Author Topic: Maui Master Thread (Read 1339063 times)

@Yehuda · « **Reply #4340 on:** July 12, 2019, 09:44:22 AM »

Quote from: Dr Moose on July 11, 2019, 09:13:45 PM

If I'm going straight to OGG, I figured I can leave at 9AM (says 1:15hr according to Google Maps) and be fine. Is that not enough time?

Obviously, I would rather go back to hotel to pick everything up and check out, but I assume that will be another hour at least.

I think you can leave by 6:15-6:30. We stopped once or twice on the way down to take pictures for a minute. If you get back to the hotel by 8:30 (I think it's a 2 hour drive?) then you can check out and head to the airport. I don't exactly see the point of not checking out at 3am when you leave though.

Dan · « **Reply #4341 on:** July 21, 2019, 04:15:59 PM »

Looks like Andaz Maui now has a 10 night minimum for points stays. Y'all know what to do.

KSMH · « **Reply #4342 on:** July 21, 2019, 04:21:55 PM »

Quote from: Dan on July 21, 2019, 04:15:59 PM

Looks like Andaz Maui now has a 10 night minimum for points stays. Y'all know what to do.

Yeah, but crazy they have the chutzpah of even trying.

mmgfarb · « **Reply #4343 on:** July 21, 2019, 05:34:50 PM »

Quote from: Dan on July 21, 2019, 04:15:59 PM

Looks like Andaz Maui now has a 10 night minimum for points stays. Y'all know what to do.

Yea but you need that many points in the account which is very annoying for many people. Ridiculous that they're getting away with this anyway.

Dan · « **Reply #4344 on:** July 21, 2019, 05:39:50 PM »

Quote from: mmgfarb on July 21, 2019, 05:34:50 PM

Yea but you need that many points in the account which is very annoying for many people. Ridiculous that they're getting away with this anyway.

Try calling to book with insufficient points. Definitely doable as a Glob. Probably can talk your way into it under that as well.

mmgfarb · « **Reply #4345 on:** July 21, 2019, 05:41:24 PM »

Quote from: Dan on July 21, 2019, 05:39:50 PM

Try calling to book with insufficient points. Definitely doable as a Glob. Probably can talk your way into it under that as well.

Interesting, didn't know you could do that with Hyatt. Too bad Hyatt's reservation system isn't totally messed up like another chain's is.

mmgfarb · « **Reply #4346 on:** July 21, 2019, 05:43:44 PM »

I know I'm kinda late on the Haleakala, sunrise/sunset debate but I'll just post my input. I didn't do the sunrise so I can't compare the two but staying afterward to see the stars from up there is absolutely insane, definitely another reason to do sunset over sunrise for me.

ushdadude · « **Reply #4347 on:** July 21, 2019, 05:55:53 PM »

Quote from: mmgfarb on July 21, 2019, 05:43:44 PM

I know I'm kinda late on the Haleakala, sunrise/sunset debate but I'll just post my input. I didn't do the sunrise so I can't compare the two but staying afterward to see the stars from up there is absolutely insane, definitely another reason to do sunset over sunrise for me.

Or come a little earlier and see the stars beforehand

puddles · « **Reply #4348 on:** July 21, 2019, 05:59:33 PM »

I just got back and will be posting a TR in the coming days. Until the ... do the sunset. It’s beyind amazing. I couldn’t get tickets to the sunrise and did sunset instead. One of the more amazing things I’ve ever seen (Hana gives it quite the competition though).

blue eyes · « **Reply #4349 on:** July 24, 2019, 11:59:40 AM »

Im flying into Maui on Friday and leaving the following Sunday from HNL. How many days do we need in Maui and can we squeeze Kauai as well, or will that be too much?

elikatz · « **Reply #4350 on:** July 24, 2019, 12:01:30 PM »

Quote from: blue eyes on July 24, 2019, 11:59:40 AM

Im flying into Maui on Friday and leaving the following Sunday from HNL. How many days do we need in Maui and can we squeeze Kauai as well, or will that be too much?

