Going for a week. Specifically Maui. Will have a vehicle. Planning the long road drive thing. What else? No kids. I'm a cheapskate. Not sure what is included in our accommodations package. Let's assume little.
We want to try some excursions, but I want the off tourist stuff.
We had more fun in Kahului and Pāʻia (the local market and beaches were fantastic) than we had over at Lahaina, where if another drunk Texan had told me "Mahalo!" I would have barfed. The snorkeling at Lahaina was badass though: You could hear the whales calling the whole time you were underwater.
Take a LOT of $$$$$. Stuff ain't cheap there. (except pineapple.) But on the upside, you will get a chance to try every way known to man that Spam can be fixed
Originally posted by maryjane: But on the upside, you will get a chance to try every way known to man that Spam can be fixed
I read that SPAM is now trying to come up with a second batch. Apparently the first batch is finally running out.................. Edited: Have fun with your time in the Sun. My wife would love to go.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 01-24-2025).]
Hi I am brand new to the forum and this is oddly my first post. I am also heading to Maui Feb 1 for me, It has gotten extremely expensive and i am not sure you wont find anything non touristy.
best best would be to hit snorkle bobs and rent snorkle gear. Depending on where you are staying you can find places to snorkle. there are a few hikes if you like that, the road to Hanna i think you mentioned is something to do once
sunrise at the haleakala (again touristy) I love big beach in Wailea but last time i was there they started charging to park I'm a just chill at the beach or pool kind of guy. Its beautiful there so just take it all in and relax have a great trip Russ
Going for a week. Specifically Maui. Will have a vehicle. Planning the long road drive thing. What else? No kids. I'm a cheapskate. Not sure what is included in our accommodations package. Let's assume little.
We want to try some excursions, but I want the off tourist stuff.
I've only been there twice... once for my honeymoon back in the mid 2000s, and then again for work.
When we were there on our honeymoon, we were taking the cruise "Spirit of America" I think... so it went around to a bunch of different places. Some of the things that we saw (that I thought was worth seeing):
- Cocoa plantation / farm, and shows how they make chocolate. I think this was in Waimeia (sp?)
- The USS Missouri and Arizona Memorial ... I think the Arizona memorial is worth seeing, even if it's a sad thing to witness, but I see the two as kind of the beginning and the end. WW2 (with Japan) officially ended on the Missouri... it really is a magnificent ship, and if you like naval history at all, it is an absolute must. My grandfather was OSS with the NAVY back in the day, so I have an affinity towards big ships.
- There are a lot of Zen gardens, which are pretty fantastic to see.
- There's also some of the lava-flows, and even the beaches that are made up entirely of black sand.
- Zip lining (can't remember where, but there was strawberry guava growing naturally that you could just grab as you're flying across the mountain peaks).
I'll edit this and add more if I can remember... but it was a lot of fun. It's as much about the culture as it is seeing the sights. I don't know where you live, so if your interest is mostly visiting the beach, you might miss a lot of the other great stuff that Hawaii has to offer.
Hawaii was a really great time. Not as expensive as I expected. We tried a lot of happy hour specials and this helped keep cost a bit lower. Renting a vehicle was a MAJOR expense and was a MUST. It was close to the same cost to uBer to and from the airport. The road to Hana is whatever. I suggest going at it in reverse. Honestly you can skip it. The island is less that 727mi2 and we drove for greater than 6 hours. A lot of local traffic, construction, tourism, pedestrians, bikers...all on 2 lane mountain road with a lot of stops. We stopped in the rain forest and ate some fruits. We didn't get the Gordan Ramsey Huli Huli Chicken place. It wasn't quite open. We didn't wait, but I wish we had. I also didn't get a Maui Gold Pineapple. I don't like pineapple, but would like to have tasted.
Snorkel trip turned into a whale watching expedition. Redline was the tour company. Small and awesome. They took us to the Molokini Crate. Haleakala National Park was absolutely breathtaking and the best and cheapest part. I sea fished from the shore and caught nothing. Yoga. Swimming. Grilled swordfish and a couple other dinners at the resort. Sunrises and sunsets were epic.
The water and views are vivid. No touch ups. Every photo just pops! It is really pretty.
Our room (suite) was fine. The view was of the golf course. The propane and boilers were outside of our balconies and that ruined our chances to eat outdoors, that was really the biggest complaint. All complaints that we had/have are first world problems. It was incredible and I couldn't have went with a better partner.
I would probably not go again unless it was to celebrate this trip. The flight was brutally long, A lot of other places we want to explore. It was worth it!
