Maui tips/recs

[pantsparty]

Hello! My H has a work trip to Maui in November and I will be tagging along and boozing it up on the beach while he's in meetings We will be extending the trip a couple of days so we can explore the island. We are staying at the Fairmont Kea Lani. Does anyone have recommendations of things to do, places to eat? Thanks!

[mdgirl]

My husband and I stayed at the Kea Lani last fall for a conference he was attending. I have a post about the trip in my blog if you'd like to take a look. My biggest recommendation is to go out for a paddle in the hotel's outrigger canoe at least once while you're there. It's free and a lot of fun. I liked it so much I joined a team when I got home!

[chicago]

That's awesome, lucky you! Here's a list I put together for a friend after we visited Maui (hope the formatting is ok). We stayed in West Maui so my recommendations are more geared toward that area. I know there are supposed to be some amazing restaurants in Wailea, but I'll let someone else chime in on that.

If you want to do a lot of actual exploring, I would recommend getting the Revealed book, also known as the "Blue Book." It has everything you could possibly want to know about what to do, see, where to eat, etc.


1. Explore Lahaina/Front St. – We loved getting shave ice. The best place is Ululani’s on Front Street. It’s on the marina side, past Cheeseburger in Paradise. It’s set back a bit so you have to look for it, but there’s usually a short line. SO good with a sweet cream topper.

2. When you go to Front St., parking is really limited. If you are driving N down Front Street past all of the main restaurants/shops, there’s a medium sized parking lot that always had a spot or two available and you don’t have to pay. I don’t know the address, but it’s across from Annie’s Shave Ice (which I’m sure you can find in your guidebook.)

3. Seeing Haleakala Sunrise is unforgettable. Be sure to leave your hotel by 2:30am to get there with enough time (this is really popular) and wear lots of warm clothing- winter coats, hats, gloves.

4. Iao Valley – we went here after Haleakala since it’s further north. It’s worth going and hiking around a bit.

5. Places to snorkel - Black Rock @ Sheraton, Honolua Bay (the best we found, we saw turtles and tons of fish here), Ahihi Cove, La Perouse Bay, area behind the Westin Ocean Resort Villas

6. Road to Hana (leave hotel by 7am) – fill your gas tank, bring snacks. We loved having the Revealed book for this. Make sure you go far enough around to see Ohe’o Gulch and Pipiwai Trail (it’s past Hana.) We drove allll the way around which provided some amazingly different types of landscape but it was scary at times – the roads aren’t paved well.

7. South Maui must-sees – La Perouse Bay, Secret Cove Beach, Big Beach

8. West Maui Drive - Olivine Pools, Honolua Bay, Slaughterhouse Beach, Nakalele Blowhole (if you go to the Olivine Pools, leave your cameras in the car and be really careful. We were almost seriously injured here. A wave came out of nowhere and almost knocked us into the ocean. It destroyed our camera & camcorder and we had to use a disposable for the rest of the trip. )

9. Luau – we did Feast at Lele. It’s more expensive, but it’s also individual tables with service instead of buffet and it’s much smaller. We called a couple of months in advance to book and wound up getting the best table front and center. Call in advance! The other really popular one is Old Lahaina Luau.

10. Go surfing with Goofy Foot Surf School – one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.

11. We also did a Sunset Champagne Cruise with Scotch Mist II. I think it was around $59/person and included champagne or beer and chocolates. A lot of the other boats do dinners which I’ve heard are fun, but we wanted to be on a quieter boat. This excursion was awesome.

12. Restaurants – Mama's Fish House is really popular, but we didn't go. Our absolute favorites were Merriman’s in Kapalua (by the Ritz Carlton on the NW side. Go on one of the last nights a little before sunset – the view is spectacular) and Cool Cat Café (amazing burgers, on Front St. Save your calories!)

[pantsparty]

Thanks so much, guys! This is so helpful and great info!

[Brit]

I was in Maui a few weeks ago. What do you like to do?

Snorkel DIY: mile 14

Mama's Fish House: A lot of our group went, but the general consensus was that it was overpriced for what it was.

Paia: Awesome little town to explore. There are some places to eat here that are more cool and funky than Mama's Fish House (also nearby).

'The Needles' cool little place for a hike.

If you need to hike with a stroller I can look up the name of an awesome place that we went.

[Deleted]

Brit Could I get the name of the stroller place? We're going in December and I'm trying to figure out what we'll do with the baby because I don't see our stroller really cutting it for anything behind a sidewalk or maybe dirt path.

[jchokie79]

Agreeing with the others that Mama's Fish House was good but overpriced. The location of the restaurant was beautiful though but so is every other restaurant on the island with the ocean view. Seriously I loved the view everywhere we went. Our best meal on the island was Merriman's hands down. Star Noodles was also really good, we went there twice. The sunrise tour is a must, Road to Hana was fun but the drive did get a little scary with all the turns.