Dan always writes, don't try to push in 3 islands in a week, rather enjoy 1 or most 2

blue eyes · « **Reply #4351 on:** July 24, 2019, 12:22:14 PM »

Quote from: elikatz on July 24, 2019, 12:01:30 PM

Dan always writes, don't try to push in 3 islands in a week, rather enjoy 1 or most 2

Yes I saw that... since I figured I'll fly Friday to Oahu, I thought maybe I can do three days in Maui and three days in Kauai
is that still to much?

Zalc · « **Reply #4352 on:** July 24, 2019, 12:46:16 PM »

Quote from: blue eyes on July 24, 2019, 12:22:14 PM

Yes I saw that... since I figured I'll fly Friday to Oahu, I thought maybe I can do three days in Maui and three days in Kauai
is that still to much?

Too much?
Depends on your goals. Vacation or adventure?

3 days in Maui is enough to get much of the experience, but depending on your answer to the above question you may want more time...

blue eyes · « **Reply #4353 on:** July 24, 2019, 12:56:28 PM »

Quote from: Zalc on July 24, 2019, 12:46:16 PM

Too much?
Depends on your goals. Vacation or adventure?

3 days in Maui is enough to get much of the experience, but depending on your answer to the above question you may want more time...

Too much, as in we wont get to experience either island properly. Goal for the trip is: hiking, sunrise sunset, viewpoints, national parks photography etc.
I feel like I cant go to Hawaii and miss out on Kauai

Packing up from hotels, airports etc do kill the day sort of...

mmgfarb · « **Reply #4354 on:** July 24, 2019, 12:58:01 PM »

Quote from: blue eyes on July 24, 2019, 12:56:28 PM

Too much, as in we wont get to experience either island properly. Goal for the trip is: hiking, sunrise sunset, viewpoints, national parks photography etc.
I feel like I cant go to Hawaii and miss out on Kauai

Packing up from hotels, airports etc do kill the day sort of...

I say stay the whole week on Maui.

12HRS · « **Reply #4355 on:** July 24, 2019, 01:41:46 PM »

Quote from: mmgfarb on July 24, 2019, 12:58:01 PM

I say stay the whole week on Maui.

this

puddles · « **Reply #4356 on:** July 24, 2019, 01:54:04 PM »

Here is my short TR. HIt me up with any questions or comments. I hope others find it helpful.

To Start off- My wife and I had a limited window to travel so no judgement please on the short trip!

Flights- We flew UA from LGA to ORD and ORD direct to OGG. While less than ideal, this was the only available flight in the time we had that got us there early Sunday afternoon and was available with Chase UR Points. I used about 90,000 UR Points for the flight. The flights were originally basic economy but I called and got a nice rep who upgraded all of my flights to Economy Plus (This included extra legroom and seating all the way in the front of the plane). This perk was for all four flights.
The stopover in Chicago was 3 hours so I Purchased 2 UA lounge passes on the DDF.

Sunday Arrival- We arrived at 2PM in OGG quite tired from the flights but excited to be there! Our luggage came quickly and we went straight down to pickup our car from Alamo via Costco Rental. Costco was way cheaper than competitors and the price kept getting lower as arrival date came upon us. I paid $240 for 4 days of rental in a Mustang convertible. The car was in decent condition, nothing special. I would guess that every third car in Maui was a silver Mustang. Seriously.

We were out of the airport by about 330 and went straight to Costco. I had brought Pom meals for dinner but wanted to get cheese for grilled cheese (brought a small sandwich maker with us). We also bought Chobani, nuts, tuna and some other small items. We were in and out and made our way to the Ritz Carlton.

While some dont love the location of the Ritz we only wanted to stay at a hotel within Marriott using my SPG points. After much back and forth we opted for the Ritz. The cost was 70,000 per night. The drive to the hotel was amazing, you are on the coast the entire time. It took about an hour from the airport. We arrived at the hotel and checked in. We also gave them our meals which they put in their freezer. They charged $10 per meal to warm up and bring it up to your room on a nice try with napkins and plastic utensils. With tax a tip and fee it came to around $30 a night for the food delivery. They originally put us on the ground floor but I requested a higher floor and we were moved right away with no issue. The room itself was nice, but nothing special. We had an ocean view which was beautiful. After settling in and eating we walked around on the beach and by the pool. The grounds are beautiful by the Ritz and the wind wasnt noticalble (something negative that people have pointed out about the Ritz).

