Lahaina and Ocean Center on Our Own (POA)

[ironmagnolia]

We are scheduled on the POA to be in Maui at the Kahului Port on Sunday Aug 27th. I am considering renting a car and driving to Lahaina that morning, shop for a couple of hours, have lunch, then drive back down to the Maui Ocean Center for a couple of hours before retuning to the ship. If we plan to arrive in Lahaina about 10am taking Highway 30 up the coast, then after lunch head back taking the Lahaina bypass, will this help prevent our getting caught in traffic? I am concerned after reading on CC about the possibility of traffic on highway 30 with long delays. We want to be able to see Maui Ocean Center on the way back, then have time to rest/refresh before our dinner plans on the ship at 6pm. Does this sound like a feasible plan?  TIA

[BermudaBound2014]

No, it won't help if there is a major traffic issue. See circled red area below. For what it's worth, this hwy was entirely shut down again last week for 6 plus hours. The odds are in your favor, but it's getting shut down/delayed more and more often.

 

How about skipping crossing the Paly (Hwy 30) entirely. Spend the day at the beach down in Wailia, or better yet drive upcountry to Kula or keep going up to Halealaka. I think it's safer on a one day cruise ship stop to avoid crossing to the west side. Plenty to do on the Kahalui side of the island.

 

X is the ocean center. I've circled in blue some possible places to visit. There are others. 

 

[princeton123211]

5 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

For what it's worth, this hwy was entirely shut down again last week for 6 plus hours. The odds are in your favor, but it's getting shut down/delayed more and more often.

Is that entirely fair? Either of us wouldn't live part of the year where we do if it wasn't readily accessible. Sure-- there can be a crappy afternoon where things are shut down but for the most part we can get back and forth. 

[BermudaBound2014]

10 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Is that entirely fair? Either of us wouldn't live part of the year where we do if it wasn't readily accessible. Sure-- there can be a crappy afternoon where things are shut down but for the most part we can get back and forth. 

 

I believe it's fair on a one day cruise ship stop where getting back to the ship is critical.

 

For those of us living on the west side part of the year, it's not critical to get cross the Pali on any particular day and we aren't on a time schedule.  I always check the traffic maps. I've changed my plans more than once. The worst experience I had was trying to get back to Kapalua from Kula with a very small (tiny) brush fire in Olowalu. Traffic came to a dead stop and shortly after I had to use the restroom. Traffic remained stopped for more than 30 minutes so, I turned around and headed back to Ma'alaea. Shortly after the road was back open but traffic was moving really really slowly. Took 2 hours to make it home. 

 

I suppose the good news is that someone could always fly and meet up with the ship at the next port and it wouldn't be all that costly :). 

 

With so much to do and see on the Kahalui side of the island, I stand behind my recommendation to avoid the Pali. Not worth the risk. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

23 hours ago, ironmagnolia said:

We are scheduled on the POA to be in Maui at the Kahului Port on Sunday Aug 27th. I 

 

Remember that the POA also stays in Kahului overnight on Sunday night, so you can do your Lahaina visit Sunday and not have to worry about when you get back to the ship.

[bajae]

On 7/22/2023 at 4:23 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

No, it won't help if there is a major traffic issue. See circled red area below. For what it's worth, this hwy was entirely shut down again last week for 6 plus hours. The odds are in your favor, but it's getting shut down/delayed more and more often.

 

How about skipping crossing the Paly (Hwy 30) entirely. Spend the day at the beach down in Wailia, or better yet drive upcountry to Kula or keep going up to Halealaka. I think it's safer on a one day cruise ship stop to avoid crossing to the west side. Plenty to do on the Kahalui side of the island.

 

X is the ocean center. I've circled in blue some possible places to visit. There are others. 

 

Is the traffic due to construction or just usual heavy traffic? My current plan for this stop in Lahaina is to take the bus to the Ocean Center. We will be there on Christmas Day (2024) so I think we may be more limited on what we can do but I know both the buses run and the Ocean Center is open. I hope this is a viable plan. 

[princeton123211]

18 hours ago, bajae said:

Is the traffic due to construction or just usual heavy traffic?

It's really due to neither-- its more that it is the only route to get you back to that side of the island (the road around the North end is not viable) and in the event of an issue, such as an accident etc, it can be shut down for hours. Even when there is heavy traffic it does move. This is more about the rare times that the road gets shut down completely. 

 

I live there part of the year and rarely have had an issue so I tend to discount it a bit. BermudaBound has had more issues and will advise that you exercise much more caution. The truth is most likely somewhere in between-- its not a regular occurrence but if it were to happen it could seriously impact your trip if, for say, you were headed back to Kahului on the day of departure. This is simply an exercise in risk/reward. 

[SilkySal]

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/08/09/coast-guard-joins-brush-fire-response-lahaina-where-crews-continue-battle-wind-whipped-flames/

 

Sorry about the news.