Road to Hana or Lahaina

[smrtypnts]

If you had to make a choice between driving the Road to Hana, maybe beyond, possibly all the way around OR a drive to Lahaina..spend the day there and then go to the Old Lahaina Luau, what would your choice be and why? I am truly stuck between these two options. I don't want to give either a "half shake".

 

I would especially like to hear from those of you who have done both. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to answer and help me.

[Twiz]

If you had to make a choice between driving the Road to Hana, maybe beyond, possibly all the way around OR a drive to Lahaina..spend the day there and then go to the Old Lahaina Luau, what would your choice be and why? I am truly stuck between these two options. I don't want to give either a "half shake".

 

I would especially like to hear from those of you who have done both. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to answer and help me.

 

I would go to Lahaina handsdown !! We did the RTH the first day and went to Lahaina the 2nd and wished we had skipped the RTH. There is so much more to do in Lahaina, nice shops and sightseeing, we didnt get to do as much as we wanted becaue of time.

Also there is a bus that will go from Lahaina to the next town and the Whalers Village is there along with a nice beach area.

The RTH is fine if you like to see lots of scenery and ride alot !! Other than that it being long is gets a bit boring after a few hours.;)

[Cruise_More_Often]

Well, we haven't gone yet, but I'm more interested in Lahaina. We want to do a whalewatching excursion and understand that the west coast of Maui is especially good for that. Plus, Lahaina is supposed to be really quaint. Plus, there are some terrific beaches along the west coast of Maui. I think we're going to pass on the OLL, though, because both of us will want to consume the mai tai's or whatever they're offering, and neither of us will want to drive back to the ship. I checked on the availability of hotels nearby on the day we'll be there and fuhgeddaboudit. They're all $$$$$.

 

The reason we don't want to do the Road to Hana is that one of us will have to pay attention to the road and the other drivers on the road and will miss some of the glorious sights. A driver is out, LOL. The last time we did an excursion in a van, we ended up sleeping through most of it. There were four us, all sleeping soundly. So embarassing. :o

 

What a great thread you started, smrtypnts! Thank you!

[pspercy]

I checked on the availability of hotels nearby on the day we'll be there and fuhgeddaboudit. They're all $$$$$.

 

Did you check the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina - right by the dock ?

I think it's a Best Western nowadays.

[vbmom87]

I haven't been yet so perhaps shouldn't speak up. However, what I have learned over the years is we all all have different interests. I absolutely hate to shop, just tolerate amusement parks and in general do not like to do anything that keeps me inside. When we do go into a town and browse a bit, I feel like I am wasting my time. I want to be out seeing scenery. However, I am very aware that others feel much differently. For some people, if they have seen one glacier, one mountain, one volcano, one beach, one valley, one lake, etc. they have no need to see another. I on the other hand, cannot get enough of nature. So, I think the best thing you can do is learn all you can about what you can do in each place, and then decide what is most appealing to you. Don't get caught up with what most people on these forums say is the best thing to do. You know yourself better than anyone else. Do your research and then follow your interests. That way, I am sure you won't be disappointed.

 

As far as the RTH, like Cruise More Often, we didn't want to have the driver missing out on the experience. We also wanted to do the full loop road and when we learned you were not supposed to take a rental car on the loop route, that kind of sealed our decision. (Yes I know many do take their cars on the full loop, but I firmly believe in following the rules )So we booked a small bus tour. I think it will work out just fine for us. We may not get to stop as often or spend as much time as we would like at each place, but it will all be good!!!

 

As much as I would like to see Lahaina, it is not my priority. You have to figure out your priority. I am still hoping someone will respond to my other post to see if I have enough time to go there on Day 2. I also was very interested in the OLL, however, when I heard their show is not as good as the show at the PCC on Oahu, it was not so difficult of a decision to make. I am more interested in great entertainment than I am interested in great food. So, again, find out all you can about both places and then I am sure you will know what the best is for you.

[pizzalady1]

I am still hoping someone will respond to my other post to see if I have enough time to go there on Day 2.

 

We went to Lahaina on Day 2--we were in the car by 6:30am. We took a Pacific Whale Foundation cruise at 8:30am, rode the Sugar Cane Train at 11:00am, and spent a few hours looking around Lahaina. We had plenty of time to get back and return the Thrifty car.

[vbmom87]

We went to Lahaina on Day 2--we were in the car by 6:30am. We took a Pacific Whale Foundation cruise at 8:30am, rode the Sugar Cane Train at 11:00am, and spent a few hours looking around Lahaina. We had plenty of time to get back and return the Thrifty car.

