What to do in Kahului?

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, mikjr said:

It appears there are some nice, but probably small, museums not far from the ship.  

Maui Nut Botanical Gardens
Baldwin Sugar Museum
The Bailey House
Maui Arts & Cultural Center

  

You might want to double-check the information you have on the above places.  Maui Nui (not Nut) Botanical Gardens has a self-guided tour for $10.00 per person.  The Sugar Museum is closed weekends, as is Bailey House.  The MACC does have exhibits that change off and on in the gallery there, but most events are in the evening in the theater.  Renting a car for those places seems a waste.

[mikjr]

1 hour ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

  

You might want to double-check the information you have on the above places.  Maui Nui (not Nut) Botanical Gardens has a self-guided tour for $10.00 per person.  The Sugar Museum is closed weekends, as is Bailey House.  The MACC does have exhibits that change off and on in the gallery there, but most events are in the evening in the theater.  Renting a car for those places seems a waste.

 yea, should be NUI...  typo...   We are there on Tuesday, and should be OK with most of the museums, and it appears they may be walking distance from the ship.  We walked from the HILO dock all the way into Hilo Town a few years back.  I won't do that again!! 

 

[Silver Sweethearts]

2 hours ago, mikjr said:

 yea, should be NUI...  typo...   We are there on Tuesday, and should be OK with most of the museums, and it appears they may be walking distance from the ship.  We walked from the HILO dock all the way into Hilo Town a few years back.  I won't do that again!! 

To narrow things down a bit, what would be your idea of "walking distance" from the ship?

[mikjr]

4 minutes ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

To narrow things down a bit, what would be your idea of "walking distance" from the ship?

About a mile or so...  30 / 40 minute walk would be fine.  I have a LYFT account so that's always an option.  I've driving the Road to Hana twice, don't think I'd drive it again, but might take a bus tour.  

 

[mikjr]

9 minutes ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

To narrow things down a bit, what would be your idea of "walking distance" from the ship?

I just noticed you live on Maui.  What do you recommend?  We've been on Maui about 10 times, of course always tendering into Lahaina.  We normally hit the shops in town and then take a shuttle to Leilani's on the Beach for lunch.  We might just rent a car, but I was concerned about the roads being open to Kaanapali.  Can you even drive from Kahului to Kaanapali???

[latebloomer56]

14 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

I would not do the road to Hana with a private tour operator or drive myself, if I were on a cruise, in port for just one day. There is a lot of construction going on and you never know what delays can be added. If there is no tour from the cruise line.... well there is your reason to return to Maui.                        

Been reading about mud slides. Have only done this as a tour with the cruise line would love to go again when hubby isn't uncomfortable with knee issues. Maybe things will improve by Oct.

Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

9 hours ago, mikjr said:

I just noticed you live on Maui.  What do you recommend?  We've been on Maui about 10 times, of course always tendering into Lahaina.  We normally hit the shops in town and then take a shuttle to Leilani's on the Beach for lunch.  We might just rent a car, but I was concerned about the roads being open to Kaanapali.  Can you even drive from Kahului to Kaanapali???

The roads to Ka'anapali are open. You can drive to points north of Lahaina. There are open resorts north of there up through Kahana and Kapalua. The road has to be open to access them.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

10 hours ago, mikjr said:

We normally hit the shops in town and then take a shuttle to Leilani's on the Beach for lunch. We might just rent a car, but I was concerned about the roads being open to Kaanapali. Can you even drive from Kahului to Kaanapali???

 

The roads are all open to Ka'anapali and Leilani's, Duke's and Hula Grill are all open, as is the rest of Ka'anapali. There are even restaurants open in Lahaina Town. Aloha Mixed Plate just reopened in their old location near Safeway and Star Noodle is looking for a new location.

[princeton123211]

11 hours ago, mikjr said:

We normally hit the shops in town and then take a shuttle to Leilani's on the Beach for lunch.  We might just rent a car, but I was concerned about the roads being open to Kaanapali.  Can you even drive from Kahului to Kaanapali???

As others have said-- open. It takes you on the bypass above what's left of Lahaina. Once you get passed the Post Office headed North it's sort of like nothing ever happened. All the resorts, restaurants, shops, etc are open from Kaanapali up to Kapalua like normal. 

 

You will pass some sad reminders of the fire like burned out houses along Honoapiilani Hwy once you make the right from the bypass at Foodland. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

22 hours ago, mikjr said:

I just noticed you live on Maui.  What do you recommend?  We've been on Maui about 10 times, of course always tendering into Lahaina.  We normally hit the shops in town and then take a shuttle to Leilani's on the Beach for lunch.  We might just rent a car, but I was concerned about the roads being open to Kaanapali.  Can you even drive from Kahului to Kaanapali???

