maui splendor

I just returned from a 10 day trip to Maui. We stayed at the Palms at Wailea a Outrigger condo complex. The condo was spectacular, Upscale accomodations, with an ocean view, The condo was more than I imagined.The grounds were lush, green and tropical. The staff was professional and friendly. The area Wailea is the Beverly Hills of Wailea, the Four Seasons, and the Grand Wailea among other upscale hotels are located in this area.Among world famous golf course%26#39;s. We traveled the entire island and found this area the most beautiful. First thing we did was go to Costco and load up on groceries and goodies, which was a very inexpensive way to dine in. Some of the highlights were ,we did the Road to Hana, it was an awesome trip a must do. We snorkled in various places, mostly in the Wailea and Makena area beaches.We found beaches in the Makena area to have great snorkling, we were able to snorkle with large gentle sea turtles a real highlight. We went to a local secret beach called the Aquariam. Few people are willing to make the trek over a lava field which takes over an hour to travel on a hard to follow trail , If you attempt this, wear good hiking shoes, we did it with water shoes and it was painful, we did see other toursit with flip flops, what a mistake. When you do reach the spot called the Aquariam is is a virtual, The water is crystal clear and the sea life there is the best you will see anywhere else on this planet. There is no beach, the lava flows into the ocean. I%26#39;m glad we did it, not sure if I would do that again.We did Lahiana and it was a zoo,We shopped at the Whalers Village very upscale and unique shopping, We also went to the Lahaina cannery row mall. We had dinner at Kimos and it was ok. The real food highlight was dining at Da Kitchen in Kahului a true hawaiian food delight. The hawaiian food is fantastic, this is where the local dine at. Please eat there you will love it. The desserts are delicious as well. To break things up we also went to Waikiki for two days and as usual had a fantastic blast. Love Waikiki. We ate at our usual restaruant Dukes! great as always. We had a unforgettable and memorable family holiday in Maui.Please contact me if you want or need more information.

maui splendor

Sounds like you have a really great trip. Thanks for the report. I enjoyed reading it. Michelle

maui splendor

The aquarium is a great place to snorkel, but you do have to be careful. The trail is hard to follow and many people walk all over the lava thinking they are on the trail and they are not. Some of the places where people lose the trail and wander are sacred places to the Hawaiians and have been disturbed. If it took you longer than a half an hour to get to the aquarium you went the wrong way. Beacause of this happening over and over again, there is talk of closing the aquarium to all.

You may think the snorkeling there is the best on the planet but it isn%26#39;t. Maybe 20 yrs ago but not now. The area known as the ';dumps'; is inside the reserve where no fishing or boating or fish feeding is allowed. Beacause of these rules the ';dumps'; is a much better place to snorkel. Many more fish, types of fish and coral. It is also a lot easier to get to!!

msfuzz - Where is the ';dumps';?

It is inside the Ahihi Kinau Marine Reserve. Past Big Beach. Before you get to the La Perouse monument. Go along the road, you will pass the cove where you see a lot of people snorkeling just right off the road. Drive up the hill right after you get to the top, to your right you will see what is called a parking lot. Very rocky area to park. If it is after I believe 8 or 9 am there will be a sign to the entrance of said parking lot. You should see 3-4 naturalists at a table there. They will tell you where the trail is. If they are not there, go to the end of the parking lot closest to the ocean and look to the left. You should be able to see the beginning of the trail there. It is a 3-4 min. walk. There is no beach but a lot of rocks. The entry into the water is on the far left where there is a little bit of black sand. Greatest place to snorkel as far as amount and variety of fish on the island. Have fun!!

Thanks msfuzz for the directions. The dumps is one of the places we%26#39;re wanting to find.

Aquarium and Fishbowl sound really great, but I think we%26#39;ll pass, just because of it being over-used....

Thanks msfuzz for the great directions!!

Hey we stayed at the Palms too. Great location: midway between middle-class Kihei and upper-class Wailea.

how long should i wait