[Deleted]

We visited Maui in April and loved it - so, so beautiful. We stayed in a condo a few doors down from the Fairmont. We were there over my birthday and had our "fancy dinner" at Nick's Fishmarket at the Fairmont. The food and service were outstanding (but very, very expensive).

A highlight for us was the Haleakala with Maui Downhill. The wake-up was rough - 3am pick up at our condo, too us to the Maui Downhill office, met up with the rest of the group and boarded a van to go to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise. It was early and COLD, but the sunrise was beautiful and the bikeride down the mountain was breathtaking. You'll be gone about 3am-1pm, so just plan to do a nap on the beach in the afternoon!

If you're driving around Maui, I highly recommend Coconut Fish Cafe in Kihei. They had such amazing fish tacos, we went back a second time on our way to the airport.

[pantsparty]

Aug 16, 2013 20:49:48 GMT -5 Brit said:

I was in Maui a few weeks ago. What do you like to do?

We are pretty chill vacationers, but being that I don't know when we'll return, we'll probably definitely get out and see some sights. I'd like to plan a couple of excursions, so maybe the road to Hana and a hike somewhere.

[magdala]

We honeymooned at the Fairmont Kea Lani and loved it. I liked the burgers and live show at the Stella Blues Cafe. Haleakala was fantastic at both sunrise and sunset.

[Brit]

Aug 17, 2013 13:39:39 GMT -5 @melissainabq said:

Brit Could I get the name of the stroller place? We're going in December and I'm trying to figure out what we'll do with the baby because I don't see our stroller really cutting it for anything behind a sidewalk or maybe dirt path.

The Village Walking Trails from the Kapalua Village Center. They have some awesome views and are pretty strenuous, yet stroller friendly, we especially liked Lake Trail.

[Deleted]

Awesome. Thanks!

[moreace01]

It's been about 5 years since I was in Wailea, but as far as restaurants, we liked Sarento's on the Beach at sunset (in nearby Kihei) and Capsiche at Hotel Wailea.

[love1999]

I recommend a lot of what has been mentioned: Road to Hana, sunrise at Haleakala with the downhill bike ride afterwards (we went with Cruiser Phil's), snorkeling at Black Rock, Old Lahaina Luau, sunset champagne cruise with Scotch Mist II. I'd also recommend a snorkeling excursion with Trilogy to Molokini. If you like hikes, if you go past Hana while driving the road, you can do the hike to Waimoku Falls.

For food, my favorite place is Leoda's Kitchen and Pie Shop. It was SO good. Best pot pie I've ever eaten and the sanwiches we got from there were great too. The Chocolate Macadamia Nut pie was to die for.

We also enjoyed Cool Cat, Aloha Mixed Plate and Hula Grill. LuLu's was good for breakfast as was Cheeseburger in Paradise. You also need to go to The Gazebo for breakfast. It doesn't look like much but the food is awesome.

[Deleted]

We did Cruiser Phil's sunrise bike tour and it was awesome! If you have never been to a luau, I think the one at Old Lahaina Luau is nice. The views are gorgeous, it isn't too cheesy, and comes with all you can drink! Reserve early for good seating. Agree with pps about Mama's Fish House being overpriced.

Some food places we really liked:
Moana Bakery & Café-Paia -loco moco
Geste shrimp truck (near the airport) - pineapple spicy shrimp is the shizz
Da Kitchen-huge portions, plate lunch
Café Mambo-Paia- pick up boxed lunches for road to Hana
Ululani Shaved Ice
Kimo's
Star Noodle-pork belly buns and ramen

[librarygirl]

I really liked our visit to Upcountry. In addition to driving to the top of Haleakala we also visited the Alli Kula Lavender farm which I loved. You can visit and walk the grounds on your own or pay for a tour with a guide for a nominal fee. We also did a lavender themed lunch-delish!

Here's a blog post for more info:

www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2011/12/attraction-review-alii-kula-lavender.html

Restaurants (some have already been mentioned):
Merriman's
Da Kitchen (it's by the airport but perfect for either your arriving or departing days)
Duke's Beach House (we only went for breakfast but really liked it)
Cilantro Grill (in downtown Lahaina)
Maui Brewing Company (they also have a brewery tour you can take or just stop in to their tasting room)
www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2011/12/attraction-review-maui-brewing-company.html

And if you're looking for a more unique shopping spot, Tub & Scrub Bath Salt Company was amazing-the smells alone as soon as you walked in were heavenly. 

www.theredheadedtraveler.com/2012/06/tub-scrub-bath-salt-company-maui.html

Enjoy!

[CloudBee]

Book a snorkel trip or whale watch with the Pacific Whale Foundation. They are an incredible group. www.pacificwhale.org/cruises/Whale-Watch-Cruises?gclid=CPvvp76EnrkCFQya4AodYQsAOw