Maui (Kahului)

[scottcaps]

Since it seems to be taking so long for reviews to get posted, thought I would go ahead and post my Hawaii port experience, in case others might find it helpful for planning. Many of the things we did on our April 18-25, 2004 NCL Star cruise were from recommendations and suggestions on this board. Maybe our experiences will now help some others on thier way to Hawaii. This is a little lengthy, but if you are headed that way, you hopefully will find some good info.

 

This was our sixth cruise, our second on NCL, and our first on NCL Star. We are an active, professional couple in our mid-thirties.

 

Kahului on Maui

We walked off the ship just after getting into port and, once again, began looking for our Dollar Shuttle. It showed up without too long of a wait, and we were taken to the office by the airport and got our car. We then headed across the middle of the island on Route 311 toward Kihue, then on south to Route 31. We found two parking lots for Big Beach, parked at one, and walked down to the beach to see if snorkeling was a possibility. The Beach is very aptly named, as it extends for 300 yards. There were many sunbathers there, but no one was in the water, which concerned us, as there were signs around the beach warning against the strong undertow. So, instead of attempting it, we merely took a stroll along the beach. There are no public bathrooms here, but there are port-o-lets at each parking lot. At the far right end of the beach is a point that you can cross over via a dirt trail to Little Beach. Maybe there were snorkelers over there, but we had also read that this was unofficially a clothing optional beach, so we decided not to explore it. Instead, we continued south where the road becomes one lane (but still paved). Once inside Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve, along the roadside, we spotted a beautiful cove where there were several snorkelers and roadside parking and we went in for a snorkel. There were several varieties of fish, but the water was a bit cloudy (we learned there had been a very bad storm the afternoon before, which probably attributed to the cloudiness). The area also was very shallow, where you really had to navigate your way around the coral formations, because it was usually impossible to swim over the coral. Often times, you would find that you had reached a “dead end” surrounded by coral formations with no way out but the way you came in. So, we enjoyed a quick snorkel but decided not to linger here for too long. The cove was very beautiful, but there was no beach, only black lava rock on the shores leading into the water. Therefore, we recommend wearing some sort of surf shoes at this location.

 

We decided that it was time to take a lunch break, and drove back north to Wailea where the closest restaurants were located. We initially tried to go to Joe’s Bar and Grill, which overlooked a tennis club, but we found the doors locked. There were no signs, but this was almost noon on a Friday, so obviously they were not open for lunch – at least not the day we were there. We then went to the Cheeseburger in Paradise, located in the Wailea Shopping Center. This proved to be a great lunch stop. Good food, great smoothies, open air, casual atmosphere – a very popular lunch spot.

 

After lunch, we attempted to find some other good snorkeling spots in the Wailea area. We found a Public Access parking area and access walk near the Makena Surf Properties, so parked there and walked down to the beach. The walk itself turned out to be the highlight with gorgeous flowers planted along the walkway in an array of varieties and colors. I went back to the car just to get my camera for the flowers. It was almost like its own botanical garden. We found the beach to be a nice, completely uncrowded sunbathing beach, but didn’t look too promising for snorkeling.

 

It was a little after 1 pm at this point, so we abandoned our quest for snorkeling and drove to Ma’alaea to the Maui Ocean Center. Admission was $20+tax for adults, but there was a AAA discount of $4 per person with a AAA membership card. They offered portable headset devices with a recorded tour (we’re not sure if there was a fee), but we elected to stroll around the center on our own. This stroll lasted 2 hours, and while we didn’t rush, we also didn’t really stop to read all the displays. The displays and tanks were mostly indoors, with a few outside tanks. The most notable outside tank was for the Green Sea Turtles, where we stood for some time watching these creatures from both a surface level and underwater level observation deck. A staff member was there talking about the turtles, who were set to be released in the next two months into the ocean and then another batch of younger turtles would be brought in to be raised at the Center until they were ready for release. At 3 pm, there was a feeding in the main tank, where the sharks and sting rays were located, along with several other varieties of fish. The feeding consisted of two scuba divers in the tank, one of which had a microphone and she discussed the different varieties of fish and their eating habits as well as took questions from the audience in the underwater observation area. We found the Center to be very enjoyable and would definitely recommend it. We learned the names of many of the fish we had seen snorkeling, and saw many varieties that we could have never seen snorkeling.

 

Around 4:00 pm we left the ocean center and drove back to Kahului to the Dollar office and took the shuttle back to the pier to conclude our time in Maui.

[Carmic]

I really enjoyed all of your reviews. It gave us a better idea of what to do when we visit in May of 2005.

 

I do have one question..........how was your ride down route 31 south? Did you feel it was worth driving down?

 

Carol

[scottcaps]

Glad that our reviews helped you out. The drive down 31 South was good and scenic. We had hoped to find more snorkeling spots, and were a bit disappointed that we didn't. The Natural Reserve area had promise, but the water was cloudy due to a storm the day before. I think if we would have had fins, we could have gotten further out and away from the cloudier waters. If you are looking for a good beach for swimming and sunbathing or if you are looking for a nice drive, then 31 South is good.

[spleen93]

Don't confuse us locals by calling our roads by their route or highway numbers ... we have no idea what those are. :) If you ask for directions on how to get to 31 south, we'll look at you with a blank face. We call it Piilani Highway.

 

Spleen

[bobnsandi]

Don't confuse us locals by calling our roads by their route or highway numbers ... we have no idea what those are. :) If you ask for directions on how to get to 31 south, we'll look at you with a blank face. We call it Piilani Highway.

 

We travel Pi`ilani Hwy daily & didn't have a clue what "31 South" was.

[spleen93]

BobnSandi - :D Did I mention that I'm coming to Maui tomorrow? We'll be there for the weekend - traveling down "31 South" to Wailea ;)

 

Spleen

[bobnsandi]

BobnSandi - :D Did I mention that I'm coming to Maui tomorrow? We'll be there for the weekend - traveling down "31 South" to Wailea

Hope you'll visit the fair while you're here...

[spleen93]

Didn't get a chance - in true fashion, I managed to get sick before my mini "vacation" and spent Saturday in bed. :( Of course, now that I'm back and looking at work tomorrow, I'm feeling better ... :rolleyes:

 

Spleen