Haleakala zipline - is there enough time?

[plan2go]

Hi all - still trying to work in a zipline for part of our group. Is it possible, time wise, to leave the PofAm as soon as possible on the first day there, get a rental car (Alamo) and get to Haleakala for the Skyline Eco Tour zipline by 9:30? I was thinking off ship by 8:15 car rented by 8:40 at zipline office by 9:30...

 

Not sure if that is too ambitious a plan? Any thoughts or advice is appreciated.

[beachchick]

Aloha. I had written a bunch of stuff with yes, no, and maybe depending on how far it is from the pier in Kahului. Then I decided to get smart and google for the location. Most of us don't necessarily know where things like that are specifically located, so it's often best to let us know how far it is or where it is located.

 

In any case, I went ahead and checked it out for you. I really don't see any way you can make a 9:30 tour. First, you have no way of knowing how long it will take to rent the car. It might be quick and easy, but there will be many other pax also trying to rent ASAP. You're only allowing 25 minutes for the shuttle ride over (10 minutes or a smidge less), standing in line, doing the rental paperwork, getting to the car, checking it to make sure any existing damage is noted, and then getting on the road. Could it happen? Yes. However, you are planning your timing on only the best scenario. It's important to plan for less than ideal timing. You would be stressing like crazy trying to get through it all so fast. Keep in mind that people flying in will also be lining up at the rental locations.

 

Now the really bad news. You might be on the road by 8:40, but even so, you won't be able to drive the distance in that short a time. Based on the map, it looks like they're about 25 miles from the airport. That would be fine except that most of the drive is not at "freeway" speeds, especially once you get onto the summit road. It's about 10 miles up that road to the zipline location. That part of the drive alone will take a good 30 minutes, and there will be other traffic (as well as downhill bike riders, if there are any tours that early) on the road. The total drive time will be at least an hour.

 

Is there a 10:30 tour (or something around that time)? That would be much, much safer time wise and the temps will also be warmer. Haleakala, even not all the way at the summit, is fairly chilly in the early morning.

 

Hope that helps.

 

beachchick

[plan2go]

Beachchick

Thanks for confirming what I already knew in my heart! I seem to try and squeeze in too much. Sometimes I just need to hear from someone else that my plan is not realistic.

 

You have been a true help here more than once. Thanks for doing the extra research on distance. I am having a hard time figuring that out on the islands.

[beachchick]

I just wanted to mention that I read the website map a bit. They say they're only 2-1/2 miles up 378 (the summit road), but where they have their *star* on the map to show the location appears to be about 8 or 10 miles up the road. Definitely some inconsistency. I'm guessing the map isn't exactly to scale.

 

However, this doesn't change my advice. Even if you have a bit less travel time, you'd still be very hard pressed to get there by 9:30. The slightest thing would make you late. There's one route to get there, so an accident that slowed traffic for 15 minutes would be a problem. In fact, heavy traffic would also slow things down. There are (as I mentioned) many people trying to rent cars at the same time. You might luck out and be first in line (I mean, someone's got to be first, right?); OTOH, you're just as likely to be 10th (yuck, but someone's also got to be 10th). If the ship is slightly delayed docking, you might get off the ship 15 minutes later than expected. It doesn't happen often, but it's not impossible either. You see what I mean. It's so important to leave "wiggle" room in your plans, especially with a place like Hawaii.

 

Mahalo for your nice compliment. My DH and I can't get to Hawaii nearly as often as we'd like, so coming here gives me a chance for a "fix" for both the islands we love and cruising, which is darn fun too. It's been more than a year since our last visit, and I'm getting (second) homesick. I have to admit that Hawaii seduced me on our first visit. Of course, my DH was already hooked. (Truth be told though, if we were offered a choice of a free trip to Hawaii or a free cruise, we'd pick the trip to Hawaii...Sh! I don't want to get in trouble with the other members.);)

 

I completely understand your trying to squeeze in as much as possible. I promise you I do. The first time my DH took me to Hawaii (a decade ago), I had lists and schedules and all these "must do" items. Many moons ago, my DH worked in Hawaii several weeks a year (poor baby, it was a required part of his job; it was also before he met me--boo-hoo). He already knew that Hawaii is also meant to be savored and not just gulped. He let me figure out for myself that my "plans" were simply too much and that it was more important to pick fewer things and truly enjoy them.

