What to pack. What to leave home.

I'll elaborate more but,

Less is more. You can pick up an extra shirt or bathing suit or flip flops on the island, and fairly inexpensively at the Wal Mart, ABC stores, or Longs Drugs.

Bring something to put on at night. It gets chilly, especially after a long day in the hot sun.

Car Rental thoughts.

We'd reserved a convertible, just for fun, but had to switch once there because all of our C - R - A - P (I mean gear) didn't fit AT ALL. Really, it was quite humorous watching my 6' 4" husband try to sit between my 2 boys in the back seat with luggage crammed everwhere. 

So, we changed to an Explorer. What a blessing. It was so nice not having to worry about what would fit in the trunk for the rest of the week, and it offered a much better view for the kids (and adults). I think I would have not enjoyed the convertible, except for about 20 minutes worth of the wind blowing in my hair. Then it would have just been annoying. And tangled.

Snorkeling Maui - boating vs. off shore

I have lots of thoughts on this, but the short answer for now is:

Snorkel off shore (we did Ulua Beach & Wailea Beach), and save the boat trip for the whale watching (a MUST DO, at least when the whales are in town!). 

Molokini was less than stellar as far as snorkeling, BUT...

As far as an experience on a boat and an adventure, the Four Winds II trip was awesome. We saw tons of whales, a few dophins and turtles. The crew was great, food was great, and the boys got to drive the boat! The snorkel end of it was less than great, but we'd just had tons of wind, and maybe it wasn't the best day to be there.  

We rented Boogy boards and snorkel gear for the week at the Maui Dive Shop. There are tons of locations, and they were quite knowledgeable. For gear for the entire family for the week, it ran us under $100, and was well worth just having it in the car, and ready for adventure at a moment's notice.

Restaurants

I'll elaborate later, as I have time.

Cheeseburger in Paradise - Lahaina (not fantastic - just okay)

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company - Lahaina (not fantastic - just okay)

Flatbread Pizza - Pa'ia (fabulous - we went back twice)

Charley's - Pa'ia (great breakfast)

Fred's Mexican - Kehei (First dinner there, food ok, server wasn't attentive - and we got take out another night, good food, but I think Maui Taco would have been just as good)

Hana Ranch Restaurant - Hana (yummy burgers)

Buzz's Wharf - Ma'alea Harbor (expensive, but great prawns)

Aloha Mixed Plate, Beachside Grill - Lahaina (yummy island food)

Beaches we visited

Again, I'll elaborate as I can.

Wailea

Big Beach

Ulua Beach

Ho'okipa

Hana, Red Sand, 2 Black Sand

Kaanapali (just off the Westin Villas property)

Accommodations - Where we stayed

The quick list, and I'll elaborate eventually:

First 2 nights: Westin Kaanapali Villas

Next 7: Maui Beach Resort (Maui Beach Vacation Club), our timeshare trade in Kehei

Last 1: Westin Kaanapali Villas

The Plane Ride over and Back

I'll add to this section when I can.

QUICK thoughts on some of our favorite places/things.

I'll take more time on all  of these places in the future, but for now here's a quick run-down:

Maui Revealed! 

Great guide book, it was a very valuable tool. Well written and maps are easy to follow, and quite thorough.

Pa'ia

Very cute little town, on the Road to Hana, but not far from Kahului (where you fly into). Lots of neat little shops. GREAT pizza at the Flatbread Pizza place (right on the main drag through town), and Charley's was yummy for breakfast on our way to Hana. It was a bit breezy in the restaurant, and the food chilled down quickly, but other than that, GREAT. TIP for the road to Hana... stop off at the Pharmacy in Pa'ia for these little Indonesian ginger candies. Quite strong (only give the kids 1/4 piece - they are spicy), but helped my car-queasiness immediately) More on Hana in another post.

Ho'okipa Lookout

Just past Pa'ia, a great place to hang out, tide pool, and watch the "real" surfers do their thing. I guess the windsurfers come here too, but we didn't see them on our visit. Bring good shoes, though, pretty sharp rocky lava/coral walking if you want to really explore the tide pools.

Aloha Mixed Plate - Beachside Grill

On the very north end of Lahaina, next door (literally) to the Old Lahaina Luau location, and behind Safeway. Our very first meal on the island (and we returned later that week as well). I great way to jump start our island experience. Good food, great outdoor ambiance.

Wailea Beach

We found this beach to be a great beach to just hang out. The boys LOVED to boogy board, and this was a safe beach in which to let them play. Sandy entry, so we didn't worry about stubbed toes. Some days were better than others for the amount of waves... but generally great every day we visited. On calmer days, it offered great snorkeling off the south end by the rocky points. In fact, this is where I swam with a giant turtle (SOOOO cool!). 

Ulua Beach

Great snorkeling, and would be great for beginners, or with the kids (they can float on a boogy board and just duck their heads in if not really "into" the snorkel-thing). MUCH more on snorkeling later.  We really liked Wailea Beach for general beaching, so after the snorkel adventure was over, we packed up, grabbed lunch, then returned to the beach at Wailea.