Maui Revealed MORE!!!!!

First, I would like thank everybody on this site for advice I have received. I could go on and on but everybody reading this prolly knows how helpful this site has been to travelers!

I just got back from my honeymoon 2 days ago and just wanted to give anybody going some advice before going.

1) Get the blue bible (maui revealed book)

2) Most of the food in Maui is not great, but some are good.. Mamas, Da Kitchen, Hakone. Come to Houston if you think the food is good in Maui.

3) Road to Hana is a must!

4) Snorkel at black rock!

5) Hyatt is a great hotel for atmosphere and relaxation

6) Maui Prince is outdated but if you get a Prince card, you have a good chance of getting upgraded (we got upgraded to their $700 suite)

7) Use betterbidding.com to help you bid on your hotel stay. you will save more than 100%!

8) Boss Frogs rents the snorkel gear for the cheapest but i%26#39;d recommend to buy some before you go

9) Locals are not nice as it says in the travel books! Lemme say this again. Some are rather rude. I know people say that the people there are nice. Of course the people at the hotel are nice, but they are paid to be nice and courteous. But outside the hotel, most people are not as nice.

10) buy the bamboo mats when wating to lay on the beach.. towels dont work as well

11) Johnnys burgers, saigon cafe, aloha mixed plate all are terrrible!!!!!!!!

12) Old Lahaina Luau

13) Use Betterbidding.com

14) Try a snowcone!

15) Bring extra clothes in case you decide to never go back home!!!!! :P

Have fun!

Maui Revealed MORE!!!!!

What is the atmosphere like at Hakone? I%26#39;ve heard the food is very good.

Also, it sounds like you stayed at Maui Prince. Did you drive to any beaches in South Maui? If so, what were your impressions? I liked Big Beach [and of course Wailea] but was thinking of checking out some other beaches south of Four Seasons.

Maui Revealed MORE!!!!!

';9) Locals are not nice as it says in the travel books! Lemme say this again. Some are rather rude. I know people say that the people there are nice. Of course the people at the hotel are nice, but they are paid to be nice and courteous. But outside the hotel, most people are not as nice.';

I thought I was the only one that thought this. I was a bit disappointed because all I kept hearing on this board was about the ';aloha spirit'; and I saw very little of it, with the exception of OLL, they made us feel very special!

I%26#39;d have to, for the most part, disagree with #9. While at DT Fleming Park, we saw a young man and his (nephew?)snorkeling, and we asked him how it was. He was super nice, and told us all the fish they saw, and then offered to lend us thier gear. We took him up on it, and chatted when we got back.

The locals we met were all friendly and gave us lots of tips of places to go, where to eat.

The only unfriendly person we ran across was a punk kid that threw a piece of fruit at our rental car while we drove down a residential street. It was a drive by fruiting!! lOL

I keep hearing more and more about the locals and their ';not so friendly attitudes';, that is such a shame....if you read the mauinews.com there is a letter to the editor in this edition that talks about why the paper/police don%26#39;t give more press to the breaking and entering (cars) that%26#39;s happening on the ';east side of Maui';. I can imagine that if it is that bad on that side of the island, it%26#39;ll be just as bad on the west side.

I%26#39;d like to hear from some local experts in regards to the ';Unfriendlies'; and why they are like that, and what we can do to avoid that behavior when we visit Maui....

The issues on the ';east side'; refer to breaking into cars while the renters are enjoying sites on the road to Hana. It is nothing new. Petty crime. That sort of thing happens everywhere.

Love your list... not everyone is frindly no matter where you go, maui is no different.

I have had several run in%26#39;s with the locals and the ones I met were frindly, helpful, and the best local%26#39;s I met were 3 brothers that worked in the same bar in Lahaina, I will never forget how nice they were. They would just hang out with us, but never were they intrusive. We would go to that bar every night because of how friendly they were.

The only unfriendly person I%26#39;ve ever run into in HI happens to be our neighbor on Kaua%26#39;i. Bleah. But he%26#39;s a known nutcase, so we pretty much ignore him or laugh at his antics. He hates everyone, even Hawaiians. People go to local government meetings just to watch him do his show.

';I%26#39;d like to hear from some local experts in regards to the ';Unfriendlies'; and why they are like that, and what we can do to avoid that behavior when we visit Maui....';

Maybe you can explain why some visitors are unfriendly, cranky, demanding, and condescending?

Not everyone can keep a hula smile on their face all the time. This is not Disneyland, it is just a place where regular families live and work, just the same as your hometown, except that for us one third of our population is made up of tourists most of the time. We have bad days, get tired from working doubleshifts at tiring service jobs, get bad news or maybe can just be preoccupied. Some people are naturally more pleasant than others, some are just cranky all the time. From experience I will say that most people get what they give. I am approached all the time by TWA (tourists with attitudes) who expect me to be some sort of Ambassador of Aloha. I%26#39;ve also been insulted and assaulted with racial slurs, told to get off the beach and to get a job (I have a very good one, thank you), and have had to hear ';kamana`iwanaleia'; a few too many times. Most people we meet are lovely, but hey, cut us some slack if we aren%26#39;t ';on'; all the time for your entertainment. Sometimes a cigar is just a ciagr.

Hey, we read the Letters to the Editors as a humor column most of the time. We have plenty whackos here and a large part of what you read in there is distorted, exagerrated or just plain not even true. It is a plce to vent, but don%26#39;t base your opinions of Maui or expect to get journalistic news from there. Yes, cars are broken in to where ever tourists park them and leave them, not just in East Maui, but everywhere. And the actions of criminals has nothing to do with a dislike for tourists. Hey, without tourists these guys would have to break into residents%26#39; cars, and Lord knows we don%26#39;t have nearly as many camcorders and new snorkle gear for them to steal as tourists do! If they broke into my car they%26#39;d get one old slippah and last week%26#39;s newspaper.

Thanks for this info.... I%26#39;m heading to Maui and Kaui in 6 months for my honeymoon and these have been invaluable in our planning.

You could probably add these to refs to your #1 list above.

LONELYPLANET - lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/…

THEBIGDAY - thebigday.com/Travel/HawaiiGuide/Overview.asp

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SurfNTurf