When Lahaina was devastated we heard its residents asking for a time to try and heal as best they could, and we want to give them their space.  For that reason we personally cannot recommend going back to Lahaina now.  Central Maui may not be as interesting as Lahaina was, but it obviously is closer to your ship..  A rental car might be nice, but you really don't have the time to make it worthwhile.  You can walk to Maui Mall and/or Queen Ka'ahumanu Center.  Not exciting or anything resort-ish, but it shows you a bit of life away from the resorts.

 

[mikjr]

I was just checking out the Shore Excursions for our cruise.  Is it my imagination, or have the excursion prices gone WAY UP???   

[mikjr]

13 minutes ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

When Lahaina was devastated we heard its residents asking for a time to try and heal as best they could, and we want to give them their space.  For that reason we personally cannot recommend going back to Lahaina now.  Central Maui may not be as interesting as Lahaina was, but it obviously is closer to your ship..  A rental car might be nice, but you really don't have the time to make it worthwhile.  You can walk to Maui Mall and/or Queen Ka'ahumanu Center.  Not exciting or anything resort-ish, but it shows you a bit of life away from the resorts.

 

Thanks for the info...  We had just visited Maui only 4 weeks prior to the fire.  We were deeply saddened by the destruction.  We have family and friends on the Islands, so it was especially sad.   Our daughter was married right outside Lahaina about 20 years ago.   Maui has always been a favorite for us.  

Other than Mama's Fish House, is there another good fish restaurant near our dock??  We loved going to Whaler's Village and eating right on the beach at Leilani's.  Anything like that close by??  Or even down by Wailea??

 

Edited May 15 by mikjr

[Silver Sweethearts]

2 hours ago, mikjr said:

Other than Mama's Fish House, is there another good fish restaurant near our dock??  We loved going to Whaler's Village and eating right on the beach at Leilani's.  Anything like that close by??  Or even down by Wailea??

As we noted earlier, Kahului is a port town that is commercial and light industrial in nature with no need for upscale restaurants or food and shopping even remotely close to Mama's Fish House.  Wailea would be a much better area to look for that, but do consider you would have to arrange transportation.  

[wlbox]

Would we have enough time to rent a car and visit Haleakala National Park? Maybe stopping off at a beach before returning the car back near port?  

[KeepCalmBearOn]

10 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

When Lahaina was devastated we heard its residents asking for a time to try and heal as best they could, and we want to give them their space.  For that reason we personally cannot recommend going back to Lahaina now.  

 

I think that is utter nonsense. The "residents" of Lahaina don't speak with one voice, there are many fractious groups in Lahaina, each with their own agenda. The vast majority of the residents of West Maui want visitors to return. Many of the residents, including the displaced ones, have livelihoods that depend on the visitor industry.

 

I've made three trips to Maui since the fire, mostly for interests my family has on Maui. Part of those interests including talking to a lot of the fire's surviving victims and most wanted life 'back to normal' as much as that was possible.

 

When I haven't been functioning on business and just seem like Joe Tourist to the people I am interacting with, servers in restaurants, clerks in stores, housekeeping staff, etc, many of them have expressed gratitude for me visiting.

 

Of my friends and family on Maui, everyone of them tells me they want visitors to return to Maui.

 

A politician once said, 'never let a crisis go to waste'. There are small, activist groups that have always been anti-tourist and they are using the crisis to be very vocal and try to achieve the goals they have always had, which are not in the interest of the people of Maui and not practical.

 

10 hours ago, mikjr said:

Thanks for the info...  We had just visited Maui only 4 weeks prior to the fire.  We were deeply saddened by the destruction.  We have family and friends on the Islands, so it was especially sad.

 

Curious if the family and friends are on Maui, or other islands and what you hear from them.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

11 hours ago, mikjr said:

Other than Mama's Fish House, is there another good fish restaurant near our dock??  We loved going to Whaler's Village and eating right on the beach at Leilani's.  Anything like that close by??  Or even down by Wailea??

 

In Pa'ia Fish Market in Pa'ia is good, so is Tails Up Maui in Wailuku.

 

But there is no reason NOT to visit Leilani's or Hula Grill in Whaler's Village.

 

Aloha Mixed Plate just reopened in Lahaina Town and would love to have your business.

 

https://www.instagram.com/alohamixedplate/

[princeton123211]

13 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

When Lahaina was devastated we heard its residents asking for a time to try and heal as best they could, and we want to give them their space.  For that reason we personally cannot recommend going back to Lahaina now.

