1st Time Going To Maui!! Advice Needed!!

[kingjoey]

Hello all,

My wife and I are going to Maui for the first time and are looking for advice on things to do and not do. We're staying at the Gardens of West Maui. Advice needed on things to do, places to eat, places to go, etc.

Thank you all in advance!!!

Joe

 

[DaveNV]

Start by purchasing the Maui Revealed book by Andrew Doughty. It'll give you a TON of ideas, and tell you lots of insider secrets only the Locals know about. You can get the book at Amazon for about $10, as well as other online booksellers.

Then search the older threads here at TUG. There are many similar posts about where to go and what to see/do.

Have a great trip!

Dave

 

[Luanne]

First thing you need to do is get a copy of "Maui Revealed". The Revealed series is invaluable to anyone who goes to any of the Hawaiian islands. It doesn't matter if you are a first time visitor, or a multi-time visitor.

What I like to do on Maui, may be totally different from what you'd want to do. For instance we love the beach, shopping, just wandering around. If it's whale season we'll take a whale watching tour. My hairdresser just got back from Maui and their highlights were a zip-line ride and horseback riding (neither of which we'd do).

We have two favorite restaurants. One is Kimo's in Lahaina and the other is Mama's Fish House (very, very expensive, but also very, very good).

 

[mepiccolo]

Last time we went to Maui my husband, my sister, bro-in-law and 2 teenage nieces took surf lessons in Lahaina through "Goofy Foot" and they all said it was the most fun they had on our vacation. They all "caught a wave" or 2 or 3 by the end of their lesson.

On our honeymoon 7 years ago the bike ride down the volcano was the funnest of all the activities we did but we definitely wish we'd done the morning ride and not the sunrise ride. A couple at the airport warned us about it but we didn't heed their advice and let the salesman sell us the "pick you up in the middle of the night", freeze your cajones off and (for us) see nothing but clouds for the first hour of the bike ride down. Once the clouds broke the views were amazing and we wish we'd done the morning one to avoid the lack of sleep and the deep freeze of doing the sunrise bike ride. It's a coin toss whether you'll even have a nice sunrise or not-we surely didn't..just saw orange haze and clouds. But the rest of the bike ride was awesome (you're going downhill so no real exercise, just keeping your bike upright). The upcountry was beautiful (on our honeymoon we also did a snorkeling trip, a booze cruise, the Old Lahaina Luau and dinner cruise and the bike ride down the volcano was by far the best activity). But on our honeymoon we made the mistake of doing too much and we were exhausted by the end of our vacation. So the second time we went to Maui we did absolutely nothing to make up for it. Perhaps an activity every other day would be the way to go. By the way I think most people agree The Old Lahaina Luau is the #1 luau in Maui - it really is wonderful and in a wonderful, beautiful location but make sure you book it at least 6 weeks out because in prime vacation time it sells out at least that far ahead. We also love Kimo's in Lahaina, BJ's Pizza for a casual family dinner in Lahaina and breakfast at Cheeseburger in Paradise (although the food is great sometimes and just okay sometimes, luck of the draw-like the sunrise on the volcano bike ride).

 

[aliikai2]

When you arrive and pick up your car

stop at Costco before heading out to West Maui.

The Gardens has very well equipped units with all the towels, soaps, etc you will need. The pool is heated, and the hot tub is great. Depending upon when you go, there is a huge mango tree towards the back of the property.

The best beaches can be walked to, Naplili or Kapalua are both short walks.

The little town of Lahaina ( mostly gone now) is still worth a walk through.

You can drive further north and still see some of the original pineapple fields, and other agricultural lands.

If you are up to it, the road to Hana is an experience.

The Maui Revealed book will give you many ideas of things to do and see.

jmho, Greg

 

[UWSurfer]

My wife and I were at Gardens of West Maui last May...OUR first time in Maui. I wrote a fairly invovled review which is in the Resort Database Review section here on TUG which I suspect may be of help.

Maui Revealed was valuable to us.

 

[hotmike98]

We love Napili, and the Sea House at the Napili Kai (right across the street) is one of our "must do" restaurants. If you are up for it, the sunrise bike down the volcano road is another "can't miss" For Hana, we like to tack it on to the end and spend a night or two there. Makes the drive more pleasant not to have backtrack the same day.

