What to do with Wheelchairs in Maui

Hi all,

Looking for some advice for what to go see in Maui that would be wheelchair accessible. We are traveling there in 2 weeks with inlaws and both use wheelchairs. We have rented a car and would like to drive to some sites with them but a lot of what I am looking up talks about hiking and walking to the site. Kinda trying to stay away from the Road to Hana due to sensitive stomachs. Are there any other good attractions that we could drive to and possibly push around wheel chairs easily?

Thanks in advance to all you wonderful people on this forum. We cruise in 2 weeks and all the information that I have gained from everyone contributing has been invaluable!!

We sailed with my mom in a wheelchair on the POA in July 2013. We took organized tours, with buses with lifts, but the sites we visited would apply equally to rental cars.

The Iao Valley Park is small, compact, paved, and easy to push wheelchairs around. It is also close to the port. Furthermore, the Iao needle is a mind bender, and the park is lovely. Highly recommended. (I would not, however, recommend the handicapped accessible porta-potty: yuck.)

I don't know that I would drive myself, but the top of Haleakala is actually handicapped accessible, with paved roads, and once you are at the top, no steep mountains to push the wheelchair. Also gorgeous scenery from the car/bus (nenes and silversword plants).

We also visited a "plantation" (Maui plantation?) which was actually pretty interesting, with all sorts of plants and a farmers' market. There is a tram ride. My mother could walk up a step to the tram, so it was ideal for her. If your inlaws cannot negotiate a step, this would not be a good choice.

any other questions, let me know. Happy cruising,

el henry

Thanks elhenry. That is perfect. Sounds like some good sights to see and not too much. We are planning on heading back to the ship for dinner and drop them off and hit the sunset on the top of Haleakala. Sounds like a perfect day. Thanks again for the info :)

Cieweeds, you mention that you're cruising in 2 weeks, but it's closer than you think ... your cruise calendar says this Saturday!

Re returning to the ship for dinner and then heading up for sunset - you've probably already checked this out, but sunset is around 7:15 and you'll probably want to be up there a while ahead, so a departure around 5 p.m. from the ship should work well.

Enjoy your cruise!

Cieweeds, you are welcome. The tour with both Iao Valley and the Plantation took four to five hours (we chose our tours with Mom's health in mind, so we could get back to the ship before she tired too much), so you should definitely be able to finish "on your own" before leaving for sunset at Haleakala.

Good luck, and enjoy!

el henry

Thanks Susan-M. Time flies when you are packing for a cruise!! And it did. I did plan on being back for dinner (senior dinner for them around 4:30-5) for the inlaws and we will scoot off to sunset. Thanks for the reminder on the time. We are having sunset now at 9p :o

elhenry - yep we were considering their level of endurance in the afternoon. The Iao Valley Park does sounds perfect to get them back when tired and still seeing something interesting too.

I still can't believe that I will be in Hawaii in 3 days!! So EXCITED:D