Maui recommendations

[WarDog]

The wife and I are planning our first trip to Maui.
Looking for accommodations, minimum 4 star.
Also, any activities of sights we just can't miss?
Please share your experiences, thanks.

[gmann]

paddle boarding is always fun

[hillegom]

Do you snorkel? There are a lot of great places to do that right off the beach to see fish/turtles.
Otherwise, the crater I enjoyed, take the whole day, do some googleing. lol
On the way to Paia,I think I sp that right) North shore, see surfboarding. That town is also an eclectic shopping place. (Window for me lol) Not so for the wife.
Coconuts restaurant in Kihei great for fish tacos.

[FishyFishy!]

You simply have to drive the road to hanna. Best thing I did there.

Also go snorkeling at Molokai. It was awesome.

[IanWR]

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

[Noodles]

My wife and I rented scooters for half a day and drove the south coastline from Waikiki to Kailua. Absolutely beautiful !!!!! Also stopped in at hanauma bay national reserve and went snorkelling there.


We also went to the punch bowl.... Bring water!!

Hawaii is at the top of my list of places I've been by far.

[Reef Pilot]

This is our fav spot, by far.
http://www.manakaimaui.com/
Been to many of the other islands, and other parts of Maui, but haven't found a better spot than this. Great beach, and great snorkeling right there, don't have to go anywhere else. We were there last this past Nov (about our 5th time at this location). Here is a little vid using a new action cam strapped to my head. Perfect beach, just enough surf for boogie boarding, but not too big to be dangerous. You can get the boogie boards at the hotel (free, just have to be nice how you ask).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDfQQIGFQI
And this is what the snorkeling was like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVtKUXjdW4I
Lots of turtles there.

Best price is before US Thanksgiving in Nov. After that it basically doubles, and the bigger 1 and 2 bedroom condo units with kitchens are sold out until later in Mar and Apr. Not sure when the price drops again, but probably later in the spring. Expedia will guarantee best price, so that is what we always use.

[Treebeard]

Sorry for the hijack, but have you ever done Kona? We are thinking about this for 2015-2016. The night manta ray dive looks amazing! And there is also lots of good hiking on the Big Island.

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

This is our fav spot, by far.
http://www.manakaimaui.com/
Been to many of the other islands, and other parts of Maui, but haven't found a better spot than this. Great beach, and great snorkeling right there, don't have to go anywhere else. We were there last this past Nov (about our 5th time at this location). Here is a little vid using a new action cam strapped to my head. Perfect beach, just enough surf for boogie boarding, but not too big to be dangerous. You can get the boogie boards at the hotel (free, just have to be nice how you ask).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDfQQIGFQI
And this is what the snorkeling was like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVtKUXjdW4I
Lots of turtles there.

Best price is before US Thanksgiving in Nov. After that it basically doubles, and the bigger 1 and 2 bedroom condo units with kitchens are sold out until later in Mar and Apr. Not sure when the price drops again, but probably later in the spring. Expedia will guarantee best price, so that is what we always use.

[IanWR]

I did the big island, it really is big (especially when compared to Maui). Kona is great, lots of really good snorkelling, esp just south. There is a spot next to a state park (name escapes me at the moment) where we got to see those stereotypical scenes of a turtle diving with a cloud of yellow tangs surrounding it. We thought about the manta ray dive, but it goes quite late, plus we were chicken! Upcountry there are coffee plantations, nice hikes, etc.. It's quite a drive to volcano national park (2 hours?) so plan on either a long day or book an overnight. If there is a active eruption it's totally worth any effort to see it. Last we were there there was an eruption right on the coast. Once it starts to get dark what looked like just a huge steam plume with some rock/distant the bottom is clearly glowing red lava.

It's just really hard to go wrong wherever in Hawaii you go.

[Delphinus]

Go get "Maui Revealed" - hands down the best guide books.
http://www.hawaiirevealed.com/guidebooks-apps/