 

I am trying to figure out if I can combine Lahaina with going to Haleakela (not for sunrise though) and then stopping in Ioa Valley. Seems like it might be a bit much, but am hoping someone can tell me their timing for these places if they did it. I know I can do two of the three on Day 2. Just not sure about all three. Surely don't want to miss the ship. :eek:

[Cruise_More_Often]

I checked on the availability of hotels nearby on the day we'll be there and fuhgeddaboudit. They're all $$$$$.

 

Did you check the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina - right by the dock ?

I think it's a Best Western nowadays.

The Pioneer Inn looks very, very nice! My $$$$ was a bit much--the cheapest room for our date is $169 plus tax. However, we have a "free" room waiting for us on the POA. :D

[1Alaska]

Lahaina has some historic buildings to tour, a nice waterfront, and the large Banyan Tree. The rest of town is souvineer shops galore, and Lahaina gets very hot and humid in the summer. The whale watch boats do not run past May, but then the parasailers take over. Adjacent to lahaina are some great free beaches with good snorkeling.

 

If you don't want shopping, then do the Road to Hana.

 

It all depends what you want to do.

[smrtypnts]

Thank you to everyone who posted. I really do appreciate it. I truly can't decide. I don't want shopping. I do want the OLL. I don't want to spend the entire day in the car, no matter how often I stop and smell the roses. I WOULD like to see the various vistas, black sand beach(es), waterfalls, flowers, etc. I might let hubbypnts make the decision. Usually I decide everything and hubbypnts goes along for the ride. He HATES shopping, but I am not sure he would love all the driving on the RTH. I would be willing to share the driving with him. I am not willing to take a small tour/bus van, as I DO want to make my own decisions on stops and for how long, etc. I do want to thank every for their input, though. I really do appreciate all the advice.

[CruisingGoddess]

Thank you to everyone who posted. I really do appreciate it. I truly can't decide. I don't want shopping. I do want the OLL. I don't want to spend the entire day in the car, no matter how often I stop and smell the roses. I WOULD like to see the various vistas, black sand beach(es), waterfalls, flowers, etc. I might let hubbypnts make the decision. Usually I decide everything and hubbypnts goes along for the ride. He HATES shopping, but I am not sure he would love all the driving on the RTH. I would be willing to share the driving with him. I am not willing to take a small tour/bus van, as I DO want to make my own decisions on stops and for how long, etc. I do want to thank every for their input, though. I really do appreciate all the advice.

 

You didn't mention what you are doing the other day on Maui but I assume you already have plans? We will be doing the Haleakala Crater, Iao Valley, and Lahaina for OLL on Day 1 and RTH on Day 2. My absolutely priority for Maui was OLL so if I had to make your decision, I would choose Lahaina for sure. But I personally don't think Lahaina itself is more interesting than RTH. RTH sounds magnificent!

[Cruise_More_Often]

smrtypnts, I hope this thread has helped somewhat with your decision. I'm sure glad you started it, because we are really undecided on what to do on many of our port days. There's such a wealth of information in each thread, and by reading all of them, we can learn something about an excursion we might not have even thought about.

 

Now I need to figure out Oahu, Hawaii and Kauai. :D

[Travelmanic]

I haven't been yet so perhaps shouldn't speak up. However, what I have learned over the years is we all all have different interests. I absolutely hate to shop, just tolerate amusement parks and in general do not like to do anything that keeps me inside. When we do go into a town and browse a bit, I feel like I am wasting my time. I want to be out seeing scenery. However, I am very aware that others feel much differently. For some people, if they have seen one glacier, one mountain, one volcano, one beach, one valley, one lake, etc. they have no need to see another. I on the other hand, cannot get enough of nature. So, I think the best thing you can do is learn all you can about what you can do in each place, and then decide what is most appealing to you. Don't get caught up with what most people on these forums say is the best thing to do. You know yourself better than anyone else. Do your research and then follow your interests. That way, I am sure you won't be disappointed.

 

As far as the RTH, like Cruise More Often, we didn't want to have the driver missing out on the experience. We also wanted to do the full loop road and when we learned you were not supposed to take a rental car on the loop route, that kind of sealed our decision. (Yes I know many do take their cars on the full loop, but I firmly believe in following the rules )So we booked a small bus tour. I think it will work out just fine for us. We may not get to stop as often or spend as much time as we would like at each place, but it will all be good!!!

 

As much as I would like to see Lahaina, it is not my priority. You have to figure out your priority. I am still hoping someone will respond to my other post to see if I have enough time to go there on Day 2. I also was very interested in the OLL, however, when I heard their show is not as good as the show at the PCC on Oahu, it was not so difficult of a decision to make. I am more interested in great entertainment than I am interested in great food. So, again, find out all you can about both places and then I am sure you will know what the best is for you.