Monday - We were up early from the jetlag and got an early start. We walked some local beaches and hit the pool. By 11 AM we were out and went to the Maui Tropical Plantation. The tour was nice, relaxing and informative. You are on a tram for about 45 minutes, tickets are cheap and you get to see some different things there. There is also Ziplining available if you would like to do that. I highly recommend the coffee there. They brew it from the beans they grow on the plantation and it was excellent! They also have freshly cut Hawaiian pineapple which is amazing.
We left around 1 and started heading towards the Haleakala National Park. It took about 2 hours to get there from the Plantation. We first got to the visitors center thinking we were there and realized we had another 10 miles to go. While some might enjoy that drive, I found it arduous. There was a lot of cloud/fog and it was drizzling. When we finally got to the summit we parked and walked around. We had brought some sandwiches and drinks with us and ate them there while overlooking the crater. Quite a view. Bring water with you as there is nowhere to really get anything within the park. We hiked about 2 miles down the sliding sands trail (cant miss the signs it is quite easy to find) and I davened Mincha overlooking one of the most amazing views I had ever seen. While everyone warns you that the elevation is harder on the way up and to take it easy I thought I would be fine sprinting up at a point. I was quite wrong. The 2 mniles down took us about 45 minutes or so. The climb back... Took us double. At one point I was out of breath and had a hard time catching it. After sprinting I thought I would faint. While I loved the hike and the view I would recommend not being an idiot and taking it slow. We finished this around 530 and headed to the top parking lot, maybe .5 mile or so from the visitors center parking lot. When we got there the lot was almost full. By 630 it was overflowing. By 7 the National Park Office had closed it down. There were hundreds of people waiting for the sunset. If you can, BRING A CHAIR. We were sitting on rocks on the floor and it was extremely uncomfortable. Also, if you are not driving, bring some wine. You are there for a while and it was special. I know this has been talked about before but words are tough to describe the beauty you see there. I never did sunrise but there were plenty of people at the summit (and others at my hotel) who all said sunset is just as good as Sunrise. I would also recommend sticking around for a bit after and looking at the stars. You have never seen them like that before. Never. We left around 830-9 and started the long drive home. By the time we got back and ate it was close to 12 AM.

Tuesday- my wife did a sunrise class the hotel offered for free. We left the hotel around 10AM to go snorkeling. We booked it through the hotel and it was about $300 for the two of us. We had to drive to a different hotel about 15 minutes away to meet the boat. We parked in a commercial parking lot (Whalers). I found out after parking can be validated by any store in the outdoor mall which would have saved a couple of bucks. We met the group on the beach and the woman in charge totally lost it on us when we started using spray suntan lotion. Evidently, Hawaii recently passed a law on lotion and only allows barrier and reef safe which basically no one in 49 States sells. She was yelling at us and others and required us to leave our lotion in a box at the beach and use their awful smelling natural Zinc Oxide lotion. My advice; spray before you go. The stuff smells horrible and didnt work well.
The activity was great! We saw beautiful fish, coral, and a bunch of massive sea turtles. We stayed at the spot for about 2 hours and they served lunch (not kosher obviously) and some beers and mixed drinks. The way back was longer as the catamaran boat used sails instead of the engine. It was relaxing and we even saw some dolphins jumping in the water.
We tried to balance the vacation between trips and pool/beach so when we got back to the hotel around 4 we did just that.

