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anyone going to maui?

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Kissmark

Shiny_Rock
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May 27, 2007
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hi going to maui for the first time, should i go to wailea/kihei area or Lahaina/Kaanapali? thanks in advance!
 
Hi Kissmark,
My fiance and myself were just there in April. We are getting married in Kihei next April and we went over there to do some wedding planning. Kihei has always been a special place to me and my family, my parents have had a timeshare there for 30 years and its a yearly treat to go.

There is soooooo much to do there, what are your interests?

If you like snorkeling you can take a morning trip to Molokini. That''s the small cresent shaped crater right off the shore in Kihei/Wailea. And you can take the tour from the Kihei boat dock - its right on S. Kihei Rd. Its about 3 or 4 hrs and I think it was $30/person

My parents condo borders on Wailea so we always walk up and down this really long beach that has so many beautiful water front homes.

Wailea is gorgeous - lots of nice resorts and some great shopping - there is a fairly new "mall" w/ Tiff''s, Cartier, LV, etc. in Wailea

There is really so much to do in Maui - like the Road to Hana! That is awesome. You will need to leave very early - like 5:30 am as it takes about 4 hrs (if you stop along the way) to get a little past Hana to the 7 Sacred Pools. Its only about 60 miles away but you can drive faster than 10-15 mph because it is very curvy and narrow. There are a lot of tours you can go on for this, but we drove ourselves - we had a Jeep Wrangler so it was a blast. Also, technically once you get to the 7 pools and you want to leave, you are supposed to turn around and go back the same way. Well.... we didn''t, we circled the other side of the island which included a lot of off roading
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and it was awesome. But I heard that one main bridge on that "rural" side was damaged during the earthquake last year so I''m not sure if you can still do that. But check just to be sure.

Lahaina is pretty cool too - haven''t spent much time there. Kihei is on the other side of the island, but it only takes 1 hr to get from Kihei to Lahaina.

Let me know what else you like to do. Oh and the Tedesci Winery is cool too - they make Pinapple wine there.
 
Kissmark,

The island is small enough that you can stay in one area and take day trips to the others. We went in May and stayed in Kaanapali and managed to spend time in every notable town in the island while we were there: Hana, Wailea, Paia, etc. We did end up doing a fair amount of driving, but it was a ton of fun. I think you would be fine in either place, I didn''t prefer one over the other, we just chose based on the best hotel deal we could get.
 
So if we fly into Kahalui airport, and stay at a hotel in Lahaina/Kaanapali, would that be a really long commute? thanks!
 
We went for our honeymoon and I am just dying to go back. We rented a condo near Lahaina and it was very central to everything we wanted to do. It was truly the best vacation I''ve ever had!
 
We are going for our honeymoon in September! I was having the same dilemma about where to stay, so we decided to stay in both areas! We are doing 5 nights in Kaanapali beach, and this is where we''ll do the majority of our activities. Then we are spending 5 nights in Wailea and we will do our relaxing there. We did this mainly because we didn''t want to spend a lot of our day driving (we originally were going to stay in Wailea the whole time, then discovered a lot of the activities we want are in Kaanapali).

We are also spending two nights on Oahu (mainly just to visit Pearl Harbor & do some shopping!)
 
We are going there on our honeymoon in August - I can NOT wait to go and RELAX!!!
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We are staying in Wailea at the Four Seasons. I heard that it is one the best hotels in Hawaii and that you don''t have to lift a finger - that''s exactly what we''re looking for!!!!
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Hi!

I JUST got back from the Westin in Ka'anapali and I LOVED staying on that side of the island more than when I went to the Four Seasons Wailea a few years back. They are different.

Ka'anapali is very pretty, but much more busy! There is also (I think) more to do there...and my hotel was awsome (I like lots of bars, water slides
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, shopping). I also think that being on the club level helped, with the big ocean view, tub, etc
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Wailea is more quiet...good if all you want to do is relax and shop, and if you don't mind the 30 minute drive to the more "busy" side of the Island. The hotel was nice, very nice, but I found myself driving to Lahina and Ka'anapali all the time...The Evian sprits wore off after the first few days!

The beaches, I think are equally beautiful, with the Wailea (Four Season) beach private and quiet, and the Ka'anapali buzzing with excitement and a bit crowded!
 
Date: 6/26/2007 10:02:32 AM
Author: Kissmark
So if we fly into Kahalui airport, and stay at a hotel in Lahaina/Kaanapali, would that be a really long commute? thanks!
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No. It''s about a 1/2 hour drive.

