When wife and I heard of the devastation in Lahaina, we were broken hearted. We had so many fond memories of Lahaina and Maui in general. We will travel and support only local. I love the idea of volunteering; it's the action that gets results. Great video you two, as always. Love and aloha to you and the family.
As a Maui resident here are a few tips. #1 When driving, slow down and relax. #2 See tip #1. #3 On four lane highways, plant yourself in the right lane until you get to where you are going. #4 On two lane roads, do not block driveways and please let others turn or cut in front. #5 Shop & Buy local. Our McDonalds food is just like McDonalds, Anywhere. But our hole in the wall food joints & trucks are not to be missed so read some reviews. #6 Shop Groceries at Times Mkt or Foodland. #7 Car horns are only for honking at friends. #8 Do not chirp or set car alarm, ever. Lock with key, open with remote. #9 If there is one thing you should try, it’s surfing. By Far, the Best Beach in Hawaii for learning how to surf is in Kihei at Kalama Park. Surf School Trucks or the Surf School are all good. Great activity for kids to do better than dad. #10 Learn the Shaka.
My husband and I have been planning a trip to Maui for December of this year for over a year and we weren’t sure whether to still come or not but after watching your video it sounds like we should still come and we would absolutely love to support local businesses!! thank you for your informative videos
Love love love Maui and have been visiting for over 40 years but ever since the end of covid the cost of the condos have gone through the roof. Prices for the same condo with old furniture ( that you couldn’t care less about if the price is right) are now $530 US per night. Our elderly neighbours also went for the month of august every year for decades and have now stopped going. We are not wealthy people. It wasn’t long ago that we were paying $180 US a night so it certainly isn’t inflation. I don’t blame the Maui condo owners, they charge what the market will bear . Maui is such a beautiful place with beautiful people. I so wish I and many other Canadians could come to Maui to help the economy but we just can’t afford it at this time.
my sister was gonna stay at the pioneer inn, until she saInn, she called every place she could think of, the hyatt wanted $700 a night she ended up renting a mini van and sleeping in that. over the last 30 years I've been here, rents have done nothing but go up, since the fire the rents on the Westside have almost doubled
Just wanted to say thank you both for all of your continued information and past videos, which have been instrumental in helping us plan our upcoming trip. We booked it back in April and it's hard to believe it's around the corner already.
We will be on Maui Oct 15 & 16 as a part of our NCL Pride Of America cruise. We are heartbroken about what has happened yet excited about our first visit to the Hawaiian Islands. I hope the money we spend on local businesses helps in some small way. I contacted NCL about making an option for passengers to volunteer while we were. They appreciated my idea but said nothing was arranged at that time. Thanks for this video. All your videos have been helpful in planning our trip. Aloha!
enjoy your cruise and I'm glad you are still going. You can see if any of these volunteer events work with your cruise schedule while you are on Maui: thehawaiivacationguide.com/maui-volunteer-on-vacation/
Aloha and Mahalo for sharing about our island and how important it is to support local small businesses!!! Much warm aloha your way…a hui hou 🌺Hope you come visit soon again 🥰🫶🏼
We own a timeshare in Kahana and was there in 2021. Hard to get back to Hawaii from NJ (very expensive and time consuming) -- but once my other half retires next year, we'll be able to return more easily. We've been to Maui 4 times since 1999 and may be able to return as early as 2027. Loved the Old Lahaina Luau and sadly, all the other sites in Lahaina are gone.
You don't need to take a tour on the road to Hana. Do it by yourself. It is actually an easy ride. You can stop wherever you want. Also you can make the complete circuit and see the dry side of the island. Been there 20 times.
We went to Maui week before last and had an amazing trip! We'd never been to Maui before and had the trip planned and booked before the fires, so we considered cancelling or switching to another island, but ultimately decided to stick with it and figured that tons of people pulling out of trips would only make a bad situation worse for Maui. We're so glad we stuck with our plans. Did a lot of things based on yours and other's recommendations (Kai Kanani early morning at Molokini, Mama's fish house, etc.) and really enjoyed all of them. I'd definitely recommend anyone who has a trip planned or is considering a trip to go and support Maui, you'll have a great time!
