Maui advice

[Eric Vail]

I'm traveling to Maui with my young family in a couple weeks. Any advice? My kids are 1,5,6.

[Cowperson]

Use the search function for Maui in this forum and you'll find lots of advice.

Cowperson

[GGG]

Haleakala sunrise is worth doing, road to hanna is worth doing, the back side where your rental insurance is void is not as bad as guidebooks make it sound and anyone who isnt a moron can drive it.

Waimoku falls on the pipiwai trail is fantastic. Your 5 and 6 year old should be able to do the hike and you can rent a backpack for the 1 yearold.

Snorkling from the shore at black rock at kanapali is the best shore snorkling I have done but the beach is over rated. Also because of the steep slope of the beach makes not that safe for small kids.

Molikini Crater is over rated but okay. Catherdrals dive is pretty fantastic,

Swimming out from the beach to turtle town only takes a half hour and is way better than taking a boat.

My favourite beach was kapalua.

[Rudee]

Be prepared for the wind. It's a windy place there with the Trade winds.

[pekka]

Twin Falls is a short hike at the north start on the road to hana, there is a pineapple drink stand set up there, if the water is not too high you can swim in the falls.

The older kids may even be old enough for surf lessons, my nephew was 6 and they did semi private lessons which was actually pretty reasonably priced. This was in Lahaina with Maui Wave Riders.

The best beach we found was Polo Beach Park by Wailea was fantastic but we didnt find it until the day we left. It is sandwiched between 2 nice resorts but it was great for the kids to play around in the ocean

If your looking for a great meal although a little on the pricier side. Mama's Fish House on the north end of the island was probably the best meal i have ever had.

[Ace]

Akamai mothers

http://www.akamaimothers.com/#2710

[daredevil]

What part of the island are you staying? What sorts of things do you like to do with your family? Might help us to steer you in the right direction.

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by daredevil

What part of the island are you staying? What sorts of things do you like to do with your family? Might help us to steer you in the right direction.

We are staying in Kihei. We already have a Luau booked (Royal Lahaina). We are ready to book a snorkling trip to Molokini, but haven't quite done it. We plan to head up the volcano the first morning to see the sunrise, but am not sure when we need to be up there. We definately want to do the road to Hana. I'd like to take them to the aquarium early on so that they know what the fish are we are seeing when we snorkel.

My kids love the water. We'll spend time at the beach and the pool. We may want to get out on a boat another time for a sunset cruise or something. I have heard there are great things to see in the road to Hana, but am not sure what they are. I am interested in knowing something about the restaurants.

[Ace]

Honestly, I'd skip the sunrise at Haleakala. It's hit and miss and not worth the early departure with 3 kids. You have to leave your hotel at something like 2:30-3am

If you really want to go up Haleakala then maybe sun set instead?

[Bigtime]

Yeah, do the sunset at Haleakala instead, then you can drive down and grab dinner. Much easier than the early morning for sunrise.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Ace

Honestly, I'd skip the sunrise at Haleakala. It's hit and miss and not worth the early departure with 3 kids. You have to leave your hotel at something like 2:30-3am

If you really want to go up Haleakala then maybe sun set instead?

If you do sunrise do it the first day you are there. 3 am Hawaii time is 6 am Calgary time so you just delay getting adjusted by 1 day.

[tvp2003]

^^ Related question about travelling to Hawaii with young kids (i.e. 3 and under). How does the time change affect their sleep? We recently were out east (2 hours ahead) and they pretty much stayed on their same sleep schedules; what about going backwards? Will they adjust after a few days (i.e. with the sunrise/sunset)? Or are they going to be up at 3 in the morning every day?!?

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

^^ Related question about travelling to Hawaii with young kids (i.e. 3 and under). How does the time change affect their sleep? We recently were out east (2 hours ahead) and they pretty much stayed on their same sleep schedules; what about going backwards? Will they adjust after a few days (i.e. with the sunrise/sunset)? Or are they going to be up at 3 in the morning every day?!?

I don't know about Hawaii specifically, but I've taken my kids to Vancouver island from the East coast every year since they've been born, and they always do better with the time change than I do.

[Inglewood Jack]

Originally Posted by GGG

If you do sunrise do it the first day you are there. 3 am Hawaii time is 6 am Calgary time so you just delay getting adjusted by 1 day.