 

Not sure where you got the idea that PCC is better than OLL, perhaps because they are very different. PCC does a Polynesian Review as do most of the Luau's which means you get a sample of many islands, not just the Hawaiian Islands. OLL is purely Hawaiian, no warrior chants, no flame dancers, no spinning balls, etc. OLL is supposedly one of the best in the islands when you include the food and show.

[smrtypnts]

You didn't mention what you are doing the other day on Maui but I assume you already have plans? We will be doing the Haleakala Crater, Iao Valley, and Lahaina for OLL on Day 1 and RTH on Day 2. My absolutely priority for Maui was OLL so if I had to make your decision, I would choose Lahaina for sure. But I personally don't think Lahaina itself is more interesting than RTH. RTH sounds magnificent!

On day two I KNOW I want to do Halekala at sunrise. With that in mind I figure we're going to be headed off the ship at 3am and coming down from there, there are a couple of stops I'd like to make based on some suggestions from CC posters. I figure we'll be down around noon or a little earlier. At this point, I'd like to pick a nice beach and relax until it's time to head back to return the car and head to the ship--so yes, I have our "plans". I do agree that RTH sounds magnificent...a "not to be missed" experience. But like you, I too, want to see the Banyan tree and go to OLL. Maybe, we can make the drive to Lahaina part of the experience.:rolleyes:

 

smrtypnts, I hope this thread has helped somewhat with your decision. I'm sure glad you started it, because we are really undecided on what to do on many of our port days. There's such a wealth of information in each thread, and by reading all of them, we can learn something about an excursion we might not have even thought about.

 

Now I need to figure out Oahu, Hawaii and Kauai. :D

 

This thread is helping. I like all the different insights and reasons. I do agree...I've already been researching for a year now and this site IS such a wealth of information. And I'm not opposed to doing searches, either.....I'll look back to years gone by and see what others have done for different things. And yes, I JUST learned about a dolphin encounter in its natural habitat that I wouldn't have known about. I am not a proponant of those pool type "swimming with the dolphins" excursions. There's no doubt I would not have known about a hotel day pass without CC. Many, many things I am so happy to have learned about here. So many people to thank!! Adele, you sound like the sweetest person ever.....maybe one day we'll cruise together!:)

[vbmom87]

Not sure where you got the idea that PCC is better than OLL, perhaps because they are very different. PCC does a Polynesian Review as do most of the Luau's which means you get a sample of many islands, not just the Hawaiian Islands. OLL is purely Hawaiian, no warrior chants, no flame dancers, no spinning balls, etc. OLL is supposedly one of the best in the islands when you include the food and show.

 

I have done a LOT of reading of past posts on both Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor. I have been in communication with quite a few people who live in Hawaii. Not one has said the show at the OLL is better than the evening show (7:30 p.m) at PCC. Over and over I have read or been told that nothing compares to the evening show at PCC.

 

I have read that for an overall luau experience, yes, the OLL is the best. The luau meal at the PCC does not get rave reviews at all. Ideally I would love to do both. However, I am not willing to rush through the RTH experience in order to get to OLL on time. I am also not willing to do RTH on day two. I would not be able to relax enough. I would be constantly worried about an accident on the road that would not allow me to make it to the ship on time. Also doing the RTH on Day 2 would not allow me to do the loop road. At least I have not found a tour company that does the loop that can get me back to the ship in time for departure. I am not willing to break my rental car contract by driving that road. So, I had to make choices, which I don't like to have to make. I don't know if I am really missing out by not going to OLL. I guess in the end, I have to say that a luau was never on my bucket list, so I think I can miss it without shedding any tears. ;) If there ever is a next time to Maui, then yes, OLL will be on the top of my list of what to do. However, I just didn't see how I could make it all work out for me. I would have had to give other things up and just wasn't comfortable doing that. Like I told my sister, we have lived in Michigan for all of our 60+ years and we still haven't seen everything in our wonderful state. We just can't see it all in Hawaii in a few days. It is all about choices and what intersts us personally and how much we are willing to cram into a day and how many risks we are willing take with missing our cruise ship.

 

Do you think I am making a grave mistake by not going to a more authentic "luau while we are in Hawaii? I thought about trying to fit one in when we are in Kauai, but I ran into the same thing. On our Day 1 in Kauai, I would really like to spend as much time as possible taking in the nature sites. We were not planning on heading back to the ship until later in the evening. Just not sure I want to miss the scenic stops for a luaa.

[Travelmanic]

I have done a LOT of reading of past posts on both Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor. I have been in communication with quite a few people who live in Hawaii. Not one has said the show at the OLL is better than the evening show (7:30 p.m) at PCC. Over and over I have read or been told that nothing compares to the evening show at PCC.

