Lahaina on a Sunday

[existentialtraveler]

Anyone have any advice on what to do in Lahaina ona Sunday? We tried to book the Molokini Crater Snorkel, but we will be there on a Sunday and most tours leave very early morning, before we can tender in We would PREFER to just have a beach day.  Ka'anapali is our first choice, but we will be there on a Sunday. Will it be very crowded?

Waialea is our second choice, but that also seems like it will be crowded. Makena beach looks great, but because it is so far away and we will not be renting a car, it does not look like a feasible option.  Any  advice for us?

Edited January 16, 2020 by existentialtraveler

[CruiserBruce]

Where are you coming ashore? Sounds like Lahaina, but when you start throwing in Makena and Wailea, and you are not renting a car...it confuses things. There are lots of beaches on Maui. North of Lahaina you have nice beaches in the Napili and Kapalua areas. Kihei has a huge beach...that you would get to before you get to Wailea or Makena.

 

Sunday (and Saturday) are turnover days. That means many people are heading home, and new arrivals are happening. So I suppose it will likely be a little less crowded. But, remember, people go to Hawaii for the beaches.

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, existentialtraveler said:

Ka'anapali is our first choice, but we will be there on a Sunday. Will it be very crowded?

Kaanapali is a good first choice and no, it won't be much more crowded than usual. Given that every hotel along the beach have large pools, some days can be more crowded than others but it's never wall to wall people on the beach. To get down to Wailea is about a $70 Uber ride each way from Lahaina, whereas Kaanapali is like $14 each way. Plus who wants to spend all that time in the back of a Toyota Camry driving to Wailea when you can be on the beach in Kaanapali?

 

Whaler's Village has a few good options for food. Island Vintage Coffee on the lower level has great coffee, but also very good casual grab and go breakfast items. Monkeypod, Hula Grill, and Leilanis are very good for lunch. The finest specimen of Mai Tai on the beach is whipped up by Dale at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel Tiki Hut (just by their pool-- its an old school hotel between the Sheraton Black Rock and The Whaler condo). A note on the Kaanapali Beach Hotel-- they have by far the laxest pool policy out of any hotel along the beach. Where most of the major corporate hotels on the beach make you wear wristbands to verify you are a guest to swim, you can just buy a drink at the bar at KBH tiki hut and jump in. 

[existentialtraveler]

2 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Kaanapali is a good first choice and no, it won't be much more crowded than usual. Given that every hotel along the beach have large pools, some days can be more crowded than others but it's never wall to wall people on the beach. To get down to Wailea is about a $70 Uber ride each way from Lahaina, whereas Kaanapali is like $14 each way. Plus who wants to spend all that time in the back of a Toyota Camry driving to Wailea when you can be on the beach in Kaanapali?

 

Whaler's Village has a few good options for food. Island Vintage Coffee on the lower level has great coffee, but also very good casual grab and go breakfast items. Monkeypod, Hula Grill, and Leilanis are very good for lunch. The finest specimen of Mai Tai on the beach is whipped up by Dale at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel Tiki Hut (just by their pool-- its an old school hotel between the Sheraton Black Rock and The Whaler condo). A note on the Kaanapali Beach Hotel-- they have by far the laxest pool policy out of any hotel along the beach. Where most of the major corporate hotels on the beach make you wear wristbands to verify you are a guest to swim, you can just buy a drink at the bar at KBH tiki hut and jump in. 

THANK YOU! Lots of good information!

[Beachiekeen]

We did a beach day on Sunday on our cruise and went to a very popular beach and I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't as crowded as I have seen it on previous trips.

 

Also Kaanapali is a big stretch of beach so much more room to spread out than say on Napili Bay.

 

The time of year matters too though--a Sunday in July or during spring break will look different than a Sunday two weeks before Christmas.

 

I really love Kahekili Beach (aka Airport Beach) north of Kaanapali Beach.  This is a beautiful less crowded beach, can be good for snorkeling, and you could have lunch at Duke's at the Honua Kai which is right there.  There are no rentals there, you would need to bring your towels to put on the sand but it would be a nice afternoon.  You can even walk to the Kaanapali resort area from there if it's a nice breezy day.

[existentialtraveler]

21 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

We did a beach day on Sunday on our cruise and went to a very popular beach and I was pleasantly surprised it wasn't as crowded as I have seen it on previous trips.

 

Also Kaanapali is a big stretch of beach so much more room to spread out than say on Napili Bay.

 

The time of year matters too though--a Sunday in July or during spring break will look different than a Sunday two weeks before Christmas.

 

I really love Kahekili Beach (aka Airport Beach) north of Kaanapali Beach.  This is a beautiful less crowded beach, can be good for snorkeling, and you could have lunch at Duke's at the Honua Kai which is right there.  There are no rentals there, you would need to bring your towels to put on the sand but it would be a nice afternoon.  You can even walk to the Kaanapali resort area from there if it's a nice breezy day.

Thank you! I will look into Kahekili Beach!

[Beachiekeen]

23 minutes ago, existentialtraveler said:

Thank you! I will look into Kahekili Beach!

There is also a little beach bar at the Maui Kaanapali Villas (Castaway Cafe) good for a frozen drink, also the Royal Lahaina is nearby, you can get some Rosealani's ice cream at Royal Scoop.  The other direction is the Westin and Honua Kai where Duke's is.  Really nice area to spend an afternoon away from the Kaanapali crowds.  And if you're up for a nice walk, you can walk to Kaanapali beach and resort area.

Edited January 17, 2020 by Beachiekeen

[existentialtraveler]

57 minutes ago, Beachiekeen said:

There is also a little beach bar at the Maui Kaanapali Villas (Castaway Cafe) good for a frozen drink, also the Royal Lahaina is nearby, you can get some Rosealani's ice cream at Royal Scoop.  The other direction is the Westin and Honua Kai where Duke's is.  Really nice area to spend an afternoon away from the Kaanapali crowds.  And if you're up for a nice walk, you can walk to Kaanapali beach and resort area.

You seem to have a LOT of information on Maui.  May I ask your opinion on a tour I found?https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g29220-d19256069-Maui_Self_Guided_Electric_Bike_Snorkel_Excursion-Maui_Hawaii.html

What do you think of the self guided electric bike snorkel? I am perfectly comfortable riding in heavy traffic. My wife is not. Is the traffic to and from Kahekili beach, heavy, moderate or light? thank you for your help!

[Beachiekeen]

Hee, I love Maui!  🙂  Can you tell?

 

That's a pretty heavily trafficked route, especially Kaanapali.  You could rent a car and drive to Kahekili, it has a big public parking lot.  And you could walk to the Sheraton--it's a good 20 minutes walk but it's the same distance as the bike ride.  It's a paved, nice walk, I did it on my last trip.  Or you could then drive to Whalers Village and park there to go to the resort area.  Also generally, snorkeling at Kahekili can be as good or better than Black Rock.  Black Rock is not for the inexperienced, and it's generally more crowded.  (Of course, you never know what ocean conditions will be like on a given day.)  I am like your wife, I would not want to do it on the bike.

Edited January 17, 2020 by Beachiekeen

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, Beachiekeen said:

Also generally, snorkeling at Kahekili can be as good or better than Black Rock.  Black Rock is not for the inexperienced, and it's generally more crowded.

 

2 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

Really nice area to spend an afternoon away from the Kaanapali crowds.

I really feel like you're misrepresenting how crowded Kaanapali is (or isn't). We live there part of the year and the beaches are never overrun with crowds. Sure-- its not empty, but its not Waikiki by any stretch.