in on Maui. Our main desires are to have a place we can cook, have some grocery stores nearby so we can stock up on food easily, but also have some restaurants we can go to nearby as well. Plus, of course, places within stumbling distance for cocktails.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

KJS

[jzpiano]

Excellent TR. I'm going to Maui for a week in Oct for my honeymoon. We will be staying in the Kaanapali region. We are planning on doing the Road to Hana for sure and even go to Haleakala crater. I've been to both before but only when I was 9 or 10 so I don't remember a whole lot about either just that they were beautiful. She has never been there fyi.

As far as some things to do, I'm still trying to figure that out so any recommendations would be great. Here is what I was thinking. We are going to see the luau at the Hyatt I have tickets for that already. Also, the future Mrs. wanted to do some horseback riding and I was looking at going to http://www.ironwoodranch.com/ anybody have any experience with them or any other place? I also wanted to do some snorkeling while we were there and really wanted to ride on a Catamaran rather than a boat. Any suggestions with that? Also I'm looking for a couple of nice places for dinner and a couple lunch (can be anything here), any help with that would be great.

[UMTerp]

[ QUOTE ]
Good timing. I am heading to Maui for the first time in October with my wife and another couple. We have not found a condo yet. I would love to hear impressions about what town to stay in on Maui. Our main desires are to have a place we can cook, have some grocery stores nearby so we can stock up on food easily, but also have some restaurants we can go to nearby as well. Plus, of course, places within stumbling distance for cocktails.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

KJS

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd definitely stick to either West Maui or the west coast of the Southern part of the island. I thought West Maui was perfect for a first-timer. It's about 45-minutes from the airport. Lahaina is the main "going out" locale on the west side, but you probably want to stay a bit north of there. Check out towns (areas?) called: Kaanaapali, Kahana (where we stayed), Napili, and Kapalua. They all are right on the coast, and close enough to civilization (there are some really remote spots on Maui.) I'm not the right one to ask as far as recommending a specific condo. The southern towns you'll want to check out are Kihei and Wailea - I didn't spend much time there though. Wailea appeared to be a slightly more upscale Lahaina. Anything in a more remote area (i.e. Hana) seemed to be more suited for return visitors that wanted a different experience. And don't pick a condo because of a specific beach. They're mostly all easy to get to, and you'll want to see a bunch of different ones anyway.

Grocery shopping is expensive (maybe 25% higher than the prices I'm used to in the DC burbs.) There aren't a lot of choices either - there was a Safeway in Lahaina, something called Star Markets, and one other one I saw. There's a Costco near the airport too - not sure how much you're planning on buying.

You'll have to rent a car. I didn't notice many cabs now that I think about it, but I'm sure they're around. Also, book your activities in advance. Not necessarily all your restaurants, but if you're going to do a luau or a bike trip or boat cruise, book them in advance. The "good" ones won't be available the while you're there. We had three reference books - one little one I don't remember, the Fodor's one, and Maui Revealed. Fodor's was good, but I highly recommend picking up the third one in advance of your trip (and it's very helpful there as well.)

[BretWeir]

Great trip report. I think I hiked that same bamboo trail last time I was in Maui.

After you reached Hana, did you continue on the unpaved road around the south side of the island? This is one of the coolest, most surreal places I've ever been -- completely deserted. You go from stone cliffs to desert to cattle ranches in about two hours, and the contrast with the rainforest on the north side is unbelievable.

Mama's Fish House is fantastic. I've had what was probably one of the five ebst meals of my life there.

[UMTerp]

[ QUOTE ]
Excellent TR. I'm going to Maui for a week in Oct for my honeymoon. We will be staying in the Kaanapali region. We are planning on doing the Road to Hana for sure and even go to Haleakala crater. I've been to both before but only when I was 9 or 10 so I don't remember a whole lot about either just that they were beautiful. She has never been there fyi.

As far as some things to do, I'm still trying to figure that out so any recommendations would be great. Here is what I was thinking. We are going to see the luau at the Hyatt I have tickets for that already. Also, the future Mrs. wanted to do some horseback riding and I was looking at going to http://www.ironwoodranch.com/ anybody have any experience with them or any other place? I also wanted to do some snorkeling while we were there and really wanted to ride on a Catamaran rather than a boat. Any suggestions with that? Also I'm looking for a couple of nice places for dinner and a couple lunch (can be anything here), any help with that would be great.

[/ QUOTE ]

Kaanapali is about the perfect spot to stay IMO unless you've been there a hundred times. We didn't look into the horseback riding too closely. The only place we glanced at had a 220-pound weight limit, and I'm ~230-235, so we dismissed the horseback riding and looked for other activities. I'd imagine different places have different restrictions.

One thing we didn't do that is supposed to be really cool is the sunrise bike trip down the volcano. I know two people that did it, and both said it was the highlight of their trip. Again, I can't recommend a specific company for that, but I'm sure some online research would point you in the right direction. You do have to wake up at like 2AM for that, but if you do it towards the beginning of the trip when your body still hasn't adjusted for the time difference, apparently it's not so bad.

The snorkeling we did on our own at Honalua Bay was actually better than what we did on the boat, but I thought the boat trip was still worthwhile. It's a mini-sightseeing trip as well, you get lunch on the grill and some beers, etc. We went with a place called Maui Magic, and it was fine. Kind of a last-minute booking, but everything was good. I'd give it at least a B.

The Old Lahaina Luau is supposed to be the best one on the island, but that has to be booked weeks, if not months in advance.

Dinner:

Mama's Fish House was awesome, but pricy. We spent a hair over $300 - 3 cocktails, 1 bottle of wine ($80), 1 appetizer, 1 salad, 1 soup, 2 entrees, 1 dessert. So if you cut down on the booze or skip the appetizer or something, $150-$200 is very doable. Totally worth it though.

Sansei (sushi) is highly recommended. 25% discount if you order between 5:30 and 6:00 too. You'll likely be eating early dinners towards the beginning of your trip because of the time difference, so getting there for the discount isn't the worst idea. It's still packed and a good atmosphere. One drink apeice and a ton of sushi came out to under $100.

Our other dinner spots were Roy's in Kahana - nice, but pretty average IMO ($150ish, including drinks), you can skip it. Nothing too special about it. We also ate at the bar at Kimo's in Lanhaina, which I enjoyed. We probably had 4 beers each and split an appetizer and a burger for like $80. Downtown Lanhaina has a lot of little bars on the water like that. Before Kimo's, we tried something called Lahaina Oyster Bar and Grill, and left after a half hour because the bartender was in an awful mood and the atmosphere was really sterile. Skip that place.

Lunch:

Gazebo Restaurant in Napili - open only for breakfast and lunch, right on the water. No reservations though, and it's popular, so you'll stand in line for ~45 minutes. Not a bad wait though - you're outside, and it's good scenery. We spent $25 + tip for an omelet and pancakes that we shared. No booze there, but you can bring your own champagne for mimosas.

Mala Ocean Tavern. The books seemed to like this place, but I thought it was average and overpriced. A couple of fish sandwiches and a drink for like $60. Food was fine, but not worth it IMO. I could have just been in a "meh" mood that day or something though - there was nothing inherently wrong with the place.

Aloha Mixed Plate. Local cuisine. Nothing fancy, but a solid lunch on a lazy day. We had a pork plate, barbecue plate, a smoothie, and an iced tea for about $30.

Also:

We did Plantation House at Kapalua for breakfast on our last day there, but really it's more of a lunch/dinner place. Our breakfast was good and reasonably priced with a great view though, and my wife's sister had recommended it to us for dinner, so that might be worth a shot.

David Paul's in Lahaina is another upscale place we didn't try, but was recommend (I think we'd have been looking at another $250+ there, and I was only doing one of those meals per island.

You'll also get a buffet meal at any luau you go to.

I'm sure there are other restaurants worth checking out too, but those are the once I had experience with unless I'm forgetting something.

[BretWeir]

If you want a cool horseriding trip, one outfit does trail rides into the Haleakala crater. Wife and I have done this twice and it was great each time -- the views are incredible, and they take you right down to the crater floor, where you can see the silverswords, rock formations, etc.

As for snorkeling, I'm not sure about catamaran trips, but there is fantastic snorkeling around the base of Black Rock right on Kaanapali Beach. If you go early it's usually no more crowded than the main "off-shore" snorkeling sites.

[pokerbobo]

[ QUOTE ]
Good timing. I am heading to Maui for the first time in October with my wife and another couple. We have not found a condo yet. I would love to hear impressions about what town to stay in on Maui. Our main desires are to have a place we can cook, have some grocery stores nearby so we can stock up on food easily, but also have some restaurants we can go to nearby as well. Plus, of course, places within stumbling distance for cocktails.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

KJS

[/ QUOTE ]

I would say stay on the west side of Maui. Lahaina is the main shopping area there.... charters for deep sea fishing, whale watch tours etc. Lots of restaurants, shops etc in that area. (there is a shuttle for cheap to get you back to kanapali area about 10-15 minutes ride)

If it is still there....you MUST try the grilled calamari appetizer at Maui Brews. Such a change from the deep fried mounds of grease you get at any other dining establishment.

Rent a jeep for the road to Hana. Top down, cooler with lunch and a couple beers (you do not want to drink more than two if you are driving) and drive it from west to east on the southern shore. You will be oceanside as opposed to cliffside so its a bit more dangerous, but damn its great.
Stops along the way should definitley include the "seven pools", the winery is OK but dont spend a ton of time there. Little beach is a nude beach not far from the winery...if you have binoculars, might want to check the scenery from there. Otherwise just stop at the places you want. There are small churches out in remote places, waterfalls, and other very scenic places. Plan on this trip taking one full day from morning til about dinner time. It will be the most incredible drive of your life, and will never be forgotten.

A nice place for a drink is the second floor restraunt just across the street from the huge Banyon tree in Lahaina. (you cant miss the tree, it takes up a city block) Open air and nice atmosphere.

If you like to snorkel, ask someone where "Blackrock" is. The hotel staff and locals will know where to point you.

I would recommend a whale watching tour, but I think the best time is from December til about March, deep sea fishing is an option....hook a marlin.

If you have the funds, a heliocoptor tour is awesome. They are not cheap, but IMO it is money well spent. Dont go for a 25 or 30 minute ride though, spring for the 45 minute and up tours. The short ones are going to take up most of the allotted time on the "way there" and the "way back"

Other than that, enjoy and have fun.

[DeezNuts]

I've heard Maui is kinda slow and more for honeymooners/etc, is this mostly true?

I'm going to Oahu(staying near Waikiki in a couple weeks and have a few things planned, anyone have any "must-sees" for me?

[Maulik]

Kauai deserves more love than Maui in this humble man's opinion. There's plenty to see if you enjoy hiking, the water, scenery.

This is of utmost importance if you'd like to see Maui's finest attraction the crater:
"One thing we didn't do that is supposed to be really cool is the sunrise bike trip down the volcano. I know two people that did it, and both said it was the highlight of their trip. Again, I can't recommend a specific company for that, but I'm sure some online research would point you in the right direction. You do have to wake up at like 2AM for that, but if you do it towards the beginning of the trip when your body still hasn't adjusted for the time difference, apparently it's not so bad."

If you do spend time in Maui, I didn't thoroughly enjoy my stay, see Hana for one or two days and continue. Maui is quiet, there's no nightlight and I'd guess the demographic of tourists to Maui is 40+.