Maui Suggestions

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

We did the entire Hana road - the full loop around south Maui in 2003 with an ordinary compact size rental car. We had another couple with us who lived on Maui - they said "no problem" and they were right.

The road was a bit washboardy and bumpy in a few spots, but nothing that I wasn't familiar with from driving on gravel country roads in Minnesota in my younger days. A few places might be unsettling for a person with vertigo.

If you're interested in doing the entire loop I would go for it unless you see some something official that says the road is closed to all but 4-WD. By "official" I mean something posted by the County of Maui about the road., I certainly would not trust anything said by a hotel concierge or anyone associated with tourist activities. They will all simply parrot back a standard line about how the road is impassable/impossible and you shouldn't do it unguided.

During the week we were there we heard activity people telling people that the road was closed to all but 4-WD vehicles, and even most of those vehicles couldn't get through. This was right before and right after we traveled it in our compact car. If we listened to what people were telling us we would have missed one of the most enjoyable parts of our trip.

Steve, the road was still closed from the earthquake when we were there in March and April. We have taken the loop too and we used to drive to Hana when the road was really bumpy and narrow and the loop around would give you kittens. It is a breeze today but traffic can be slow because of the one way bridges. We did it several years on a row on Easter day and we never waited once for a one way bridge. Next year we may skip it if we are just the two of us. The traffic in Maui has improved so much now some of the new highways are finally open.

For the rest, I agree with most of the suggestions already mentioned. You will be so busy but Maui is great.

[Laurie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Laurie]

if you want some good evening entertainment, I would suggest Warren and Annabelle's magic show in Lahaina - food is excellent for dinner and the show is really great (comedy/magic)

I second this suggestion, at least for the show part of it, we didn't do the dinner - it has nothing whatsoever to do with being in Maui, I don't usually like this sort of stuff and almost skipped it. Our last night we decided to go, based on the write-up in Maui Revealed. It was so funny, my face hurt from laughing so much - can't wait to see it again if/when we go back to Maui!

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Looks like the OP took his trip already, but for anyone else reading this thread, buy the book Maui Revealed. It has an unbelievable wealth of infomation and you'll find great things off the beaten track.

I'd second the Lahaina Luau, the road to Hana, and Haleakala. If you're coming straight from the mainland, particularly from the east coast, do the sunrise on your first morning. You'll be awake anyway.