Going to Maui: sight-seeing recommendations

[IGotWorms 3,310]

2 minutes ago, Bier Meister said:

which one did you visit?  I love them. they are pretty high on my japanese list and I have been to nobu, morimoto, etc

The one north of Kaanapali. Didn’t realize there were others. They were out of a lot of stuff and their regular menu items (which I don’t usually go for at Japanese places) were totally meh. Ambiance wasn’t great either, kind of had a cafeteria type feel

[Bier Meister 1,513]

1 minute ago, IGotWorms said:

The one north of Kaanapali. Didn’t realize there were others. They were out of a lot of stuff and their regular menu items (which I don’t usually go for at Japanese places) were totally meh

that's the one we visit as well.

 

that's too bad.  typically excellent offerings

[IGotWorms 3,310]

Maybe we were just spoiled as almost everywhere else we ate was amazing.

[cmh6476 750]

I'm listening fellas.  Just switched the rental to a convertible, what the hell.

Also I took stuff off the calendar except for reservations, and it appears to have opened things up. 

Then I just compiled a list of restaurants, hours of operation and distance from the VRBO.  I am shooting for Merriman's reservations on Saturday, and then I found like 4 breakfast options in case we're up and hungry early, and listed several that include your recommendations: Monkeypod, Leilani's, Star Noodle, Coconuts, Cafe O'Lei, Gannon's, Hula Grill & Maui Tacos.

So I see nothing scheduled Monday after we get in, a full open day Tuesday outside of the dinner reservations, should have time between summit and Mama's Fish House wednesday and nothing after the 3:15 meal, and open day Friday outside of the sunset cruise.  That should be a pretty good balance.

 

[Bier Meister 1,513]

^^

[Bier Meister 1,513]

Daughter is there now with a friend.  She is now hooked on star noodle. Got a  2p res.

[cmh6476 750]

Headed to the airport now

[Bier Meister 1,513]

6 hours ago, cmh6476 said:

Headed to the airport now

[DonS 3,067]

Hopefully you won't experience this when you fly home:

https://wanderwisdom.com/news/.amp/maui-airport-tsa-line

Have a great time! 

[Bier Meister 1,513]

🤿

[cmh6476 750]

That was an amazing trip.  6 days went by so fast, and typically as you're wore out and ready to be home, we didn't want to leave.  I would definitely recommend the island as a must visit for anyone that hasn't been and can make it happen.

Glad we stayed in Kihei, as it was centrally located and easy to get to about anything you needed to.

Mama's Fish House was amazing, as was Merriman's.  As they should be when we spent about $350 on dinner and drinks at Mama's and over $400 at Merriman's (after tip).  The rest of the food didn't necessarily knock me off my feet, but it was all pretty good overall.

My favorite experience was traveling up to the top of Haleakala, 10k feet above sea level to watch the sun come up above the clouds.  It was breathtaking and spectacular.

Also went out to Molokini for a snorkel and that was a lot of fun. And the feast of lele was pretty great.

We made it just over halfway to Hana, then had to turn around as a truck had jack-knifed and the road was blocked and we had dinner reservations later that evening.

The whole trip was amazing.  Definitely want to get back to Hawaii someday, and if we do not sure if we'll just make it Maui again or try another island, but deinitely want to get back at some point.  Really appreciate all the tips and advice everyone threw out.

 

[DonS 3,067]

1 minute ago, cmh6476 said:

That was an amazing trip.  6 days went by so fast, and typically as you're wore out and ready to be home, we didn't want to leave.  I would definitely recommend the island as a must visit for anyone that hasn't been and can make it happen.

Glad we stayed in Kihei, as it was centrally located and easy to get to about anything you needed to.

Mama's Fish House was amazing, as was Merriman's.  As they should be when we spent about $350 on dinner and drinks at Mama's and over $400 at Merriman's (after tip).  The rest of the food didn't necessarily knock me off my feet, but it was all pretty good overall.

My favorite experience was traveling up to the top of Haleakala, 10k feet above sea level to watch the sun come up above the clouds.  It was breathtaking and spectacular.

Also went out to Molokini for a snorkel and that was a lot of fun. And the feast of lele was pretty great.

We made it just over halfway to Hana, then had to turn around as a truck had jack-knifed and the road was blocked and we had dinner reservations later that evening.

The whole trip was amazing.  Definitely want to get back to Hawaii someday, and if we do not sure if we'll just make it Maui again or try another island, but deinitely want to get back at some point.  Really appreciate all the tips and advice everyone threw out.

 

Glad you had a good time.  Did you manage to check out that Tiki bar in Kihei? 

[cmh6476 750]

2 minutes ago, DonS said:

Glad you had a good time.  Did you manage to check out that Tiki bar in Kihei? 

I don't think so

[DonS 3,067]

1 minute ago, cmh6476 said:

I don't think so

Roger that.  Damn, I'm thirsty for some zombies now.

