We just returned from an absolutely fantastic week on Maui. We left Phoenix on 12/30 at 11:30 am for a nonstop flight to OGG on America West. When we arrived in Maui it was around 3 pm. We collected our luggage, and picked up our rental car (I will not rent from Budget again; more on that later). Since we stayed in a condo we decided to make some of our own meals to save $$- but I didn%26#39;t want to spend a lot of time cooking. So I ordered 6 meals from a company called Dish; they are located near the airport, and they provide fully prepared meals that are frozen and ready to go. We found all of the meals to be very good, and very easy to make. We also stopped at Safeway in the Lahaina Cannery Mall to pick up some more snacks, POG (YUM!), alcohol, etc. By the time we got to our condo, at the Napili Shores the sky was darkening. I was very happy with our condo unit, #G-155. It was in the third building back from the ocean, but it still had a wonderful ocean view (I was glad not to have an ocean front room, as the sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks was pretty loud when the surf was up, even in our room). We rented through a private owner, and the unit was nicely stocked, and very clean. And considering it was during high season we were able to rent it for an excellent price.
This was our second trip to Maui, and we really wanted to relax, so we did not do a whole lot of activities. We spent a lot of time sunning, reading, and swimming on Napili Bay, which was just as beautiful as I remembered. The weather was pretty good; Tuesday was absolutley gorgeous (it was warm and so clear; there were no clouds over Molokai). Wed. and Thurs. were very windy. Up in Napili there were a few rain showers, but nothing that lasted too long. And the short rain showers produced pretty rainbows :).
Although we made a few meals in the condo, we also visited some good restaurants. We had breakfast at the Gazebo, although I cheated and got it to-go, and we ate it on the lanai, which had just as beautiful of a view (It was nice to by pass the long line, although we would have eaten in the restaurant if my boyfriend was awake and ready to go). We had lunch at Aloha Mixed Plate in Lahaina, and we both enjoyed our food. It was pretty cheap, and it was fun to eat food that is not readily available at home.This restaurant has a pretty view of the ocean. Another great lunch was at Hula Grill on Kaanapali Beach. We just got sandwiches, but they were very, very good with a great view and great service (the only downside was that the table next to us had a toddler who screamed for at least 10 min. straight; I didn%26#39;t understand why one of the parents did not take her away from the table). One night we went to dinner at Kobe%26#39;s Japanese Steakhouse in Lahaina. This was a fun teppanyaki/sushi bar. Very good sushi, and a lot of food. Not bad prices either, but not super cheap. We had 3 plates of sushi, an appetizer, 2 alcoholic drinks, 2 bowls of rice, 2 bowls of soup, and split a teppanyaki dinner for a little over $90 (including a 20% tip). We couldn%26#39;t even eat it all. This restaurant doesn%26#39;t have a view. We also ate breakfast at Lahaina Coolers, which we thought was very good, and not very expensive. This restaurant is open-air, and looks out on Dickenson Street in Lahaina. For excellent, cheap food we visited Honokowai Okazuya Deli. We actually ate there twice, and probably would have eaten there more if it hadn%26#39;t been closed for the New Years Holiday (on 12/31, 1/1, 1/2). Two people can fill up on a lot of food for under $20.
One paid activity we did was a whale watch with the Pacific Whale Foundation. It was a nice trip, and it was fun to see whales doing different things. The only downside to the trip was that on that day it was extremely windy, and the water was very choppy. Luckily neither of us get seasick.
On our last day we also went to the Maui Ocean Center. It is a little pricey at $21 per adult, but we both enjoyed seeing the ocean life native to Hawaii (my boyfriend also especially enjoyed the shark tunnel).
After the ocean center we visited the I%26#39;ao Valley, which was absolutley beautiful. It was a hot day on Friday, so it was very refreshing to get up to higher elevation and enjoy the cool breezes.
A few things I would have changed:
Our flight home from Maui did not depart until 11:59pm, but we had to check out of our condo at 11 am. I wish I had just spent the $$ to reserve the condo until 1/7. Driving around for 12 hours was exhausting. We drove from Napili down to Kaanapali, then went into Lahaina for lunch, and continued down to Maalea to visit the Ocean Center. Then we went up to the I%26#39;ao Valley, and then drove down to Wailea, where we read on the beach for a while. Then we went up to Kahului, saw a movie and did some shopping. I enjoyed all the activity, but I would have enjoyed a nap at the Napili Shores just as much.
