Summer Maui Trip

[williemackgarza 1826]

Headed there for 7 days end of July. Weve never been. Flying hawaiian outta abia.

Staying at the Hilton/Waldorf.

Kids are 5,8 & 13.

We did Oahu last year and we all fell in love with hawaii.

Yes Ive seen other threads but wanting any up to date covid included recs.

Planning Road to Hana, molokani (sp?) crater, ziplines, etc. Planning on renting a car for a few days.

Thanks in advance

And, go

[mdmost 43004]

And go here 

 

[6th Street 6413]

PM Derka

[yoladu 4094]

i think i am reading covid travel requirements right, but if you provide proof of vaccination, you no longer have to do a covid test with a negative result before travelling to Hawaii?

Correct?

 

EDIT.. looks like they are ending all requirements on March 25th.

https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/

NOTICE: At the end of the day, March 25, 2022, the Safe Travels Hawai‘i program will conclude. Beginning March 26, 2022, there will be no COVID-related requirements for arriving domestic passengers. Travelers arriving in Hawai‘i directly from international airports must still comply with U.S. federal requirements; consult with your airline.

Edited March 7, 2022 by yoladu

[williemackgarza 1826]

Yes, last year we had to all take the preflight covid tests.
But its over at the end of march.
I was hoping someone had been recently to advise on whats survived covid.
Thanks for any and all help

[Horn Draoi 255]

Maui 3 times ,but not with kids.   Definitely do the drive to the top of Haleakala-take jackets!  Road to Hana, hope none of yours are prone to carsickness.  Lahaina is extremely touristy but does have some nice historical stuff.  If i went with kids, I’d do a luau.  Reserve the car now.  Paia Fish Market.  Kahului for upscale “hippie” shopping.

[NWBuck 8571]

Was getting ready to post in the previous one, but since we have a new thread... Recommendations on lodging would be appreciated as well. Certainly not one of the poorz, but not one of the Surly .01% either (other than banging 10s).

Hoping to stay in West Maui (Ka'anapali) area as well. 

@williemackgarza Sounds like we'll be there at about the same time, although my kids are a bit older (22 and 15)

[HornPhD 1368]

Acid War Zone Trail to the Nakalele Lighthouse and Blowhole (two different stops 😂)

https://goo.gl/maps/Mww1sFyqLDLoqLYd9
 

[po elvis 2075]

My limited experience I like Oahu better. It’s just plain gorgeous, driving out to Kailua and then up to North Shore. I’m laying on Kailua Beach right now under some trees and it’s spectacular. I didn’t find a beach in Maui I liked as much as this one.

Though if your goal is find a resort on the beach and drink cocktails Maui is probably it.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18550]

So I just got back from Maui with the kids (15 & 16). Great trip. Really, really fucking expensive.

The covid shit there is still a pain in the ass. The are lifting the restrictions in the next couple of weeks so you won't have to deal with it in the Summer most likely, but it's a hassle to upload your docs and then have the airline confirm your shit. It wouldn't be that bad if there were more clear instructions but the websites are confusing as hell and the airlines are unhelpful. You don't need a negative test, just a vax card. Mask mandate is still in effect and enforced vigilantly. I mean, they made my son put on a mask while walking to an outdoor table from an outdoor hostess stand 20 feet away.

We stayed in Ka'anapali. Definitely rent a car. I wanted a jeep and all the rental agencies were super pricey/unavailable so I tried Turo for the first time. I had a great experience. In addition to it being close to a $1000 cheaper, it's way more convenient. They left the car in the airport parking lot and I went right out, got in it and drove off. No rental car courtesy van bullshit, no lines, nada. And the car was great and we drove it all over - road to Hana, volcano, everywhere.

