7 Nights in Maui, Hawaii (West Coast)

This will be my first trip to Hawaii. I will be traveling to Maui in mid-August with my husband. We will be with a group of six (my husband will be the lone boy in the group). Air, hotel, and car rentals have already been taken care of. We'll be staying near Lahaina in West Maui.

What are some tips and recommendations for first timers?

For luaus, is it better to look for deals online or are there places you can buy them discounted once we get there?

Same question as above for other activities such as dinner cruises, snorkeling, and diving?

What about packing? What essentials must I bring?

We'll have two seniors in our group and I'm concerned they might not do well spending the day at the beach. They'll most likely be interested in trying out the exotic fruits of Hawaii. What places can we get these? And also what other things can they do?

Any other advice would be truly appreciated.

Definitely visit Haleakala. Haleakala is the dormant (but you can never be too sure in Hawai'i) volcano that makes up the big half of the island. Get a tour or drive up in your rental and watch the sunrise. Leave quite early, as I believe the drive holds a record for the most altitude gained over the shortest drive in the US, so there are many many switchbacks. Watch out for cows in the road. It also gets very cold, around freezing or lower, which most visitors to Hawai'i don't pack for. But it is a beautiful, otherwordly vista you will be rewarded with. The more adventureous can go on a hike through the crater. There are various options in length, with the longest trek being about 13 miles (but fairly easy). You will get to picnic with the nene, the world's rarest goose, and probably have to shoo five percent of the entire population away from your table while you eat. You will also find the silversword in abundance, that only grows here and in a couple of spots on the Big Island. The nominal fee you pay on entering the park is good for some number of days at all National Parks, so it is a very good idea to visit Seven Pools on the same pass.

For fruit, stop at any of the many little fruit stands you'll find on the roadside. These are, believe it or not, legit and have the freshest fruit for the best price.

Thanks dcw! This is totally something my group would interested in!

Ohhhh fun!! I recently wrote about our Haleakala experience - it is definitely a must-see! For other activities, I would say book ahead. If there is something you really want to do, it seemed like a lot of the popular companies/tours/activities booked up in advance real quick. Just do some research before you go on TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc. We went ziplining in Maui, which was AWESOME - highly recommend. We did it with Flyin' Hawaiian and also recommend them! Feel free to message me with any questions!

coupleoftravels wrote:Ohhhh fun!! I recently wrote about our Haleakala experience - it is definitely a must-see! For other activities, I would say book ahead. If there is something you really want to do, it seemed like a lot of the popular companies/tours/activities booked up in advance real quick. Just do some research before you go on TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc. We went ziplining in Maui, which was AWESOME - highly recommend. We did it with Flyin' Hawaiian and also recommend them! Feel free to message me with any questions!

Your write-up on Haleakala is fantastic! And the pictures you have there come as close to any I've ever seen of capturing the beauty and alien-ness of the area at sunrise. I hate mornings as well, and there aren't many things I'd say are worth getting up at 2:30 for, but that trip was one of them.

dcw - Thanks so much!! You are right - it is very alien! Definitely worth the trip. I would have liked to hike up there as well, but will save that for next time!

If you can afford it, a helicopter ride is worth the money. Much of the island is uninhabited and without roads. The only way to see it is from the air. I think you'll be in whaling country and there's a museum there. I've been to most of the islands and things kinda run together but I think there's an old sugar plantation train you can ride. If I can help, let me know.
The last time I was on Kauai, we had a rental car but only used it getting to the hotel and back to the airport. We went to a luau, several tours and a helicopter ride. We were picked up at the hotel for everything. I think the best deals are to be had after you arrive rather than booking on the web. Have a great trip.