Wednesday- RTH day! I am sure @Dan and others are going to kill me but I had no patience to to 6 more hours of driving. I Also felt like I was missing out on the views by being in the drivers seat. A friend of mine had just used a driver he loved so we hired him for Wednesday. Darren (cost was $800 including tax) was awesome. We spoke the day before and reviewed what we wanted and some other suggestions he had for us. Pickup was 630 AM and off we went. No need to describe this day as Hana is insanely amazing. I would not trade that day for anything. I would say if you dont love driving, hire this guy. He had a comfortable clean 2018 Odyssey. He brought us drinks (water, fruit, coffee etc.), snacks, lotions, bug spray, maps, umbrellas, ponchos and more. He stayed away at the right times and helped us avoid things that are a waste. He was extremely knowledgeable and a safe driver. To me this was money well spent. He will also drive you for as long as you want. His Hana day record is 16 hours! We left at 630 and got back at 9PM.

Thursday- We thought about a helicopter trip but there was nothing available closer to our flight so we just drove around a bit and had a relaxing day. Our flight was leaving at 4 so we did have a decent amount of time.

TLDR- Go to Maui. Do not miss RTH or the national park. The Ritz is fine. Not as bad as some make it seem but nothing special. Overall an amazing trip. I will try and post some pictures in a separate post.

Zalc · « **Reply #4357 on:** July 24, 2019, 02:03:13 PM »

Quote from: blue eyes on July 24, 2019, 12:56:28 PM

Too much, as in we wont get to experience either island properly. Goal for the trip is: hiking, sunrise sunset, viewpoints, national parks photography etc.
I feel like I cant go to Hawaii and miss out on Kauai

Packing up from hotels, airports etc do kill the day sort of...

If you try to fit in Kauai, you almost certainly will have been there physically, but you will almost certainly "miss out" on both islands, and that would be a shame.

shaulyaakov · « **Reply #4358 on:** July 24, 2019, 02:35:12 PM »

Quote from: puddles on July 24, 2019, 01:54:04 PM

Here is my short TR. HIt me up with any questions or comments. I hope others find it helpful.

To Start off- My wife and I had a limited window to travel so no judgement please on the short trip!

Flights- We flew UA from LGA to ORD and ORD direct to OGG. While less than ideal, this was the only available flight in the time we had that got us there early Sunday afternoon and was available with Chase UR Points. I used about 90,000 UR Points for the flight. The flights were originally basic economy but I called and got a nice rep who upgraded all of my flights to Economy Plus (This included extra legroom and seating all the way in the front of the plane). This perk was for all four flights.
The stopover in Chicago was 3 hours so I Purchased 2 UA lounge passes on the DDF.

Sunday Arrival- We arrived at 2PM in OGG quite tired from the flights but excited to be there! Our luggage came quickly and we went straight down to pickup our car from Alamo via Costco Rental. Costco was way cheaper than competitors and the price kept getting lower as arrival date came upon us. I paid $240 for 4 days of rental in a Mustang convertible. The car was in decent condition, nothing special. I would guess that every third car in Maui was a silver Mustang. Seriously.

We were out of the airport by about 330 and went straight to Costco. I had brought Pom meals for dinner but wanted to get cheese for grilled cheese (brought a small sandwich maker with us). We also bought Chobani, nuts, tuna and some other small items. We were in and out and made our way to the Ritz Carlton.

While some dont love the location of the Ritz we only wanted to stay at a hotel within Marriott using my SPG points. After much back and forth we opted for the Ritz. The cost was 70,000 per night. The drive to the hotel was amazing, you are on the coast the entire time. It took about an hour from the airport. We arrived at the hotel and checked in. We also gave them our meals which they put in their freezer. They charged $10 per meal to warm up and bring it up to your room on a nice try with napkins and plastic utensils. With tax a tip and fee it came to around $30 a night for the food delivery. They originally put us on the ground floor but I requested a higher floor and we were moved right away with no issue. The room itself was nice, but nothing special. We had an ocean view which was beautiful. After settling in and eating we walked around on the beach and by the pool. The grounds are beautiful by the Ritz and the wind wasnt noticalble (something negative that people have pointed out about the Ritz).

