Hi, we will be sailing to Maui in December but only have 8 hours to see it. Does anyone have any recommendations on what not to miss. Has anyone done the highway to Hana in less then 8 hours from Lahaina.
Thanks
Do not even think of trying to do Hana in 8 hours from Lahaina. It will take you time to get off the ship, (tender port) , time to get the rental, and it is a 45 minute ride to the beginning of the Hana Road never mind to Hana and back. You will lose 3 hours minimum just getting on and off the ship, getting the rental and driving to the beginning of the road. It's not worth doing if all you are going to do is drive like mad to Hana and back. It's the stops that really make the trip.
Check out Iao Valley , Maui Plantation (you pass it on the way to Iao Valley), Maui Ocean Center. Maybe take a short whale watching cruise out of Lahaina, go to the beach up by Kaanapali. Save the road to Hana for a land based trip. To do it true justice, make the stops that you will want to make etc, takes a good 12 hours from Lahaina.
Of course you will not be going up to Haleakala to see the sunrise (that is the big "thing" to do there). It is still a beautiful , different, and spectacular scene. Once again, a question of time arises. From Lahaina, you are probably talking about investing 4 of your 8 hours in Maui.
Here's a thought. If you REALLY want to see Haleakala, the Hana Road and coast line and as much as the island as there might be s to see in a short time, you might want to consider one of the many helicopter tours available. It won't be cheap, but it will be spectacular.
Read my first response. Iao Valley, Maui Plantation and Maui Ocean Center are all in fairly close proximity to each othet , perhaps some whale watching and a stop at the beach. We spent 6 full days in Maui back in Oct 2003 and didn't get to do and see everything (so we are going back in Oct 2005 for 7 days). We also spent 5 days on Oahu last year as well and still didn't get to do everything we wanted to.
You can only expect to taste a flavor of each island with an 8 hour port stop.
Use it to get to figure out where you want to come back to for a land tour some day.
You ca do the Highway but if you get a big rain you might get stuck and not get back in time. Its really a long drive up and back.
If you like beaches go to Kaanapali and just relax on the beach. If you like walking through a village that has all kinds of gift shops, some bars and restaurants and lots of expensive art than walk through Lahaina.
Ny recommendation is: go snorkel by black rock (sheraton), lie around on the beach and walk through historic Lahaina. You could also drive down to Wailea where it is very nice.
Have lots of fun. If you would like to see what kinds of activities you can do on Maui go to a site FunHawaii.com and click on activities...you can get some ideas there.
Papa Bill,
We will be renting a car and driver in Maui. We would like to see the Haleakala crater and then maybe drive some on the Hana Highway but of course not all the way to Hana.
Is this a doable trip in 6 hours? We get in at 7:00 AM and depart at 6:00 PM. We really don't want to spend all that time in the car. We would like to walk some in Lahaina.
We thought with a driver, we would save time not getting lost and having a better idea from his experience what we could and couldn't do in a specific period of time. I'v heard that the road to Hana is scenic and one does not have to go all the way to Hana. Is this correct?
Check with your driver. It would seem to me that you will need about 2+ hours to do Haleakala, then perhaps an hour or a bit more to get to the beginning of the Hana Road. If you spend an hour and a half driving and stopping here and there for photo ops on the Hana Road , you will then have AT LEAST a 2 if not 2 and a half hour ride back to Lahaina.
Purely your decision, but I would skip the Hana road part in favor of stops at Maui Plantation, Maui Ocean Center and Iao Valley (all close together) and leave the Road to Hana part for you next trip to Maui when you can devote the 10 or 12 hours that it takes to truly do it justice.
Leave some time to just find a few lookout spots along the highway between Makena and Lahaina. In December you should be able to do some whale watching from the shore.
Leave yourself time to wander the shops, galleries and historic sights in Lahaina, have a shave ice and maybe get a plate lunch (your driver can surely recommend places for both).
Whatever you end up doing, you will want to go back and do more .
The Atlantis submarine is a good experience. You can book it on your own at the dock. The sub goes down about 100 ft, and circles a rock formation. I have found that if you go at 12:00 noon it is fairly empty. But I have only been on it when ther are no cruise ships in. Just off the road up to the volcano (or down), on a road to the town of Paia, ther is an old general/feed store converted to a gourmet cafe that makes a great lunch stop.. The name escapes me, but an experienced driver would know where it is. Paia is near the start of the road to Hana and is sort of an art colony. Just west of Paia is Hookipa beach which is a world class wind surfing beach. If you visited the volcano, you could make a loop coming down, with a lunch stop, then to Paia, Hookipa beach, past Mamas Fish house (a little pricey) , through Lihue and stop at the Iao Valley. Then back to Lahaina for shopping.
You are going to be there at a great time whales are starting to come in. A whale watch cruise is a great idea. Trilogy is an excellent company to check out there daily tours. Molokini Crater is so awesome if you love to snorkel,scuba ,or sail they do it all. Trilogy is a little more spendy but well worth the money. They have a website http://www.sailtrilogy.com. We go on there tour every time we go to Maui. Book your tours ahead of time online, they fill up fast. Pacific whale foundation offers very reasonable tours also.
Black rock is a great snorkeling spot, there is a good place to shop named Whalers Village, which is on the same beach as Black Rock. If you like to fish there is an awesome charter called Start Me Up, we caught 11 fish with them.
Atlantis submarine is alot of fun. There is alot to do, are you divers? Please email and let me know what you are interested in.
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