 

13 hours ago, mikjr said:

We loved going to Whaler's Village and eating right on the beach at Leilani's.  Anything like that close by??

 

2 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

I think that is utter nonsense. The "residents" of Lahaina don't speak with one voice, there are many fractious groups in Lahaina, each with their own agenda. The vast majority of the residents of West Maui want visitors to return. Many of the residents, including the displaced ones, have livelihoods that depend on the visitor industry.

100%. The only way they "heal" is if folks that are still there can earn a living and the only way to do that is to make sure as many people get to that side of the island as possible. 

 

We just spent the good part of a month at our place in Kaanapali and the encampments on the beach for the most part came down and things are very much back to business as usual. Everyone who wants to or has the inclination should be coming to the area to patronize businesses. 

 

Whalers Village and Leilani's are exactly as you left them mikjr and are completely business as usual. 

 

With you 100% Bear-- time to stop letting these fringe interest groups hurt the rest of the hardworking locals who depend on tourism for their incomes. Nothing to add to what you said. 

[princeton123211]

13 hours ago, mikjr said:

Other than Mama's Fish House, is there another good fish restaurant near our dock??  We loved going to Whaler's Village and eating right on the beach at Leilani's.

As has been said- no reason not to go to Whalers Village or Leilanis. 

 

But a little fun hack for Mamas (which still requires a trip to the Kaanapali area) is that one of the long time chefs from Mamas is actually at a little hole in the wall in a strip mall called Honokowai Okazuya & Deli just north of the beach. It's essentially a plate lunch spot but the fish dishes are dead ringers for Mamas-- especially the Mahi Mahi in capers. Absolute gem of a place-- just not the upscale sit down experience of Mamas. 

[mikjr]

10 hours ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

Curious if the family and friends are on Maui, or other islands and what you hear from them.

I have High school friends from the Mainland in Maui and Kauai.  My wife's sister lives near Hilo Town.   They have all been on the Islands for decades and were all pretty devastated by the fire.   Most were not happy about the talk of NEW out of the country investors coming in to rebuild!! 

[mikjr]

11 hours ago, wlbox said:

Would we have enough time to rent a car and visit Haleakala National Park? Maybe stopping off at a beach before returning the car back near port?  

We arrive at 7AM, most car rentals open at 8AM, and the ship leaves at 6PM.  You can reach almost anywhere on the Island in an hour or less.   So you should have plenty of time to visit anything your need to visit

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, mikjr said:

Most were not happy about the talk of NEW out of the country investors coming in to rebuild!! 

 

The only way "out of the country investors" can buy property on Maui is if Mauians sell it to them.

 

The only way "out of the country investors" can develop property on Maui is if Maui politicians allow them to do it.

 

Maui politicians have long been Maui's biggest problem.

 

 

[mikjr]

7 minutes ago, KeepCalmBearOn said:

 

The only way "out of the country investors" can buy property on Maui is if Mauians sell it to them.

 

The only way "out of the country investors" can develop property on Maui is if Maui politicians allow them to do it.

 

Maui politicians have long been Maui's biggest problem.

 

 

AMEN!!    my friends on the Island have voiced concern about that exact issue... The Politicians!

Like yourself, I also live in Orange County California... and as you know, the market has been going crazy with Chinese investors.  They use young couples to front the deal and buy the home.  They hold it for 2 years and then flip it!   We've had two house on our block sell exactly that way. 

[princeton123211]

3 hours ago, mikjr said:

You can reach almost anywhere on the Island in an hour or less.   So you should have plenty of time to visit anything your need to visit

Not quite-- Hana is at least 2+ hours and sometimes more. And that's one of the more popular destinations. And Hana is a place I would be wary visiting (not on an excursion) on a day long port call without an overnight. 

 

Agree for the West side-- Kapalua is a little over 1 hour from Kahului if you don't run into any traffic. Wailea is 30-40 minutes. Whalers Village is 45-55. 

[mikjr]

10 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Not quite-- Hana is at least 2+ hours and sometimes more. And that's one of the more popular destinations. And Hana is a place I would be wary visiting (not on an excursion) on a day long port call without an overnight. 

 

Very true... I have personally driven HANA twice... never again!!  it was an all day adventure.  

[princeton123211]

8 hours ago, mikjr said:

Very true... I have personally driven HANA twice... never again!!  it was an all day adventure.

Thats a shame-- its a lovely place. I've done the drive over the years in excess of 30 times and you find something new every time.