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Halfway to Hana or West Maui Tour


Sandyrella
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I'm looking for opinions for tours in Maui. We will be in there for 2 days in May and are trying to decide what tour to do. We plan to go to the beach and a luau on the first day so we only have day two for a tour. Our ship sails at 6:00 so the full Road to Hana tour sounds risky.

 

I have found a company that does a 5-6 hour tours going halfway to Hana OR touring West Maui. Here are the highlights of each tour:

 

Taste of Hana:

 

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

 

  • Sugar Cane Plantation
  • Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles
  • North Shore Beaches
  • Waterfalls
  • Bamboo Forest
  • Rugged Coastline ~ waves, cliffs, bays
  • Flora & Fauna
    Native Hawaiian Village
    Fruit Stands

Or the West Maui Adventure:

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

  • Nakalele Blow Hole
  • Honolua Bay
  • Lahaina town
  • ʻĪao valley
  • Kahakuloa Village
  • Clifftop Gallery
  • Tide Pools

Thoughts?

 

Thanks in advance,

Sandy :cool:

Edited by Sandyrella
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We have no definite beach plans but hubby wants to try stand up paddle boarding so we are thinking of Kaanapali. Luau is Old Lahaina. I believe the Hana tour goes as far as far as Wailua and Waikani Falls.

 

 

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Since you're going to West Maui on the first day, I'd suggest the RTH option. That's a rainforest area & is more lush than the road around the northern end.

 

Agree with Astro Flyer. Do note the RTH tour just describes what can be experienced by driving it yourself. You don't have to have a tour company for what they are offering. The tour also mentions a sugar cane plantation. We would be curious to know where there is an active cane plantation here? Perhaps they meant to say "former", as production ceased last year.

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Thank-you both for your input. My first plan was the halfway Road to Hana but then someone on my roll call posted the West Maui tour and I thought that Lao Valley and the blowhole sounded amazing. It threw me off track.[emoji4] I think you are right that we are going to see a good part of the west side if we go to Kaanapali Beach.

 

Silver Sweethearts, I do realize that we can do this on our own but if one of us has to drive we can't be watching the beautiful scenery...plus we like getting the history or details of each location. Since we are only able to do a short tour, I think that we would prefer to rely on the professionals this time. This will be our first trip to Maui but I'm starting to think that it won't be our last [emoji41]

 

 

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With a 6:00 sailing the escorted tour is probably a more relaxing way to experience some of the Road to Hana.

 

Hawaii cruises provide a taste of each island to decide which is the best option for returning. Silver & I are on Maui so we've discovered which island was best for each of us. ;)

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We are wide open to suggestions. What would you recommend? We want to stick with a tour, not DIY, mainly for convenience but we always find we learn something on the tours.

While doing the complete RTH trip would be easier during a land based visit to Maui, it's certainly not a waste of an entire day in Maui.

 

I think your plans are a good way to get a taste of Maui and one person's waste of time is another person's great experience. ;)

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While doing the complete RTH trip would be easier during a land based visit to Maui, it's certainly not a waste of an entire day in Maui.

 

I think your plans are a good way to get a taste of Maui and one person's waste of time is another person's great experience. ;)

 

 

 

I like the way you think [emoji4] Along the lines of one man’s junk is another man’s treasure?

 

DH has been watching YouTube videos and as much as he prefers not to do long tours, he is convinced that we have to do the complete RTH, however we’ll have to book the ship’s tour to make sure it doesn’t leave without us if we are late.

 

I was worried about a big bus tour through the ship but I’ve been told that there are no big buses on this road.

 

 

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I like the way you think [emoji4] Along the lines of one man’s junk is another man’s treasure?

 

DH has been watching YouTube videos and as much as he prefers not to do long tours, he is convinced that we have to do the complete RTH, however we’ll have to book the ship’s tour to make sure it doesn’t leave without us if we are late.

 

I was worried about a big bus tour through the ship but I’ve been told that there are no big buses on this road.

You've got that right. ;)

 

That prolific poster repeatedly pops in occasionally to make such statements but doesn't return to answer any followup questions so it's not helpful to me.

 

I only recall vans & small buses on the RTH and it's probably a good idea to take the ship's tour with a 6:00 sailing. Being a rainforest area landslides can occur & being on a ship's tour they shouldn't sail without you. If mosquitoes like you as much as me, use insect repellent particularly at the bamboo forest which had many skeeters buzzing around us. The banana bread shop on the Keanae peninsula is ono-licious but with its popularity can sell out.

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We are looking at a RTH tour which returns at 6:30 pm on the day we are staying all night. This, however, leaves us with a short evening to fill. Any ideas for something to do either close to Kahului or that includes transportation to somewhere else and that doesn't start at 3 pm? We will not be renting a car. Or do we need to scrap the RTH in order to have evening plans?

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We are looking at a RTH tour which returns at 6:30 pm on the day we are staying all night. This, however, leaves us with a short evening to fill. Any ideas for something to do either close to Kahului or that includes transportation to somewhere else and that doesn't start at 3 pm? We will not be renting a car. Or do we need to scrap the RTH in order to have evening plans?

 

Kahului isn't a resort area so there are not things geared towards visitors like Wailea in South Maui or West Maui (Lahaina, Ka'anapali & Kapalua) which are about 30-45 minutes away.

 

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center is 1.5 miles from the port and may have a performance you're interested in watching. There's a casual restaurant serving Hawaiian favorites filled with locals at Da Kitchen which is 1.2 miles away.

 

Not sure what type of "evening plans" that you're considering so it's impossible to share an opinion.

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The Maui Arts & Cultural Center is 1.5 miles from the port and may have a performance you're interested in watching. There's a casual restaurant serving Hawaiian favorites filled with locals at Da Kitchen which is 1.2 miles away.

 

Great idea about the MACC. A first class venue most tourists never hear about. You can Google "Maui Arts & Cultural Center Events" for their calendar. Da Kitchen might work for them for Monday lunch, but it is closed on Sundays.

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Great idea about the MACC. A first class venue most tourists never hear about. You can Google "Maui Arts & Cultural Center Events" for their calendar. Da Kitchen might work for them for Monday lunch, but it is closed on Sundays.

I forgot about the Kahului location being closed on Sunday unlike their Kihei location that's open daily.

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Thank you both for your rapid replies. By "evening plans" I just meant something to do off the ship rather than staying on the ship while we are in Hawaii. I did the ship's sunset cruise excursion on a previous cruise and won't be doing that again. We will check the MACC, I read earlier about Da Kitchen and was excited about their menu until I saw that it was closed on Sunday. The only other restaurant I've seen mentioned that might be within taxi distance is Mama's Fish House. Thanks again.

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Try pricing Mama's for dinner (be sure to reserve well in advance of going) and adding Uber or taxi fare and you will have one expensive evening. Da Kitchen it isn't.

 

Yes, I've seen that mentioned also. Sounds a little silly when we have paid for food on the ship. Hoping the MACC will schedule something. The website is very interesting.

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Yes, I've seen that mentioned also. Sounds a little silly when we have paid for food on the ship. Hoping the MACC will schedule something. The website is very interesting.

 

Do know that if you go to something at the MACC they will probably (read: usually do) have dinner items for sale, and it is rather pleasant dining in their courtyard pre- event. It is casual (no table service) not that costly for here and real food (not prepackaged - at least not the last time we were there).

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