Going to Maui: sight-seeing recommendations

[Bier Meister 1,613]

6 minutes ago, DonS said:

Getting c0ck blocked.  Only available time this entire weekend is just before noon tomorrow, but we'll be on another snorkeling trip.  Oh well.  These first world problems are a b1tch. 

we walked in twice at star noodle.

[DonS 3,261]

5 minutes ago, Bier Meister said:

we walked in twice at star noodle.

In Covid times?  Website states that due to Covid its reservation only. 

Not a biggie as we're doing Feast at Lele on Saturday night.  Going to check out a nearby low key tiki bar tonight. 

[Gladiators 1,960]

4 minutes ago, DonS said:

In Covid times?  Website states that due to Covid its reservation only. 

Not a biggie as we're doing Feast at Lele on Saturday night.  Going to check out a nearby low key tiki bar tonight. 

Tell them you’re friends with Bier.

[Bier Meister 1,613]

4 minutes ago, DonS said:

In Covid times?  Website states that due to Covid its reservation only. 

Not a biggie as we're doing Feast at Lele on Saturday night.  Going to check out a nearby low key tiki bar tonight. 

walked in twice for lunch.  

[DonS 3,261]

4 hours ago, Bier Meister said:

walked in twice for lunch.  

Don't think I want to drive all that way on the off chance we could get in.  We'll certainly be coming back here, though, so I'll book Star Noodle and Merriman's in advance. 

[DonS 3,261]

Went to this place tonight in Kihei:

South Shore Tiki Lounge
(808) 874-6444
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ungG7XZzYvGpLA9C7

Small place with live music 4-6.  My wife was as happy as a pig in sh1t as she sang along with all the other middle aged folks as the dude w acoustic guitar played songs from the 60s and 70s.  He also did an excellent cover of Men At Work's "Overkill". 

I might have joined in on Eagles' "Take It Easy" after a couple of zombies.

Edit: zombies came with a float of this dark rum.  Had to look up what OTFD meant on the menu but g0ddamn it was tasty.

https://www.plantationrum.com/oftd

[cmh6476 934]

just sent this to some people I know who have been to Hawaii on multiple occassions:

Quote

 

Looks like we’ll be in Kihei on Maalaea Bay.  We get in July 25 (mon) and depart July 31 (Sun).   Our Mama’s Fish House reservations are on Thu, the 28^th and when I pull up google maps it’s about a 30 min. drive.

 

Now I just need to figure out some other things we want to do during the week.  If you have any suggestions, that would be great.  I think my fiancee would like to go to a lu’au.  I’m also curious about transportation, and how many days if any we’d want to try and get a rental car, or if service like uber are adequate.

 

Thanks, we’re both really excited!

 

 

[DonS 3,261]

Sea turtles b1tches! 

We went on an 1.5 snorkeling tour at Turtle Town with an outfit called Zephyr Adventures.  Small groups and the guide uploads all the pics and videos that he takes throughout the excursion. 

https://www.zephyrmaui.com/video-snorkel

 

[DonS 3,261]

3 hours ago, cmh6476 said:

just sent this to some people I know who have been to Hawaii on multiple occassions:

 

Where in Kihei will you be staying? 

[Bier Meister 1,613]

8 minutes ago, DonS said:

Sea turtles b1tches! 

We went on an 1.5 snorkeling tour at Turtle Town with an outfit called Zephyr Adventures.  Small groups and the guide uploads all the pics and videos that he takes throughout the excursion. 

https://www.zephyrmaui.com/video-snorkel

 

[Gladiators 1,960]

21 minutes ago, DonS said:

Sea turtles b1tches! 

We went on an 1.5 snorkeling tour at Turtle Town with an outfit called Zephyr Adventures.  Small groups and the guide uploads all the pics and videos that he takes throughout the excursion. 

https://www.zephyrmaui.com/video-snorkel

 

Awesome! I see a manatee too!

[wiffleball 4,763]

1 minute ago, Gladiators said:

Awesome! I see a manatee too!

Dude, that's his wife.

[cmh6476 934]

41 minutes ago, DonS said:

Where in Kihei will you be staying? 

