Anything Maui

[Chiquita]

Alex Air is the company that flies "without doors".. not exactly sure what that entails exactly.. heh

[Chiquita]

Awesome.. thanks :)

Originally Posted by azhuskergirl

Both companies that we looked into are on the Ka'anapali side of the island. One was advertized in Hawaii magazine. Hawaii eco adventures ( or something along those lines) and we are going to Kapalua for ours (which is located at Kapalua Resort). We love watching the AMazing Race & they always seem to have ziplines on every race....we were psyched to see it as an option in Maui!

Kapalua Adventures Mountain Outpost Zip Line Tours - Kapalua Resort - Maui activities

Zipline Haleakala Crater with Skyline Eco Adventures in Maui Hawaii - Maui Activity, Maui Eco Tourism, Hawaii Tour

[azhuskergirl]

and now that we've purchased our snorkle gear, Brad totally wants to hit Molokini, so back to more research.

[Pisces]

We did Molokini last time and have decided we have to do it AT LEAST twice this time around

It's expensive to take those charters out (I think around $85 each, but that was 2 years ago..) but well worth every penny. The one we went on we booked with our concierge at the condos (the Maui Banyan) and it was about a 6 or 7 hour trip. We went to Molokini, it included breakfast & lunch and the wetsuit/gear if you didn't have your own. Then after Molokini they take you to the other side of the island and we swam with the HUGE sea turtles. It was seriously one of the most amazing and unforgettable moments of our trip.

So far we have planned to:

- go snorkeling to Molokini
- purchase boogie boards (body surf boards) on day 1 for the beach- last time we waited until the end of the trip because we weren't sure they were worth it since we would have to ditch them at the end of the trip, but SO worth it.
- go up Haleakala earlier this time (they say you have to arrive for the sunrise but that means leaving at 3 or 4am, and we were too lazy last time) otherwise the clouds cover the island and you can't see much when you're up there
- drive all the way to Hana (we never made it the whole way last time)
- go to a luau
- go on the ziplines
- go on a helicopter ride of the island (surprise wedding gift I hope!)
- ??

am I missing any obvious must-do?

[dcnetworks]

I went to Maui last year just to check it out. Maui is beautiful. Believe it or not, it is even more beautiful if you play golf. Yeah...the golf courses there are amazing.

Advice:
I would advise against the caravan to Hana. Your guests will surely get sick sitting in the back of the van/bus. There are lots of curves on the road to Hana and they will get dizzy from the drive. The drive to Hana is really better for couples. I did it myself just to see what it is like and it was fun but challenging. You MUST start your drive by 7 am (got this hint from my wc). That way...you will be the ONLY car on the road. The later you go...the more likely you will get stuck behind a bunch of cars or (worst) tour buses. Trust me...it is no fun sucking up their fumes or when the road is crowded.

On the way back - try lunch at Mama's Fish House. It is like $50 per person but the rest. is very pretty. Don't go to the Garden of Eden (tourist trap) on way to Hana. It cost $10 per person to see a bunch of plants for 15 mins (save the $$ for lunch/drink later). Stop by the Hana Hotel if you need to use the restroom. The restrooms there are clean but food was VERY expensive.

SAFETY ALERT!
The beaches in Maui are very different than places like Miami (East Coast). The reef is really close to the beach (you walk like 3 ft out and it drops to 10 ft). If you are not a good swimmer - you should bring a swimming noodle with you when you snokel. Sad but true...a bride lost her husband (drowned) last year during their honeymoon. He apparently was not a very good swimmer and did not know about the reefs.

LUAU:
We are doing the Feast at Lele. You can get a group discount if you can bring a minimum of 20 guests. The cost like $128 with tip/tax per person (all you can drink). I understand they take photos of guests before the luau and they sale the photos to guests afterward for approx. $30 each.

Check out this Maui video I found from JohnnyJet (world traveler) Wailea, Maui *(can't wait to go back to Maui). It is really nice.

YouTube - Wailea, Maui

Johnny Jet Maui Trip Summary (ideas)
Honolulu to Maui

REST. SUGGESTIONS
Maui GUIDE-South Maui Tour - Maalaea
I ate at the Ma'laea Grill for lunch when I was in Maui and the food was pretty good and the prices were reasonable (like the main land). You basically overlook the harbor. The Maui Ocean Center is located in Maalaea too.

[Sherry]

So far, I think we're going to do the following as optional group events, for any of the guests who want to attend:

1. Drive to Hana (most of our guests are renting cars while on the island, so we would just do this as a "drive out with us in your car if you want" type of thing, which would avoid the whole carsick issue with a van/bus).

2. Group beach day with a sandcastle building contest (I'm guessing the contest thing will probably get abandoned, but we thought it would be fun to have a day when everyone could hang out at the beach, plus it would be a less expensive thing for people to do if they were wanting to keep the budget down).

3. Feast at Lele the night before the wedding. My FIL's have very graciously offered to pay for this!

4. Group brunch the morning after the wedding. My parents have offered to pay for this. We haven't decided on the location yet, so I'd love to hear any ideas.

FI is thinking about doing a "guys' day" before the wedding, for which he's thinking about organizing some kind of a fishing trip. I'm thinking about doing a spa day with the ladies that day.

We're leaving after brunch the morning after the wedding, and are heading off to Kauaii and then the Big Island for our honeymoon (I'm also working on my FI for a couple of days in Honolulu, mainly to do some shopping!). We have 10 days after the wedding, and we haven't even started thinking about what we want to do on Kauaii and the Big Island yet, other than rent a tandem kayak at some point, and go out to see the Volcano on the Big Island.

[azhuskergirl]

Originally Posted by dcnetworks

Advice:
I would advise against the caravan to Hana. Your guests will surely get sick sitting in the back of the van/bus. There are lots of curves on the road to Hana and they will get dizzy from the drive. The drive to Hana is really better for couples. I did it myself just to see what it is like and it was fun but challenging. You MUST start your drive by 7 am (got this hint from my wc). That way...you will be the ONLY car on the road. The later you go...the more likely you will get stuck behind a bunch of cars or (worst) tour buses. Trust me...it is no fun sucking up their fumes or when the road is crowded.

I didn't mean to confuse. By "caravan" I was refering to everyone driving their own vehicles & us all driving together. :) I know I wouldn't want to do that drive with some of the folks coming to the wedding!

[melody]

When we were there last year, we did the trip to Hana( very nice but hard on the drive), the trilogy day trip excusrion to Lanai(great snorkeling) and the the Old Lahaina Luau( that was really fun) ..this time, I don't think we will do any of it, we are only there for 5 days and flying to Tahiti Bora Bora for our honeymoon :-)

[aramintha]

My budget is tight as well so we only plan on doing the Ziplines since we will be staying at the Kapalua villas. We will also invite our guests to join us at the Old Lahaina Luau | Official Website the day after the wedding.

Our situation is a little different.....we ended up going to the courthouse last October because we were too anxious so this is kinda of like a vow renewal for us just to please our friends and family. So needless to say we are spending less on the wedding and more on our honeymoon. We are going to party like ROCKSTARS!!! Who knows if/when we will ever go back to Hawaii.

[Tammy34]

Some other suggestions

Whale watching is amazing!!!!!!

The aqaurium is wonderful!

There is an amusement park by the aqaurium for anyone trraveling with kids! Bring your bathing suits to the park!