I am going to Hawaii in January, and am struggling to find ways to have fun without getting into tourist traps. I saw one site that wanted $120 per person to hike into a waterfall! For HIKING!! Is that how everything is there??
It's expensive, but there are alternatives. I would suggest going to Iao Needle State Park. It's beautiful and has some trails. Has some Hawaiian history attached to the location and you'll get some great photos. It was free or very cheap. Maybe go into the Hawaii thread and ask the members who live there what they would suggest.
Road to Hana, rent a car if you arent already day rates are cheap, and drive the road to hana, its a gorgeous ride and you can get out along the way see waterfalls and such. IF you make it to the end there is a black sand beach...but it takes ALL day You can also ride up haleakala crater(sp), you can see EVERYTHING from up there there is also a vinyard/winery there, and its nice if you like wine tasting, they have some interesting wine and tour also this guy has a BEAUTIFUL lavender farm, people get married there, its gorgeous
yup, the lavender farm, trip up to haleakala... driving around the island... hana side is very beautiful... there are awesome beaches everywhere... if you take the time to research outdoor activities, your biggest expense is likely to be your car rental... and food. there's lots of good restaurants here, but it can get pricey. um... it depends on hwat you realy want to focus on though... you can do a lot of the free outdoorsy hikes and beach stuff on your own, but there are things like adventure camps and horseback riding on ranches, or parasailing and evening dinner cruises and whale watch snorkel trips, etc that can eat up your budget quickly.
oh yes.. and since we are on the PURSE forum, i have to mention that lahaina has a Coach and a Louis Vuitton. And wailea has a Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Coach, and Louis Vuitton boutiqe.
snorkeling at black rock in kaanapali, we were swimming with sea turtles...they were so calm and lovely, my son has photos underwater just hanging out with the sea turtles, they were HUGE...just the price of the snorkeling gear
(1) rent a convertible, buy a Road to Hana self-guided tape/CD, and bring a camera. You'll enjoy the ride while listening to all the historical scenes (pineapple fields, small waterfalls, black sand). (2) Drive up to Haleakala (you'll feel like your in heaven with all the clouds). You can also rent bikes and bike down. (3) Watch the Sunset in Wailea at Four Season's hotel beach strand. It's magical. (4) Lahaina has small mid-to pricey restaurants that is good for dinner. Have fun!
Have fun in Maui! We went in October and it was paradise....expensive paradise, though. We went on an Eco-tour hike for about $90 a person and it was AWESOME. Completely worth the money. Another big splurge was $300 a person for a day trip to Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor. Hubby and I knew where we wanted to eat and didn't skimp at all on meals, but the prices were high almost everywhere.
Pick up a copy of the Maui Revealed book at the library or bookstore. They have a lot of suggestions.
As far as resteraunts go I love david pauls in lahaina and plantation house in kapalua in wailea humuhumu at the grand wailea is good too
Just an update, due to an unfortunate accident the Bike Rides down Haleakala are suspended. Also, be careful about going off the beaten trails by yourself as well as swimming in desserted beaches. We've had quite a few falls/drownings, etc. in recent years. Hawaii is beautiful but Mother Nature can be very dangerous at times.
thank you thank you.... I am now more excited than ever.... about 5 weeks away, and I can't wait! Christmas will be great, but I have to admit, I am looking past it a little.... I am glad that there were several replies saying that it is indeed possible to enjoy yourself on a small budget. we will likely be very muxh into the outdoorsy things, so i understand that will help us, and our car is taken care of so we will surely be able to get around and explore a bit.
how exciting! the others have covered a LOT of activities that can be done on a budget. i personally love the drive to hana and the sunrise at haleakala. have fun on your trip and please report back to us
Best thing we did was snorkeling at Molokini. Rent your snorkel set from Snorkel Bob's for week (lots cheaper than the hotel) and they will sell you a ticket to Molokini on a high speed catamaran for around $10 each. We snorkeled for a few hours, the boat had a slide, we saw dolphins, and you could even buy a BBQ lunch. It was a great afternoon! I know some of the tourist package deals wanted $99 for the same thing we paid $10 for. Also, go to the Maui Prince in Makena. The beach behind the hotel has TONS of sea turtles. Swim out to the left, around the golf hole, and just past the rocks you'll meet Henry the sea turtle. It was so cool to swim with them -- and it was FREE Have fun!
go hike to manoa trails. its easy, and a beautiful fall at the end. its free!! if you ATV to tour a family owned mountain its great! i think its about $100 or so?? but its my fav. thing to do for my fam and i to do. (theyre locals!) go to turtle beach. (i believe someone already said this??) its fun to swim with the turtles, just dont take them out the water. locals get really upset. DF and i are going in january too. im super excited. its for my birthday.