I will also never rent a car from Budget again. When we rented the car we were told that there would be a $300 hold put on my debit card. It should be noted that we paid for the whole trip with cash that we had available at the time. We are both young, and we don%26#39;t use credit cards, except for emergencies ( I am almost done paying off the balance of the one card I got when I was 18). Well, Budget messed up and put a hold of $800 on my debit card. After spending quite a bit on food and groceries I called the bank to discover I had $99 left in my bank account on the evening of our second day of vacation (12/31), and $120 in my wallet. Since it was a holiday weekend Budget and the bank were unable to reverse the hold until 1/2. Luckily between my boyfriend and I we had enough money to enjoy our vacation as planned, but it was not fun to spend 3 hours of vacation on the phone between the bank and Budget to get the error fixed. On the good side, we did get a totally free rental car for the week,and the manager on duty was very helpful, but I would have preferred to just pay for it and not have any problems. This may seem like a simple error on the part of Budget, but this is the second time we have had a problem renting from Budget (We had an issue with being overcharged by Budget when we rented a car in San Diego). So, in the future I will use other companies.
Maui is a wonderful place to visit, and I cannot wait for another opportunity to travel there. All of you that have upcoming trips are so lucky! The Hawaiian Islands truly are paradise!!! (P.S. Sorry this is so long!)
Maui Trip Report 12/30-1/6 (LONG!)
Hi can you give me more information on ';DISH';
Please.
Maui Trip Report 12/30-1/6 (LONG!)
Hello :)
You can find more info on dishsimple.com. It contains a menu and prices. I don%26#39;t know how many people are traveling with you, but my boyfriend and I ordered 6 of the half dish meals. It was plenty of food for both of us (and he eats a lot). I would use this company again when we return to Maui.
Good information on Dishsimple. I will check that site out. How was your flight on America West? We are planning to go in June using the same airlines.
The flights with America West went fine. On the way to Maui we checked in quickly curbside (in Phoenix). America West does not serve any complimentary food on flights to Hawaii, but you can purchase sandwiches and snacks for $2-$5. The planes we were on were 757%26#39;s, I think (3 seats, aisle, 3 seats),but the seats did not have individual ';entertainment centers.'; Both flights left on time and arrived on time. A 5 1/2 hour flight is not fun in economy, but America West was the cheapest and the flight was non-stop; I would fly to Maui with them again.
I%26#39;ve refused to rent from Budget since the time we rented two cars for a family group, and they tried to charge us for the ';second'; driver.
Thanks 985. We made our reservations months ago. I%26#39;ve never flown with them and I liked the fact that they flew non stop from Phoenix. Glad someone else brought up Budget car rental. I was thinking of going with them but now have changed my mind. We will also be renting two cars since there will be seven of us going.
I guess I shouldn%26#39;t be surprised that the Phoenix to Maui flight doesn%26#39;t have complimentary meals. It%26#39;s frustrating though, as you would think that a flight THAT long would be a little bit better in terms of service than a flight under 3-4 hours long. I%26#39;ve learned to just take snacks on the plane with me though. Not much else you can do unless you want to pay for airline food (not that it%26#39;s great anyway). :)
I had read beforehand that America West no longer had complimentary meals, so we had a big breakfast before leaving Phoenix, and we brought a lot of snacks. I am not a fan of airline food anyways, but the $5 sandwiches at least looked better than the food you used to get for free.
So sorry to hear about your nightmare with Budget. I%26#39;ve never had an issue with them or any other car rental agency, but this is good to know for future reference. I generally prefer using my debit card as well when I vacation.....it%26#39;s so tempting to pull out a regular credit card at times though. I also understand that, depending on location, some car rental agencies will not accept certain debit cards. At any rate, a $500 mistake not in your favor is nothing to take lightly....I would have been furious.
we were pretty mad. luckily my boyfriend is very good with dealing with confrontations and problems like this, so he did all the talking. looking back i am glad that i only used my debit card; i LOVE vacations, but i am not willing to go into debt over one. our vacation was all paid for with cash, so i won%26#39;t be getting a bill in the mail in a few weeks :) i am sad about being home, so i am going to start planning our next vacation to cheer me up!
