Goin' to Hawaii

[AK47bp]

I am sad to hear this about the reefs. Has there been a lot of bleaching lately, or just too many tourists?

I always thought Hawaii had some of the nicest reefs that were still in good shape... the cooler water seems to have prevented the bleaching that has absolutely destroyed the Caribbean. Last year in Kauai the reefs still seemed in ok shape to me ?

All that sunscreen coming off people's skin for the last 90 years is bleaching reefs as well.

[Kenny Satch]

Maui is a truly spectacle place.
If you want a trill then drive the north end of the island. Be warned its carved out of the side of the hills and gets narrow more than not. It can seem no one uses it until a school bus passes right by you.

As for surf Kapalua area is easy to get to and a great spot.



Enjoy

[Name Redacted]

We were there in April. Stayed at Honua Kai resort N of Lahaina. Had a blast.

What we did:
Blow Hole: 45 mins north of Honua Kai: short Hike, very cool, fewer people at sunset
Olevigne (sp?) pools: cool tidal pools good for swimming and hanging out, short hike
Hana: very cool drive, but a lot of driving. Hike to the waterfalls and pools (forgot names but they are obvious). Pools are closed for swimming and jumping. Take a small car, not an Expedition like we did.
Black Rock Beach- also cool park, crowded. Good snorkeling and cliff jumping.
Maui Wave Riders: decent surf shop in Lahaina on prison st- some of us took lessons, Breakwall is super mellow, great place for learning, but can be crowded, go early
A few good mellow surf spots just south of Lahaina, we SUPed and surfed a few, all pretty mellow and we sucked at it, but it was fun.
Slaughterhouse beach: good body surfing or just sit on beach and watch people getting wrecked.

What we didn't get to do because we were a group of six who couldn't get our shit together:
Molokini snorkeling looked pretty cool, gotta take a boat in the am and most offer food.
Haleakala sunrise: you need reservations just for sunrise, make them asap as in now if they are interested, books out way in advance, or pay for a tour).
Black Rock Snorkeling: supposed to be great turtle watching and cliff jumping, we just never got around to it.

Breweries:
Maui Brewery- Kanapali- good lunch and beers
Maui Brewery- Kiehei- cool tasting room and tours
Kohola Brewery- in Lahaina- cool little tasting room fish taco food truck is good too

Restaurants: food is expensive but worth every penny. We are from CO so don't get good seafood often so really geeked out on it.
Pacific'O- amazing farm-to-table right on the beach moderately priced actually 2nd favorite behind Monkeypod.
Prison Street Pizza: Great NJ style pies and slices right in lahaina next to Maui Wave Riders
Paia fish market- awesome fresh fish and must do, I think it's the best of the fish markets. There's a few of them.
Mokeypod: This place is a MUST and reservations are recommended- owned by some famous chef guy- don't skip pie for desert
Duke's: At Honua Kai: worth a meal or two since it is right at the resort. Food is actually excellent
Dolly's- Dive Bar with good Pizza
SKIP Star Noodle- not very good Thai food, only bad meal of the trip so whatever.
Mala- good seafood in Lahaina

[WTF is dat]

We were there in April. Stayed at Honua Kai resort N of Lahaina. Had a blast.

What we did:
Blow Hole: 45 mins north of Honua Kai: short Hike, very cool, fewer people at sunset
Olevigne (sp?) pools: cool tidal pools good for swimming and hanging out, short hike
Hana: very cool drive, but a lot of driving. Hike to the waterfalls and pools (forgot names but they are obvious). Pools are closed for swimming and jumping. Take a small car, not an Expedition like we did.
Black Rock Beach- also cool park, crowded. Good snorkeling and cliff jumping.
Maui Wave Riders: decent surf shop in Lahaina on prison st- some of us took lessons, Breakwall is super mellow, great place for learning, but can be crowded, go early
A few good mellow surf spots just south of Lahaina, we SUPed and surfed a few, all pretty mellow and we sucked at it, but it was fun.
Slaughterhouse beach: good body surfing or just sit on beach and watch people getting wrecked.

What we didn't get to do because we were a group of six who couldn't get our shit together:
Molokini snorkeling looked pretty cool, gotta take a boat in the am and most offer food.
Haleakala sunrise: you need reservations just for sunrise, make them asap as in now if they are interested, books out way in advance, or pay for a tour).
Black Rock Snorkeling: supposed to be great turtle watching and cliff jumping, we just never got around to it.

