excursions in Maui

[jonepone]

Which excursions are you choosing for maui?

 

[ggTexasGal]

1 hour ago, jonepone said:

Which excursions are you choosing for maui?

 

Best to look for suggestions here:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/37-hawaii/

[CruiserBruce]

Welcome to Cruise Critic, and now to the Hawaii portion of Cruise Critic!

 

You should chose what interests you, not what we are doing. There is a wide variety of things, but we don't know if you have physical or budgetary limitations. 

 

A couple key points. First, when are you cruising? I ask because the whale season is amazing, and Maui is the best place for whale watching. There are a few discussions about whale watching just down the board.

 

Where are you coming ashore on Maui? There are two possibilities, Lahaina and Kahalui, which impacts how you might do things.

[93yearsyoung]

9 hours ago, jonepone said:

Which excursions are you choosing for maui?

 

When are you cruising and at which port are you landing?

 

In season, a small boat whale tour would always be our choice.

[chubbypiggy]

At the end of April, we will have a port stop in Maui (tender pier in Lahaina) from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.  Doing the Road to Hana tour with Princess is one of our choices, but my friend gets car sick very easily, so we are not sure if she can handle the ride.  Due to physical limitation, we prefer not walking for more than 30 minutes without a break.  We don't want to rent a car. We enjoy shopping at large supermarkets and dept. stores (snacks, souvenirs, local items..), eating,  and sightseeing.

 

So, besides the Road to Hana tour, any suggestions on what to do for our one day stop?  TIA.

[chubbypiggy]

Sorry, forgot to mention one thing.  We don't enjoy going to the beach.

[Morebeer]

Signed up for a private not thru Princess whale watching tour with Trilogy Whale Watching. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

8 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

At the end of April, we will have a port stop in Maui (tender pier in Lahaina) from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.  Doing the Road to Hana tour with Princess is one of our choices, but my friend gets car sick very easily, so we are not sure if she can handle the ride.  Due to physical limitation, we prefer not walking for more than 30 minutes without a break.  We don't want to rent a car. We enjoy shopping at large supermarkets and dept. stores (snacks, souvenirs, local items..), eating,  and sightseeing.

You have really answered your own question.  You don't need any tours.  Your tender will drop you off right in the heart of Lahaina at Front Street, the mother of all Maui shopping experiences.  You can do as much or as little as you wish.  Check it out and see if it appeals to you.  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

10 hours ago, chubbypiggy said:

So, besides the Road to Hana tour, any suggestions on what to do for our one day stop?  TIA.

 

Road to Hana would my LAST suggestion for a tour, right behind the "Walking On Broken Glass Tour".

 

April is still whale season. Do an excursion on a Zodiac boat.

 

The only other suggestion would be to visit Haleakala National Park & Upcountry Tour.

[CruiserBruce]

7 hours ago, scottca075 said:

April is still whale season. Do an excursion on a Zodiac boat.

 

 

Most whale watch vendors shut down their whale watch operations early in April. The poster you responded to is going in late April. 

 

I agree with the thoughts on Road to Hana.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

18 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Most whale watch vendors shut down their whale watch operations early in April. The poster you responded to is going in late April.

 

Whale season goes into May usually and as long as whales are around, the boats will go out. If the whales are gone, I'd do a snorkel tour with Trilogy.

[CruiserBruce]

6 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Whale season goes into May usually and as long as whales are around, the boats will go out. If the whales are gone, I'd do a snorkel tour with Trilogy.

Not from my experience. The whales get thin in early April,  and most of the vendors on Maui turn their focus away from whales around then. Yes, they still do their snorkeling tours and non-whale tours.

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you for all the suggestions.  If the town is so close, then we will just stay in town for shopping and eating.  I will do some research on what other things we can do around the area (within less than 30 minutes walking distance) and where is a good place to eat.

[princeton123211]

1 minute ago, chubbypiggy said:

If the town is so close, then we will just stay in town for shopping and eating.

Its not just close-- if you are tendering at Lahaina you will get dropped right in the middle of town. Walking distance to anything in town. It's not large, it's a bit touristy, but its pleasant and charming. Tendering at Lahaina is WAY better than the alternative of docking a Kahului. 

 

3 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

I will do some research on what other things we can do around the area (within less than 30 minutes walking distance) and where is a good place to eat.

There is a ton of shopping-- mostly Hawaiian trinkety things, jewelry, and the like. Dining in Lahaina runs the gamut from top notch fine dining to extremely casual. Local spots you'll only find there to chains like Cheeseburger in Paradise. 

 

Personal favorites for fine dining are Lahaina Grill and to a slightly lesser extent Fleetwoods on Front St (although Fleetwoods has live music-- its owned by Mick Fleetwood-- and a great bar on their roof). 

 

In the middle Kimo's is a favorite and you can dine right on the water-- its part of a well regarded local chain. If you go see if you can sneak into the Lahaina Yacht Club next door to it. Its a private club but sometimes if you ask nicely they'll let you in for drinks. Its a rollicking bar with a bunch of colorful locals. Star Noodle is also very good but its a bit of a walk to your North on the outskirts of town. 

 

On the casual side we like Cool Cat Cafe which is essentially burgers and right near where your tender drops you off. 

 

If you are willing to jump in an Uber, Kaanapali just to your North is a lovely beach resort that has a bunch of good dining. Japengo in the Hyatt has very good sushi (reservations are mandatory). At Whalers Village you have Leilanis and Hula Grill (same owner as Kimos) which are both a lot of fun. Monkeypod Kitchen has a good bar and Mai Tai but we don't think much of the food. The Kaanapali Beach Hotel opened up a new restaurant a couple years ago called Huihui which is very good for both lunch and dinner and has ocean views. 

[chubbypiggy]

Princeton123211, Thank you so much for your detailed information!!  

[lobsternight]

Definitely not the road to Hana if someone gets car sick.  Even though I don't, I felt like I could  

 

@princeton123211really summed it up well.  on our next cruise through the islands spending time in town is exactly what we are going to do.  Last cruise was an overnight, so we did rent a car and did some beaches.  Too much of a pain for one day

 

Thirty years ago I proposed to my DW under the banyan tree there.  After we went to Cheeseburgers in Paradise.  Burgers were OK, but think I paid $30 for them 30 years ago, so check your prices.

 

Lahaina is a nice little port to spend the day and shop around.  Don't forget to get some Hawaiian Shave Ice, though I prefer the place in Kona, as there are lots of lizards to clean up your drippings