Maui Beaches

[swehrheim]

Has anyone heard if the Maui Beach Day Excursion at the Maui Grand Wailea is worth the money or if there are buses at the terminal that can take you to the beach for a nominal fee? Looking for second day in Maui. Renting a car first day to do Road to Hana. Booked on the Pride July 30th

[Silver Sweethearts]

13 minutes ago, swehrheim said:

Has anyone heard if the Maui Beach Day Excursion at the Maui Grand Wailea is worth the money or if there are buses at the terminal that can take you to the beach for a nominal fee? Looking for second day in Maui. Renting a car first day to do Road to Hana. Booked on the Pride July 30th

If it is like what it was pre-Covid, you are taken to the Grand Wailea area and left there to do your own thing until the driver comes back for you several hours later.  The only other transportation we know of is possibly a cab or Uber.  Keep your rental car and do your own excursion.

[princeton123211]

16 hours ago, swehrheim said:

Has anyone heard if the Maui Beach Day Excursion at the Maui Grand Wailea is worth the money or if there are buses at the terminal that can take you to the beach for a nominal fee?

If I had a free beach day I would most likely go to Kaanapali for a beach day rather than Wailea. Its a little bit further (40 minutes vs about 30 to Wailea) but I think the beach is overall much nicer and that stretch of Wailea is mostly big resorts where Kaanapali has Whalers Village with shops, restaurants, and facilities outside of the resorts. Additionally this would give you some time on the way home to check out Lahaina which is worthwhile. 

 

15 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

Keep your rental car and do your own excursion.

This is good advice unless you want to have some drinks in which case Uber will be your best bet outside of an excursion. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 4/29/2022 at 7:11 AM, princeton123211 said:

If I had a free beach day I would most likely go to Kaanapali for a beach day rather than Wailea. Its a little bit further (40 minutes vs about 30 to Wailea) but I think the beach is overall much nicer and that stretch of Wailea is mostly big resorts where Kaanapali has Whalers Village with shops, restaurants, and facilities outside of the resorts. Additionally this would give you some time on the way home to check out Lahaina which is worthwhile.

 

The bolded part is the key to me. Whaler's Village is on the beach and has two of my favorite places for a casual meal, Hula Grill and Leilani's On The Beach. They are part of TS Restaurants who also has Duke's restaurants. There are other food and shopping options too. I also think the beach and snorkeling are better.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/S8GxBm1v6Aq4Ywom7

Edited May 6, 2022 by scottca075

[jsn55]

We will be on the Royal Princess at Christmas time.  Booked this cruise just to get away and relax and enjoy the holidays, been to the islands several times.  I'd love to have some time for a short 'beach day' on Maui ... my husband cannot stay in the sun ten minutes without burning.  Is it possible to find a place with shade, restaurant and a beach not too far from the ship?  I just want to walk along the beach or an hour or so.  We used to do this in the Caribbean, a bunch of us would just head out to a resort for the day with all the facilities.  We bought lots of drinks and food, so they were always happy to have us.  But I never arranged it, so I dunno how this is done.  Any advice much appreciated.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, jsn55 said:

We will be on the Royal Princess at Christmas time.  Booked this cruise just to get away and relax and enjoy the holidays, been to the islands several times.  I'd love to have some time for a short 'beach day' on Maui ... my husband cannot stay in the sun ten minutes without burning.  Is it possible to find a place with shade, restaurant and a beach not too far from the ship?  I just want to walk along the beach or an hour or so.  We used to do this in the Caribbean, a bunch of us would just head out to a resort for the day with all the facilities.  We bought lots of drinks and food, so they were always happy to have us.  But I never arranged it, so I dunno how this is done.  Any advice much appreciated.

Assume you are coming ashore in Lahaina. There really isn't much in the way of beaches until you get to Ka'anapali, about 15 minutes away by cab. 

[princeton123211]

27 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Assume you are coming ashore in Lahaina. There really isn't much in the way of beaches until you get to Ka'anapali, about 15 minutes away by cab. 

Seconded. Kaanapali is going to be the closest option and frankly the best option for a beach afternoon. The nice thing is you have Whaler's Village at your disposal for shade and restaurants when you need to get off the beach. There are public showers to get the sand off as well up and down the beach. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, jsn55 said:

We used to do this in the Caribbean, a bunch of us would just head out to a resort for the day with all the facilities.  We bought lots of drinks and food, so they were always happy to have us.  But I never arranged it, so I dunno how this is done.  Any advice much appreciated.

 

Hawaii isn't the Caribbean or Mexico, so it is no different than it would be in California.

 

I'd Uber or cab to someplace in Ka'anapali, maybe the Hyatt Regency or maybe Leilani's On The Beach in Whaler's Village. You can park your hubby in the bar at either place while you go for a walk on the beach.

[princeton123211]

11 hours ago, jsn55 said:

We used to do this in the Caribbean, a bunch of us would just head out to a resort for the day with all the facilities. 

Worth mentioning that at any Maui resort you will be able to use all of the F&B outlets but not the pools. Most provide wristbands for their in house guests that provide pool/towel access and police it fairly well. Not sure what you meant by all the facilities but I wouldn't count on anything beyond restaurants and bars. 

