If you happen to find yourself in Makawao (on the way to Haleakala, you must stop by the Komoda Bakery on Baldwin Avenue. Best doughnuts ever…mini doughnuts on a stick, coconut doughnuts. Not a fancy place, but who cares!
I recommend you buy “Maui Revealed” as a great guidebook for everything.
Each Friday night there are street parties in different areas of Maui. Most are very local oriented which provides for a super fun evening (live music, hula, food trucks, art) - you can look up Maui Fridays. If your kids are 21+ the organic vodka farm is beautiful and pretty interesting. While you’re upcounty you can stop by the only winery in Hawaii. And we love a stop at the Surfing Goat cheese farm which is right down the road from the vodka farm.
Whale watching is fun, especially if you have a warm sunny day. It can be a single purpose or combined with snorkeling off molokini.
Swim & have a drink or two with an umbrella in it at the beach.
Watch the windsurfers in Paia.
Sea turtles in Napili.
White sand beach at Makeena.
Penguins at the Hyatt in Kaanapali.
Tear up the return flight tickets ?
That’s a lot of great information. Thanks for all the suggestions. Keep them coming.
Thumbs up on the snorkeling trip. Road to Hana is cool, but not sure HS aged kids would like. More of a couples thing IMO. Check out the surfers on the North? side of the island. Nobody’s mentioned it, but play golf. The kanapali course takes you up and up, and the views are amazing. Most important, sit back, chill out, and relax.
Love the road to Hana. We take the kids. Not to be missed. Stop as much as possible on the way. When you get to the end go to 'Ohe’o (seven sacred pools) Suggest going up one day, spending the night in Hana and coming back the next day. Do not come back at night. Come home the next day. Kids might complain about the long ride to Hana but they won’t forget the experience. Bring food. You will not want to eat on the way as it is very limited. Let them count the waterfalls.
Old Lahaina Luau is wonderful. Food is the best. I don’t care for the town however, it’s crowded and touristy (even more than other places).
Find a good spot to rent a place. This is really important. Be careful you don’t book in a large hotel overflowing with guests and a small beach with many people. People think if they spend $400-700 a night then it will be luxurious. Nope. The bars and pools are full to the brim. Restaurants too. Everyone goes to HI at the same time. Our spot is close to amenities but enough of a walk to keep people carrying beach chairs away from our beach. Still it’s close enough for us to walk to dinner. If you want privacy rent a place near the beach but away from touristy things.
Maui has some of the best local restaurants. Check online. You can also buy lots of local fish (poke) and other fruits etc at the supermarket. Eating out is very very expensive. Wine too.
Maui is such a great part of the world. Don’t miss really experiencing HI via nature.
We go to Maui just about every year in Jan-Feb. We still snorkel but we use rash shirts which help us stay warm and give some sun protection, too. A lot of the trips will rent you wet suits, too if it is chilly. We prefer to take the Pacific Whale Foundation’s trips out of Lahaina but they go out of Maalaea too. Our favorite Luau is a bit different, we like the Feast at Lei Lei. It is expensive but it is sit down dinner, not a buffet and the courses correspond to the islands that the dances are showcasing. For high schoolers, there are some great zip lines in upcountry. If you are staying in the Residnece Inn, that is in Wailea, not the Lahaina or Kaanapali area. It is a bit of a drive that can be quite congested to get between the 2. So you should plan most of your activities in that area of the island. A fun stop is at the Surfacing Goat farm. They make great goat cheese. If so inclined, yours may enjoy a day of shopping and cafes in Paia and craft shops in Makawao. That is also near where there is a lot of wind surfacing.
I was the only one in my group to Not ride my bike down the mountain after seeing the sunrise (I have a bad thumb)
I rode down with the Hawaiian guide, who was as cheerful and informative as can be. I loved it.
Love doing a snorkel trip to Molokini. I usually book with Trilogy. In March it will also be whale wTching season, so there is a very high chance of seeing whales on the sail home from snorkeling Molokini. Mama’s Fish House is a good restaurant. It’s somewhat near the airport, so often a great choice if you have a red eye flight home. I’m not sure what part of the island you are staying, so if you state that, we can give more suggestions.
I’ve booked with señor frog. We had a coupon and it as amazingly cheap to see the whales. No regrets.
If your resort is in Wailea and you guys are fairly active, there’s a fun kayaking trip down that way. I remember being in the water and looking around and there were 9 turtles we could easily see. Blue water rafters or something close to that) does trips from Kihei, which is MUCH closer than driving to Lahaina. Theres a restaurant on a golf course that’s supposed to be very good, but I can’t think of the name of it.
There’s a restaurant called Cafe a lait in Kihei which is very good for the price. Mama’s fish house is pretty expensive. We liked it a lot, but our friends didn’t think it was worth the money. We did the luau down in Wailea one year, but I didn’t think it was worth it. You can walk a LONG way on the beach from Wailea up through Kihei. It’s a great walk along the water.
Agree with the book Maui Revealed.GREAT resource.
@scorekeeper1 , i checked google maps and the hotel is on the Wailea-Makena part of the island
Is it a good idea to take one’s own snorkel gear or rent it there?
We have Costco on Maui near airport that sells things at standard Costco prices. It depends if you have sufficient space to bring it in your luggage or not and how much you plan to use it.
The tour operators on the boat will rent it to you or the trips that I’ve been on, the vest, flippers and goggles and snorkel are part of the package.
Ok, @sushiritto , @HImom thanks for clarifying
There are a lot of wonderful restaurants from cheap to expensive, but I feel these are fantastic, clean-eating and reasonably priced IMO:
Paia Fish Market (there are two, one in Paia, one in Lahaina)
Star Noodle (Lahaina)
Da Kitchen (there are two, one in Kihei, one in Kahului.
Gazebo (breakfast/lunch near Napili)
Slappy Cakes (near Kaanapali, make your own pancakes at the table)