Right next to kaeka beach :dunno:

[DonS 3,261]

2 hours ago, cmh6476 said:

Right next to kaeka beach :dunno:

Looks like you're farther south than where we are.  Closer to the bar area.

[DonS 3,261]

6 hours ago, wiffleball said:

Dude, that's his wife.

IT'S MA'AM-A-TEE!!!

 

[cmh6476 934]

I'm trying to build out an itinerary.  And figure out when to reserve a car for.

Get in Monday the 25th, and it looks like a 20 minute drive from the airport to Kihei, so I just assume we would take a taxi to the condo.

Tuesday the 26th not really planning much, just kind of a low-key, get settled and relax kind of day

Wed the 27th thinking road to Hana.  Maybe get the rental planned to have this day to drive ourselves and do things on our time.

Thu the 28th we have dinner at Big Mama's, so would probably be good to have a car this day to make the trip.  And then maybe plan to have a car Wed - Fri and planning activities that we would need a car for those days.  Maybe build in snorkeling either Thursday or Friday,

Sat the 29th find a luau, and hopefully not need a car and find other means of transportation.

Then we head out Sunday, and just grab a taxi or uber back to the aiport.

 

Is this starting to sound reasonable?

[wiffleball 4,763]

You should go to Hawaiin McDonald's. It's like a whole different thing there. 

[Bier Meister 1,613]

@cmh6476

 

that all sounds fine. I like having a car for the whole trip… it provides me with flexibility. If you don’t have your own, rent some snorkel gear for the week. Snorkeling trips are great, plus there are a lot of good spots from beach access on your own

 

do you know what time you will arrive the first day?  You will gain 4-5 hours.  If you have a car, you can grab some groceries at Costco for the condo.  We like making breakfast and dining out for lunch and dinner… but you might want to do some of that yourselves.

 

I really like the sunrise at Haleakala bike ride

you might like surf lessons

we have done a kayak with dolphins

we just did a sunset sail (scotch must)… smaller boat

 

 

[5-Points 3,216]

Little Beach. 

[cmh6476 934]

45 minutes ago, Bier Meister said:

@cmh6476

 

that all sounds fine. I like having a car for the whole trip… it provides me with flexibility. If you don’t have your own, rent some snorkel gear for the week. Snorkeling trips are great, plus there are a lot of good spots from beach access on your own

 

do you know what time you will arrive the first day?  You will gain 4-5 hours.  If you have a car, you can grab some groceries at Costco for the condo.  We like making breakfast and dining out for lunch and dinner… but you might want to do some of that yourselves.

 

I really like the sunrise at Haleakala bike ride

you might like surf lessons

we have done a kayak with dolphins

we just did a sunset sail (scotch must)… smaller boat

 

 

I think we land at 1:30 pm on Monday.  The rental cars don't seem that expensive.  Maybe I'll just get one from hertz for the week, then we can still uber places or walk  if we both want to drink.

 

4 hr time change from CST?

[cmh6476 934]

Re: the bike ride down, that seems intimidating to the misses.  With the time change it doesn't seem like waking up early would be a challenge.  But is the biking?

[Bier Meister 1,613]

3 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

Re: the bike ride down, that seems intimidating to the misses.  With the time change it doesn't seem like waking up early would be a challenge.  But is the biking?

I am certainly not going to push it.

most tours take you up to the top via van.  You cost downhill for about 7 miles until you reach the beach, where the van meets you. Look it over and see it works for you guys.  I’ve done is several times and really like it… but you guys need to be comfortable.

 

when we do it, we like booking it early in the trip… so much easier to wake up when not fully adjusted Hawaiian time zone.  
 

also… just the way we like to do things… we like booking our activities for mornings so we can have afternoons and evenings to chill

[DonS 3,261]

22 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

I think we land at 1:30 pm on Monday.  The rental cars don't seem that expensive.  Maybe I'll just get one from hertz for the week, then we can still uber places or walk  if we both want to drink.

 

4 hr time change from CST?

I'd go with the rental car if I was you as we did drive quite a bit. 

