Looking for best area to stay in Maui

[KrisB]

Personally, I find Kaanapali *WAY* too tourist-trappy. It's the one place on Maui where it's tough to find free parking, even if you're staying at their hotel. Food is expensive, and you're a 10 minute drive to Lahaina, and a 45-60 minute drive to South Kihei.

If your goal is relaxing with some diving, I'd suggest staying in Kihei -- the Mana Kai has been suggested... you'll find better deals on the other side of the parking lot from them at the Kihei Surfside.

If oceanfront isn't required, there are plenty of good condo options in Kihei, as well. I've seen some nice units in the Luana Kai, that while "oceanfront" there is an expanse of grass between the buildings and the beach.

Finally... when exactly are you coming? I'd be more than willing to go diving with you -- though I'm off-island for part of November.

 

[DiveMaven]

We stay in Kaanapali when we go to Maui (annually) as we own a timeshare. Even though Kaanapali is "touristy", we really enjoy being able to walk to other resorts or Whaler's Village for dinner along the boardwalk that fronts the ocean. It's great to be able to have a couple of drinks and not worry about getting into a car, and the convenience of the boardwalk to stroll along can't be beat. Parking for us has never been a problem at the 4 properties we've stayed at on Kaanapali in the past few years.

We dive out of Kihei and have no problem with the drive to the boat ramp each morning as it's really a spectacularly gorgeous drive....takes us 45 minutes including a coffee stop at StarBucks! We don't find the 10 minute drive into Lahaina to be a big deal either, and rarely have a problem finding a parking spot regardless of the time of day.

We've never liked the "feel" of Kihei, which is why we've never stayed there in the past, but we'll be staying in Kihei for the second part of our trip this year and look forward to the comparisons, though we'll always return to Kaanapali since that's where we own.

 

[Charlie99]

Personally, I find Kaanapali *WAY* too tourist-trappy.

I recommend Kaanapali for FIRST TIME visitors.

I meet and chat with a lot of visitors at the BBQs and hot tub at my Kihei condo complex. Frequently I quiz them on what activities they've enjoyed, what places they've stayed on Maui, etc. A fairly common theme is that for their first few visits, when they are doing all the touristy things, that Kaanapali is ideal. Then as they come back for more and more visits and get into a more laid back relaxed sort of mode, then a condo in Kihei works out better.

Charlie Allen

 

[rmarrash]

Charlie / DiveMaven,
This is exactly our thinking as well. We actually want to do a few of the touristy things, in addition to diving. Our trip a few weeks ago (to Roatan) was a pure dive trip which was a bit too intense for my wife, so this trip we want to have a balanced approach. I don't mind at all driving the 45min needed to get to the boat docks especially since it would be a nice drive along the ocean.

KrisB, it looks like we are probably going to be in Maui Arriving Nov 21st and leaving on Thanksgiving day (Nov 27th).

Next question (which my wife asked me last night)... How much does it typically cost to dive. We will likely need to rent BCD in addition to the tanks and weights.

Lastly, Will a 3mm shorty be good enough for the 77 degree water in Nov (my wife really hates wearing a full wetsuit and wants to get a shorty for this trip)

Thanks for all the responses and help everyone. We love how friendly the dive community is!

Russell

 

[Shaka Doug]

Charlie / DiveMaven,
Lastly, Will a 3mm shorty be good enough for the 77 degree water in Nov (my wife really hates wearing a full wetsuit and wants to get a shorty for this trip)

Aloha Russell,

Although a 3mm shorty may keep your wife warm enough to be comfortable, I can't stress enough the importance of protecting ones knees and legs (and possibly arms depending on the suit). Coral scrapes can be really painful and easily prevented with a full suit. Maybe she hasn't had a properly fitted full suit on before. It doesn't have to be so skin tight like most people think. If the suit is too small, no one wants to wear it but many people end up in a suit that's really just a little too small for them. Just a thought. I really hate seeing people get injured with abrasions from the rocks and coral. They always hurt more the second and third day after the fact too! As much as most try to avoid making contact with the reef, we all know it can and does happen occasionally, even if just by accident. Most trips around here are two tank dives. For my tours that equals about two total hours in the water with about an hour in between. That could cause a chill to set in if you're not covered well.

I hope this helps to answer your question!

 

[rmarrash]

Thanks Doug.

Her full 3MM seems to fit okay (we went through the improper fitting suit issue during our training when we had to wear 7mm in 54 degree Pacific NW Water...) she was just actually too warm in the water with it. We were in 78-82 degree water in Roatan. So I told her last night maybe we could get her a shorty and bring both.

As to the coral comment... that too is a concern. She learned the pain there. We were doing simple shore dive off the dock at Anthony's Key and she was using an old moring line attached to their old DC3. It had a bunch of crap on it that seemed harmless enough and came out of the water with her hand in pain for the next 24 hours... Not to mention we still are obviously working on our bouncy though to her credit she did not touch any of the coral on during our dives the whole week other than the above incident.

 

[DiveMaven]

Sounds like your wife had a close encounter with hydroids. They sure look harmless but their sting sure isn't. That's why when we dive in the Caribbean anywhere where permanent mooring lines are installed, we stash a pair of garden gloves in a pocket and pull them out if we need to grab a line for a safety stop.

Doug really has the best advice about exposure protection. I've seen far too many folks dive in shorties in Maui only to appear back on the boat with a scraped leg.

As to cost, 2-tank boat dives start at $109 and go up from there...unless B&B has raised their prices. Some operators offer unique dives and/or 3-tank charters, some have set schedules, some cater more to beginners, some to advanced, and on and on.....so you'll have to do a bit of snooping on the various operators websites to figure out what works best for you.

I'd really recommend if you do any shore diving that you do it with a guide, at least for your first trip to Maui. There's so much marine life you'd miss since you wouldn't know what you were looking for...that's how unique Hawaii is. How much you pay will depend a bit on whether your guide has a permit on Maui or not.

 

[rmarrash]

thanks DiveMaven.

2-tank boat dives start at $109 and go up from there...unless B&B has raised their prices

$119 now I guess oil pices have hit them a bit.

I'd really recommend if you do any shore diving that you do it with a guide

We definitely are in no hurry to do solo shore diving as I said in my earlier post we still have a lot to learn about navigation so any diving we do will be guided.

I just purchased our airline tickets so Nov 21st-27th is now locked in. Next step is to lock in where we are staying

Russell

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Aloha Russell,

If you are staying on the West Side, booking three dive trips with Extended Horizons will get you a package rate (888 348-3628). We mostly dive Lanai from our boat, with a once a week afternoon charter to the Carthaginian wreck (shallow reef 2nd dive), although I'm not sure what the Thanksgiving week schedule is going to be as our usual Carthaginian charter is Thursday. We also guide both day and night shore dives.

Steve

 

[rmarrash]

Thanks Steve, I was just reviewing your website (among others). We leave on Thursday so the 24hr clock would start Wednesday at 4pm anyway

Russell