Monday - We were up early from the jetlag and got an early start. We walked some local beaches and hit the pool. By 11 AM we were out and went to the Maui Tropical Plantation. The tour was nice, relaxing and informative. You are on a tram for about 45 minutes, tickets are cheap and you get to see some different things there. There is also Ziplining available if you would like to do that. I highly recommend the coffee there. They brew it from the beans they grow on the plantation and it was excellent! They also have freshly cut Hawaiian pineapple which is amazing.
We left around 1 and started heading towards the Haleakala National Park. It took about 2 hours to get there from the Plantation. We first got to the visitors center thinking we were there and realized we had another 10 miles to go. While some might enjoy that drive, I found it arduous. There was a lot of cloud/fog and it was drizzling. When we finally got to the summit we parked and walked around. We had brought some sandwiches and drinks with us and ate them there while overlooking the crater. Quite a view. Bring water with you as there is nowhere to really get anything within the park. We hiked about 2 miles down the sliding sands trail (cant miss the signs it is quite easy to find) and I davened Mincha overlooking one of the most amazing views I had ever seen. While everyone warns you that the elevation is harder on the way up and to take it easy I thought I would be fine sprinting up at a point. I was quite wrong. The 2 mniles down took us about 45 minutes or so. The climb back... Took us double. At one point I was out of breath and had a hard time catching it. After sprinting I thought I would faint. While I loved the hike and the view I would recommend not being an idiot and taking it slow. We finished this around 530 and headed to the top parking lot, maybe .5 mile or so from the visitors center parking lot. When we got there the lot was almost full. By 630 it was overflowing. By 7 the National Park Office had closed it down. There were hundreds of people waiting for the sunset. If you can, BRING A CHAIR. We were sitting on rocks on the floor and it was extremely uncomfortable. Also, if you are not driving, bring some wine. You are there for a while and it was special. I know this has been talked about before but words are tough to describe the beauty you see there. I never did sunrise but there were plenty of people at the summit (and others at my hotel) who all said sunset is just as good as Sunrise. I would also recommend sticking around for a bit after and looking at the stars. You have never seen them like that before. Never. We left around 830-9 and started the long drive home. By the time we got back and ate it was close to 12 AM.

Tuesday- my wife did a sunrise class the hotel offered for free. We left the hotel around 10AM to go snorkeling. We booked it through the hotel and it was about $300 for the two of us. We had to drive to a different hotel about 15 minutes away to meet the boat. We parked in a commercial parking lot (Whalers). I found out after parking can be validated by any store in the outdoor mall which would have saved a couple of bucks. We met the group on the beach and the woman in charge totally lost it on us when we started using spray suntan lotion. Evidently, Hawaii recently passed a law on lotion and only allows barrier and reef safe which basically no one in 49 States sells. She was yelling at us and others and required us to leave our lotion in a box at the beach and use their awful smelling natural Zinc Oxide lotion. My advice; spray before you go. The stuff smells horrible and didnt work well.
The activity was great! We saw beautiful fish, coral, and a bunch of massive sea turtles. We stayed at the spot for about 2 hours and they served lunch (not kosher obviously) and some beers and mixed drinks. The way back was longer as the catamaran boat used sails instead of the engine. It was relaxing and we even saw some dolphins jumping in the water.
We tried to balance the vacation between trips and pool/beach so when we got back to the hotel around 4 we did just that.

Wednesday- RTH day! I am sure @Dan and others are going to kill me but I had no patience to to 6 more hours of driving. I Also felt like I was missing out on the views by being in the drivers seat. A friend of mine had just used a driver he loved so we hired him for Wednesday. Darren (cost was $800 including tax) was awesome. We spoke the day before and reviewed what we wanted and some other suggestions he had for us. Pickup was 630 AM and off we went. No need to describe this day as Hana is insanely amazing. I would not trade that day for anything. I would say if you dont love driving, hire this guy. He had a comfortable clean 2018 Odyssey. He brought us drinks (water, fruit, coffee etc.), snacks, lotions, bug spray, maps, umbrellas, ponchos and more. He stayed away at the right times and helped us avoid things that are a waste. He was extremely knowledgeable and a safe driver. To me this was money well spent. He will also drive you for as long as you want. His Hana day record is 16 hours! We left at 630 and got back at 9PM.

