Maui President Week Crowds?

[TXTortoise]

We have generally gone to Maui for two weeks before or after Presidents’ week. I have one data point that reasonably suggests it’s more crowded due to more people in the room with families visiting.

we like the whale week activities between week6-7, thus the question.

Lahaina traffic and the need to book activities early probably can’t get much worse, but...

Has anyone that has visited MOC regularly that week offer any more insight?

Mahalo

 

[n777lt]

First - Marvelous photos at your link! Thank you.
Second - I'm not a "regular" President's Week visitor, but from my limited experience, President's Week is to be avoided if you can (which many cannot, which is why it is jam-packed, of course) It's not just the crowds - because of the crowds, the vibe is so different. Tourists/visitors are generally pushier and more frazzled, the vendors and concessionaires distracted, and it's not the laid-back paradise you experience only a week or two before or after. If you want a high-end or popular restaurant, you should make reservations no later than the week before you arrive. (Can't tell you about other attractions) We have only a couple of times had to book President's Week, as part of a 2-week stay, and the following Monday - whew! At least the area empties back to normal high season quickly. The same has been true around Easter, in our experience. (Ditto, by the way, early January - the week after New Year's is relatively quiet, before a brief upturn around MLK's birthday) But that doesn't help those tied to academic schedules and the like.

 

[TXTortoise]

Excellent, thx.

We use to somewhat easily trade into January with our Vail week, before I had fixed weeks, but have been second guessing the whale migration the last few years, bouncing between early or late February. FWIW, the whales continue to be flakey and have failed to adequately inform me when they’ll be doing most of their air routines.

I expect we will continue with Weeks 5-6, for now...though 4-5 is a possibility. Appreciate the feedback.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I will be surprised if you see much difference from week 6 or 7 as they are both max capacity with maybe week 7 having nominally more visitors. We did 2 weeks over Pres week at the MOC probably 5 or 6 times when kids were young and at that point it never was a noticeable difference. Our last few trips have been during the summer so we've haven't done that recently but I can't imagine it being different now because week 6 and 7 and most of the other winter weeks have always been max capacity but that is JMHO.

 

[vacationtime1]

We returned from Maui last night; we were there weeks 5 and 6.

Not crowded. Plenty of pool chairs. Restaurant reservations were easy (except Valentine's Day).

We saw lots of babies and toddlers, but not many school-age kids. Therein lies the difference.

 

[aland0524]

We are at MOC (Napili Tower) now. Arrived last Friday (2/7). We've been coming to MOC every year around the same time - straddles President's week. Based on past experience, we would say that the crowd for President's week this year is a lot less than prior. There obviously are a lot more kids/families vs last week but the pools don't seem to be as crowded at the resort this year. The bbq areas are also not as busy and the restaurants aren't as crowded although last night, we went to the Kaananapali Grille around 7 pm and they told us they couldn't seat us until 8:30 pm because their 'kitchen was running behind"-- despite the fact that the restaurant was only about 60% full. President's Week will always be more "crowded" and will have a lot more young/school-age kids -- that's to be expected. But if that's an issue for somebody, going to Kapalua or a more adult-oriented resort might be your only answer. It is primo whale season and unlike last year - this President's week is a lot sunnier and with a lot more whales in front of the resort! The picture below isn't as nice as TXTortoise's but mama and baby whale were breaching relatively close to shore in front of MOC.

 

[TXTortoise]

While the aerial action has been down, in my opinion, the last two years, we saw a lot of mothers cruising with the calves up and down Ka'anapali Beach, both outside the jet ski dock and inside, not far from where I usually snorkel. I've had a turtle cruise right by my head out there, but being in the neighborhood of those two would be cool.