After a long flight from Cleveland to Kahului (via DFW and Honolulu), we finally arrived in Maui! Admittedly exhausted, but excited, we proceeded to Budget Rentacar for our red Mustang convertible. First stop, our B&B in Haiku, a little town east of the airport just beyond Hoopika Beach. Great accomodations, hot tub and a two room suite for under $100.00 arranged through "Affordable Accomodations."
Our bike trip down Haleakala had already been arranged with Chris' Bike Adventures, but they asked that we confirm upon arrival since they won't run the trip without at least four riders. We were the first two to sign up for the "Sunrise Wine Trek." Unfortunately, no one else was interested in the trip that day, so at 4PM the day before our trip we were forced into scramble mode. Calls to Maui Mtn Cruisers and Maui Downhill failed to secure reservations for the downhill trip. Luckily, Cruiser Bob had an opening. That settled, we headed for the Vegan Restaurant in Paia for carry-out. Excellent choice. Our dining was enhanced by watching the Oneill windsurfing competition at Hookipa Beach. A stop here is highly recommended to see the excellent wind and board surfers at play.
The bike trip commenced at 3:30 AM at Cruiser Bob's Paia home base. Anyone staying at the resort areas to the south or west can be picked up, around 2:30 AM for a van ride over toPaia. Vans were running late, etc. so we began our ascent around 4:30 AM. Our driver, Mark, and tour leader, Dave, were great. They were very funny, which is something at that hour of the morning. While providing us with the necessary safety information, they were irreverent enough to keep us apprehensive about what we were about to do. Ride a bike 38 miles down a 10,000 foot volcano -- are we crazy or what?
The fear was unfounded. But first the sunrise. Excellent view of the sun rising over the crater, even if it was about 30 degrees up there. Be sure to dress warmly and in layers. You'll be stopping periodically to strip down. After what seemed an interminable wait as other biking groups took off down the hill, we finally set off near 8:00 AM.
The first few miles were touch and go as we got comfortable with the brakes and keeping our balance. From then on, it was great, and you almost wished that the person in front of you would even go a little faster! In any case, we did about 30-35 MPH downhill.
Incredible scenery and vistas on the way down. You even got good at looking off to the side without worrying about the fact that you're hurtling down a volcano! Three stops provided ample photo opportunities. One especially nice stop was the Sunshine Farm and Protea Garden.
Once down in Paia, a nice breakfast at Wunderbar provided a chance to review the trip with the others in the group. And regret that it could've lasted a little longer. It was really a great experience.
Afterwards, we headed over to Kaanapalli to check into the Royal Lahaina Resort, where we'd be staying for the remainder of our visit. The Royal Lahaina was one of the first in Kaanapalli, so may lack some of the amenities of the newer properties. However, it has a great beach that is considerably quieter than the others. And every one has a perfect view of the many whales we could see right from the balcony.
The next few days were made up of planned events with our business group -- including a luau at the Royal Lahaina, a western night at the Maui Tropical Plantation, and a bus tour of the Iao Needle Park. Every event was outstanding. The park was especially impressive as the bus driver provided us with a horticulture lesson on the plants of Hawaii.
Left to our own devices, we had a rental car for a day. Many in our group were tempted to make the trip to Hana. We, however, thought we knew better. On the advice of a neighbor, we decided to take the trip north of Kapalua around to Wailuku. Wow!! What a drive.The road gets progressively narrower until finally it's a single lane with a 3,000 foot drop on your side. Pray you don't meet too many vehicles coming the other way, someone will have to back up.
It's a real white knuckle drive for about ten or fifteen miles. The meek should turn around right after you pass the cattleguard. We were so scared, we wouldn't even stop the car to take pictures, for fear that once stopped we'd probably not want to start driving again!
Somehow we made it and continued on down to Kihei, Wailea, and La Perouse Bay. There are some great beaches down there. Most interesting, however, was seeing the lava flow just past La Perouse Bay. Halekala last erupted about 200 years ago and you can see the flow pattern and remnants of the eruption. At first, it looks like a farmer's field that has been roto-tilled. Closer inspection makes it appear to be something like what the moon may look like. To say the least, it was bizarre.
The next day, we had a great trip from the Maalaea Harbor on the Pride of Maui. It was a combined snorkel and whale watch sail. About one hundred folks made the trip comfortably out to the Molokini Crater for beautiful snorkeling.
After an hour and a half of snorkeling there, we proceeded over to a spot near the Maui Prince Resort in Makena Beach. On the way, we did a little whale watching. Once moored, snorkeling began again, this time to get a close-up look at sea turtles.
Overall, this was probably our favorite part of the trip. Snorkeling was great, being out on the water was great, and they even had an open bar!
We did some additional snorkeling at the low reef at the famous Mile 14 marker beach. You can't miss it off Highway 30 just south of Lahaina Town. Snorkel sets are readily available in town for about $3.00 per day. The same day, I also tried boogie boarding at Kaanapalli Point. That was a lot of fun, but I was showed up by the kids.
Beaches to the windward side (the north) have much more surf, but can be more dangerous to inexperienced surfers. We started at Fleming Beach, north of Kapalua, but were advised to seek milder waters by a concerned lifeguard.
A few words about the local restaurants. Many thanks to the folks who provided me with e-mail information on Maui dining. We never went wrong with a single choice the entire time in Maui.
The fact that my wife and I are vegetarian influenced our dining restaurant choices, but everywhere we went had great seafood or meat selections too.
Avalon and Longhi's in Lahaina were great choices for lunch as the prices tend to be on the high side. Roy's Nicolina in Kahana was fantastic for vegetarians, we shared three appetizers for dinner, and that was more than enough to eat at one sitting. Roy's Kahana is right next door and appeared to be the more popular, although more expensive, of the two. Either way, they share half the menu in common and both have the signature chocolate souffle. I'd recommend saving the souffle for a special trip after a light dining night. You can eat at the bar without reservations.
The Bakery in Lahaina is nothing fancy, but the place smells great and makes a fabulous veggie sandwich. It's also worth a stop in the morning for out-of-this-world pastries. Try the mango muffins!
Finally, we also tried Maui Taco's in Napilli (same owners as Avalon). Again, nothing fancy, just excellent, relatively inexpensive food. The "hand-held" burritoes are good and huge. A new location has opened in Lahaina.
Our Maui dining experience ended where it began as we returned to the Vegan Restaurant in Paia for a tempeh burger and tofu chunk soft taco to go on the road towards Hana. Having just a few hours before our flight, we didn't make it all the way to Hana, just went in search of the first waterfall along the way. We never did find it, since we chose not to head down the path marked "No Trespassing."
No regrets, however, and we've left something for our next visit to Maui. Which is something to look forward to!
The trip is winding down, we're sitting at DFW after the overnight flight from Maui, via Honolulu and desperately wishing we were already home. A three hour layover at 5:00 AM is not ideal. We killed an hour by taking the Hyatt shuttle over to the Hyatt West for breakfast.
We'll be home soon.
Feel free to e-mail with any questions you might have about visiting Maui.
