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Thanks for all the suggestions. Anyone have any suggestions on where to stay.
Thanks

I was laying on the beach staring at Maui for about an hour today! The weather is perfect this time of year. The whales have pretty much moved on already. The dolphins seem to be everywhere right now.

If you get a chance to visit Hawaii, you can see Volcanoes National Park and the observatories atop Mauna Kea. Two of the most spectacular places on earth. As of the other day, interisland flights were $19 each way. Its a nice break after the non-stop tourist blitz on Maui.



The weather is here....
http://web.mac.com/cowboyjunkie/iWeb/Si ... riday.html

Wow!! Have fun!!!
- Again as previously stated the drive to Hana.....Just remember it's the journey that is the cool thing...not the destination. ALSO, even though the rental car companies don't want you to, the road contiunues past Hana all the way around that end of the island....Some of the coolest stuff is back there!!! Go visit Charles Lindberg's grave, or the old missionary churchs.....the best scenery...from lush on the Hana side to desert on the West side.....

- Haleakala....think "Volcano"......

- Go see Erik Peitch in Lahaina.... ask him to sing the nymphomaniac song or perhaps a serenade of the "throbing Python".....Buy him a double shot of Captain Morgan and tell him it is from Marcus.....The following is from Erik's website:
It's now Sun and Wed at Cool Cat Cafe, Mondays at Lahaina Coolers (where I met Bert McBreeze), and every now and again at a new place on front st called Zuihao (I have to be super clean here - quite different).

-The place where the parrots are is next to the pioneer inn...a cool old style inn that is the old whaler's inn....

- Go talk to the guys at goofy foot surfing school (Bubba's favorite surfing instructor)

- Take a helicopter tour.....

- Snorkle Monokini or better yet Dive the backside wall of Monokini on a drift dive.....Bring 10' or so of monofiliment fishing line tied to a spoon or other shiny object. Wind the line ontot he spoon and then when you are down 60' or so, let hold onto the line and let go of the spoon....the tumbling/flashing will attract some of the large native pelagics...Tuna, Jacks, MahiMahi....cool stuff....

- Go to the MACC and see where Jimmy will play next time he comes back to Hawaii.......

- Wear Sunscreen

- Hang out at the beach in Kiehei and watch the kite boarding.....or if you be good...go do it....

This is really helpful.

Pharmboy and I are planning a trip to Hawaii for our big 5-0's.

When is the best time of year to go? We are looking at the end of December 2007 through first week of January 2008, March 2008 (Spring Break), or anytime in the summer of 2008. We've never been, I want to stay in Oahu 2-3 days and Maui 4-5 days. From what I've read online, it is more rainy in the winter, but that's whale season. Water is a little warmer in the summer. Stay on the southwest side of Maui, right, for calmer waters for snorkeling??

Condos seem the way to go for us, or B&B's. Any suggestions? I found one I think I like in Napeli Bay and then one also on Sugar Beach. Are those good locations?

PHarmGirl wrote:This is really helpful.

Pharmboy and I are planning a trip to Hawaii for our big 5-0's.

When is the best time of year to go? We are looking at the end of December 2007 through first week of January 2008, March 2008 (Spring Break), or anytime in the summer of 2008. We've never been, I want to stay in Oahu 2-3 days and Maui 4-5 days. From what I've read online, it is more rainy in the winter, but that's whale season. Water is a little warmer in the summer. Stay on the southwest side of Maui, right, for calmer waters for snorkeling??

Condos seem the way to go for us, or B&B's. Any suggestions? I found one I think I like in Napeli Bay and then one also on Sugar Beach. Are those good locations?

February to March are great because the whales are in.....weather is great....

For a first timer to Hawaii, would you suggest a cruise (we love to cruise and have done 8, or stay on an island for a week? If the later, which island?

Dutch Harbor PH wrote:

PHarmGirl wrote:This is really helpful.

Pharmboy and I are planning a trip to Hawaii for our big 5-0's.