 

Plan busy days, that's absolutely fine. But please don't try to cram every single second with "go here, here, here, here, here, here, and there" because then your memories are more likely to be that you saw a lot, but didn't really experience it. Stop for a moment from time to time to smell the plumeria. I promise that you'll remember those moments fondly. Over the years, we've seen many people who, by the end of their fourth day, are basically frazzled and dreading the next "event" on the list. We saw quite a bit of that on our PoH cruise. In fact, sometimes CC members will post detailed-to-the-minute schedules that have no room for change, even going so far as to schedule the exact length of potty breaks, and not considering that they might be enjoying their "10:00 am to 11:30 am beach time" so much that they aren't ready to move on to their "11:30 am to 11:40 am potty break," followed by their "11:40 am to 12:30 pm drive to somewhere else." It's critical to leave room for the unexpected, such as weather, construction, traffic, and so forth. Enjoy yourselves every minute, just try not to feel the need to be running all the time while you do so. (End of beachchick's infamous "lecture" to other members.):D

 

beachchick

[cruisin63]

I called Eco-Adventures zipline tours in Maui, and they said that

you should figure a 45 min. drive to the zipline office. They also

said that you will probably have to hire a cab to take you to the

airport rental car agency, as they were unaware of any being near

the harbor in Kahului. Hope this helps! Barbie:)

[beachchick]

I called Eco-Adventures zipline tours in Maui, and they said that

you should figure a 45 min. drive to the zipline office. They also

said that you will probably have to hire a cab to take you to the

airport rental car agency, as they were unaware of any being near

the harbor in Kahului. Hope this helps! Barbie:)

 

While there are no rental company locations right at any of the piers/docks, the Kahului locations are at the airport. It is a 10 minute shuttle ride (if that). The reason some people take a taxi (about $10 to $15) is so they can beat all the pax on the shuttle to the rental locations to get in line at fast as possible.

 

Again, that 45 minutes is best case. We always plan for the "what ifs" when scheduling.

 

beachchick

[mimikens]

Aloha Toy Store does rent cars right by the pier in Lahaina (if you dock at the same place Radiance does). Even so, it took us more than 45 minutes to get from the pier to where the road splits to go to Hana and Haleakala, and we left at 6:30 in the morning. Luckily, we passed a Starbucks on the way.

 

I know how you feel. I kept wanting to squeeze a trip to Haleakala in too, but we did the road to Hana the second day and a luau the first night, so there was no way of getting there and back by the time we needed to leave for the luau.

[beachchick]

Aloha Toy Store does rent cars right by the pier in Lahaina (if you dock at the same place Radiance does). Even so, it took us more than 45 minutes to get from the pier to where the road splits to go to Hana and Haleakala, and we left at 6:30 in the morning. Luckily, we passed a Starbucks on the way.

 

I know how you feel. I kept wanting to squeeze a trip to Haleakala in too, but we did the road to Hana the second day and a luau the first night, so there was no way of getting there and back by the time we needed to leave for the luau.

 

The PoAm is almost always docked at Kahului, rather than tendered at Lahaina. But this is good information for those who are at Lahaina because it's not as easy to choose which company to use.

 

I'm glad you had a nice RTH day. It's a long day, but certainly a scenic one.

 

beachchick

[TNtravelers]

Hi all - still trying to work in a zipline for part of our group.

 

You may already have plans for Kauai, but if not, we did a great zipline tour at Princeville Ranch Adventures. They had later times. We did the 1:00, but I think there was also an 11ish one. It was loads of fun and we were able to drive up the North Shore in the morning and see some of the sights.