Breweries:
Maui Brewery- Kanapali- good lunch and beers
Maui Brewery- Kiehei- cool tasting room and tours
Kohola Brewery- in Lahaina- cool little tasting room fish taco food truck is good too

Restaurants: food is expensive but worth every penny. We are from CO so don't get good seafood often so really geeked out on it.
Pacific'O- amazing farm-to-table right on the beach moderately priced actually 2nd favorite behind Monkeypod.
Prison Street Pizza: Great NJ style pies and slices right in lahaina next to Maui Wave Riders
Paia fish market- awesome fresh fish and must do, I think it's the best of the fish markets. There's a few of them.
Mokeypod: This place is a MUST and reservations are recommended- owned by some famous chef guy- don't skip pie for desert
Duke's: At Honua Kai: worth a meal or two since it is right at the resort. Food is actually excellent
Dolly's- Dive Bar with good Pizza
SKIP Star Noodle- not very good Thai food, only bad meal of the trip so whatever.
Mala- good seafood in Lahaina

You didn’t miss too much by not snorkeling at black rock... it’s pretty tourist infested and there is honestly much better snorkeling on the island.


Also worth checking out :


Big beach
& down the road from there the ahihi fish preserve for snorkeling

[Danno]

how has this not been posted yet?

[Marshall Tucker]

Bump because, well I am, soon. Has anybody been from the states recently? how was the Covid Shit? We've registered with the gohawaii site and uploaded the vax cards, and have gotten back the scan shit via email, anybody fool with that? did work OK through the airports? Lines and shit?

psyched. 5 days big island 5 days maui. Did some reading and NOT doing hanna, looks very unfun and not too into hiking. Gonna do a lot of diving and some surf. Staying Mauna Lani big island and Fairmont Mona Kai / south on Maui. Anybody done the nite dive with the manta rays on the big island? specific suggestions are appreciated! Cheers MT

[jono]

Went a couple months back and it was quite good. The app was smooth and if you hit the line quick for your last flight to get their bracelet thing you just sailed through. If they're still doing those don't snooze on it--the flight we were on less than half of us got through the line and the rest had to dance a jig under a tarp in the Kona airport. Seemed not as nice. Otherwise things were cool. Masks indoors, lots of hand sanitizer around, and per local custom lots of horror stories to share with the aholes. But no problems, more normal than the mainland, I'd say.

[Art Shirk]

Was there about 2 or 3 months ago. The process via app/GoHawaii was pretty streamlined beforehand as I recall. But once we arrived at the airport we found out that we had missed a step that wasnt intuitive at the time. We flew Alaska and the ticket counter lady was actually super helpful despite what seemed like a complicated additional process online. So, I think if you happen to need help, the staff at the airports have seen it all already for Hawaii travel.

I also needed to keep the family's travel status, etc at the ready for some establishments and hotels, so I just had screen shots of the QR code in my photo album for quick and easy use.

Overall, very impressed with how well they figured out the system. really didnt spend any really appreciable difference in time at the airport due to Hawaii travel, but I'd build some in to be certain in case your app submissions weren't completed just perfectly.

[stalefish3169]

...lots of horror stories to share with the aholes.

Haoles or aholes? Freudian Slip? LMAO!

[snowaddict91]

We are headed to Maui Sunday. No more questionaire needed for travel, only vac/QR code is my understanding. Will update with any other information on our trip there.

It sounds like the tensions between natives and tourists have been running high on Maui, especially for camping in many locations. We camped our last trip and are doing the same this one, but have a dedicated private spot as a backup campsite.

[jono]

Haoles or aholes? Freudian Slip? LMAO!

Huh. I'm gonna blame the auto learning dictionary, but I'm not sure that's gonna help!

[bennymac]

If you’re on that Fairmont stretch of coast you can take the road all the way south to where it ends and there is a trail to go for an easy walk/hike along the lava covered coast (you will cook if it’s mid afternoon)

Or you can stop halfway and do an easy bushwack up that mound of a hill on the coast side of the road (see google maps Puu Olai - there are some footpaths all over that mound) - this is a great place to watch the whales/sunset from.

leave your cars unlocked with nothing in them when you are parking them in “remote” places.