When is the best time of year to go? We are looking at the end of December 2007 through first week of January 2008, March 2008 (Spring Break), or anytime in the summer of 2008. We've never been, I want to stay in Oahu 2-3 days and Maui 4-5 days. From what I've read online, it is more rainy in the winter, but that's whale season. Water is a little warmer in the summer. Stay on the southwest side of Maui, right, for calmer waters for snorkeling??

Condos seem the way to go for us, or B&B's. Any suggestions? I found one I think I like in Napeli Bay and then one also on Sugar Beach. Are those good locations?

February to March are great because the whales are in.....weather is great....

One of my best buddies had his 50 on the corner room of the pioneer inn in Lahaina (the corner room has balconies on both the Banayan tree park and on front street overlooking each...it is a small suite though.....). There were about 12 of us that flew over to celebrate (his birthday is December 31...) his birthday and new years in the islands......a lot of fun.... we drank a lot of beer on the balcony, watched all the tourists trying to parallel park, listened to Erik Peitch play across the street and then came back to the Inn for more drunken behaviour.....not bad at all!!

http://pioneerinnmaui.com/

Maui webcams:
http://www.tiki.net/~rw/video/video.html

Enjoy!!!!

PHarmGirl wrote:This is really helpful.

Pharmboy and I are planning a trip to Hawaii for our big 5-0's.

When is the best time of year to go? We are looking at the end of December 2007 through first week of January 2008, March 2008 (Spring Break), or anytime in the summer of 2008. We've never been, I want to stay in Oahu 2-3 days and Maui 4-5 days. From what I've read online, it is more rainy in the winter, but that's whale season. Water is a little warmer in the summer. Stay on the southwest side of Maui, right, for calmer waters for snorkeling??

Condos seem the way to go for us, or B&B's. Any suggestions? I found one I think I like in Napeli Bay and then one also on Sugar Beach. Are those good locations?

A few tips from someone already out here...

1. Avoid Oahu. If you really want to see Pearl Harbor, fly over for the day. If you dumped the LA traffic in South Beach, you'd have Oahu. It's awful. Hit Kauai and Big Island instead.
2. If you are making a once in a lifetime trip, do not miss Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Words can't describe it.
3. Your available dates are the three busiest times of the year and it will be crowded, especially summer. The weeks before Xmas are some of the slowest for tourism which means more space and better deals.
4. Deduct one star from all listings to even out mainland expectations with Hawaiian service standards.
5. The water is never really that cold. I snorkel year round and never really notice a big difference.

caly wrote:For a first timer to Hawaii, would you suggest a cruise (we love to cruise and have done 8, or stay on an island for a week? If the later, which island?

I deal with guests off the ruise boats daily. They don't look too good.

I'd make a week out of it on an island. Depends what you are looking for on which island to choose:

1. Big malls. Traffic. Crime. Visit Oahu.
2. Beautiful scenery with upscale accomodations. Visit Maui.
3. Natural wonders but limited options (and expensive!). Visit Kauai.
4. Flowing lava, sunset at 14,000 feet, and some wicked 5 star resorts (the Hilton that JB played in 2005 is terrific). Visit Hawaii.

The island of Hawaii can fill a week while the others you can knock out in 3-4 days.

cowboyjunkie wrote:

caly wrote:For a first timer to Hawaii, would you suggest a cruise (we love to cruise and have done 8, or stay on an island for a week? If the later, which island?

I deal with guests off the ruise boats daily. They don't look too good.

I'd make a week out of it on an island. Depends what you are looking for on which island to choose:

1. Big malls. Traffic. Crime. Visit Oahu.
2. Beautiful scenery with upscale accomodations. Visit Maui.
3. Natural wonders but limited options (and expensive!). Visit Kauai.
4. Flowing lava, sunset at 14,000 feet, and some wicked 5 star resorts (the Hilton that JB played in 2005 is terrific). Visit Hawaii.

The island of Hawaii can fill a week while the others you can knock out in 3-4 days.

Awesome......thanks!

We've currently stayed on Oahu (4 days), Maui (one week), Kauai (one week), and the Big Island(one week).

My choice would be the Big Island. (We are currently planning a trip back there) Tons of stuff to see---we were there a week and didn't cover nearly all of it. The volcanoes park is fabulous.

Maui was busy. Lots of traffic. Pretty though.

