Maui Accomodations

A quick bump. We've got a place booked for 5 nights down in Kihei, now are looking at Somewhere up north.

[bomber317]

We're getting married in Napili.

We booked 2 condos there and it came out to about $100 a person a night (1 bedroom = 2 ppl). Seems to be about standard.

I believe there's only 1 hotel near Napili and that's the Ritz. Not sure about motels and such.

[OldDutch]

Go to vrbo.com or homeaway.com, or even google.com, and seach for priavte properties for rent at this resort:

"Honua Kai"

Note: Do not rent through the hotel website, total rip off.

It is in Kanapalli, built in 2009, 5 star resort. The place is on par with many of the nicest hotels in Maui. I stayed there in 2010, and paid $200/night for 2 weeks. PM me if you want the exact one we rented, I can send you a link.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by bomber317

We're getting married in Napili.

We booked 2 condos there and it came out to about $100 a person a night (1 bedroom = 2 ppl). Seems to be about standard.

I believe there's only 1 hotel near Napili and that's the Ritz. Not sure about motels and such.

Napili Beach is a beautiful little place.

The Ritz Beach, just around the corner, will break your back with heavy surf.

If you don't mind driving about 15 minutes, there are a bunch of hotels a little further down the road, including, I think, Embassy Suites and Kaanapali Shores. The beach at the Shores is unusuable with coral out front.

Cowperson

[return to the red]

download the app Maui Revealed, you can thank me later

Originally Posted by return to the red

download the app Maui Revealed, you can thank me later

Haha! I currently have 6 tabs of their website open of their hotel aerial pictures right now!
Awesome website!
There's alot of them that I would LOVE to go to, but money is tight, so the better the deal, the better.
Betterbidding says there's a chance of getting the Hyatt for $150/night, but there's no kitchen.
And then the other rooms on VRBO don't have awesome views.
Yes. I want my cake and eat it too.

Bump.
So we've decided to split our trip between 3 places.
Aston Mahana (north island for the ocean front view)
Westin Ocean Villas (not the hotel. North island for the "resort" great kiddie pool)
Kihei Surfside (south island, oceanfront view, close to my favourite beach in Wailea)

Now for activities: (keep in mind the 2 and a half year old kid) would like to do Haleakala at sunrise or sunset. And the Maui aquarium. Not doing Hana this time or a luau. Anything else that I might need to do other that drink lots of Mai Tais?

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

Bump.
So we've decided to split our trip between 3 places.
Aston Mahana (north island for the ocean front view)
Westin Ocean Villas (not the hotel. North island for the "resort" great kiddie pool)
Kihei Surfside (south island, oceanfront view, close to my favourite beach in Wailea)

Now for activities: (keep in mind the 2 and a half year old kid) would like to do Haleakala at sunrise or sunset. And the Maui aquarium. Not doing Hana this time or a luau. Anything else that I might need to do other that drink lots of Mai Tais?

If possible, leave a little earlier than you are thinking so you can get a parking spot in the lot up on Haleakala. The drive will be a little more pleasant as well. Lots of people take blankets and stuff to wrap themselves in up top as it can be pretty cold. It will be crowded up there.

Io Needle . . . . . and there used to be a botanical garden along the way. There is a road that does a circumfrance of the volcano, coming out at Kapalua . . . . . . again go early so as not to be bothered by the traffic on the sort of one lane roads.I mentioned a hiking trail in one of the pictures on page one of this thread . . . that trail is on that road.

Makewao - sort of an artists colony. Kula Gardens. Tedeschi Winery if its still open.

Go watch the windsurfing and surfing of Hookipa, either on the beach or a lookout nearby . . . . walk a bit in the little towns around there.

About six km or so outside of Lahaina, heading towards Kihei, past a place called, I think, Chez Paul, there are spots to pull over by the ocean and go snorkelling. Not really a park but sort of a popular hangout. Calm beach.

Hang out. Hang Loose.

Cowperson

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

If possible, leave a little earlier than you are thinking so you can get a parking spot in the lot up on Haleakala. The drive will be a little more pleasant as well. Lots of people take blankets and stuff to wrap themselves in up top as it can be pretty cold. It will be crowded up there.

