Question for Maui Expert re Taxis/Buses

[cruisin'sz]

We would really prefer not to rent a car for our day at Wailea Beach (we will be on the Pride of Aloha docked at the Kahalui pier)....

 

Do we have many other options without spending a fortune? Is the bus something that's do-able one way or is it much more trouble than it's worth? How long would it take to get to Wailea by bus? by cab? or with our own car? And, if we do rent a car and get to Wailea in the early afternoon (doing Haleakala sunrise in a.m. with a tour), will we be able to find parking? Thanks.

[Ka Honu]

There's a free shuttle from the pier to Ka'ahumanu Center where you can get a bus for about a one-hour ride to Kihei. Info at http://www.co.maui.hi.us/bus/.

[TrqoisWtrs]

Using the bus was super easy. I took it from Kihei to Lahaina and it was only $2. If you call the number thru the link referenced above, they are really great in helping you try to figure out where and how to go. :)

[beachchick]

A taxi would be prohibitively expensive, IMO. You're looking at more than $100 r/t, and likely closer to $150. Yikes!

 

The bus is good if you don't mind spending that much of your cruise day on travel time. (And there's nothing wrong with that; it's simply not what we choose.) Do check the link to see if the schedule works for you. Taking the bus is usually easy, so it's a good idea to consider. I don't think the bus goes all the way to Wailea though. I know it goes to Kihei.

 

We would do a rental car, but then again, we always do a rental car (whether for a cruise or land trip). In the afternoon, you will probably be fine finding parking at Wailea. I'm not sure if the resorts allows non-guests to park in the resort parking. There are public parking lots and public beach access locations all along the beaches. As I recall, there's a beachwalk through the Wailea area. Parking can be an issue at beaches in Hawaii, but keep in mind that people come and go all day, so spaces open up even when it's busy. IMO, a rental car is a good idea because it will give you the most flexibility and freedom to go where you want. If you decide you want to go to a different beach, you can just hop in the car and go.

 

beachchick

[Lauraloha]

RENT A CAR! I live here on Maui. The bus system around Kihei / Wailea is iffy at best. Taxis are out of the question. You can rent a car for a day for about $40 including taxes.

 

Check Orbitz for the best deals.

 

Rent a car on Maui! It is the ONLY Way.....why waste time in any other way....

 

Wailea has plenty of beach access and parking. Park at the Shops at Wailea if you have to and walk through the Grand Wailea. I am an employee at the Grand, and lately they've been leaving the gates open to our employee parking so it's a FREE for all.....Keep in mind that valet parking at the Grand Wailea is FREE if you stop by the concierge and get a validation. Or if you buy a soda at the store, they will give you a validation.

 

The best beach for celebrity watching and some activity is Wailea Beach. It is in front of the Grand Wailea and the Four Seasons. If you want to rent a kayak, go to the guy in the middle of the beach under the green umbrella. He does not work for the hotels, he is independent and cheaper.

 

The best beach for snorkeling and shade is the one in front of the Makena Prince.

 

The best beach for clothing optional is Little Beach, which is located at makena state park. Big Beach is the public beach and provides a mile stretch of white sand and turquoise water, but swimming there can be dangerous. Always watch the ocean, never turn your back at Makena. Little Beach has the best swimming, but people are nude.

 

If you snorkel alot, go all the way down the road past Makena to Ahihi Preserve. It is the gravel parking lot past the Ahihi Preserve sign on the right side. There is a ranger there, she can assist you. It is the best snorkeling I've ever done here on Maui.

 

Have fun!

 

Laura

[Lauraloha]

maybe someone can explain to me why (?) people don't want to rent a car while in port. we have small roads, no freeways and only one way around.

 

it's mind boggling to me.

 

:rolleyes:

[Ka Honu]

maybe someone can explain to me why (?) people don't want to rent a car while in port. we have small roads, no freeways and only one way around. :rolleyes:

Those are pretty much the reasons.

[papillons4u]

Ok I want to rent a car to go to either the Old Lahaina Luau or the Feast of Lele. Our ship is docked in Kahului. WHERE do I get the rent a car? Is it at the air port or do they have it at the pier?Do I call Kahului or do it on a online site?? Any info sure would be a help!

[Lauraloha]

For your ship docked in Kahului, you can either walk right off the ship and the rental firms are waiting for you, or you can book ahead on Orbitz or Travelocity and you want OGG, Kahului Airport. The rental car shuttles are all waiting when you get off the ship.

 

For a ship tendering to Lahaina, you want to rent from a Lahaina town agency. Do NOT rent from the airport.