Glad to hear you had an amazing trip! There is a lot to see on Maui besides West Maui and that is what we heard from folks too, not visiting is making a bad situation worse. Kai Kanani is the best.
Thank you for posting this video! We had a trip to Maui planned for a week near the end of October, our first time ever to Hawaii. We were devastated to hear what happened and did a lot of going back and forth trying to decide what the right thing to do about our trip was. Fortunately our condo rental is in Kihei (although we were looking forward to visiting the old capitol, waterfront, and banyan tree in Lahaina … alas). Our plan at this point is to go, be respectful, compassionate, support local businesses and tip as generously as we're able. Aloha and best wishes to all the island in their recovery.
Maui is not recovering from the fires, the mayor is planning on moving the toxic ash to Olowalu, a sacred site, which is sure to leach poisons into the water supply and leach into the ocean, poisoning all wildlife all around Maui, the mainstream media and the politicians are not being honest with what is really going on, RU-vid is censoring local independent news outlets.
Officially booked my Hawaiian vacation for May 2024! Staying 4 nights in Waikiki and 5 nights at the Westin in Ka'anapali. Already purchased your guides for both islands. Going to look into ways we can support and help the community of West Maui while we are there. Thank you for the content you provide it's been extremely helpful so far and cant wait to dive into the guides!
Really looking forward to moving to Kihei by the end of the year and just absorbing the island. Henry and Edith are growing so fast! You two look great too. Hope to run into you when I move ❤️🙏❤️
I was going to Maui on the week of Oct 13 and staying the weekend but every single hotel, every single VRBO and inn was over $1500 for two nights so I decided to go to the Big Island instead. I wanted to help the local economy by staying at the hotels and eating at restaurants and driving the rentals, but it's out of my price range...and I live on Oahu!!!
Thank you for your great videos! Helped my family and I plan activities for island hopping to Oahu and Kauai. My family lives in Lahaina and I appreciate your insight on the island as a whole as I am looking forward to making my way back in a little over a week!
Maui needs visitors right now. There are many people going through reduced hours and unemployment due to business being cut in half. It's just adding to the hardships the fire caused.
I agree. I really want to make my annual whale watching trip. The hotel prices are insane, so I’m not sure if I’m going come late January early February.
I went to Napili the first of December for a very short 4 day visit, sans family. Mostly to try to support this community that has meant so much to our family. As suggested, I only ate at locally owned establishments, and spent a full day volunteering with Maui Rescue Mission, which was a great experience. Went on a whale watch, and though really early in the season saw 4 whales, and did a good bit of local bay snorkeling around NW Maui.
Thanks for all you do. Heading to Maui next weekend 🎉🎉🎉. I’m so excited. Always been a dream of mine 😊. Thanks to your videos, we decided to stay at the Wailea beach resort 🎉🎉. I can’t wait 😊
We just booked our trip for April 2024 at The Royal Lahaina, I would think they will be open by then. Also we love The Maui Magic snorkel tour, it's amazing. Thanks for you videos, love them. ❤️ 🤙
that is good to hear on the price drop. I am hopeful the phased opening won't take that long. They are working hard to get survivors in long term housing and schools safely opened.
Was supposed to stay in Ka’anapali September 19 for our anniversary. Which was a make-up trip from last years Hawaii anniversary trip we had to cancel due to a severe injury. It broke my heart to have to cancel again. At least they’re starting to welcome visitors again. Unfortunately we wont be there. 😢
We used to go to Maui every Feb for a week or so every year until our last visit in Feb 2020. We stayed up on the NW side and loved the laid back atmosphere. Feb was always busy and Maui was quite expensive and always looked out for accomodation deals when booking. Loved trying all the food trucks along the west coast of Maui too. Loved going to Lahaina and tried lots of the local restaurants there too and supporting the local businesses. Sadly there seemed to be less deals and everything became super expensive for us besides the AUD to USD conversion.