We only used an Uber to go to the Feast at Lele (luau) and that was ~$50 each way. 

[tanatastic 2,062]

On 2/24/2022 at 3:16 PM, Bier Meister said:

Now that I think about it, what ever happened to taint?

 

@tanatastic  you ok?

Yes thanks for the concern. 

[Bier Meister 1,613]

1 hour ago, tanatastic said:

Yes thanks for the concern. 

 

my best

[cmh6476 934]

I have just about everything lined up for my honeymoon in July.  I sent this email to a couple people I knew that gave me advice.  The future mrs. doesn't want it to be all danny tanner clipboard worthy, but I feel like I've created a decent balance of activities and downtime.  What ya fools think?

Quote

 

I’ve got quite a bit of activities scheduled, and also built in some optional places on the calendar to eat if we want, leaving flexibility if we just want to play it by ear.  Also realizing once we get in, it’s 5 am Hawaii time when we’re used to 10 am is going to take a bit of an adjustment.

Monday – get in around 1 pm and I see Monkeypod is close and has happy hour from 3:30 – 5:00 pm, so if we get there at 4 pm it’ll be 9 our time to grab a bit to eat then wind down afterwards.

Tuesday – just added two restaurant options and one reservation to give us a lot of flexibility:

• Kihei Caffe – opens at 5 am, or 10 am our time
• Coconuts Fish Caffé
• Reservations confirmed at Hali’imaile General Store at 5pm (10 pm our time)

Wednesday – I’m going to try and book a reservation for the Haleakala Sunrise Summit, which I believe open 60 days in advance.  Then 3:15 pm confirmed reservations at Mama’s Fish House.

Thursday – I booked a Four Winds AM Molokini Snorkel, which includes breakfast, lunch, complimentary beverages and snorkel gear.  It does say optional snuba on board for $69 plus tax.    Then later than night we’re booked for the Feast at Lele.

Friday I scheduled similar to Tuesday to keep an open day, in addition to a Dinner Sunset Cruise that night in Lahaina.  It says we check-in at the Pacific Whale Foundation Store.

• Kula Bistro – opens at 7:30 am
• Maui Tacos

For Saturday, I figured we would keep the morning open to see if we felt up to the Road to Hana.  Then I’m going to try and get reservations at Merriman’s, but those appear to open 30 days prior and seem to book up quickly.  My calendar is set to remind me.

 

 

 

[huskyhater75 242]

On 2/6/2022 at 8:02 AM, Bier Meister said:

food: hula grill
leilanis
tommy Bahama (marlin grill, not the one down south). good but what you would expect

edit: mrs had a very good poke salad at Tommy’s

maui tacos
star noodle for a late lunch right now

lahaina fish co.  fine but better pacific seafood elsewhere 

merriman’s

banyan tree at ritz-Carlton

malasadas

captain jacks

the girls went for shave ice almost every day. I’ll try to find the name

Went to Maui, and no golf??????????? WTF?

[Bier Meister 1,613]

7 hours ago, huskyhater75 said:

Went to Maui, and no golf??????????? WTF?

Not my thing.

 

my father has been playing for as long as I can recall. Almost all of our vacations were to golf destinations.  I have played on amazing courses. I don’t like the game. 

[DonS 3,261]

9 hours ago, cmh6476 said:

I have just about everything lined up for my honeymoon in July.  I sent this email to a couple people I knew that gave me advice.  The future mrs. doesn't want it to be all danny tanner clipboard worthy, but I feel like I've created a decent balance of activities and downtime.  What ya fools think?

 

 

We did that same snorkeling trip w Four Winds.  They were excellent.

[Bier Meister 1,613]

@cmh6476

 

it is a fine itinerary.  a few places i would try to work in:

hula grill for either lunch or sunset

or leilani's or monkey pod

 

Star Noodle

 

Don mentioned a tiki bar that looks right up my alley.

 

While i tend to be a planner, I like to ensure downtime.  you have a lot going on.  I hope you are able to relax a little

[cyclone24 1,912]

25 minutes ago, Bier Meister said:

@cmh6476

 

it is a fine itinerary.  a few places i would try to work in:

hula grill for either lunch or sunset

or leilani's or monkey pod

 

Star Noodle

 

Don mentioned a tiki bar that looks right up my alley.

