Hello all! First - thanks so much to everyone for your wonderful advice over the past few months. It really helped me plan our trip. A little background - this trip was our (my DH and I) 4th trip to Hawaii. We%26#39;ve visited Maui twice in the past, Kauai and Oahu. So this was our first to the BI and it was SO WORTH IT! We wanted to go this year b/c our 5th anniversary was Aug 30th and we wanted to go back to Maui - where it all began - to celebrate.
Maui - Aug 31-Sept 4th
We arrived on NWA from Milwaukee to Seattle to Maui around 6 p.m ish. There are hardly any direct trips from Mpls anymore. Plus - I heard from fellow travelers that United and Delta are thinking of severely limiting or pulling their flights out of Hawaii! A couple from Chicago ended up on United to Maui via Houston, which took WAY longer than our flight. So if you are on the northern end of Chicago - think about flying out of Milwaukee via NWA and you%26#39;ll save some airtime.
Oh - and we upgraded to first class from Seattle to Maui - it was $250 a person. (we used Miles to get our tickets) The flight was not full. First clue the Islands were going to be light with tourists.
Anyway - got a jeep rental thru Hawaii Discount Rental at Avis for pretty decent money. We stayed at Four Seasons b/c that%26#39;s where we honeymooned 5 years ago. I called the mgr prior to booking and explained our trip. He helped me book our room and gave us the garden room price, but upgraded us to partial ocean view and said he gave us his favorite room and heck yes it was AWESOME! Even better partial ocean view room than we had 5 years ago. I opted for the Bed and Breakfast package so we could stuff ourselves in the morning.
Day 1 - Second clue that tourism is down (or at least this particular week in Hawaii) we were able to secure a cabana at 10 a.m, which NEVER happens. When you spend so much for a hotel room, I find it hard to leave the darn place. So we lounged in the morning before our couples oceanside massage. (highly recommend it - so worth the $350) We drove to the Shops at Wailea and had lunch at Tommy Bahama cafe. We know the food is overrated, but we still enjoy it.
That night we went to Old Lahania Lu%26#39;au. This was our 3rd time visiting them. They really changed things up and I have to say, we didn%26#39;t enjoy ourselves this time like in year%26#39;s past. Don%26#39;t get me wrong, this is hands down the best luau on all the islands, but I felt the show was shortened. Plus, their lava flows were horrible. (the best lava flows is at the Four Seasons, it is $12, but you get what you pay for)
Day 2: More lounging before our West Maui flight on Blue Hawaiian Helicopters. Okay - I think I read reviews somewhere about this sarcastic pilot named Klaus? Yep, we got him and he%26#39;s not the special thing he thinks he is. He made us feel really dumb when asking questions. But hey, you aren%26#39;t on the %26#39;copter for him - you are there for the view!! Unfortunately, I got sick - and I even took motion sickness pill (not dramamine, can%26#39;t remember the name) Needless to say, we didn%26#39;t buy the special $20 DVD after the flight.
That night we requested the ocean-view table at Ferraro%26#39;s. It was awesome! But...I still wasn%26#39;t feeling well from my little air show, so we had to cut it short. I still feel bad about it. Our waiter was so cool, before we left, they brought a plate with chocholates scribed ';Happy Anniversary';
Day 3: We took advantage of 4S free hour of snorkel gear use - and it is good gear too. We snorkeled right in front of the hotel on Wailea beach and it was so clear that day, unbelievable. And get this - during our whole stay - two different boat companies dropped off their snorklers RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE 4S to take advanatage of the same area we were in for free. One was Four Winds and I couldn%26#39;t see the other, but they both came at the same time-odd. But seriously - don%26#39;t pay for that, Wailea beach is a public beach (like all beaches) drive over with your snorkel gear and do it yourself.
That night we went to Feast at Le Le lu%26#39;au in Lahaina. (Did I mention we are addicted to lu%26#39;aus?) Second time at this one - and it was better than the first time. Great food, good service, you have your own table so you don%26#39;t have to be sociable. Get to Lahaina a little early so you can walk downtown.
Day 4: last day at 4S (sigh). We rented a kayak from their scuba desk for $35/hour in the morning. I tell you, navagating thru all those snorkelers was a little hair raising. Look up people when you snorkel and take stock of your location!! We got the pool-side service down pat by this day, muffins go around at 10 a.m., water spritzes and cool towels around 11:30 and watermelon slices around 12:30.
okay - this is where I ignored your advice and got into trouble. I booked our inter-island flight on Pacific Wing. The $50 fee was so tantalizing!! We arrived 1 1/2 hours before our 2 p.m flight to the desk clerk telling us their BUSIEST flight of the day was cancelled. What??!! Their next flight was at 4 p.m. umm...sorry...I am not wasting time on my vaca. So we ended up booking on Hawaiian Airlines for $125/person. Lesson learned - just book on Hawaiian, you have a little better guarentee that your flight will happen. We called it in while at the airport and learned we save a ticketing fee by doing so.
The rest of our trip is on the Big Island. I%26#39;ll post that later. Feel free to ask any questions!
Trip Report: Aug 31-Sept 7 Maui and BI
Great trip report Sybil! You started it out right by flying out of MKE vs. ORD. Nice and relaxing. You mentioned that you could tell tourism was down. Did you notice it when you were just at the resort or when you ventured out as well? Also, what changed with the Old Lahaina Luau that you disliked besides the drink?
Happy Anniversary!
Trip Report: Aug 31-Sept 7 Maui and BI
Your trip brought back lovely memories of our stay on Maui last May, although we saved some $$ by renting a condo. Glad you loved the 4S..it looks so beautiful. We also took a helicopter flight on Blue Hawaiian, but we had a wonderful female pilot who was funny, interesting and actually solicitied questions. We took the time to write a complimentary comment about her...so hopefully everyone won%26#39;t have to put up with what you did. At the prices you pay, you should have a pilot who makes the trip special.
I noticed that tourism was down even more when we went to BI. The hotel bartender said the hotel was at 30% capacity - and the two tours we booked - we were the ONLY ones on them. It was freaky. Regarding the question on Maui - since it was my third trip I guess I was just comparing. The hotel was light, the streets weren%26#39;t packed and the airport was a ghost town. Even the line at the car rental, which is usually 20 people deep b/c car rental employees like to take their lunches when I arrive, was quick. I think going the first week in Sept has something to do with it, but it sure wasn%26#39;t like this 5 years ago for our honeymoon.
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