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Old 02-09-2015, 12:55 AM
IanWR IanWR is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Martensville, Sk
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I can't help you 4+ star accommodations, but I've been to Maui a few times now. As said before the road to Hana is totally worth it, plan on a long day. Stop at the kaenae arboretum (on your right heading east). Nice walk, great photo ops (eg nice group of rainbow eucalyptus). Take the next left down to the kaenae peninsula. Terrific bay, with frequent crashy wave. Not for snorkelling but really amazing to see/take pictures. Lots of tide pools with gobies, eels, etc.. There have been multiple times where we take the road just to the peninsula rather than heading all the way to Hana.

The road up Haleakala is another day trip. Take it slow, stop at the many scenic overlooks. There are a number of short hikes (and a few really long ones) take as many as you have the energy for. Careful with altitude, it's close to 10k ft at the top.

There are a few beaches with both snorkelling options as well as flush toilets (outhouse/porta-potty not acceptable to the rest of the family). Kaanapali is nice, if you put in by the Sheraton and swim south there are some nice corals. We've had a number of good days, I think one of the highlights was a school of eagle rays. Watch the current, it's fairly strong.Ulua beach is small, but nice. There is a rock point to the right that can be ok snorkelling. The beach by the makena golf and country club is another great snorkel spot. Lots of turtles, large coral formations.

One excursion worth mentioning was a snorkelling trip around the island of lanai. We went with an outfit called Ocean Riders. You go on a zodiac, see some shipwrecks, and they put in at a few places with shockingly good snorkelling. The highlight was a rock point that must have had 80+ ft visibility, large numbers and variety of fish, etc..

Oh! You're going in whale season, so of course whale watching trips.

Have fun!

- Ian
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