If you have special places that you want to eat, you should plan ahead and make reservations. It seems ridiculous, but if you want to go to mama's fish house, there is a 3-6 month waiting list. We didn't even plan our trip that far out so no Mama's for us. Most restaurant reservations aren't that far out, but making dinner reservations the week you're there is typically a no go. You could probably wait a couple of weeks out but I would plan it out if it is that important to you. The good news is that most places don't over book so if you want to eat at Duke's for example, you can plan ahead and show up around 4:00 - 4:30 and get your name on the list and they will seat you around 5:30-6:00. We sat out there and ate a great meal and watched about 15 whales frolic around in the ocean while the sun was setting. It was pretty fucking fantastic.

One recommendation I didn't see mentioned above - lunch at the Plantation House at Kapalua. I'm not much of a golfer but it's a spectacular view and the food is outstanding. Pricey, as is everywhere, but really good. That is one place that you don't need reservations. At least, we didn't have them and got seated immediately.

We did a snorkeling excursion that was fun. I like the shorter ones vs. the all day ones because I feel trapped on the longer ones. The cons to the short one is that the snorkeling location wasn't as great. However, the snorkeling guide girl had an amazing ass in a thong, so I didn't even notice the relative lack of marine life on the reef. 

For the road to Hana, do some research ahead of time and pick out some stopping spots along the way to hike. Also, if you stop in Paia before going, please know that "Paia" is Hawaiian for no parking available. I somehow managed to parallel on the main road, but that was after driving around for about 15 minutes. Shit show.

We also did a Luau. It's got to be the cheesiest, touristy bullshit thing you could possibly do, anywhere. On one hand, it feels extremely exploitive of the Hawaiian people and their culture. On the other, they are shamelessly reciprocating by exploiting your wallet while feeding you bad buffet food and watered down drinks. While I would normally never do that kind of shit, I felt like I owed it to my kids who had never been to one before and that they really needed to take part in the ancient custom of fleecing the tourists. Plus, I bought a Hawaiian shirt for a luau the last time I was in Maui about a decade ago and dammit, I was going to wear it for the second time ever come hell or high water. So of course I splurged for the VIP seating ($1000 for dinner for 4), which was well worth the extra 30-40% upcharge on an already absurdly priced meal in order to have our own table in the front and not have to make new friends with Al and Frieda from Peoria at the community poors table. They are already screwing you so you might as well bend over all the way and take it with the VIP. The good news is that you don't have to wait in any lines, including the bar line, which greatly aided me in trying to reach my goal of getting my moneys worth in Mai Tais. Needless to say, I failed, but did wake up with a particularly nasty hangover. We did get a nice family pic in front of the sunset ($20 upcharge) and there were fire dancers so it was probably all worth it.

That's all I got for now.. other than the flight home is a got damned bitch. United bumped us to a later flight at the last minute, which added to the agony, but it's a brutal ride home that was compounded by the time change. I slept for about 12 hours on Saturday night and my body clock is proper fucked.

[royiv 9324]

Pics of snorkeling guide girl in thong aren’t showing up.

[Orale 1087]

I went around Christmas and stayed in Lahaina Airbnb. That was a fun town. There is an app you can buy that tells you about Hawaiian and Maui history as you reach certain points along the Road to Hana. It was really interesting and made the winding drive more interesting.

Sunrise at the volcano was really cool. You'll need to reserve your spot if I remember correctly. We did a sunset cruise from Lahaina that was fun. There are lots of companies doing them so just look for one with good reviews. We had a couple hours to kill when we landed before our rental was open and had lunch at Maui Brewing Company that was enjoyable if you're a beer person.

I didn't notice anything being closed due to Covid and that was when Omicron was going strong.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[Chicken fried bacon 46]

Anyone been to Maui lately?  Headed there next month the the wife and two daughters.  Sorry no pics. 

[ss13 1832]

^ This thread has multiple posts from February. 

[shakahorn 1645]

5 hours ago, Chicken fried bacon said:

Anyone been to Maui lately?  Headed there next month the the wife and two daughters.  Sorry no pics. 

Everything is gonna be expensive AF.  I mean, normally, Maui ain't cheap, but you're gonna see 'this must be a mistake' prices on everything.