STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

joy0302 · Kate Spade

Maui??

Hedvig · Coach

I just spent a few days on Maui with my bf and we loved it there! Did you check out Kealoha's posts in the Hawaii thread I started?

I guess the best way to see lovely scenery and waterfalls would be to drive (or take a bus tour) down the famous Hana Highway to Hana. Although I think the scenery is beautiful anywhere on Maui.

If you're interested in snorkeling you could take a boat tour to Molokini, which we enjoyed very much. It was a great opportunity to see sea turtles.

We stayed in Lahaina and that's where I did all the shopping. There were dozens of jewelry stores along the main street (Front St), all of which had pretty much the same merchandise. I just had to get some fresh water pearls! And you'll find kukui nut necklaces at every single ABC Store on the island. The same goes for Kona coffee and macadamia nuts, which I loved!

Oh, and don't worry about snakes - there are none on Maui!

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

you lucky girl.

i have a special place in my heart for maui. my husband and i were married there (several, several years ago). lahaina is the hoppin' town with shopping, dining, an excellent place to see the sunset over the island of Lanai etc. i recommend a restaurant called Longhi's in lahaina for the best atmosphere. it's on the main street... ask any local, they will point you there.

i think there has been a lot posted about maui specifically on this travel forum so i'm not going to repeat a lot of it... do a search, i think you'll find a lot of good info.

have a great time!

ayo · Coach

I'm not sure if you left for Maui yet but I just got back (like yesterday), I wish I did not have to leave. The place is soo beautiful...

Some of my must do's

Drive the Road to Hana in a convertible - the drive is just beautiful and I think the convertible makes it so much better. You should get the little audio tour CD to pop in your CD player while you are doing the drive, it give you a lot of cool facts about what you seeing while driving. The coolest part of this trip was the black sand beaches, and hiking to the waterfalls. I wanted to see the red sand beach but decided I would rather not see the nude bodies that accompany it (it's a nude beach), but that's just my hang up. Just a word of caution do not take the dirt roads back from the road to Hana, when you reach your destination turn around and go back the way you came. Trust me unfortunately I speak from experience.

go see a view the sunrise/sunset from Haleakala- you would think you died went to heaven. Caution it is COLD up there so be sure to take a sweater along.

Snorkeling in molokini- lots of cool beautifully colored fish and you will probably get to see some giant green turtles (I thought they were so adorable!)

Grab a meal at Pacific'O/ I'O (Lahaina), Mama Fish House (Pa'ia) or the Hula Grill (Kaanapali beach). You can also pretty much walk up and down Lahaina (which is really cute) and see what looks good.

Take a trip down to Kihei- this is a real surfer town, but I kinda dug the low key hippyish vibe (probably because I'm a repressed hippy myself ) they have some cool open air markets, if you are looking for any kitschy Hawaiian souveniers.

Walilea has some OK shopping, there were a couple of nice boutiques (your D&G's, LV and etc) but I just window shopped, I can get all that stuff here at home and it's exactly cheaper in Maui.

My favorite beach was actually Big Beach, which is on the southern part of the island. It was less crowded and more relaxing IMO. Kaanapali is the more well known beach and is really nice as well just a little more busy.

A trip to Iao valley would be pretty cool if you have some extra time.

I suggest getting the book "Maui Revealed" it has a lot of good information on what to do while on the island.

If you happen to need a place to stay, I HIGHLY recommend this B&B. It was fantastic, the pictures just do not do it justice.

http://www.hooilohouse.com/

HTH! have fun