Thursday- We thought about a helicopter trip but there was nothing available closer to our flight so we just drove around a bit and had a relaxing day. Our flight was leaving at 4 so we did have a decent amount of time.

TLDR- Go to Maui. Do not miss RTH or the national park. The Ritz is fine. Not as bad as some make it seem but nothing special. Overall an amazing trip. I will try and post some pictures in a separate post.

Good TR. Why Ritz over Marriott?

puddles · « **Reply #4359 on:** July 24, 2019, 02:36:57 PM »

Quote from: shaulyaakov on July 24, 2019, 02:35:12 PM

Good TR. Why Ritz over Marriott?

Thanks!

I think the Marriot I was looking at was 60K a night and I figured for 10 more why not stay at a Ritz.

Name	Area	More Info	Comments
____________________________________________________________________________________________________	_____________________________________________________	__________________________________________________________	____________________________________________________________________________
Hyatt Regency	West side (Lahaina)	Website	Hyatt Category 5. The Hyatt advertises having Kosher food. In the past, these meals came from Oahu Kosher (Chabad in Honolulu). However, in Dec 2016 they claimed the meals were prepared by the Chabad of Maui, while in actuality they were prepared by a reform temple (story explained at the bottom of this post), which is still true as of Feb 2017.
Andaz	South side (Wailea)	Website	Hyatt category 8. A favorite among DDFers, although award space isn't easy to come by.
Grand Wailea	South side (Wailea)	Website	Hilton - 80k-95k depending on season. Reminiscent of the GHK in Kauai with sprawling grounds and more pools than you count, located on the beautiful Wailea Beach.
Sheraton	West side (Lahaina)	Website	SPG category 6.
Westin	West side (Lahaina)	Website	SPG category 6.
Fairmont	South side (Wailea)	Website	All suite hotel.
Destination By Hyatt Residence - Polo Club	South side (Wailea)	Website	Condos with full kitchen, Ocean front views. The Polo Club has the closest beach access of any property in Wailea - it's no longer legal to build so close to the shore. The beach is known for good snorkeling. Unlike all the other beaches, access from land is completely restricted to Polo club guests. While technically it is a public beach, access is only available from the sea... so it's a de facto private beach perpetually empty and exclusive.

Name	Area	Comments
______________________________________________________________	____________________________________________________	_________________________________________________________________________________
Black Sand Beach	Waiʻānapanapa State Park	One of the highlights of any Maui trip is black sand beach in Waiʻānapanapa State Park. A bonus feature there is snorkeling at the black sand beach. The waters are exceptionally clear, allowing you to observe a vibrant array of marine life, we saw lobsters, coral, schools of tropical fish, and even an eel. The waters just behind where the waves begin to break are around 10ft deep and super calm. It's important to note that a reservation is required to access this beach, so planning ahead is crucial. https://gostateparks.hawaii.gov/waianapanapa
Beach 2	Area 2	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Beach 3	Area 3	Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Name	Area	Comments
______________________________________________________________	____________________________________________________	_________________________________________________________________________________
Sliding Sands	Haleakala	An amazing hike into the crater from the upper visitors center. Quite challenging due to the constant downhill on a loose cinder trail. Amazing views unlike anything on the island, and no shade. The entire trail takes all day, but most people take it only partway in. Go as far as you like and remember that the way back is a constant uphill and will take twice as long. Bring lots of water.
Pipiwai Trail	Hana	One of the nicest trail on Maui. A bit past Hana, just before the Seven Sacred Pools. The hike goes through the jungle, past banyan trees and a 200-foot waterfall, and through a bamboo forest (this is the highlight for most people). The trail ends at the amazing 400-foot Waimoku Falls. Give this hike a couple of hours.
Lava Field	South Maui	At the end of the road, past the Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve. This is an amazing and relatively difficult hike. You will be walking on sharp, loose lava rocks the entire time, but the views are smashing and the terrain interesting. Great views of a particularly wild stretch of ocean, interesting pools (not swimmable), and ends in a glorious (and generally empty) beach if you brave it till the end. Do the loop - hug the coast on the way out, and take the Kings Highway back. See Maui Revealed for all the details.
Makamakaole Stream: 13 Crossings	North East Maui	The name undersells this gorgeous hike by a lot. This hike has close to 20 or more crossings (each way). The crossings are pretty well orchestrated such that a teen or adult can cross dry, with no issues at all. toddlers will need a helping hand (my 3yr old did this entire hike with just some hand holding) and 7-8yr olds will likely manage the entire hike with no help at all. Crossing the beautiful lightly gushing stream is refreshing and mesmerizing. The hike includes a incredible bamboo forest, and has 2 waterfalls. To the left is the main one - which is easy to get to. You are rewarded with the ability to dip into the cool water and it's deep enough to get completely immersed (5-6ft at the deepest point it seemed) and stand under the waterfall for some great pictures and memories. The hike has a lot of rocks, and is a "technical" hike - but not hard at all. Highly recommended as one of the best hikes in Maui. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/hawaii/maui/makamakaole-stream-13-crossings