We were supposed to go 10/6-10/15. We quickly changed to Kaui since our Condo was not going to be available until the end of the month. Maui No Ka Oui. ❤
Enjoyed your video , motivation and care for the island. We are going in April for our 35th Anniversary and staying in Napili so we can swim with the turtles right from the condo. Also maybe check out Hana again , although the Bamboo forest is really cool. Lots of places to venture out to and we hope to help out where we can. Aloha.
Thank you for this video I’m already planning to book my trip to Maui in February since I canceled my November Maui trip due to the fires. I wasn’t sure if we were welcome and what the situation would be like.
So sad the Cannery Mall is no more. We were just there not too long ago. Agreed on support local: Choose grown, not flown. If you want some really fun grinds I would highly recommend Tin Roof right by the airport! I'm a fan of Chef Sheldon...he was on Top Chef but he's just down to earth and offers heavenly grinds! Thank you Jordan and Erica for this video. May Maui recover and thrive!
@@TheHawaiiVacationGuide Time to hunt for the interview on here! Looking forward to see ohana on Saturday! Crossing fingers to run into both of you and the kiddos! haha
@@rayparnell198 I heard it got burned to the ground but glad to know the structure is up. Love the Longs over there too! That area is essential to the economy for many reasons.
Nice Video. Thanks. I was in Napili again this past September, and I can say that your video is pretty much right on. I listen KPOA via the laptop, here in the states! Be well.
Vacation can mean many things. For me ? I’d go to Lahaina and dig in and help and do whatever I could !! Of course I’d do some rnr but nothing would make me feel better than going to help if I could !!! ❤
You could have added: and tip like crazy. 2 of my friends have experienced so many non tippers or super low tippers since the fire, causing additional hardship😢
Thank you for this video!!! I will be using the link you provided for ways to volunteer there. Much appreciated. Id love to know your thoughts on whether its a good time to move to maui. Ive been planning on it however I dont want to take housing from a local who needs it. Thoughts?
I really enjoy your videos. I have a question ... I my looking at hotels I appears to be some conflicting information on both Air B&B and Hotels listing the nightly fee's. One hotel listed the rate fro $139 a night, taxes $36 . Service fee $52 and lastly a " Host Fee " of $279 ... coming to a total of $506 for one night at Kihei Sands Beach . this is just one example of many I have seen with allot of extra added fees. Can you help in guiding people to " up front legitimate hotels ? Thankyou
We just got back from Maui and felt rubbed by all the fees. Our politicians are working on creating more honest pricing from hotels as the fees are out of control. Some hotels waive the resort fee. You just have to keep doing what you're doing: understanding the total bill before you book.
We're coming back end of November into December. Like an idiot I didn't realize the Whale tours are mid December. Should of hit the vacation guide first . But we hope to see some whales from Wailea. 😅
This is very informative. Thanks! Do you have any ideas of what to do out on the water for a family with kids around 5-8 yrs. I'm the only one in my fam that wants to snorkel out in the big blue! 🙄😏🤷♀️
not to push it too hard but the Canoe Sail from Polo Beach is great for that situation. Our kids loved being on the canoe's nets, got to see urchins and turtles, and enjoyed the stories. We went snorkeling, they enjoyed the playing on the nets. thehawaiivacationguide.com/activities/hawaiian-sailing-canoe/ I hear you though, tough situation. 😂
It is okay for gluten free. Try food truck parks as they have a big selection to give you options. Whale watching is good in late March as mostly moms and calves. Every season is different though!
We booked Sheraton Maui becuase I got a good deal.. Did I make a mistake on the hotel? Did I make a good decision on the resort for me, the wife and my 4 year old toddler? We are excited but no one really ranks the hotel that high? We also booked mid September and hoping tourist will be low? Do you recommend any good breakfast or coffee places by the hotel?