[jerlane]

Just got back from the big island. The airport was smooth. If you have the QR code, you should be fine. Try to get seats near the front of the plane to get a jump on the crowd. We needed the code for the car rental as well, but not much else. We stayed in a condo and didn’t eat out much. Didn’t feel any sketchier than at home. We’ve stayed at the Mauna Lani prior to their recent remodel and liked it a lot. If you’re staying at the hotel, I imagine it’s tits now. We liked riding their bikes up to the mall for coffee and breakfast. Shit’s always been expensive there, but damn it seems even worse since our last trip three years ago. The grocery store in Mauna Lani is good and not unreasonable. Good liquor selection as well. If you plan on going to Lava Lava in Waikoloa, get there early. It gets packed around sunset. There’s a pizza place in Mauna Lani that was decent.

We did the manta ray trip several years ago. My wife was pregnant then, so we couldn’t dive and instead did the snorkel version. I thought I would be bummed to not be diving, but even the snorkel trip was amazing. One of the coolest “dive” trips I’ve done. Must do. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[54-46]

Big Island: Can snorkel with Manta Rays for free at Mauna Kea; they have a light at night and the mantas come about 35 yard off the beach. Just say you’re going to eat at one of the restaurants and park. Nice beach during day; get there early to snag a public spot.

Maui: Did a hike called 13 Streams (see AllTrails). Keep going up and you can swim in pools below waterfalls (there are ropes to help climb)

[bennymac]

The wizard guidebooks for each island do a good job explaining best beaches and snorkeling and other activities. Don’t do anything in the adventure section if you’re not into hiking.

[phatty]

Definitely do the Mantas. Dive or snorkel is great. I prefer the location by the airport, but it may be because I've seen more Mantas the times I've been there than by Mauna Kea.

[The Suit]

If you're interested in a surf or kiteboarding intro, or just about any water sport on Maui, you should talk to Brett Sheerin -- Maui True North. Brett's a great guy, and an ex ski bum as well. He has a little jet boat and a jet ski in addition to what's on his website. His Instagram is entertaining as well.

[Marshall Tucker]

Will update with any other information on our trip there.

please do, and maybe could someone 'splain this bracelet thing, i've seen it a few places but absolutely don't understand the process other than, i think, you get in a line somewhere to get a bracelet witht the QR code. Haven't flown since well before covid. Going through LA with about an hour layover. thanks very kindly MT

[jono]

please do, and maybe could someone 'splain this bracelet thing, i've seen it a few places but absolutely don't understand the process other than, i think, you get in a line somewhere to get a bracelet witht the QR code. Haven't flown since well before covid. Going through LA with about an hour layover. thanks very kindly MT

The bracelet gets put on your wrist at the desk at the gate for your direct flight after the airline employee checks your status with the app. At least, that was the procedure in November. When you land you hold up your wrist and they wave you by, otherwise it's into the tent thing for you.


TL/DR: When you land in LA get to your departure gate and get in that line ASAP.

[jerlane]

No bracelet now, at least not for us going to the big island. This was two weeks ago. The airline had nothing to do with the whole process.


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[jono]

No bracelet now, at least not for us going to the big island. This was two weeks ago. The airline had nothing to do with the whole process.


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That's good. We probably benefited from it, but that was the wonkiest part of the system IMHO. Car rentals still checking your QR code, or have they dropped that?

[dgilligan02]

Big Island if you get around Hilo side take a swim at Carlsmith Beach Park. There is often local sea turtles cruising the inlet and they’ll get up close and personal.

[brutah]

Do the commando hike on Maui.

Maui is so much fun. Just countless rad things to do. If your a birder, the state park below Haleakalā National Park has a bunch of endemic bird species like honey creepers that will be extinct sooner than later

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[bennymac]

The blue cover guidebook to maui (wizard publications) details a lot of the cool hikes and adventures you can do along the road to Hana like that (and elsewhere on Maui and the other islands) Good footwear for transitioning from jungle hike to swimming back to hiking on rock is recommended.

[AK47bp]

The blue cover guidebook to maui (wizard publications) details a lot of the cool hikes and adventures you can do along the road to Hana like that (and elsewhere on Maui and the other islands) Good footwear for transitioning from jungle hike to swimming back to hiking on rock is recommended.

Crocs

Finally broke down and got Crocs for this exact purpose and they were awesome.


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