Maui question

[jenny368]

We are renting a car in Maui from the Enterprise at "KAANAPALI LAHAINA MAUI, 2605 KAANAPALI PKWY STE 3, LAHAINA, HI 96761-1970" I am not sure if this is at an airport or not. Do we have time to take a 2 hour whale watch with Quicksilver Whale Watching at Maalaea Harbor from 2-4 p.m. and then return the car to Enterprise, catch a shuttle back to the cruise ship pier and then catch a tender back to the ship all by the last tender call at 5:30 p.m.?

 

Thanks for any information you can give me.

[Suebee]

Don't know for sure where you are docking/tendering.....but

 

Lahaina is the location you are talking about for the rental company and this is NOT kahului (airport/pier location). It is the other side of the island.

 

Since you said "tender" in your post, I can only assume you are going to be tendering at Lahaina. If this is true, you'll be close to the rental company.

 

I cant really answer the other questions because I am unsure where Maalaea Harbor is, but if it is near Lahaina, you should be OK since you will have an hour to get the car back.

[beachchick]

The address tells me that the rental car company is on the Ka'anapali beach road closest to Lahaina. It's probably about 10 minutes from Lahaina pier. It may be in one of the resorts (don't know). With that address I can say that it is not at the West Maui Airport (Kapalua).

 

You are tendering into Lahaina aren't you? Please confirm this for us.

 

Ma'alaea harbor is about 25 minutes south of Lahaina (toward Kihei). If you get off the tour boat at 4, it will take you about 45 minutes (maybe a little less) to get back to the car rental place. I'm including time to actually get off the boat, get to the car, and get on the road. Then it's about 10 minutes to Lahaina after you drop off the car. It could be tight, but should be okay. However, if there is ANY traffic between Ma'alaea and Ka'anapali, it could be a problem. I'm sure that the Maui locals on the boards here can weigh in with current traffic/road issues (it's been more than a year since our last visit).

 

Have a great cruise.

 

beachchick

[spleen93]

If it's the Infinity, they'll be tendering into Lahaina.

 

Don't forget that the road between Maalaea (Kahului) and Lahaina is a narrow road and is subject to closures for accidents and the like. I was working in Lahaina one day and almost had to spend the night there instead of back home in Kahului because a brush fire closed the road down for about 6-8 hours.

 

Spleen

[RET_REF]

Will I have time to make the drive to Hana and back? Arriving on the Pacific Princess in Lahaina 5/17 @ 8 AM the ship departs 6 PM. Please advise! Thanks

[spleen93]

Yes, doable. How relaxing it will be might be debatable. If you only have one day on Maui, I might recommend doing something else - the view from Haleakala is spectacular and Maui has amazing beaches.

 

Spleen

[beachchick]

spleen: You are wise as always. I completely agree.

 

beachchick

[RET_REF]

Thanks Spleen and Beachchick, but since I don't know when and if I'll ever get back to Maui again in the future I'll take the chance, and do the drive to Hana keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well during our six hour drive.

[spleen93]

The point is, though, that there are many things to do on Maui - the Road only being one of them. The Road is not an absolute "must-do" when you're on Maui - there are many things that are unique to Maui. Why not take advantage of those and be less stressed about having to rush and worrying about maybe missing the boat? Just more thoughts on the matter - as always, pick what seems to work for you.

 

Spleen

[beachchick]

Again I must agree with Spleen. You are supposed to relax when cruising, and most especially when cruising around Hawaii. Doing the road to Hana will take up your entire day. If there are any road problems, you could very well find yourself fretting over the possibility that you might miss the ship.

 

As Spleen says, there are so many wonderful things to see on Maui. Believe me, Haleakala is every bit as amazing as the road to Hana (more so, IMO). The beaches on Maui are wonderful. You can visit Iao needle/valley (beautiful) and see some of Maui upcountry (beautiful) and even go to more than one beach (beautiful)--are you sensing a theme in my ideas? I will admit that Maui and Kauai are our favorite islands, so I know my thoughts are colored by the fact that some of my most wonderful, relaxing memories (and things to look forward to this June) are days spent on Maui.

 

And of course, the choice is always up to you. I just think that Hana is not the be-all and end-all of Maui. Is it fabulous, absolutely; will you regret it if you don't do it, maybe; will you still have a wonderful day if you don't go to Hana, no question.

 

beachchick

[spleen93]

beachchick said it better than I did ... LOL!

 

Spleen

[RET_REF]

spleen & beachchick,

 

Once again, I Thank you both for the advice, but I still believe I would like to see all the wonderful things along the road to Hana. I have read so much about it and sometimes in life you have to take chances because as I said before we may never get another opportunity to see these beautiful sites. I appreciate the fact that there are so many other things to do and see while on Maui. However, life is too short to worry about a lot of things while on vacation. From all I have read if we get on the road by 9AM we should be back to Lahaina by 5 PM unless there is some unforseen disaster along the way.

[beachchick]

REFOREE: You will absolutely love the drive to Hana. It's true that unforseen disaster can happen anywhere, so why fret over the possibilities? A couple of things that might make the day to Hana go smoothly. There have a been a couple of posts about Hana recently. I remember one poster mentioned ordering the "Road to Hana" tape/map, etc. in advance. This may save you some time that day. You might want to stop for food and beverages in Lahaina, Kahului, or Paia (bring a cooler or buy a little cheapy foam one). This way you can stop and picnic when you feel like it, rather than having to search for sustanance. Do stop at the Hasagawa General Store for a few minutes. Also having the tape and map in advance will allow you to plan the day time-wise based on what you want to see. Have a lovely day.

 

beachchick

[cottagemama]

I plan on doing the road to Hana as well. where can I get the tape or CD?:)

[beachchick]

Not sure of the site. Search for "Hana Cassette Guide" or "Hana Cassette.CD Guide" and also try gohawaii.com. They've got good info.

 

beachchick

[Nightrider]

My wife and I were in Maui last June/July. Lahaina is midway on the west side of Maui, Hana is on the southeast side of the island. We did not do the drive as we were told to properly enjoy the drive it would eat up most of a day. We flew there from Texas and did not have to worry about making back to a ship on time. We did however take a charter plane from the Maui Air company http://www.volcanoairtours.com/index.html and it was by far the best money we spent while there. $300.0 per seat but very, very worthwhile! Total time, about 3 hours. Flew all around Maui and the big island, got to see lava flowing into the ocean, what a sight! They fly out of both airports on Maui. The islands by air in a small plane (9 passenger) is a superb way to view it in a short time. Have some very incredible pictures! George Harrison's estate, Pat Benetar's home, both volcano peaks on Hawaii, and even Gomer Pyle's macadamia plantation. WOW!

One tip, buy all the Macadamia nuts you can from Walmart, yes there is one next to Home Depot and ship them home via the post office. We did and had mac nuts for several months after our trip. Great!

Can't wait to go back. Will go there again by plane as there just isn't enough time to see it all by ship.

[RET_REF]

beachchick & cottagemama,

 

I believe you can obtain this tape/cd from Boss Frog's in Maui for $9.95. They advertise having six shops I believe they are some type of Dive and Surf store on Maui.

 

Thanks again for the encouragement ! I usually try to remain positive and not dwell on the negitive things that could happen, but rather focus on the good things that happen in life. After all, we will be visiting paradise !

[cottagemama]

Thank you everyone for your advice. Can hardly wait to get to paridise. Only 60 more days til my cruise. cottagemama:)