Another vote for Costco.
Yeah, I was grilling the ono we got at Costco, and the condo security guard dropped in to chat (what a cool job - ride a Segway and chat away with the residents and guests!). He, a local, said the fish looked awesome and yummy. Too bad he was not invited to dinner - but the resident cats were! (And one of them wrinkled his nose at the steak but ate the ono!)
Thanks for the advice! We are staying @ the Westin Ka’anapali ocean resort villas.
@JenJenJenJen - I hear you about Molokini - fortunately we’ll be on Maui for a long time so will have plenty of time to check out many spots.
I’ve also heard that fish at Costco is a great idea, and we also have a grill, so that’s a definite.
“Thanks for the advice! We are staying @ the Westin Ka’anapali ocean resort villas.”
Awesome. There is a great snorkeling beach right in front of the hotel. There is construction next door, but the open space/ natural preserve offers a good noise buffer. You will have a Safeway nearby (about 5-7 min drive south; in Lahaina Cannery Mall) and if you turn left out of the hotel’s main gate and drive north for about 3 minutes, there will be a shopping center on the right with a Times supermarket that is a bit better stocked than the Safeway, IMO. There is a Snorkel Bob in that center as well. I highly recommend getting your gear there instead of the hotel’s shop. Better quality for less $$.
And just down the street is The Fish Market. There is also a farmers market and natural foods store a little further down. The walkway along the beach is great and you can go all the way down Kaanapali on it.
@Taiwegian Foodland Farms across the highway from the Lahaina Safeway is nicer than the Safeway.Hope you get one of the rooms at the Western Kaanapali with the awesome views. End units facing the beach have awesome lanais.
Best trip ever! I followed the suggestions, and the trip was amazing. The day we got there, Hurricane’s Madeline and Lester were due to hit back to back, but all we got was wind (a LOT of wind), the day we left Maui got hit hard with rain (a LOT of rain, and flash floods).
Highlights: Having my all organic adult D join us…she cooked amazing food and it was a treat to spend 6 days together without work or phones getting in the way for either of us! Of the 12 days away, I only ate 4 meals out. We picnicked and bbq’d each day/night.
Grandma’s in Kula - organic coffee, grown, picked and hand roasted right there on their little coffee farm, using the same method since 1918. This is a little mom and pop and everyone there became “ohana” (family). We even drove the 25+ miles the last morning for coffee just to say aloha one more time. Oh, the food and pastries were divine as well!
Back to Nature organic food store - a gem <3!
Paia Fish Market - fresh, fresh, fresh, inexpensive and delish!
Eva’s fish and poke - inside the Foodland market. Many fresh poke to choose from, and wonderful cut to order fish filets (mahi, ahi, opakapaka and more) - and the sweetest ladies to help choose. They even provided a dry ice pack when they learned I’d be driving 20 minutes home.
Upcountry drive-arounds…up and down every road, marked or otherwise, for hours on end. Chatting and hanging out with locals finding out secret hideaways…like The Sacred Garden in Macawao. Another beautiful hike and stream swim. Impromptu meditation session and labyrinth walk.
Swimming, walking the beach & yoga every single day. 4 miles of sandy beach right out front our condo in Ma’aalea Bay - took advantage a LOT. Sometimes swam 2x each day - lost 5 pounds on this trip and ate well. We had families of turtles right outside to swim with and watch.
Hiking - Iao Valley - beautiful and lush. My D had me photograph her doing some serious yoga poses for her portfolio in the most incredible locations.
Slack key and ukulele music at the Town Party on Friday nights. Fun and delightful. Very few tourists, felt like one of the locals!
Meeting artist Dave Sandell at his studio in Wailuku. Dave’s tongue in cheek Beatles art is a treat! I bought 2 pieces (huge Beatles fan here), Sargent Peppers Maui Hearts Club Band, and Maui Road to frame and hang. Dave himself is a trip and a half. Olivia Harrison is a regular at his studio and owns several of his pieces.
Snorkeling - amazing! Both Molokini and Black Rock were out of this world.
Stand up Paddleboarding - after watching my D take a surf class and ride waves, I decided to try SUP. I took a class, and I did it! I was up and paddling. I probably won’t do it again, but I can now claim I did it (and I have the pictures to prove it)!
Rainbows…I’ve seen many rainbows in my lifetime (including night rainbows) but my last day there I saw a double rainbow (first for me!) and a full arch rainbow that was so large and vivid it took my breath away! It lasted well over 30 minutes, and I took dozens of pictures.
Thanks again to all who made suggestions, and if anyone needs any hints, clues or suggestions, I’ll happily share.
We are leaving in a week, so I’m getting into research mode. Thanks for all of the great suggestions. Can’t wait!!
Sad to report that Iao Valley got descimated mid-September and is now closed for 3 to 4 months for repair.
The 7 Sacred Pools (Hana) were able to be viewed when we were there, but not open for swimming due to high water.
Our 12 hour Road to Hana tour (with Valley Isle Excursions) was wonderful! It included lunch (bbq chicken, salad, mac salad & fruit) and we stopped a lot, sometimes for extended periods (45+ minutes) sometimes just a few minutes for photos. 12 hours is a long day, and their price can’t be beat ($140 p/p) 12 passengers max, we had 9.
What a 2 week stretch! Spent the first 9 days in Maui with my wife. Got home around midnight and flew out with the entire family to visit Williams, Bowdoin and Tufts.
Re: Maui
Thanks to all for the advice, it was very helpful. We stayed @ the Westin Villas @ Ka’anapali. I was very happy with the Westin. The resort seemed pretty mellow, never had to fight for pool chairs. Snorkeling right out from our beach was very good. Saw turtles more often than not, along with colorful reef fish.
Loved having gas grills on site. We bought fish and poke from Foodland, Costco, The Fish Market, and South Maui Fish Company. Our favorite fish and poke were from SMFC. It’s a little food truck in Kihei that serves great food and you can buy fish to take home and grill. We had Golden Papio, which was wonderful. The Fish Market was really good as well.Customer service at both places is top notch.
Dinners out: Lunch @ SMFC was awesome. Only had two dinners out. Absolutely awesome meal @ Mamma’s Fish House. Pricey, but worth it. It is a well-oiled machine, but quality and service are top notch. Had a very good sushi dinner at Sensei in Kapalua as well. Lunches @ Braddah Hutts BBQ in Hana was a solid plate lunch. Also enjoyed a nice salad lunch @ Makawao Garden Cafe.
We spent our first full day on the road to Hana. We got out of our condo by 615AM and enjoyed hiking to several waterfalls, seeing the black sand beach, etc. We did some hiking and swimming @ seven pools. The last 1/2 mile of the main hiking trail was closed. Rather than turning around, we kept going to make a circle. Some rough road, but really not bad.
Spent another day hiking on trails @ top of Hale’akala. Beautiful weather, enjoyed the views.
We enjoyed the coastal trail around Kapalua and hiking to the blowhole.
Spent one morning exploring South Maui and did some snorkeling near Makena.
Costco is good for fish, alcohol, and especially gas!
Spent the rest of the time reading, relaxing and snorkeling.
One thing I didn’t like about staying in West Maui is that the drive to the main part of the island is long and somewhat stressful with traffic.
thx again!
Noelani Condominimums - the best!
Any updated ideas, especially for restaurants near Wailea/Kihei?
Thanks
We liked Morimoto located in Andaz. Andaz’s breakfast buffet is unbelievable. It is super expensive, but the food was so good, we stuffed ourselves with so much of it that we skipped lunch. There are restaurants in every major hotel in Wailea, so check their reviews on Opentable.