Recent Kihei/Maui Trip Summary

We recently returned from a 7-day visit to Maui/Kihei. I reviewed this site till we left, so I wanted to give everyone my opinion on several topics.

We are a family of six, H/W plus 22,20,16,16 children. Started planning this trip in July. This was too late for a Xmas trip as condo%26#39;s and flights were already limited. Least busy time is September thru Thanksgiving.

Condo-

Stayed at Maui Kama%26#39;ole in Kihei (2 bedroom). Very nice units and great location on southside of Kihei. Did not have to drive thru congested Kihei everytime we wanted to head or return from the north. Across the street from Kamaole III beach. Great beach. Total cost $1700 for high time. Rented from private individual I found on the web.

Meals-

Very expensive, but knew that from reading this sight for 5 months. Beacuse it was Xmas, I made dinner reservations a month ahead of time because of the size of my family. Wise choice as it is very busy. We also had dinner at 8-8:30 so as to not shorten our daily plans. You can see the sunset(6:00 p.m.) from the beach. Prices of the better places was about $350 for us. Typically 4 drinks, 2-3 appetizers and 3 deserts. Could have been much higher.

Bada-Bing in Kihei: Arrived at 9:45 p.m. in Kihei and not much still open at this time. Decent Italian food. Nothing fantastic, but the price wasn%26#39;t bad either.

Sarrento%26#39;s in Kihei: One of our favorite meals. Great location on the beach. Italian themed food.

Seawatch in Wailea: At one of the golf courses clubhouse. Very good meal also. Mostly seafood. Great dinner.

Roy%26#39;s in Kihei: Voted best dinner by three in our family. Not the best ambiance, but great fish. Noisy place.

Stella Blue%26#39;s in Kihei: had reservations at Gerard%26#39;s in Lahaina, but did not return from Hana in enough time. Missed a great place. Stella%26#39;s meal was very good. Not at the level of some of these other places, but very good.

New Years Eve-Longi%26#39;s in Wailea. Had reservations at Pacific%26#39;O. They notified us that they had a fixed $85-100 menu that evening. Too high for me. We changed to Longi%26#39;s. Italian theme like Sarrento%26#39;s. We had a great time and was a great meal. Was able to watch the fireworks next door at the Wailea at midnight.

Old Lahaina Luau in Lahaina: Good show. As everyone says: You need to go to a luau once. We did, but we did not like the food. Certainly compared to the other places we had dinner. Would recommend this place for the entire experience, but do not go to a luau just for the food.

Mama%26#39;s Fishmarket in Pa%26#39;ia. Had lunch here before we went to the airport. Setting was fantastic and was a good ending to a great trip. Expensive for lunch. Prices just like dinner.

Activities:

Snorkling on Trilogy II to Molokini: Had a great time. Got to see whales, sea turtles, and plenty of fish. Snorkling was average as compared to the Carribean. Divers said the same thing. Boat is plenty big and did not feel cramped. Food and service was great. Crew aimed to please and they did. Met in Ma%26#39;alaea at 6:00 a.m. and returned about 1:30-2:00. Would highly recommend them.

Haleakala Crater; Did not ride the bikes as we did not want to get up at 2:30 a.m. I also considered watching the sunset from there (i.e. Washington Post article), but was concerned about the afternoon clouds obstructing the view. We left Kihei at 7:45 a.m. and it was crystal clear at the top and and not cold at all (we wore shorts/t-shirts). Very nice views. Was back to condo by 2:00, including a trip to watch the surfers on the north shore.

Hana-I could write all day about this trip. We left at 7:15 and returned at 7:30 p.m. Had ';maui Revealed'; and the Hana CD. Maui revealed is much better as we would not have seen some of the places we visited without it. Saw many of the waterfalls, black and red sand beach, seven pools and drove around the southern part of the volcano(I did not want to drive back across what I already saw). The road is not scary at all as I had expected. The only problem I had was driving into the direct sun when we left the seven pools at 5:00 p.m. Some great, different sights on that side. My personal highlight. We were adventuresome and saw it all. Only disappointment was the water flow was low in some of the waterfalls bacause of the lack of recent rain.

Drive from Lahaina to Nakalele Blowhole: Great drive. Blowhole was the childrens favorite. Not an easy walk, but not impossible. Need good knees. Returned back thru Kapalua to see the golf course(the day before the Mercedes started).

Beaches- First, we had 7 days of 80%26#39;s weather with sunshine. Could not have been better. Visited many beaches. Surf was up, so we had a great time with the boogie boards. (rented them for $15/wk. All sold out at Wal-Mart and K-Mart). In fact surf was so high, couple of us got banged up pretty good one morning at Ula beach. Better be good swimmers in these conditions. Big Beach, Wailea Beach, Kama%26#39;ole III were our favorites. Very easy drive to and park car. Big Beach is a longer walk from the Parking lot.

Hope this helps some of you who are planning future trips.

Recent Kihei/Maui Trip Summary

Your summary help%26#39;s alot, especially when going to Maui for the 1st time! I will use all your info.. I am looking forward to February... one question, what kind of clothes to bring??

Recent Kihei/Maui Trip Summary

This was our first trip too.

We took one set of slacks and Hawaiian shirt for dinner since we were going to fairly nice places. I wouldn%26#39;t bring more than that. There were ladies in dresses and people in shorts. Your choice.

We brought two sets of swimware and towels, but since our condo had a washer/dryer, that really wasn%26#39;t necessary. For laying on the beach, they sell these mats for $1 that worked just fine. Therefore didn%26#39;t need towels for laying on the beach. (we actually brought some cheap sheets to lay on the mats.)

Most times you are in swimware and t-shirt. We wore this to Hana and the blowhole since you are going into the water both times. If you have a washer/dryer, I would bring limited clothes and wash them. No need for anything formal. Even at night it wasn%26#39;t cold. Only if you go to the crater at sunrise do you need warm clothes.%26#39;

BTW-Regarding the swim toys: the boats have decent snorkel gear, but if you are going to more than that, I would bring with you or buy on the Internet before you arrive. Expensive to rent, I thought. The boards were good to rent, although we saw people check them with the airlines. We were not able to buy on Maui because of the shortage.

Thanks again for the info... I will pack light!

Thank you for your posting your trip report. I think they are so helpful. I am going with two teenagers and can%26#39;t decide if I want to spend the whole day driving the road to Hana but it sounds like your crew had a good time and it wasn%26#39;t a bad days trip. THX for the restaurant tips also.