Oahu was also busy and not quite as scenic. Cool restaurants and bars though and some great shopping.

Kauai was very pretty, quite rural. We didn't see it at its best...it rained the whole time we were there.

One thing that surprised us was that so many of the beaches are not suitable for swimming. Everywhere we went there were signs warning you how dangerous that particular beach was... (this was true on all the islands) We were always there during the winter...Maybe it is better in the summer.

We did find a few places to snorkel, but the beaches for snorkeling are nothing compared to those in the Caribbean as far as I'm concerned.

Have fun! Aloha!

I'll definitely read what Chippawah said.

I agree on the Maui Revealed book. They have them on the other islands as well and they are well worth getting. Kind of an "insider's view" of places to go, where to eat and things to do.

Unless you are fearless and athletic. I would recommend skipping the bicycle trip down Haleakala. I had friends who did it (or tried anyway) and they said it was very definitely something they'd skip next time.l

Snorkeling at Molokini was nice. It was kinda rough the day we went, but we did see whales on the way out. (February)

We stayed at a low rise place on the beach called Napili Kai. Nice quiet place...We enjoyed it, but it is away from the strip of hotels/action.

If it is raining hard the day you have to go to the airport to leave, get started really early. (The road has a tendency to flood)

nutmeg wrote:
My choice would be the Big Island. (We are currently planning a trip back there) Tons of stuff to see---we were there a week and didn't cover nearly all of it. The volcanoes park is fabulous.

I've been here almost 3 years and I still haven't seen all of Big Island. Its a trippy place. Just when I think I miss Denver, I stumble across a new beach or find myself swimming with a manta ray.

Give a listen to www.manaoradio.com on the net before you go to get you in the mood. It is on 91.5 FM when yopu get there. It is a listener supported commercial free station that plays everything. One minute they might play an early Fleetwood Mac song, the next a local artist, followed by Pink Floyd.

One of their occasional fill in DJ's will be recognized by any one from Boston who was there from the late 60's to 2000, Charles Laquidara.

I surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Ho'okipa Bay.
It's just east of the airport, on the road to Hana,
and has some the most intense waves you'll find on Maui.

Watching the locals surfing, and windsurfing will just take your breath away!

My husband and I vacationed in Maui three times but not for a few years. Friends of ours were just there and followed our recommendations though and had a good time. Check out Longhi's- an Italian restaurant in Lahaina that used to have a verbal menu but my friends said they don't anymore but the food was still fantastic. The Hana drive is well worth it. We also loved going to Haleakala at sunrise- but bring a sweatshirt because it is chilly up there. I wonder if that cruise to Lanai is the one we went on many years ago on a sailboat- that trip left from Lahaina and the snorkling was great! Have a wonderful time!

Val

Maui is my FAVORITE island! DH and I got married there in January '99. In my opinion, Ka'anapaali Beach is the best. We stayed at the Westin, which was awesome! Look for the massages on the beach- you can't beat it! We were also there in February 2003. You definately need to go during whale season which is November-March. Sitting out on a catamaran, watching for the tails, it's WAY cool! February tends to get more rain, so I would recommend January. Plus, what a better way to wind down from the stressful holiday season??!! It truly is paradise here- nowhere else I've been- Mexico...Caribbean...can compare! Have fun!!!

Thanks for all the tips. We are leaving tomorrow morning.
Almost all packed, have the disposable underwater camera for snorkeling, made reservations at the Old Lahaina Luau and Mama's Fish House. We are going to stay a few days on the south side of the island and a couple days in Hana to get some quality hiking in. Got the jacket packed for the sunrise hike up Haleakala. We have out Maui Revealed book highlighted and in hand.
Mahalo

ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!

Beach Bob wrote:Thanks for all the tips. We are leaving tomorrow morning.
Almost all packed, have the disposable underwater camera for snorkeling, made reservations at the Old Lahaina Luau and Mama's Fish House. We are going to stay a few days on the south side of the island and a couple days in Hana to get some quality hiking in. Got the jacket packed for the sunrise hike up Haleakala. We have out Maui Revealed book highlighted and in hand.
Mahalo

ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!

Bob, have a great trip!

Val