 

L.

[papillons4u]

How do I know if my ship is tendering or not? It does not say on my itinerary!

[beachchick]

Ok I want to rent a car to go to either the Old Lahaina Luau or the Feast of Lele. Our ship is docked in Kahului. WHERE do I get the rent a car? Is it at the air port or do they have it at the pier?Do I call Kahului or do it on a online site?? Any info sure would be a help!

 

There are no car rentals actually at the pier. However, the Kahului airport (designator: OGG) is less than 10 minutes away by shuttle. Shop around on the online sites. Calling Kahului would involve calling each car rental company individually to find out rates (which are usually cheaper online anyway). It's a 45 minute to 1 hour drive to Lahaina from Kahului (depending on time of day and traffic), but allow 75 minutes "just in case." The worst thing that could possibly happen would be that you get to Lahaina early, park, and have time to walk around Lahaina town a bit.

 

For your ship docked in Kahului, you can either walk right off the ship and the rental firms are waiting for you, or you can book ahead on Orbitz or Travelocity and you want OGG, Kahului Airport. The rental car shuttles are all waiting when you get off the ship.

 

For a ship tendering to Lahaina, you want to rent from a Lahaina town agency. Do NOT rent from the airport.

 

L.

 

I never, ever recommend just waiting and hoping that there are cars available when you walk off the ship. Sometimes they do sell out in advance. Plus, walk up rates in Hawaii are typically more expensive than if you rent in advance.

 

As far as I know (and things do change all the time), the only rental company actually "in" Lahaina town is the Hertz on Lahainaluna. The other so-called "Lahaina" locations are at resorts on Ka'anapali beach. It's not as if it's that far (less than 10 minutes by shuttle), but it is often an unpleasant surprise when people discover that the listed "Lahaina" address is actually for a place in Ka'anapali. And what about the West Maui Airport locations (designator: JHM)? They're pretty much all on what I call "rental row" on a side street south of the airport (and thus closer to Lahaina). They're maybe 15 minutes by shuttle from the Lahaina tender pier, and the companies do send shuttles to the tender pier.

 

You are, of course, quite right about NOT trying to rent from the OGG locations if you're tendered at Lahaina. NO company will send a shuttle from Kahului to Lahaina as it's cost-prohibitive in terms of time, fuel, and personnel.

 

How do I know if my ship is tendering or not? It does not say on my itinerary!

 

What ship and what port? Kahului is docked; Lahaina is always tendered.

 

beachchick

[papillons4u]

Thank you beach chick, Your a great help. Our ship is in Kahului so I guess we are docked. I will check out the cars at the airport. Do you think it would be best for all six of us to shuttle over to get it or send two and then have them return for us? How much would the shuttle be? Also, what do we do with the car over night if we choose to keep it? Will it be more costly to pay for parking or to rent two different cars??

 

Thank you once again!

 

Happy Holidays!

[Lauraloha]

car rental shuttles are FREE and they fit way more than six in a van....

[Parsp]

I'll chime in here as I'm just back from POAM 11/17 sailing. Rented from Thrifty in Maui. Be sure to sign up for their Blue Chip Club which is free online and gives you express check in. Parking over night at port is free and not that hard depending on the time of day you park. Do a search for parking in Maui and you'll get lots of advice. First day I took everyone with me on shuttle as we were ready to get going, but second day I went alone to upgrade to bigger vehicle and returned to port to pick others (teenagers!) up. Since I am early riser it was easier that way. Driving was very easy and only a short hop to airport.

BTW: When returning to pick others up, no need to repark vehicle. There are some parking places inside gate that will probably be open where you can meet them.

HTH

Enjoy the trip!

[Parsp]

Oh I wanted to post one word or warning about going to Wailea on ship excursion if you are temped to do that. DD and SIL did that and wish they hadn't. It was overcast, food and beverages at resort where they were dropped off were VERY expensive, and they had no alternative but to sit on the beach with their towels over them until ship excursion bus came back to pick them up. Rent a car for your own freedom as others have suggested!

[CC Help Michell]

car rental shuttles are FREE and they fit way more than six in a van....

 

It depends on the time of year you are renting. If it's a busy time the rental agencies often will limit who can take the shuttle to just the driver picking up the car (if several parties have rented from the agency and are waiting) and will not allow the entire group to take the shuttle. How many people the shuttles fit is dependent on the type of vehicle. Some agencies use a mini-van type configuration that seats about 8 people; some use a small bus that holds about 20.