Io Needle . . . . . and there used to be a botanical garden along the way. There is a road that does a circumfrance of the volcano, coming out at Kapalua . . . . . . again go early so as not to be bothered by the traffic on the sort of one lane roads.I mentioned a hiking trail in one of the pictures on page one of this thread . . . that trail is on that road.

Makewao - sort of an artists colony. Kula Gardens. Tedeschi Winery if its still open.

Go watch the windsurfing and surfing of Hookipa, either on the beach or a lookout nearby . . . . walk a bit in the little towns around there.

About six km or so outside of Lahaina, heading towards Kihei, past a place called, I think, Chez Paul, there are spots to pull over by the ocean and go snorkelling. Not really a park but sort of a popular hangout. Calm beach.

Hang out. Hang Loose.

Cowperson

Good tips! I just came back and couldn't think of anything mainly because I don't have kids and kept thinking while typing a response "can you take a kid to do that?"

Whales were awesome! Saw my first ever "chase pod" and that was absolutely amazing but overall tons of activity.

I'm big on the kanaapali area and love snorkeling around Black Rock.

[The Goon]

If you're seriously considering Haleakala sunrise, prepare well the day before. It's freaky driving up in the dark, because it's a long winding road. Take a thermos of hot chocolate or coffee and snacks because there's nothing up there. But it is awesome. If your 2 1/2 year old can sleep in the car, all the better.

Makawao, as mentioned above, is quite different - it's actually considered Maui's "cowboy country" so it has a different feel from what you'd expect in Hawaii (not on the water, rural) There's a bakery there that I've seen on a couple of travel shows - their cream puffs are apparently worth the drive (if you like that sort of thing).

Paia on the north coast is a fun hippie town with some cool restaurants. It's also the start of the Road to Hana. We didn't make it all the way to Hana but enjoyed stopping at little towns and waterfalls along the way.

Also, if you're so inclined, there is Big Beach on the bottom of the island, which is a great...big beach. I did some body surfing there until a wave picked me up and slammed me down on my back at full force. I think I got off lucky with cuts and bruises.

Right next to Big Beach is Little Beach, which is clothing-optional. That was fun.

[Ace]

This time of year, i'd concider going for sunset instead...Now i've never done sunset (have done sunrise twice), but for your sanity alone i just think it would be much more enjoyable heading up at 3pm as opposed to 2am, and I can't imagine the view would be much different.

Legends of crazy weird sunrises exist, but both times we were there it was just a "really nice" sunrise.

[Cowperson]

If you're a pretty good swimmer and like some body surfing, the rough surf of Baldwin Beach, near Paia is a lot of fun . . . . . . and its a nice walking beach.

If you're past Paia by 8 a.m., then the Road To Hana can be fairly leisurely in spite of its famous 600 curves. It looks like this in the early morning:



Below, Hana, Maui on a good morning . . .


There is still some beautiful driving out back of Hana . . . . the gravesite of Charles Lindbergh is a great treasure hunt along this stretch of road. You'll need some fairly precise directions from a guidebook or locals.



. . . . with spots like this:



Below, middle of the day up on Haleakala . . . . a very rare cloudless time at mid-day.



And whale watching at sunset . . . .



Cowperson

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Cowperson

How on earth did you ever get that picture? I'm impressed by people that can time it to snag a turtle popping it's head out of the water, let alone a breaching whale!

I just got back this Sunday. That was a shock to the system. I went for a nice little swim with a turtle along Black Rock (in your Kaanapali picture) on Saturday. And now I'm here.....

[Sliver]

Hawaii is paradise. Haleakala is super boring. My advice is don't bother with that and do one of the 10,000,000 things that are more fun.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Hawaii is paradise. Haleakala is super boring. My advice is don't bother with that and do one of the 10,000,000 things that are more fun.

We drove my gf's parents up there at 3:30 so they could see the sunrise and do an 8 hour hike (Had to drive them up so we could drop a car off at the other end of the hike).

Sunrise was meh, and being up that early lead to eating 2 breakfasts and a couple of pitchers of blender drinks by 930am because it already felt like the afternoon.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

How on earth did you ever get that picture? I'm impressed by people that can time it to snag a turtle popping it's head out of the water, let alone a breaching whale!