 

I have read that for an overall luau experience, yes, the OLL is the best. The luau meal at the PCC does not get rave reviews at all. Ideally I would love to do both. However, I am not willing to rush through the RTH experience in order to get to OLL on time. I am also not willing to do RTH on day two. I would not be able to relax enough. I would be constantly worried about an accident on the road that would not allow me to make it to the ship on time. Also doing the RTH on Day 2 would not allow me to do the loop road. At least I have not found a tour company that does the loop that can get me back to the ship in time for departure. I am not willing to break my rental car contract by driving that road. So, I had to make choices, which I don't like to have to make. I don't know if I am really missing out by not going to OLL. I guess in the end, I have to say that a luau was never on my bucket list, so I think I can miss it without shedding any tears. ;) If there ever is a next time to Maui, then yes, OLL will be on the top of my list of what to do. However, I just didn't see how I could make it all work out for me. I would have had to give other things up and just wasn't comfortable doing that. Like I told my sister, we have lived in Michigan for all of our 60+ years and we still haven't seen everything in our wonderful state. We just can't see it all in Hawaii in a few days. It is all about choices and what intersts us personally and how much we are willing to cram into a day and how many risks we are willing take with missing our cruise ship.

 

Do you think I am making a grave mistake by not going to a more authentic "luau while we are in Hawaii? I thought about trying to fit one in when we are in Kauai, but I ran into the same thing. On our Day 1 in Kauai, I would really like to spend as much time as possible taking in the nature sites. We were not planning on heading back to the ship until later in the evening. Just not sure I want to miss the scenic stops for a luaa.

 

You misunderstood my response, I was simply addressing that "PCC was much better than OLL". They are both good, but different and if one doesn't know the difference, they may not enjoy one as much as the other. As you said, you have to make choices.

[eskay]

I am writing to say what _we_ are planning to do. We will take the Road To Hana on the first day. We willl be turning around at Hana. I will drive one way and ask my wife to drive the other way - so both of us can enjoy the scenary.

 

According to our friends, if you are a nature lover, you shouldn't miss RTH. Apparently, it is not just watching the scenary. You can get into the pools under waterfalls and swim in fairly shallow water.

 

If we return from Hana too early, we might drive up to Haleakala and try to watch sunset.

 

Second day we will go to Lahaina.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Maybe one day we'll cruise together!:)

I would love that! You can't move your cruise back to January, can you? I just cannot wait until July! :D

 

Do you think I am making a grave mistake by not going to a more authentic "luau while we are in Hawaii? I thought about trying to fit one in when we are in Kauai, but I ran into the same thing. On our Day 1 in Kauai, I would really like to spend as much time as possible taking in the nature sites. We were not planning on heading back to the ship until later in the evening. Just not sure I want to miss the scenic stops for a luaa.

We are in the same boat, so to speak. We thought about doing the ship's luau in Kauai, but then I read about Captain Andy's Sunset Dinner Cruise and decided we would prefer seeing the Na Pali Coast up close and personal. That means giving up on a luau altogether for us.

[Montcruiser]

I have been to Maui 3 times and will travel there in June. I would do the road to Hana. This is an amazing wonderful adventure. We do it every time we go and will continue to do again in June. Do Haleakula, Lahina and Kaalapalli the second day. Sunrise is freezing cold and not all it is cracked up to be on Haleakula. I would rather ride the bikes down the volcano.

[maryh307]

I'm getting excited about this cruise just reading your threads and still have over 140 days to go. This is the first day in checking indiv. island recommendations. We now have our flight booked to VC and back home. Have an idea where we want to stay in VC and just starting to gather info as to where we want to visit and see on the islands. With an overnight at this port, feel comf. booking our own excursions. This will prob. be our only trip to Hawaii. Been there 40 years ago. We want to enjoy everything possible and get in as much as we can. We leave out of Vancouver sailing to Hawaii in Sept. I would love to hear all about the April Hawaii cruise when you get back. If anyone has pictures of what you did/seen, I would love to see them.

[Raison]

We will be cruising March 2011 on Royal Princess and only have 1 day here. We would like to do the RTH, but I am concerned that we won't have enough time - could anyone tell me roughly how long the return trip would be? We would be turning around at Hana.

[shoppern]

My husband and I drove the road to Hana a few years ago--it was quite an experience! The scenery was lovely, but the road is very narrow, with MANY one-lane bridges. These are really one lane only. The road is extremely curvy, and the locals love to pass on the curves--coming toward you. When we reached the top alive, I was ready to WALK down. If you want excitement, I recommend the drive, otherwise, save your nerves and buy a post card of Hana.:rolleyes: