Hello everyone
It’s been only 24 hrs since we arrived in Maui and I don’t ever want to leave. But everyone says that, so I won’t bore you with how wonderful Maui is…
Instead, let me use this post to share some “tips” on how to really get the most of your vacation here.
First buy the book “Maui Revealed”. It is a great book to read on the plane and it is chocked full of terrific tips and recommendations. The author is very objective because he makes no money on sponsorship or advertising – just book sales. So you know you are getting good advice from a local person who lives on the island and continually (and anomously) checks up on all the restaurants, tours, etc. He’s a good writer – easy to read and very friendly and not afraid to be blunt about the good and the bad. Not a stuffy travel guide at all. Almost reads like a blog.
Second, fly direct if you can. I have heard from other travelers that having to go through Honolulu to get here is really not pleasant. We live in Vancouver, so we drove to Seattle the night before and took a direct flight to Maui on Hawaiian Airlines. It doesn’t have to be expensive to stay near the airport. We found that Sutton Suites was just fine – basic...king bed, clean, but definitely NOT fancy. For less than $100, we got our room and 7 days parking for our car. Given we are staying over 1 night on the return at the same place, we ended up with all of our airport parking paid for with the two rooms and they have a free shuttle to the airport 24 hrs a day.
At the airport...
A funny thing happened when we got there. We were, of course, carrying our golf clubs with us (boy do I wish I had the club caddy from the Golf Channel’s Fore Inventors Only!!!). Anyway, you have to take an elevator to get to the departures floor, so I had our overpacked suitcases on one cart and Charles had the golf clubs on another. When the elevator arrived, there was only room for 1 of us, so I told Charles to go ahead and I’d meet him upstairs. Well, apparently when the doors closed, another guy in the elevator piped up and said, “Well, isn’t that interesting…the golf clubs are more important than the wife!”. Ha ha…
Hawaiian Airlines was great. We booked business class for around $3K for both of us (well, that may seem like a lot until you check out Air Canada and other expensive airlines) and we really enjoyed the service (AND the food, if you can believe it). I usually hate airline food, but they did some tapa-like dishes that were very tasty (tandoori chicken and crab cake with spicy mango/pepper salsa for example). Lots of champagne flowed, which I love to drink when I head out on vacation. And they gave you those little mini movie viewers to watch lots of different movies, tv shows, etc.
The flight was less than 6 hours and so 2 movies later, we were here. Don’t you love getting off the plane and feeling the heat and humidity of the islands (if you are Canadian you must ;)).
In Hawaii, be patient at the baggage claim. Those first class tabs they put on your luggage don’t mean anything. I think my bag was one of the last to arrive. It was about ½ wait to get our luggage.
Rental car…a must in Maui. Be sure to book a car with some kind of “preferred” program. I booked through Avis and they drove us right to our car, so we didn’t have the lug our bags around. With 2 huge suitcases, 2 sets of clubs and 2 laptop bags, this was a very pleasant treat. The other 10 passengers in the shuttle had to get off at the office and drag their stuff around after checking in at the desk – more line ups and more delayed gratification of getting on the road....
Cosco was right outside the airport and so if you are staying a while, stock up on staples (water water water) and wine, beer, of course. Since we were at a condo, we also bought the basics for lunches and breakfasts. It is very expensive to shop in Maui, so take your bargains where you can get them.
The drive to Lahaina was very nice, but traffic was a bummer so it took awhile. Again, patience is needed on the roads here, no matter what time of day it seems. Funny...later in the week, it didn't bother us a bit...Ah...Maui time...
Now the really good part – our condo…
It is a gem – a real gem. We are just north of Lahaina right on the water. It’s a 1 bedroom with king bed and full kitchen and everything provided that you could possibly need - even beach towels, boogy boards, coolers, etc. The balcony (lanai) is large enough to eat dinner on and the view is breathtaking. Here is the sunset view from a restaurant that is just down from our condo...
And here is the morning view from our lanai…btw…these pictures don’t do it justice.
The owner, Jan, is extremely meticulous about the place – and all the comforts of home are here and it was very clean. Two TV’s – bedroom and living room AND…the Golf Channel – woohoo – I can keep up with the Fantasy Four golf while I’m here. She has thought of everything – even a white noise maker in the bedroom to drown out the traffic from the road at night if it gets noisy in the back room. As for the internet, if you work on the lanai, there is an 802.11g wireless connection out there (not found when in the condo, so get outside). I'm using it here and it's great. I can hear the waves crashing and watch the turtles play while I type this posting.
Yup, sea turtles and apparently whales too (they arrive in November)…the guest book is full of descriptions of what others have seen from the lanai. Here's a little video I shot of the view and of our resident turtles.
The island across the way is Lana'i. It is famous for a funny (romantic?) reason. In 1994 on New Year's Day, this island became one of the most exclusive places on earth. Why? A wedding...a very expensive wedding. Willie Nelson entertained and 130 guests attended. Well...that doesn't sound too fancy, but wait...The groom rented every hotel room on the island and kept most of them empty. He chartered every helicopter on Maui and paid them NOT to fly. Then he hired security - lots and lots of security - to keep everyone except his 130 guests away. Who was this eccentric groom? The richest man in the world - Bill Gates. Happy to see his marriage has lasted all these years given the $1M price tag for the wedding!
Anyway...You really should check this rental out here. The pictures she offers are bang on - it's that beautiful. Here are a few I took myself...
And it’s waaaay less expensive than the big hotels and so quiet (if you don't mind waves crashing on the shore) and private. We just love it! BTW…I almost thought I shouldn’t share this with you as it will get so popular I’ll have trouble booking it again – hee hee…
Well…that was our first day.
Next day…golfing at Old Blue Wailea. Stay tuned…
Golfgal
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