I just got back this Sunday. That was a shock to the system. I went for a nice little swim with a turtle along Black Rock (in your Kaanapali picture) on Saturday. And now I'm here.....

I know the feeling. . . . . came back from the Big Island last year and drove home in the dark in a howling, freezing blizzard.

Shooting a breaching whale - juvenile in this case - is indeed a challenge . . . . . of anticipation. I was having no luck and then sat back to think about it . . . . . and watched their patterns (mother and juvenile) and guestimated where they would appear next, camera ready, finger on the trigger, heartbeat steady . . . . . And voila, but with a slightly tilted horizon.

Apparently my experience on the boat, with so many breaches and close proximity, is actually not the norm for the most part. Lucky evening.

Haleakala is super boring.

Hike down into the crater and then walk back up and out . . . . . that will get your heart going.

Cowperson

[fundmark19]

I am going to bump this as we are heading down next February with our 6 moth old future child. Puxlut updates would be nice about your adventure! We are looking to rent a condo on a beach hopefully to limit the walking needed with the young one

[lucky1]

Originally Posted by Puxlut

Bump.
So we've decided to split our trip between 3 places.
Aston Mahana (north island for the ocean front view)
Westin Ocean Villas (not the hotel. North island for the "resort" great kiddie pool)
Kihei Surfside (south island, oceanfront view, close to my favourite beach in Wailea)

Now for activities: (keep in mind the 2 and a half year old kid) would like to do Haleakala at sunrise or sunset. And the Maui aquarium. Not doing Hana this time or a luau. Anything else that I might need to do other that drink lots of Mai Tais?

Stayed at Aston Mahana a couple of years ago, great place!! Just arrived back from kihei surfside.... Awesome place as well!! Went paddle boarding every morning with the turtles!! Just awesome!!

We've been twice since I posted. I'll give you the Coles notes.
Aston Mahana-We lucked out and got upgraded to a premium 2 bedroom unit. Was renovated to the nines! You will not get a better view than this complex. There is a bit of coral right at the beginning of the beach, but if you go down 100 meters to the beach in front of Honua Kai, you can get in the water easier. Saw some cool fish there. 6/10 for snorkeling. A 2 minute walk to the supermarket.
Kihei Surfside-The unit we had was a little run down, but a decent view. The best park was the expansive lawn that Ryley ran around every day. You had to walk 50 meters to the beach, but it's an awesome beach. There's hardly any slope, so pretty good for toddlers. Ryley liked to play in the tide pools. Snorkeling around the rocks were really good. 9/10 for snorkeling. Pool is a little chilly. It's a fair walk to any amenities (10-15 walk one way)
Westin Ocean Resort Villas-Shares the same beach as the Mahana. Seemed to nickle and dime you everywhere. Fairly new building. Modern. Awesome Kiddie pool. We had a small room. I think if you splurged and got an oceanfront room it could be spectacular. Just not worth it IMO.
Four Seasons Wailea-HOLY CRAP! I can't say enough amazing things about this place! It's expensive, but worth it. Gorgeous rooms, amazing customer service (milk and cookies for Ryley's turn down service and her own mini housecoat!)Did the outrigger canoe trip. An hour trip. Short, free and the guys were knowledgeable and we were about 50 meters away from a whale. If it's calm, snorkeling is supposed to be one of the best places on the island. A part of the pool is a wading pool for the little ones and there's a game room with playstation, wii, shuffleboard, ping pong.... I'm going to stop ranting now. Overall 12/10.
Kahana Beach resort-Nice little beach. right beside a good surfing spot "S-Turns" Awesome snorkeling. Swam with turtles, saw a zebra moray eel...10/10 Rented a SUP from the Sands of Kahana next door (where you share pool privileges. A really nice toddler pool with attached hot tub) Grocery across the street and McDonald's a 5 minute walk. The units are very dated and could use a good cleaning and a coat of paint. But as long as you don't get one of the few units on the side (which we did when we first got there, we moved after 2 days) The views are awesome! Right on the water. Was worth the good deal we got on it.
If you want specifics on anything, shoot me a pm.

[Bunk]

^ Agree about Four Seasons Wailea. Stayed there last May. Unbelievable - quite possibly the perfect hotel. Expensive, but totally worth it. Wailea is just so...perfect.