[Bier Meister 1,513]

9 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

 

Mama's Fish House was amazing, as was Merriman's.  As they should be when we spent about $350 on dinner and drinks at Mama's and over $400 at Merriman's (after tip).  The rest of the food didn't necessarily knock me off my feet, but it was all pretty good overall.

 

edit: Merriman's used to serve an ala carte menu vs prix fixe, so more manageable in the past.

 

 

What were the misses?

[cmh6476 750]

12 minutes ago, Bier Meister said:

What were the misses?

where did we go...

Right off the plane, we headed for Star Noodle.  The view was amazing, and right away I was like, damn this trip is going to be amazing.  We got the Hapa Ramen and Singapore Noodles.  It was really good, and maybe my expectations were just way too high from the get-go.

I was really impressed with the Kihei Cafe for breakfast.  The fried rice breakfasts were great, and something we may start concocting on our own.

Went to the Hali'imaile General Store the next night, and again it was really good but maybe I was just looking for something that I was going to be like damn, this is some of the best food I've ever eaten.

Wednesday was Mama's Fish House, and there it was what I had been looking for.  Totally blown away, and if I had the means and had known in advance, we may have been making reservations there every night

Thursday we did the molokini snorkel so they had sort of a continental breakfast for us and group lunch and it was ok, but I get you're paying for the snorkel adventure and not really the food.  Then feast of lele that night, and I wasn't overly impressed with all the food options they brought out, but totally enjoyed the show and performance.  And I got lei'd.

Friday we went to a place at our VRBO/ condo.  It was called the Monsoon Bar & Grill, and I really liked what they had to offer.

Then we had a sunset dinner cruise, and there you are talking about a catering event for a large crowd that was on the cruise with us, so for what we were working with it was ok.

On Saturday we grabbed some pizza at a local place (I mean, how much seafood can you really eat?), and then Merriman's, which was a perfect ending and right on par with Mama's.

Like I said the food was good, but maybe I was just expecting to be overwhelmed with the food.

 

[cmh6476 750]

Also looking ahead, I'll turn 45 next November, and it was recently announced that KU would be playing in the Maui Invitational right before Thanksgiving.  I assume I'll renew my season tickets, and we get an option to purchase tickets to go on those excursions with the team.  Perhaps I'll look into that, and see if we can't venture back next year.

[Bier Meister 1,513]

3 minutes ago, cmh6476 said:

where did we go...

Right off the plane, we headed for Star Noodle.  The view was amazing, and right away I was like, damn this trip is going to be amazing.  We got the Hapa Ramen and Singapore Noodles.  It was really good, and maybe my expectations were just way too high from the get-go.

I was really impressed with the Kihei Cafe for breakfast.  The fried rice breakfasts were great, and something we may start concocting on our own.

Went to the Hali'imaile General Store the next night, and again it was really good but maybe I was just looking for something that I was going to be like damn, this is some of the best food I've ever eaten.

Wednesday was Mama's Fish House, and there it was what I had been looking for.  Totally blown away, and if I had the means and had known in advance, we may have been making reservations there every night

Thursday we did the molokini snorkel so they had sort of a continental breakfast for us and group lunch and it was ok, but I get you're paying for the snorkel adventure and not really the food.  Then feast of lele that night, and I wasn't overly impressed with all the food options they brought out, but totally enjoyed the show and performance.  And I got lei'd.

Friday we went to a place at our VRBO/ condo.  It was called the Monsoon Bar & Grill, and I really liked what they had to offer.

Then we had a sunset dinner cruise, and there you are talking about a catering event for a large crowd that was on the cruise with us, so for what we were working with it was ok.

On Saturday we grabbed some pizza at a local place (I mean, how much seafood can you really eat?), and then Merriman's, which was a perfect ending and right on par with Mama's.

Like I said the food was good, but maybe I was just expecting to be overwhelmed with the food.

 

star noodle is one of my favorites, but i usually order different items.

we do not spend much time in Kihei.  Everyone once in a while if we do an excursion on the southern part of the island.

Mama's has always been excellent, just less convenient than many places closer to where we stay.

feast of lele has some of the better luau food imo.

 

I am used to going to restaurants around kaanapali, lahaina, kapalua, kahana, napili... so not sure how many you had visited (star noodle, and merriman's?)

[cmh6476 750]

1 minute ago, Bier Meister said:

star noodle is one of my favorites, but i usually order different items.

we do not spend much time in Kihei.  Everyone once in a while if we do an excursion on the southern part of the island.

Mama's has always been excellent, just less convenient than many places closer to where we stay.

feast of lele has some of the better luau food imo.

 

I am used to going to restaurants around kaanapali, lahaina, kapalua, kahana, napili... so not sure how many you had visited (star noodle, and merriman's?)

yeah, that's probably right.  The distance to travel wasn't bad, but at times with the traffic it was over an hour to get out that way so not the most convenient.

Looks like the Maui Invitational is in Lahaina, so if we do end up making that trek, I assume the team hotel will be out that way and maybe I can circle back and get some more suggestions on places to venture.