Will be at the Grand Wailea from the 20 - 25th if anyone wants to grab a beer

I would recommend the Haleakala bike ride from the Haleakala Bike Company.

www.bikemaui.com

Instead of traveling in a tour group, like many of the other shops, you are able to go down at your own pace. Many of the groups I saw had the slowest person in the front. It's cool to be able to go off the main road as well to explore some of the houses, farmland, and other shops.

There is a neat restaurant in Kula, and a good bakery in Makawao called Komoda Store & Bakery.

Would also check out the famous Banzai Pipeline if you are in that area of the island. Not much to see when the ocean is flat though.

I would suggest doing the bike down the mountain but doing the sunrise tour. The pictures alone are worth the trip.

Phillip, did you subject yourself to the 3am bike ride? It would be cool to see the sunrise, but geeze, 3 am is pretty ridiculous.

I did it the first night so my body was still on mainland time so it was easy to get up.

Yeah, that's a good idea. Did you do Haleakala Bike Company too, or have another recommendation?

Thanks.

The wife and I are headed to Maui over Christmas for our honeymoon

Any recommendations for winter on the island?

Yes. Have fun and stay the **** off my property.

bco, I did the same as GetGive, went the first night I was there since I was still on Houston time.

It is early, but I thought it was well worth it, especially since you can go down at your own pace with the Haleakala Bike Company

We ended-up going with Haleakala Bike Company and enjoyed it, especially after seeing multiple other tours whiz by. We took about 4 hours to make it down to the bike shop, stopping multiple times on the way for picnics & such.

We also enjoyed:
-Flyin Hawaiian Zipline - 8 zips, including the longest one in Hawaii
-The road to Hana - enjoyed this quite a bit in the convertible. Used the Maui Revealed book recommendations.
-Stayed at the Makena Golf & Beach Resort. Much quieter, less crowded, & slower pace than Kaanapali, which fit us well.
-Kai Kanani snorkel tour to Molokini - Saw a lot of turtles, good tour
-Feast at Lele Luau - Meh, it was ok. Probably wouldn't do it again.

Spent the 2nd half of our honeymoon on Kauai and had a great time there as well.

Great information and tips. We're headed to Maui 12/18 through Xmas. I'll have this page bookmarked and already have the Maui Revealed book.

Fish tacos at Paia Fish Market for a casual lunch. Semi-long wait though

We are booked on the Haleakala sunrise tour for Christmas morning, fishing on the 26th and I'm playing the Wailea Gold course on the 28th and the Emerald course on the 29th.

We are at the Wailea Marriott from the 24th-30th

Let us know your thoughts on the Wailea Marriott. I am thinking of booking there..

Bump for LHIOB....

Do you guys recommend booking all activities in advance, or finding stuff when you get there?

i.e. Molokini, Luaus, whale watching...?

bumping....anyone been recently and have any new suggestions?

Get a pizza at the Maui Brewing Co.

I went in early February for my honeymoon. I also traveled to Maui in June of 2008 for a friend’s wedding. I can recommend the following:

Lodging:
Honua Kai Resort in Ka’anapali – Great stretch of beach where you can walk for miles. You can swim right in front if you wear some sort of protective shoes and stay away from the rocks. The pools are also slightly heated, this is important if you are used to pools in Texas that are more like bathtubs. We also liked the restaurant Duke’s that is on the property with awesome views and the best fruity drink, the Lava Flow.

Fun stuff:
Snorkeling through Trilogy Charters - You’ll have a fun day snorkeling and whale watching (if the right season) and they provide a tasty lunch.
Old Lahaina Luau – Fun way to spend the evening. Yes, kind of cheesy but the food is pretty good and the views of the harbor are great.
Road to Hana – especially fun in an economical car. Ever played Mario Kart? Yes, this is a real life version. Go to O’hea Gulch. It’s worth the drive and the views are so different on this side of the island.
Snorkel in front of the Sheraton/Black Rock. The snorkeling was better here than on the charter.
D.T. Fleming Beach Park – Great wave watching, not so much for swimming.
Makena Beach Park – Great wave watching as well, but in a more natural beach setting.

Restaurants –
Kimo’s in Lahaina – Good food and views.
Maui Taco’s – Yummy fish tacos.
Panda Express – okay just kidding, but we ate here after we had a long day on the Road to Hana. Yep, we had Panda on our honeymoon. WTH?

Hope this helps!

I think I'm going to have to move to my home island and open a Tex Mex restaurant. I can't stand the mexican options on Maui!!!

[This message has been edited by AGSPORTSFAN07 (edited 8/23/2012 8:50a).]

last bump for this year, going in May for HM - any new suggestions or tips?

Has anyone been to Sheldon's restaurant (the guy currently on top chef)? I heard it was just a small noodle restaurant.

also looking for sushi recommendations...I'm surprised, but sushi seems to not be a big thing there

Look up "Eskimo Candy" in wailea/Kehei.

Bar none best food you will ever have. Period. It looks like a dive but they rock it! For a more formal seafood falir, mamas fish house.

Keep the food recs coming!

for breakfast/brunch, Plantation House at Kapalua is a must. Great views.

For dinner, Male in Lahaina has been our favorite spot for the last several years.

Lunch in Lahaina would be Aloha Mixed Plate.

If you have a refrigerator in your condo/room, we have found the Poke from Foodland in Lahaina to be good to very good, depending on which kind you go with.

I didn't see this listed, but when you're done with the road to Hana, continue clock-wise on the other side of the Haleakala, don't turn around and see the same stuff twice.

The road is fine, and offers a completely different landscape than the north side.

We just asked the park ranger in the parking lot at the '7 sacred falls,' and he advised us we would be fine.

Going all the way around is a bit rough for 10 or so miles on the southern side, but after getting past that, it is one of the smoothest, inhabited roads you will find (In Oct. '11 at least). I really enjoyed driving along the south part of the island. Made for a long day, though.

I just won a sales trip to Maui and have been eyeing this thread for a while. I have the Maui Revealed book on order. Great info in here!

We have a free day when I might consider the drive to Hana. I also like the idea of ziplining or snorkeling somewhere off the beaten path. Any suggestions?

One of our optional excursions is the bike down Haleakala. It doesn't look like it's a sunrise trip. It looks to be an all day affair - worth it?

Disclaimer: i went to maui as a kid and the sunrise on Mt. Haleakala trip with my family ranks #1 on worst Griswold adventures. Most of it related to the early wakeup and the cold. I have no memory of the sunrise and just remember everyone being miserable.

I'm willing to chalk that up to being an ungrateful 8 year old brat and try again. The pictures of the ride and the views that I'm seeing online aren't really knocking my socks off though.

Anyone have any golf recommendations? If I play an really nice course, I am just going to go all out and play Kapalua.

If I don't do that, any recommendations for cheaper options that are nice and fun to play?

We are going in June and staying at the Four Seasons. Planning on playing the Emerald (and probably Gold) course at the Wailea Golf Club. Never been, but heard good things about both.

Gold is supposed to be better, but the Emerald is easier and my game has gone to crap since Little RVAg02 arrived.

same here RV

you enjoyed Emerald? I may only have time for one round and want to enjoy it (not shoot 110), while still getting a good Hawaii golf experience.