I think the time difference is 4 hours right now, 3 hours when our time changes in the fall/winter. and also, damn this thread for making me daydream about Hawaii.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

^^ Related question about travelling to Hawaii with young kids (i.e. 3 and under). How does the time change affect their sleep? We recently were out east (2 hours ahead) and they pretty much stayed on their same sleep schedules; what about going backwards? Will they adjust after a few days (i.e. with the sunrise/sunset)? Or are they going to be up at 3 in the morning every day?!?

We didnt have any issues with time change. Our kids 2 and 4 slept about half the time on the plane. We arrived in Hawaii at about 8 hawaii time so 11 Calgary time got to our hotel an hour later slept for 6 hours and got up at 3 am Hawaii time for Haleakala. After Haleakala they slept from 10 until noon. From then on it was normal bed times with them getting up around 6;30 or 7:00 in the morning which was about an hour earlier then in Calgary.

Tdlr: our kids had no problems.

[daredevil]

Usually the time change is fine for my kids (3 & 7). We go to the islands a few times a year. Usually they are so worn out from the beach that they sleep no matter what.

I like staying in Kihei. There are lots of different beaches in the area, all with unique characteristics. Not sure which area your condo is, which might dictate your plans. We usually load up the car with all the beach stuff and drive, that way you don't have to be the mule. Polo beach is good for boogie boarding, Ulua beach good for snorkelling and exploring for critters in the pools. The Kam beaches are wide open and lots of space.

The kids love the ocean center, you can get a slight discount if you book in advance. We often get a week pass as staying there for more than a couple hours gets old for adults. If you go at the right time, they have guides who open up one of the pools which has more variety for "hands on" experience.

If you go to Lahaina, you may want to hit baby beach. Its a relaxing parenting beach, as there is no surf, so your kids can wander around in very shallow water and you can chill out.

Road to Hana is a cool experience, especially if the 7 pools are open for swimming (sometimes they close them off). The drive might be longish for your kids though.

Lots of places around Kihei for eating out. At least one day hit the Kihie Caffe for breakfast, then go to the park across the street to let the kids play a bit. Take in some of the little joints for fish tacos. Just my opinion but the little places are usually the best. The cinnamon bun place is cool for giant fresh morning treat.

[Northendzone]

i am stunned that this thread does not contain a post saying your selected destination sucks, you should go to this place instead........leaving thread dissapointed.......

now that fotze is going to hawaii, i remain the only person who has not gone to hawaii......

[Knut]

^ My Wife, Son and I stayed at Honua Kai with her parents last year. We got it off of VRBO and did not do the all inclusive. We did a two-bedroom with a kitchenette for $1200 for 5 days ( April). WE got a hell of a deal though as we booked it pretty last minute.

I am pretty sure it was this exact room - http://www.vrbo.com/230549


The pool is nice and Duke's is a solid pub.

[Knut]

As an aside : WE actually booked a local babysitter to come to the room (at $15/Hour) and took a cab into Lahaina to do a Luau. Totally worth it.

Also, you will need to rent a car as everything is far away.

[Eric Vail]

Originally Posted by fotze

Just booked a trip to Maui for the first 2 weeks of December after years and years of dithering and frustration with booking tickets. Was able to actually use my aeroplan points. I have never been there and it seems like I am the only person on earth to do so.

Really have no idea where to stay even after reading all these threads and online stuff. That Maui revealed app is pretty good.

Kaanapali seems alright, expensive. Kihei seems kind of retro and not much around it other than condos.

Thinking of doing 1 week at one are and another week somewhere else. Thinking or renting a car the entire time, but not sure if necessary. VRBO has a billion places at a billion prices.

Would prefer oceanfront so you could walk from the beach to the condo to take a dump or whatever. Have 2 kids aged 3 and 7.

Checked Honua Kai and its pretty pricy and am not sure I want a giant Mexican style all-inclusive resort, but maybe I do. The Westin villas look like they will cost >$8000, which just seems ######ed.

I rented a condo in Kihei with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, laundry facilities and pool for $99/night. Next time I go I would like to arrange my accomodations so I could spend one or two nights in Hana. The road to Hana was very cool, but was also long for my young family (2,5,7) and we really had to pick our spots. There were some great things past Hana that we just couldn't get to. If we stayed there, we could have seen more of the natural beauty of the island.