Pride of America Maui

Doing POA December 26. Spending 2 days on Maui. Very confused.

Want to do Road to Hana, IAO Valley, Lahaina and beach I know this is too ambitious

Any suggestions on how to get a lot in in two days??

Thanks!!

Doing POA December 26. Spending 2 days on Maui. Very confused.

Want to do Road to Hana, IAO Valley, Lahaina and beach I know this is too ambitious

Any suggestions on how to get a lot in in two days??

 

Thanks!!

This is easily doable your own rental car instead of excursions. I would do RTH on day one so that it does not matter what time you get back. We had a flat tire once on that road and good thing we were not on a cruise. Be aware that if you take advantage of stopping frequently to see waterfalls and other sights you are looking at probably 8-10 hours.

Personally, I would ditch the RTH in favor of a beautiful more relaxing drive up to the summit of Haleakala. This is beautiful country with spectacular views. You could detour a bit on the way back and go through the little town of Paia which has some neat shops and restaurants. This route brings you back out on 36 not far from the ship. You could do IAO needle at the beginning of the day if you wanted.

Get an early start on day 2 and swing by IAO Needle if you did not do it the day before. You won't need much time here, and then continue on toward Lahaina. Are you going to Kaanapali Beach just beyond Lahaina? You could enjoy the beachtime first and then stop at Lahaina on the way back.

EDIT: just remembered that the POA now docks at 10:00 am in Maui. You might want to consider heading out to Lahaina/ Beach on day one. You could beach and have lunch at one of the toes in the sand beach front restaurants and then head to Lahaina for some exploring. Lahaina has a couple of good Luaus, I believe, so you could make it a late evening before you head back to the ship. Then start very early the next day for either RTH or Haleakala.

This is easily doable your own rental car instead of excursions. I would do RTH on day one so that it does not matter what time you get back. We had a flat tire once on that road and good thing we were not on a cruise. Be aware that if you take advantage of stopping frequently to see waterfalls and other sights you are looking at probably 8-10 hours.

 

Personally, I would ditch the RTH in favor of a beautiful more relaxing drive up to the summit of Haleakala. This is beautiful country with spectacular views. You could detour a bit on the way back and go through the little town of Paia which has some neat shops and restaurants. This route brings you back out on 36 not far from the ship. You could do IAO needle at the beginning of the day if you wanted.

 

Get an early start on day 2 and swing by IAO Needle if you did not do it the day before. You won't need much time here, and then continue on toward Lahaina. Are you going to Kaanapali Beach just beyond Lahaina? You could enjoy the beachtime first and then stop at Lahaina on the way back.

 

EDIT: just remembered that the POA now docks at 10:00 am in Maui. You might want to consider heading out to Lahaina/ Beach on day one. You could beach and have lunch at one of the toes in the sand beach front restaurants and then head to Lahaina for some exploring. Lahaina has a couple of good Luaus, I believe, so you could make it a late evening before you head back to the ship. Then start very early the next day for either RTH or Haleakala.

Mahola Brenda and Vance for these suggestions

I did hear Haleakala is amazing!!

EDIT: just remembered that the POA now docks at 10:00 am in Maui. You might want to consider heading out to Lahaina/ Beach on day one. You could beach and have lunch at one of the toes in the sand beach front restaurants and then head to Lahaina for some exploring. Lahaina has a couple of good Luaus, I believe, so you could make it a late evening before you head back to the ship. Then start very early the next day for either RTH or Haleakala.

According to the Kahului Harbor cruise ship schedule, the POA docks at 7:30 a.m. every Sunday. Are we misinformed??

The only change to the POAm schedule of late .... is it now arrives in Kauai at 10am instead of 8am. No changes to Maui.

Be aware that the car park at Whalers Village is 3 bucks for 30 mins!

We were there for just under one hour and paid 6 bucks!

Be aware that the car park at Whalers Village is 3 bucks for 30 mins!

 

We were there for just under one hour and paid 6 bucks!

wow that's pricey!! thanks for letting me know

According to the Kahului Harbor cruise ship schedule, the POA docks at 7:30 a.m. every Sunday. Are we misinformed??

Oops, so sorry! Yes, it is Kauai not Maui which has the 10:00 am arrival.

wow that's pricey!! thanks for letting me know

I don't know how we managed, but we parked at Whalers Village in 2014 and paid nothing. I thought nothing of it until I read info on here about people paying. Someone said that there is a section of free parking for beach goers only. Perhaps this is where we parked? Also, I read reports that if you make a purchase at one of the shops, maybe restaurants too, they will validate any parking. So, when you arrive check around the area a little for the free zone.

I don't know how we managed, but we parked at Whalers Village in 2014 and paid nothing. I thought nothing of it until I read info on here about people paying. Someone said that there is a section of free parking for beach goers only. Perhaps this is where we parked? Also, I read reports that if you make a purchase at one of the shops, maybe restaurants too, they will validate any parking. So, when you arrive check around the area a little for the free zone.

Will do!!Thanks again

I agree with NOT doing the Hana trip...it's fun if you're trying to kill an entire day...but there are so many other things...skip that one...save it for a land vacation when you have PLENTY of time.