 

[falmouth3]

Napili Beach! What a blast. My husband, who typically doesn't like the water, wouldn't get out. Body surfing heaven.

Read about it in Maui Revealed.

Sue

 

[Courts]

Hello all,

My wife and I are going to Maui for the first time and are looking for advice on things to do and not do. We're staying at the Gardens of West Maui. Advice needed on things to do, places to eat, places to go, etc.

Thank you all in advance!!!

Joe

Some info in this post http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41801

And this; http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38744

Our favorite things on Maui; Warren and Annabelle show, Old Lahaina Luau, Ulalena. Dinner for two on the beach.

Restaurants: http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39719
Our favorites; Bubba Gumps Shrimp company, Hula Grill, Spats Trattoria at the Hyatt (Must try the home made Spumoni)

 

[azsunluvr]

If you're reasonably healthy and able to walk, hiking down to see the blowhole is a pretty cool experience.

 

[easyrider]

Things I wouldnt do again in Maui are:

1. Hanna Hyway, We would probally drive to the garden of eden and turn back or drive to the 7 pools and turn back. This was too long a trip.

2. Start drinking at 10 am makes it hard to apreciate the sunset.

3. Swim around any lava rock

4. Body surf in heavy waves

5. Eat at the mini mart
___________________________________________________________
Would do most everything else.
Lahaina for sure. Napali Beach, Kapalua Beach, Any Nice Beach for Sunset and the magic green flash every day.

 

[taffy19]

The drive up to the Haleakala crater is very nice and easy to do and the crater has a lot of color that you wouldn't expect from a crater.

​

We did the sunrise tour many years ago but it was extremely cold so dress warmly, if you plan to do this. We prefer staying for the sunset over the clouds which is different too and a lot warmer.

A very nice and unspoiled beach to see is the Makena Beach but it can be dangerous to swim there. On your way to La Peruse Bay you will see an old lava flow which is interesting too. Snorkeling can be excellent here.

The road to Hana is beautiful as you drive through the rain forest. There are many stops on the way that you can read about in the "Maui Revealed" that everyone here recommends to buy. I would get it at Costco before you go on your trip.

Snorkeling is great at many beaches where there are some rocks so you don't need to go to Molokini for that. If you go during whale season, a whale watching tour would be great as you will see them from not far away. It's amazing too to hear their sound and when they "perform".

You will not be bored in Maui as there are many other places you can go to yet.

 

[kingjoey]

Back from Maui. AWESOME!!

I thought I’d share some details of our trip to Maui, since everyone was so nice in helping us out.

Got to Maui on Friday, 9/28. US Air was NOT the most enjoyable flight I’ve ever been on, but that’s a whole different story. They did get us there safe and sound, so I’ll leave it at that.

We stayed at the Gardens of West Maui, in a studio unit. This had its plus’s and minus’s. The unit was big enough for the 2 of us. It was a 1st floor end unit, with nothing above us, so it was very quiet. We literally never heard any other people while in our unit. The unit was comfortable, had central air, had a fully stocked full size kitchen, with a washer and dryer in the unit. I have not seen many other studio units that are this nicely equipped!! Now the only bad thing: The unit had these tiny red ants that were impossible to get rid of. I attribute this to being a 1st floor end unit. We learned to live with them and we were very careful about leaving food out. They found a natural attraction to our waste baskets and we left them chow away on those. It really wasn’t that bad, but bugs don’t really bother us, so this is more of a personal issue. I saw and killed 1 roach for the week. Bottom line, we would stay there again, no hesitation. The pool and hot tub were nice and clean. You do have the roosters crowing, but if you have the windows closed and central air on, they were hard to hear. Across the road is the best beach we saw, Napili Beach.

Now for the fun stuff. We rented snorkel gear and snorkled at 3 different beaches. The best one was the closest, Napili Beach. Beautiful, clear, quiet water. Saw 2 large sea turtles, 1 white eel and many, many fish.