[jsn55]

Thanks for all the great info and advice.  If anyone has spent the day at a resort with some shade on the beach edges, I'd love to hear which one. 

[jsn55]

2 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Worth mentioning that at any Maui resort you will be able to use all of the F&B outlets but not the pools. Most provide wristbands for their in house guests that provide pool/towel access and police it fairly well. Not sure what you meant by all the facilities but I wouldn't count on anything beyond restaurants and bars. 

"Facilities" ... restrooms, restaurant, showers, bar, 'beach shack food', lounge chair rental ... no interest in a pool. 

[BermudaBound2014]

8 hours ago, jsn55 said:

"Facilities" ... restrooms, restaurant, showers, bar, 'beach shack food', lounge chair rental ... no interest in a pool. 

 

I think your best bet is going to be Whalers Village as opposed to a resort. The resorts in Kaanapali aren't welcoming to those not staying at the resort, although you can eat at the restaurant. Whalers Village is an outdoor mall area with several VERY popular restaurants where you can get 'shack food'. There us also an ice cream place and an ABC if you want to grab snacks to sit on the beach. There are lounge chair rentals close by (although I'm not positive they rent to the public).

 

There are public restrooms/outdoor showers in Whalers Village and also three sets of Public restrooms with outdoor showers along the beach if you decide to walk a bit. Two of the Whalers restaurants are right on the beach (Hula Grill and Leilani's). Monkey pod is about 50 feet from the beach. All have some sort of live music and I imagine your hubby would  enjoy sitting outside, with a breeze, in the shade, some tunes and a beer.

 

Hula Grill:

 

 

Since you are in the area anyway, you might as well try the very famous Monkey Pod Mai Tai made with lilikoi foam and Macadamia Nut ogre. 

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

9 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Thanks for all the great info and advice.  If anyone has spent the day at a resort with some shade on the beach edges, I'd love to hear which one. 

 

There were a few resorts offering paid day passes pre covid, but post covid there isn't a resort on Maui selling day passes that I am aware of. As Scottca stated, things are different her than in the Caribbean.

 

 

Edited June 4, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[jsn55]

8 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I think your best bet is going to be Whalers Village as opposed to a resort. The resorts in Kaanapali aren't welcoming to those not staying at the resort, although you can eat at the restaurant. Whalers Village is an outdoor mall area with several VERY popular restaurants where you can get 'shack food'. There us also an ice cream place and an ABC if you want to grab snacks to sit on the beach. There are lounge chair rentals close by (although I'm not positive they rent to the public).

 

There are public restrooms/outdoor showers in Whalers Village and also three sets of Public restrooms with outdoor showers along the beach if you decide to walk a bit. Two of the Whalers restaurants are right on the beach (Hula Grill and Leilani's). Monkey pod is about 50 feet from the beach. All have some sort of live music and I imagine your hubby would  enjoy sitting outside, with a breeze, in the shade, some tunes and a beer.

 

Hula Grill:

 

 

Since you are in the area anyway, you might as well try the very famous Monkey Pod Mai Tai made with lilikoi foam and Macadamia Nut ogre. 

 

 

JUST the advice I was looking for!  Thank you for being so helpful with such complete information.  I really appreciate it.  It's a steep learning curve dealing with a husband with recently-diagnosed heart issues and I need to be prepared when we travel.  IF we travel, of course.  I'm an optimist to the bone. 

[BermudaBound2014]

24 minutes ago, jsn55 said:

JUST the advice I was looking for!  Thank you for being so helpful with such complete information.  I really appreciate it.  It's a steep learning curve dealing with a husband with recently-diagnosed heart issues and I need to be prepared when we travel.  IF we travel, of course.  I'm an optimist to the bone. 

 

Sorry to hear about your husband's health, but I'm quite certain Whalers Village will be a very nice day for you both. He really won't need to walk far at all unless he wants to and there is quite a bit to see there (although just people watching should be interesting). Lots of catamarans leave directly from the beach in front of Whalers and those are interesting to watch load from the beach. Whalers also offers some fun little activities throughout the week. Not sure what day of the week you will be there but there is Hula lessons, lei making, coconut weaving, etc... 

 

https://www.whalersvillage.com/en.html

 

 

Also, the whales will be coming back at Christmas time. You are practically guaranteed to spot whales from the beach in Kaanapali. I would be shocked if you didn't see any. I have a great video I shot of a competition pod of 8 humpbacks just off the shore in front of Hula Grill. I'll see if I can find it for you. I won't be back on Maui until the first week of January or I'd offer to meet you for a beverage :). 

 

 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

10 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Thanks for all the great info and advice.  If anyone has spent the day at a resort with some shade on the beach edges, I'd love to hear which one. 

 

The shade would be in a bar or restaurant. I don't think any of the resorts rent beach chairs or cabanas to non-guests, but check ResortPass.com for Ka'anapali.

 

10 hours ago, jsn55 said:

"Facilities" ... restrooms, restaurant, showers, bar, 'beach shack food', lounge chair rental ... no interest in a pool. 

 

Restrooms, restaurants, Yes; showers, lounge chairs, probably not. If you went for a dip in the ocean, rinsed off in the shower, then went to the beach bar I don't think there'd be any push back, but it is probably against some rule.