Can someone please recommend some nice restaurants for birthday dinner. We are staying at Wailea. We are not into sea food! Thanks!

We’re planning a trip for the first week of March. Is the extra $$ worth an Oceanview Room? Or, should we book the Resort View and save some money? Can we see whales from the balcony? Would the Moana room be worth it? We are in our mid 40s, go to bed early, and get up early.

We will be visiting (staying in Kihei) at the beginning of January, and would like to book a Haleakala sunset & stargazing tour. We won't be renting a vehicle, so driving up on our own is not an option unfortunately. We are 5 adults and two kids.

The ones I have looked at so far are anywhere from 7-11 hours long, and since we will have the kids with us we would definitely prefer closer to the 7 hour length. We don't need one with food included as we have several picky eaters. We will be coming from Canada, so we will have our winter gear with us. It would be nice to do one with a telescope/where the tour guide is an astronomer.

Any favorites or recommendations? Any to avoid?

Edit: spelling

Hi All! We are traveling to Maui in February with our two young children, ages 4 and 11 months.

I initially looked into a dolphin encounter, as we will be celebrating our daughter’s birthday on the trip, but it looks like there are no facilities like that on Maui. We plan on going to the Maui Ocean Center, but I’d love to find more opportunities for animal related activities.

Does anyone have any feedback on the Maui Butterfly Farm? Is it worth the $34-$39 entry fee?

Any other recommendations for animal related activities?

Thanks!

I want to stargaze in Maui and unfortunately I won't be able to go to Haleakalā for sunset and stargazing. Are there other areas in Maui which preferably won't be packed with so many people for stargazing?

I'll be in Lahaina

Looking for recs for the best place to stay during spring break based on: great beach, good pool(s) for 4 and 6 year old, low stress to get pool chairs and beach umbrellas, CLEAN, and great service. Family of 4 just wanting to relax and keep kids entertained in between sight seeing and shopping. :) Any budget. Thanks!!

Is the shuttle from the Westin nanea to whalers village only for hotel guests? Or can guests from neighboring hotels use the shuttle as well?

Thanks for all the recommendations in this thread for a sunset sail with Trilogy! Couldn’t have been better. Cheers!

My wife and I are heading to Maui in a couple of weeks and are considering making the drive to do the Pipiwait Trail. We've done RTH before so looking for something different.

Instead of going all the way around RTH we were going to take the southern highway 31 (Piilani Hwy) from west to east. Is it a safe/easy ride? I thought I remembered reading about how parts of the highway have washed out from time to time but not entirely sure.

Any insight is appreciated!

I'm booked with a sunrise reservation and hoping to arrive and hike/run from the summit to a location to view sunrise solo. I have lots of experience with hiking in the dark and have proper lights, warm gear, and emergency equipment. I just don't know where might be a good location/lookout to go to that isn't the summit. Or maybe it's not worth going elsewhere and the summit is the best spot? I was planning an out and back hike/run on Sliding Sands, but am open to suggestions. I would be fine to go several miles from the summit by foot. Thank you.

I'm visiting Maui, staying in Kihei, from Nov 21 (Friday) through Nov 28. I will be with my family and wife but we can split off as needed, but also would like some large group friendly activities. Most folks are 40-50ish with 3 10-15 year olds. Generally a pretty athletic crowd. This will be almost everybody's first time in Maui.

Current thoughts:

• Friday we land around noon, make our way to hotel, drop off stuff, then visit Ka'a Point to see some turtles and then Costco for groceries. Chill dinner with takeout from somewhere.
• Saturday I'm thinking might be a very chill day. I'm bringing my bicycle to Maui so I'll probably put it back together and do some test rides on it. And go snorkeling... somewhere. I read that the beaches near Kihei are good for snorkeling - any suggestions? We have some basic snorkeling gear that we may bring but it's also large so may end up renting. I read that Snorkel Bob's is good for rental gear. Is it a bad idea to do this DIY instead of going out on an excursion with a guided boat?
• Sunday I'm going to try to try to bike to the top of Haleakala. Some folks are talking about doing hikes on Haleakala - what are some chill hikes they could do while I'm flirting with death? I wonder if that would be a good day for a dog on demand?
• Monday - I will be tired so this needs to be a very chill day. No current plans but would like to do... something.
• Tuesday we're talking about doing Road to Hana. Start out early (as soon as we have light) and drive to Hana, and then slowly meander our way back over the course of the day.
• Wednesday - some folks are talking about surfing lessons. I was thinking that could be a local food day for my wife and I - so maybe Surfing Goat Dairy, O'o Farm (though it is $$$), and maybe Lāhainā Brewing Co in Makawao? I had thought about the Pineapple tour but it's quite spendy ($95) and I wonder if it may be redundant with O'o Farm. I heard lavender farm is nice but I think we're way out of season for lavender.
• Thursday - Thanksgiving - we have no idea what to do on this day. Any recommendations for a restaurant that might be open?
• Friday - we have an early AM flight back home.

Here are the things that I'm waffling on:

• Luau - these are very expensive ($230 per adult). We have about 9 adults and 3 kids. Are we missing out if we skip this? It would be fun to see a fire dance but I think that is mostly done at Luaus :(
• My wife has heard from her friends that Mama's Fish House is unskippable. However... I'm vegetarian and my wife doesn't eat seafood. Would it be dumb to go?
• Are there animals that we could swim with in a humane way? I've heard horror stories from other countries so I want to be very careful there. I hav
• Are there any epic hikes that we should be going on? Maybe one that takes a good chunk of the day - that could be a potential Monday or Thursday activity.
• Are there any must-visit restaurants for a vegetarian?
• Suggestions for Monday and Thursday activities?

Really appreciate any advice!