[beachchick]

Thank you beach chick, Your a great help. Our ship is in Kahului so I guess we are docked. I will check out the cars at the airport. Do you think it would be best for all six of us to shuttle over to get it or send two and then have them return for us? How much would the shuttle be? Also, what do we do with the car over night if we choose to keep it? Will it be more costly to pay for parking or to rent two different cars??

 

Thank you once again!

 

Happy Holidays!

 

As MichelP writes, it will depend on how many others are waiting for the shuttle. If the line is long, the drivers will sometimes only allow the drivers on the shuttle; if the line isn't long, then they will allow a whole party on the shuttle. I certainly see their point of view. The shuttles hold more than six people, but they're not huge. If allowing your full party onto the shuttle means that several others with rental reservations must wait, then you will likely have to send only the drivers. It's really not a huge deal to drive back to the pier after renting as it's less than 10 minutes and easy to find. (Heck, you can practically see the ship from the airport.)

 

beachchick

[papillons4u]

Not a big deal for only one or two to go. I am just trying to set up what to tell my party! I thank you for your help. Do you know anything of a Whalers village in Lahania? I heard you can rent beach chairs? We are only here for 6 hours. Looking for something simple to do. Is the beach nice?

[Beacher425]

We, too, are trying to work out a way to maximize Maui activities/fun and minimize hassle. We are a party of 8 ranging from 9 to 69 years old. So far we have decided to do the Reefdancer, and a luau and then some down time, but we haven't worked out how to do it. We are there from a Monday, 8am to Tuesday, 2pm.

http://www.tombarefoot.com/maui/reef_dancer.html

http://www.mauiglassbottomboat.com/

http://www.gorabbitgo.com/oahu/luau.php

 

We will probably rent 2 cars on the Monday AM to drive to Lahaina to sightsee around until the Reefdancer tour, eat lunch and then drive back to turn in the cars and take a Luau that provides transpertation from the dock. We don't want to hassel with driving and parking at the port after a Luau. from what I have read, the summer luau's end around 8:30 to 9pm. and the rental places at the airport close at 9:30. We plan to split up and snorkel at Kona so snorkeling at Maui is not the priority. I will check with www.speedishuttle.com about shuttle service to and from a Luau, but I imagine it will be expensive.

[beachchick]

Not a big deal for only one or two to go. I am just trying to set up what to tell my party! I thank you for your help. Do you know anything of a Whalers village in Lahania? I heard you can rent beach chairs? We are only here for 6 hours. Looking for something simple to do. Is the beach nice?

 

Now, here's another example of the Lahaina/Ka'anapali "confusion." Whaler's Village is not in Lahaina. (There really is no good "beach" beach in Lahaina.) Whaler's Village is a really nice shopping/dining complex on Ka'anapali beach. It also has a small, but interesting whaling museum. Hula Grill is a nice beachfront place for a drink and nosh.

 

There's a shuttle from Lahaina (you'd pick it up at Wharf Cinema Center across Front St. from the tender pier area) to Ka'anapali. It stops at Lahaina Cannery Mall (north Lahaina) and Whaler's Village, which is kind of in the middle of the resorts along Ka'anapali.

 

There is at least one rent-to-the-public kiosk down by the Sheraton (Black Rock) and Ka'anapali Beach Hotel will usually rent chairs, etc. to non-guests during non-busy times. KBH is just a short walk north of Whaler's Village; the Sheraton is north of KBH. There's a beachwalk all along Ka'anapli, so it's really easy to walk the beach. I don't recall any rental kiosks in front of Whaler's Village, but that doesn't mean one isn't there now. (It's been a year since we were there last.)

 

It takes 30 minutes by shuttle from Wharf Cinema to Whaler's, so keep that in mind. But with only 6 hours in port, it's still a better bet than trying to rent and return a car in that short time span. It is definitely a good way to spend several hours for a nice beach time. Yes, it can be crowded and it fronts a bunch of resorts (so it's "touristy"), but it's also a good place with a variety of options. If you snorkel, head north to the Black Rock area (fronting the Sheraton). There are many nice areas to plop down and relax. There's not much shade, except down by the Sheraton, so you'll defiitely want to see about who is renting umbrellas. (The Sheraton does not rent it's beach equipment to non-guests; I'm not sure which do besides the KBH.) There are no day passes available for any of the resorts, so you won't be able to use any resort amenities (except restaurants, bars, shops--anywhere they think you'll spend $$), but it's really not necessary because the beach itself is quite enjoyable.

 

Have fun!

 

beachchick