I''ve stayed in both Lahaina and Kihei, and the only difference I felt was that Lahaina had a lot of restaurants/clubs within walking distance. My personal preference of places to stay on Maui is Hana
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(not that you listed that as an option...
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)
 
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention--the beaches on the west side (Ka'anapali/Kahana) are reported to be cleaner/safer than in Kihei. Wailea's fine though.

I am a GIGANTIC advocate of the "drive to Hana," if you are at all outdoors-inclined
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(I barely am--not a hiker--but I LOVE LOVE LOVE this drive, it's my favorite Hawaii experience by far and I've been to Kaua'i, Oahu, Maui and the Big Island for extended periods of time). If it's something you're planning to do, it's easier to depart from Kihei/Wailea area (closer).
 
we went to maui for our honeymoon last september and had an incredible time! we stayed in kaanapali at the sheraton where we went snorkeling with sea turtles every morning at black rock. the island is pretty small as others have said, so we were able to explore all of the areas we wanted.

my biggest recommendation... get the book "maui revealed". it has a bright blue cover and has tons of tips on hikes, restaurants, hotels, shopping, etc. it never, ever steered us wrong. even the locals thought it was a great book.
 
Date: 6/26/2007 11:22:00 AM
Author: UCLABelle
Hi!

I JUST got back from the Westin in Ka''anapali and I LOVED staying on that side of the island more than when I went to the Four Seasons Wailea a few years back. They are different.

Ka''anapali is very pretty, but much more busy! There is also (I think) more to do there...and my hotel was awsome (I like lots of bars, water slides
41.gif
, shopping). I also think that being on the club level helped, with the big ocean view, tub, etc
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Wailea is more quiet...good if all you want to do is relax and shop, and if you don''t mind the 30 minute drive to the more ''busy'' side of the Island. The hotel was nice, very nice, but I found myself driving to Lahina and Ka''anapali all the time...The Evian sprits wore off after the first few days!

The beaches, I think are equally beautiful, with the Wailea (Four Season) beach private and quiet, and the Ka''anapali buzzing with excitement and a bit crowded!
Click to expand...

Belle - how did you like the Westin? I think that is where we are staying in Kaanapali!!!
 
My fiance and I are getting married in Lahaina and spending our honeymoon there as well. We''re staying at the Hyatt Resort. But we will drive across the island to do "the road to Hana" trip. Can''t wait!!!
 
Fly into OGG airport and then I think it''s about a 20 min. drive to Lahaina.
 
I loved the Westin. It was wonderful. I enjoyed our room, view, food, pools, beach and being right next to shopping. I recommend having the breakfast buffet in the morning at least once. The only other rec is to reserve a beach lounger for one day. Super fun!
 
My husband and I got engaged in Maui! I loved it there!

I recommend checking out the book, Maui Revealed. This book is great if you like to explore or just want good information on where to eat. We brought this book with us everywhere we went. It was so useful. It was especially useful when we did the drive to Hana. It tells you about lots of hidden places you''d never find on your own. It was funny because we saw so many people around Maui with this book!
 
Thank you ladies very very much! From what you all said, sounds like wailea is a better choice because we prefer something more quiet and relaxing, since we will go to waikiki first i think we''ll do all the bar/club scene there. i would LOVE to stay at the four season but looks like it''s out of budget
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where would be the cheapest place to book hotels? thanks!
 
I like kayak. Sidestep is good too... though I almost always find the best deals through orbitz
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Don't get confused by kayak and sidestep's system: make sure you check whether or not the "cheapest" prices are including tax, etc. because often they're not.

If you're not booking that many hotels (2-3) then do yourself a favor and cross-reference them on different sites, INCLUDING the hotel's own site (sometimes, surprisingly enough, they have the best prices).
 
I was told that Wailea is on the side of the island with less rain.
 
We stayed in a condo, which was very affordable - I think it was less than most hotels and we had a lot of room and privacy. We reserved it thru family friends, but it may be worth checking into. Seriously, we had a bedroom, living room kitchen, porch, pool for the compex, and private beach all to ourselves!
 
I loved Wailiea.. I went with my family a few years ago and it was gorgeous. We also drove to see the Road to Hana... I hated it because I got carsick and the drop offs were kind of scary. Also, FYI if you do it, don''t look at the map and decide it would be easier to make a full circle instead of going back the way you came.. Well, let''s just say the way there looked like a rainforest and the way back looked like a scene from the Lion King. Add in a ton of potholes and horrible road conditions, and you''re in for a terrible ride!
 
When I used to go, Wailea was less touristy and nicer. It is also the drier side of the island.
 
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