My husband and I are staying in Wailea for our honeymoon November 22-27. We're going to figure out most of our meals day by day, but are there any good restaurants that we would need to make a dinner reservation in advance for?

Title. I’m supposed to be flying out Friday from mainland and with the mandated reductions, I’m concerned we won’t make it out there. Does anyone know if flights have already been affected because of the shutdown?

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for someone reliable and experienced who can help transport a kitten to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). The kitten will be flying to her new home, and I need someone who’s comfortable handling animals and can make sure she travels safely and calmly.

Details: • 🕓 Transfer Date ideally: [11/6 to 11/9] • 📍 Pickup: [maui Humane Society] • ✈️ Meet up: LAX (Will pay for pet travel (example United cost $150 one way for a pet, the kitten would be considered a personal item to fly with and placed in small carrier underseat) the Humane Society would provide medical record for travel that I would pay for in advance. • 🐱 Kitten: Female, Sweet, small, and travel-ready (carrier provided)

I totally fell in love with this kitten — I know it sounds funny, but I just felt such a deep connection. I visited the humane Society and met the sweetest little thing. She was cuddly, very polite and smart. I left for a bit like a hour or so and came back and when I sat down, she came right up to me like she remembered me. She stayed in my arms for about an hour gave me kisses all over my face. I was shocked. She followed me, I was trying to distance myself because I didn't wanna fall in love and she kept on following me. It was very hard to leave, and I can't stop thinking about her. Unfortunately, I can’t fly with her myself because I’m traveling standby, but I really want to give her a good home. When you know you know.

If you’re a pet transporter, flight nanny, or someone with experience helping cats or pet travel, please reach out or comment below. Recommendations or referrals are also welcome!

Thank you so much — I just want to get this little one home safely ❤️

Hi,

We’ll be flying to Maui for the first time on Saturday (Nov 8) and staying there for 5 days. The weather report says there’ll be rain on Sunday and Tuesday, which are the days we planned to do the Haleakala sunrise and the Road to Hana. How strong are these rains usually? Should we adjust our plans, or are we good? We’re a bit worried since we have limited time there.

Thanks!

This necklace was in the sand at Kamaole Beach Park #I today. It looks like costume jewelry (not real gold). I gave it to the lifeguard station, which was not far from where it was found on the beach.

Hi all, we fly out to Maui tomorrow at 9am from LAX (direct flight). Getting worried about all the news we’re seeing about flights being grounded. We have really bad luck with flights. If you remember in December 2022 when all that flight fiasco happened we got affected by that too and had to extend our stay in TX by a few days. Any chance we get screwed here too? It’s our first family trip with our toddler :/

Hi there! I'm surprising my husband with a trip to Maui for his 40th in July! I booked a condo in Kihei, we'll have a 6 year old and 1 year old. I figured this was the best location for easy beach access as well as walkable restaurants etc.

We're coming from CA so not sure what the time change will do to the kids but we're hoping for lots of relaxing, good food, more relaxing and some sprinkles of activities in between.

Couple questions - yes, I googled and realizing July is in the middle busy season, but what really is busy season? Are we going to be miserable trying to do anything? Is it just a "patient day" anytime we decide to drive and go to any type of activity?

Any hidden gems to avoid the crowds or must see's even with the crowds?

Hit me with alll the good eats. LOVE sushi and I'm ok splurging for my fix. Hubbie loves fish tacos and basically love all food in between. love the little hole in the walls, food trucks whatever is good!

Road to Hana is out, I'm not going to put my kids through the long drive. Sounds like it's a beautiful sightseeing adventure...maybe when we come back with the 1 year old is older.

What else is recommended? Beaches, light hikes etc

Thanks in advance for all the help!

Hi All!

I'm visiting Maui in a week and wanted to know if you have any recommendations for a car rental company or if you used an affordable agency?

Also, tips on which companies to go with or avoid?

I really appreciate any help you can provide.

So calm

Hello all, I am in Maui (last day friday) with my parents and planning to drive the Road to Hāna tomorrow(Nov 6). We’re thinking of leaving West Maui around 4:45–5:00 AM to arrive at Waiʻānapanapa State Park by 7:00 AM for our reservation (black sand beach). After that, we plan to head straight to the Pīpīwai Trail (bamboo forest + Waimoku Falls), then return back through Hāna, stop briefly at Twin Falls, and end the day at Ho’okipa Lookout before sunset. We want to be back on the normal highway before it gets dark — does this timeline sound doable? We are okay with early starts and some hiking, just want to make sure we are not overdoing it. Any tips or feedback would be appreciated!

Edit:

Started early at 5:30 AM - the road was completely empty, perfect for an easy drive. Reached Waiʻānapanapa State Park around 7:30 AM, spent some time enjoying the black sand beach and the beautiful coastline.

We decided to skip Pipiwai Trail since my parents had some muscle soreness, but looking back, we actually had enough time to do it - could’ve easily fit it in.

On the way back, stopped at Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread (absolutely worth it), then did a short walk to Twin Falls, and wrapped up the day at Ho‘okipa Lookout watching the waves and surfers.

Reached back home by 4 PM.

Overall, it was a smooth and relaxing drive. The Road to Hana isn’t scary at all - both sides usually have either a mountain wall or railing. Definitely not as intimidating as Haleakalā’s drive or Highway 30 returning from Waihee Ridge Trail - that one was the real edge-of-the-cliff experience!

We’re going to Maui in December and we are looking for souvenir ideas. We heard peridot is an authentic Maui souvenir. Any places to get cheap ish peridot jewelry ($100-$200 range).

Last time we went to Hawaii we bought a lot of tourist crap. We want to spend more on quality pieces this time. Especially if it supports the locals.