 

While i tend to be a planner, I like to ensure downtime.  you have a lot going on.  I hope you are able to relax a little

Seconding Leilanis and Hula Grill.

Merrimans if you didnt list that…

[Bier Meister 1,613]

5 minutes ago, cyclone24 said:

Seconding Leilanis and Hula Grill.

Merrimans if you didnt list that…

i've been pimping merriman's for 20 years here at the gc.  I think he knows about it and is trying.

fwiw: hula grill, monkey pod, and moku kitchen (honolulu) are all from this chef

[cyclone24 1,912]

17 minutes ago, Bier Meister said:

i've been pimping merriman's for 20 years here at the gc.  I think he knows about it and is trying.

fwiw: hula grill, monkey pod, and moku kitchen (honolulu) are all from this chef

Yeah if you can get a seat closer to outside it’s one of the most beautiful places I think I’ve ever had dinner. 
 

We even went to the one in Kauai a few weeks back. Great food. 

[DonS 3,261]

1 hour ago, Bier Meister said:

@cmh6476

Don mentioned a tiki bar that looks right up my alley.

 

We went to that Tiki bar at happy hour / dinner time.  Seems that the musician we saw (Steve Craig) plays every Thursday 4-6.  Good for drunken middle aged sing alongs especially after a couple zombies. 

We didn't get there until about 5 so we missed half his set and had to wait for a table, so I would aim for getting there before 4.

https://www.southshoretiki.com/2022/04/entertainment-calendar/

 

[taco breath 424]

https://www.onecoralreef.org/

[IGotWorms 4,053]

On 2/27/2022 at 11:32 AM, Bier Meister said:

I am certainly not going to push it.

most tours take you up to the top via van.  You cost downhill for about 7 miles until you reach the beach, where the van meets you. Look it over and see it works for you guys.  I’ve done is several times and really like it… but you guys need to be comfortable.

 

when we do it, we like booking it early in the trip… so much easier to wake up when not fully adjusted Hawaiian time zone.  
 

also… just the way we like to do things… we like booking our activities for mornings so we can have afternoons and evenings to chill

I did a bike tour where they stayed with you the whole time. Guy in front leading the way on bike and a van bringing up the rear sorta boxing out any cars coming down from that side of the roadway. Felt totally safe. Other helpful thing is since you’re doing it so early in the morning, basically all the traffic is going the other way up the mountain.

Anyway, I highly recommend it. That bike tour, the Nakalele blowhole, the Garden of Eden arboretum, and the Pipiwai Trail were probably the most memorable things we did on Maui

[IGotWorms 4,053]

12 hours ago, cmh6476 said:

I have just about everything lined up for my honeymoon in July.  I sent this email to a couple people I knew that gave me advice.  The future mrs. doesn't want it to be all danny tanner clipboard worthy, but I feel like I've created a decent balance of activities and downtime.  What ya fools think?

 

 

I would do the Road to Hana for sure. Garden of Eden arboretum and Pipiwai Trail are along the way and awesome, there’s a number of other great stops too. Start early (like 7am) and go all the way around to Kihei. Backside of the island is incredible

Get a convertible for your rental

[IGotWorms 4,053]

Duke’s and Star Noodle were awesome. Really liked Mala Ocean Tavern well.

I must say, we weren’t really enamored with Sansei. Might’ve just caught em on a bad night or something though.

If you go by Lahaina, be sure to check out the Banyan tree park.

[taco breath 424]

went there for week in the 90's.

played with the Sun Valley team in an ultimate frisbee tournament.

looks like things arent going so well

https://hawaii.ultimatecentral.com/

it was in january and the pga event was going on next door to the polo fields where we played.

almost died boogie boreding.  

[Bier Meister 1,613]

8 minutes ago, IGotWorms said:

 

I must say, we weren’t really enamored with Sansei. Might’ve just caught em on a bad night or something though.

 

which one did you visit?  I love them. they are pretty high on my japanese list and I have been to nobu, morimoto, etc