Have you checked out wendycook22's thread - Maui-Hana-Haleakala-Kaanapali - Good info there. Sightseeing is so personal. Personally, I am not a Haleakala fan, especially if able to see VNP. I would rather do a portion of the RTH and the other things on your schedule. JMO Cherie

Have you checked out wendycook22's thread - Maui-Hana-Haleakala-Kaanapali - Good info there. Sightseeing is so personal. Personally, I am not a Haleakala fan, especially if able to see VNP. I would rather do a portion of the RTH and the other things on your schedule. JMO Cherie

Mahalo for taking the time to respond!!

I agree with NOT doing the Hana trip...it's fun if you're trying to kill an entire day...but there are so many other things...skip that one...save it for a land vacation when you have PLENTY of time.

Mahalo for taking the time to respond!!

The RTH is pretty overrated in my opinion. There are just as many pretty sights around the island and you won't have to spend all day in lines of heavy traffic to see it. If you scan the boards here you'll notice a lot of people saying that they had a nice time, but they would never do it again.

Haleakala was breathtaking.

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Mahola Brenda and Vance for these suggestions

 

I did hear Haleakala is amazing!!

Haleakala IS amazing! So is the RTH! You won't regret either!

Haleakala IS amazing! So is the RTH! You won't regret either!

Mahalo Bitsey 66 Did you drive to Haleakala or take tour? I don't think I could drive that far up a mountain!!

Mahalo Bitsey 66 Did you drive to Haleakala or take tour? I don't think I could drive that far up a mountain!!

Driving up Haleakala is easy peasy. I am a white knuckler and I could drive it myself. It is not at all scary. You are increasing in elevation very gradually and there are no scary drop offs. The views are simply amazing. So worth it to drive it yourself and be able to linger at pull offs and the summit as long as you want rather than just get glimpses from the window of a tour bus as you zoom by. And so many things to see and do on the road there and back.

Totally disagree with no scary drop off!

Close your eyes as you approach a bend at high altitude and see what happens! :-)

Couldnt believe the number of spots at the higher levels where there were no barriers!

We went in the middle of the day and it was spectacular, with the whole of Maui covered in cloud.

The higher we got the wife started to stress - even when we got out at the car park! :-)

There really needs to be some barriers put in place, because if anything goes wrong, it looks like you would plummet thousands of feet through the clouds! :-)

I think the road up to Haleakala summit is quite safe if you don't speed - the road is in excellent condition and I don't think guard rails are needed for every curve because the drop offs in most places aren't that far down.

But if the driver and/or passengers are overly nervous and have never driven on a winding road that ascends to a higher elevation - probably a different drive would be a better choice.

Totally disagree with no scary drop off!

Close your eyes as you approach a bend at high altitude and see what happens! :-)

 

Couldnt believe the number of spots at the higher levels where there were no barriers!

 

We went in the middle of the day and it was spectacular, with the whole of Maui covered in cloud.

 

The higher we got the wife started to stress - even when we got out at the car park! :-)

 

There really needs to be some barriers put in place, because if anything goes wrong, it looks like you would plummet thousands of feet through the clouds! :-)

Don't be so dramatic. It's an easy drive and you can't "plummet thousands of feet".

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Well we must have taken a different route to the top, because there were plenty of spots where you could have disappeared thru the clouds if your car lost control! :-)

Even at the top where they were resurfacing - no barriers & a very long drop if you veered off the road!

Just googled a quick look at Haleakala car plunges and there have been a few, with one plumetting 250 feet and also others including deaths where there were no barriers!

Well we must have taken a different route to the top, because there were plenty of spots where you could have disappeared thru the clouds if your car lost control! :-)

Even at the top where they were resurfacing - no barriers & a very long drop if you veered off the road!

 

Just googled a quick look at Haleakala car plunges and there have been a few, with one plumetting 250 feet and also others including deaths where there were no barriers!

It seems that what unnerved you was the fact that you could not see because of the fog. But I think you are over exaggerating the danger. I googled accidents at Haleakala and found one fatal accident in 2007 which the article stated was the first in more than 20 years. The car was near the summit but did not fall thousands of feet, but something like 40 feet. It is believed that the driver fell asleep and also speed was a possible factor.

I saw a report of a 2015 accident near Kula in which the driver left the road and hit an embankment. No huge drop off involved, just an accident like those which happen near your home on a regular basis.

I could not find an official speed limit listed in my search, but saw reference to 20 mph by other reviewers, and this sounds about right for the speed we probably maintained for the drive up Crater Road.

Could you drive off the road and injure yourself? Yes. But why, at 20 mph, or less if conditions warrant, on a well maintained road, would you do that? Extremely unlikely. If you ever have the chance, go again early in the day when there is good visibility. You will probably find that it does not look nearly as scary without the fog. If you want to see a scary road, take the drive out of Jerome Az. Now that is a mountain road!

We went in the middle of the day and there was no fog at all.

I think the view where we were well above the clouds, got to my wife who started to pannick, and because of her this got my palms sweating! :-)

Even when we got out at the car park she was on edge! :-)

We went in the middle of the day and there was no fog at all.

 

I think the view where we were well above the clouds, got to my wife who started to pannick, and because of her this got my palms sweating! :-)

 

Even when we got out at the car park she was on edge! :-)

Sorry, you said the "whole of Maui covered in cloud" I believe. Don't know if the absence of cloud cover would have made a difference. Clouds do start to gather as the day goes on. When the view is clear it is amazing to be able to see the entire island coast to coast below you and the tiny planes below coming into Kuhului for a landing. it sounds like you and your wife need to stay on the flat land.:)