Distance from Airport to Lahaina

[crusinlover]

Just got a call from the Maui "Ultimate Whale Watch" excursion that I booked for 3/20. The starting time has been changed to 10a.m. Since we dock (POA) at 8a.m. that day, will we have time to catch the shuttle to pick up our rental & then drive to Lahaina? I'm worried now. He didn't give me much time to talk...said he had other calls.

[CruiserBruce]

As mentioned in the many other posts, it is about a 45 min drive. Parking is limited in Lahaina, and you will likely have to walk a couple of blocks from the parking to the pier. Given 2 hours, you will make it, if you are the first off, and move with a purpose. Get a map, so you know where you are going in Lahaina to save time.

[crusinlover]

As mentioned in the many other posts, it is about a 45 min drive. Parking is limited in Lahaina, and you will likely have to walk a couple of blocks from the parking to the pier. Given 2 hours, you will make it, if you are the first off, and move with a purpose. Get a map, so you know where you are going in Lahaina to save time.

 

Thanks, CruiserBruce. I knew it was about that time span but was wondering if it was possible to get off the ship, find the rental shuttle (Dollar) & pick up the car quick enough to drive the 45 minutes.

Appreciate your reply!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Get a map, so you know where you are going in Lahaina to save time.

I made maps on maps.google.com of all of our planned routes. It is great. In areas where I need more details I zoomed the maps up close so I can see all the streets, etc & then printed them out. Be sure to save your maps to "My Maps". You can edit each location with notes and addresses to take with you.

 

I also put all addresses in my GPS. For locations that don't have addresses (especially some of the beaches & viewpoints) you can right click on the Google Map, choose "Where Is This?" and it will give you the GPS coordinates. I will tell you after our cruise how well it all worked.:cool: I don't plan to get lost!

[smslms]

Personally, I think you might be cutting things a bit close. As noted, yes it is "about" a 45 min drive from the airport to Lahaina and while it is a good road, traffic can get congested at times. While you can probably find parking in one of the Lahaina lots you are likely looking at a good 10 min walk to the docks.

 

While the ship may dock at 8am you may not be able to disembark immediately and there is usually a big crowd wanting to be first off so you may need to allow time for that. Line-ups at the car rental agencies can be horrendous if there are flights arriving at the same time you are there. If we are renting we generally try to use an agency that allows you to complete all paperwork in advance, then permits you to use a kiosk on site. It allows you to enter your credit card, spits out your paperwork and you then go directly out to the lot and pick your car, avoiding all the line-ups. Possibly I'm just being cautious and you may have already planned for all of this but as I said I think things could get a bit close and I'd hate to see you miss your boat. Best of luck.:)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Personally, I think you might be cutting things a bit close. As noted, yes it is "about" a 45 min drive from the airport to Lahaina and while it is a good road, traffic can get congested at times. While you can probably find parking in one of the Lahaina lots you are likely looking at a good 10 min walk to the docks.

 

While the ship may dock at 8am you may not be able to disembark immediately and there is usually a big crowd wanting to be first off so you may need to allow time for that. Line-ups at the car rental agencies can be horrendous if there are flights arriving at the same time you are there. If we are renting we generally try to use an agency that allows you to complete all paperwork in advance, then permits you to use a kiosk on site. It allows you to enter your credit card, spits out your paperwork and you then go directly out to the lot and pick your car, avoiding all the line-ups. Possibly I'm just being cautious and you may have already planned for all of this but as I said I think things could get a bit close and I'd hate to see you miss your boat. Best of luck.:)

Others have been reporting that the ship has been docking in actuality by 7 or 7:30 in reality, so they should have a little extra time there. However, that can never be guaranteed.

 

Your advice about the car rental is good. I don't know about Dollar, but we are signed up for Thrifty's Blue Chip program to cut down at time at the rental car agency.

 

That being said, we booked our morning snorkel trip for Day 2 in Maui to avoid a big rush. Day 1 will just be exploring on our own, so we don't have to hurry off the ship. Also, we are on a charter out of Ma'alaea which is a 30 minute drive from the ship, although we are allowing extra time.

[GypRasc]

From everything I've read from past posters I don't think you have to worry but I would suggest doing the Blue Chip program through Thrifty instead of getting your car through Dollar unless they have a "speedy" check-in like Thrifty does. Previous posters indicated Blue Chip renters get priority on the shuttles & at the check out line. Good luck.

[crusinlover]

Thank you Ginny (love your idea of google maps!), smslms & GypRasc for all your help. After talking to our friends who are going with us, we all agreed to switch the time. I called the company & was able to switch to the 12:30 slot. This way we won't be rushed & will enjoy our drive up the coast!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

The rental agencies have several shuttles running back & forth from the terminal to RAC agency so even though there is a long line, it shouldn't be too bad. I would definitely be one of the first off the ship if possible since you have a time limit.

 

When we did Thrifty with blue chip & we added a Hawaii GPS to our rental (not our own) which had pre-programmed favorites in it which made it easy to pick where you wanted to go & it mapped it for you. This time I'll bring my own GPS and I plan to map out the places I want to see under my favorites.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you Ginny (love your idea of google maps!), smslms & GypRasc for all your help. After talking to our friends who are going with us, we all agreed to switch the time. I called the company & was able to switch to the 12:30 slot. This way we won't be rushed & will enjoy our drive up the coast!

I think you will be happy that you switched your times. On vacation, who wants to be rushed?;)

 

I have had a great time making the maps. I even made a separate one of the North Shore Restaurant locations in Oahu, as we will be staying there for several days pre-cruise.