Activity	Comments
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________	_________________________________________________________________________________
Helicopter tours	A few companies offer this; Blue Hawaiian is generally considered to be the best. There are different routes to choose from - keep in mind that the ones going to Haleakala don't actually go into the crater. This is not as recommended on Maui as it is on other islands, since the entire island is pretty much easily accessible so you won't go anywhere remote or extremely amazing.
Road to Hana	Absolute must-do. Don't get scared off by misinformation and go all the way around - in a way the backside is even more spectacular that the more popular first half. You do NOT need a special car or 4WD; any regular car could do it happily. Best way to do the road is to spend the night in Hana, as that will leave the most time to explore the thousand different things along the road. If you're only going for the day, make sure to be on the road EARLY (7-7:30 the latest).
Haleakala Sunrise	A spectacular event that is not to be missed. You will wake up at the witching hour, it will be freezing cold, and it will be absolutely worth it. Be there at least 45 minutes before the listed sunrise - the earlier the better; they close the upper parking lot when it fills up and you'll have to park at the lower visitor center lot. Dress warmly and bring lots of jackets and blankets. Take the trail to Pakaoao (White Hill) and you'll have the sunrise to yourself (mostly, at least). Tip: for younger kids it may be more worthwhile to go for sunset and avoid disturbing their sleeping schedule.
'Ohe'o Gulch (Seven Sacred Pools)	Also known as the Seven Sacred Pools, this is in the Hana side of Haleakala National Park. Save your receipt from sunrise; it's valid for three days and will get you in to the pools too. Short hike from the parking lot to the pools, and it's absolutely stunning. Will be absolutely PACKED from around 1PM and on (but still worth it). If you're staying in Hana go early in the morning and it'll be mostly empty.
Snorkling Molokini crater	Countless boat companies will take you out to Molokini. It has the best underwater visibility in the state, sometimes over 100 feet. Somewhat overrated and over-touristed, but generally considered to be worth it.
Whale watching	The waters surrounding Maui are the stage for some of the best whale watching in the world. Each winter (December through May), thousands of koholā (humpback whales) travel to Hawaiʻi from colder waters to breed, calve and nurse their young. If you are going during this season, grab a pair of binoculars or book a trip to go whale watching. It will blow your mind. Whales jumping 20-30ft into the air falling back in the water with a powerful splash. National geographic moments experienced in real life. If your kids like marine life, this will be unforgettable. People recommend the nonprofit: https://www.pacificwhale.org/ However if you're slightly more adventurous, and want more of a thrill, go for one of the speedboats. They go a lot closer, and the lower boat level next to the vast whales creates an experience hard to imagine. The key is - check the ocean with your own two eyes before you book. If you're seeing tons of spouts, breaches, fins and tails - you're going to have a really good time on the boat - up close. If you don't see activity... it probably won't be great.
Kayaking
Biking
Horseback riding
Ziplining
Cruises

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Author Topic: Maui Master Thread (Read 1339063 times)