Went to the Old Lahaina Luau, the Maui Princess dinner cruise, drove the road to Hana and drove up the mountain to the crater. In order of fun, we’d rate them:
1) Road to Hana – Incredible scenery. Thought I was in Jurassic Park (without the dinosaurs)
2) Old Lahaina Luau – Traditional luau. A little slow paced, good food
3) Mountain drive, with stops at the winery and the lavender farm - Awesome views and a pretty drive to lavender farm and winery
4) Maui Princess dinner cruise – In my opinion, this was over-priced and I didn’t appreciate the actual so-called cruise. The food was good, but whoever piloted that boat didn’t know what they were doing. But this is probably a pilot issue, at least on our cruise.

We spent some time in Kaanapali (spelling), at Whalers Village and surrounding area. Ate at the Hula Grill, Sea House and Fish and Poi. All were good. Had some of the best banana bread of my life on the road to Hana, but unfortunately, I can’t remember which stand it was from. Did some fun hiking between Napili Beach, Kapalua Beach and Ironwoods Beach. Beautiful area.

After a wonderful week, we left on 10/05 and had a much better flight on ATA. We can’t wait to get back to Maui!!

 

[rickandcindy23]

We used to own at Gardens at West Maui. I think the resort is very nice, but the unit was too small for our kids to join us, so we always had to wait for an exchange, then match our week to the exchange, just to get another bedroom for the kids. It was only a little frustrating, but the cost to use a week to get the second unit, along with the high MF's on Maui (due to the fact that Maui doesn't like timeshare tourists and want to overtax them ), we were spending over $1,400 just to stay on Maui, when we can exchange into a 2 bedroom so much cheaper.

We never saw any bugs in our main floor units, so it could be a seasonal issue, too. I would buy Raid and spray the patio by the door, if it were me. Bugs freak me out.

Check eBay and see how cheaply these weeks sell and you might be tempted to buy one.

My questions to you:
Which building? Probably 2, 3, or 4, if the roosters didn't bother you much.

Also, do you sleep on the sofa sleeper, or is there a murphy bed? Was it comfortable?

We had a one bedroom, two bath unit, so I never saw a studio at all.

 

[kingjoey]

We used to own at Gardens at West Maui. I think the resort is very nice, but the unit was too small for our kids to join us, so we always had to wait for an exchange, then match our week to the exchange, just to get another bedroom for the kids. It was only a little frustrating, but the cost to use a week to get the second unit, along with the high MF's on Maui (due to the fact that Maui doesn't like timeshare tourists and want to overtax them ), we were spending over $1,400 just to stay on Maui, when we can exchange into a 2 bedroom so much cheaper.

We never saw any bugs in our main floor units, so it could be a seasonal issue, too. I would buy Raid and spray the patio by the door, if it were me. Bugs freak me out.

Check eBay and see how cheaply these weeks sell and you might be tempted to buy one.

My questions to you:
Which building? Probably 2, 3, or 4, if the roosters didn't bother you much.

Also, do you sleep on the sofa sleeper, or is there a murphy bed? Was it comfortable?

We had a one bedroom, two bath unit, so I never saw a studio at all.

We were in bulding 3. Unit 305, which was the farthest back. I think that is the farthest away from the roosters, plus we never opened a window. Never interrupted our sleep. We slept in a queen size Murphy bed. It was much firmer than I'm used to, but it was comfortable. There was a sofa sleeper, but we never pulled it out. The unit was just the right size for my wife and I. Their website says it's 482 sq.ft. It would be awful tight for more than 2.

 

[MikeM132]

Had some of the best banana bread of my life on the road to Hana, but unfortunately, I can’t remember which stand it was from. i!!

let me guess...."Halfway to Hana". I agree with your review of their food. We had banana bread and some of the fresh fruit.

 

[roadsister]

Someone told me there is something like a cirque de soliel show about Hawaii that is playing on Maui....anyone know?

 

[UWSurfer]

The Ulalena show (http://www.ulalena.com/) is sometimes described in this way. It's really NOT a Circ type of show...but has some elements which might resemble one.

It's worth seeing...but don't go thinking it's going to be another Circ...it's not.

 

[easyrider]

The roadside banana bread, coconut and fruit vendors seem out of place in a way. These locals, with newer trucks, making $20.00 divided by 4 in the 45 minutes while we were there, selling tourist fruit and bread , just doesnt add up. How can they afford to drive a nice truck and live in Maui. I think they are selling something else. Probally Maui Wowie. Thats probally why they have banana bread. In case they get hungry.

Or maybe not.........