The Sheraton is a great location and has a wonderful pool. Black Rock is right outside. The hotel can feel dated but we like it more than the Hyatt on the other side of Kaanapali. See this article for coffee and breakfast spots or grab our itinerary for more. thehawaiivacationguide.com/things-to-do-in-kapalua-and-napili/
We booked a vacation rental without a swimming pool, could you pls recommend me a local nice outdoor swimming pool incase my kids want to play . Thank you John
I am planning a Hawaiian wedding...do you recommend I still look into Maui? I don't want to intrude but also want a beautiful location for my small wedding. Also do you have any recommendations on beachside venues?
Maui is welcoming visitors and they would appreciate the support. Olowalu has a beachside venue and our friends got married at the small chapel in Kapalua.
Have you stayed at The Westin? We booked our reservation there, but still having a hard time swallowing the price. Definitely want a hotel, not a rental. Any personal suggestions?
The Westin is a favorite of ours as newly remodeled and they have a fun pool. Look at the Kaanapali Beach Resort for a better price while a similar location near Whalers Village.
Hello I am new at travel. What resorts do you recommend at this time in Maui? Would love something that we can snorkel off shore and a place that is family friendly. Thank you Thank you.
we mentioned we moved in previous posts, newsletters, and videos for family reasons. We have a lot of content, so easy to miss! We go back to the islands a lot now. Thanks for watching!
As much money me and my family leave in Mahi every year every year since 1987 we should be welcome. Was in Lahaina 2 weeks before the fire. Friends there are barely making it because of tourism lows. Sorry for all who lost. Most will not be able to afford a newly built Lahaina.
agreed! One would think they would go down due to lack of demand but they are trying to get higher prices. We shall see if price go down this year on Maui.
Not a staycation this time! We moved to the mainland to be closer to family for the time being. We just go back to Hawaii a lot now. Thanks for watching!
It's December 26th and my wife and I have reservations to stay at the KBH January 7th to 17th (these were made before the fire). I am concerned about the timing as this may be when fire survivors are being pushed out. Any info you have would be appreciated. Thanks.
We stayed at the KBH in November and had a good time. Fire survivors were there but local workers need support too. I hope they open more housing on the islands this month.
@@lukez4133 It has been phenomenal. I visited the memorial for the victims and also dropped of donations to the support site. We did all the usual tourist stuff and it was great. Everyone happy to see tourists returning.
It's amazing that you're helping your family and returning back to the islands in order to keep up this channel! It had been quite helpful to me and many others, I'm sure. So, thank you for all your continued work!
You should tell people that if they want to watch the sunrise on Haleakala between 3-7 am you have to book online 60 days prior You should also tell people it is $30 per vehicle for anytime and you need to register car license plate and pay online.
really great video-nice work-but i would not recommend taking kids on vacation-changing diapers while on vacation is not my idea of a relaxing vacation :(
We left just in time before the fires 😟, We went for my pre birthday celebration (July 25th - August 4th ) and we heard there had been a fire at HNL airport , so our flight was delayed for like 1 hour . Do any of you know if all of the Sheraton staff are alive ? We have been distressing as we have many re occurring staff that we had since made friendship with.
It’ll be years before I go back to Maui. There’s a lot of hostility towards outsiders at the moment it seems. I don’t want to cause more pain or offense.
Not totally true. There is a very vocal minority of people that are, understandably, having a tough time and have been through a lot. However, the vast majority of the Island is open and welcoming visitors. In fact, needs visitors. As others have said, our economy relies primarily on tourism - Good, bad or indifferent, that's the way it is. Visiting Maui is not disrespectful - Going to Lahaina to view that area would be. Common sense. Come, enjoy, practice Aloha and have patience and empathy.
Maui DESPERATELY need tourist. Workers are being laid off. Airport field filled will Un-rented cars. Workers WANT to work ! Without tourism, Maui WILL die.
