General Info

We usually go to Maui in March or April. It is great for whale watching right from your room.

If you are adventurous, take the road around the west side of the island. There are some spectacular views and the drive is really fun. There are also a couple of really good snorkeling spots around this side of the island not too far from Kahana. Part of this road is a one lane road, so it can be interesting when you meet other traffic. Sometimes, there are donkeys that will be on the road and they will actually stick their head in your car window and eat right our of your hand. Plan on about 3 hours for this drive, depending on how much time you stop along the way.

That drive takes your around to Kahului. When your get near to Kahului, you will be close to the Iao Needle. It is a nice tropical park that is definitely worth a quick stop.

The bicycle ride down Haleakala is also a lot of fun. Mostly coasting and riding the brake and if you enjoy the fresh air, you will enjoy the ride.

If you take a snorkeling trip to Molokini, be sure to go on the morning trip. Afternoons are always a lot rougher because of the trade winds.

The aquarium is great! Road to Hana is nice, but plan on ALL DAY. The first time I went, we made lots of stops and were gone for 14 hours. By the time we got back, everyone was very tired and cranky. Last time we went, we went on past the 7 sacred falls on the road they told us not to go on. It was fine and lots of great scenery that we would have missed otherwise.

If you go up to Haleakala you will have to buy a pass to get into the park. Be sure to save this pass, because it will also be good to get you into the Seven Sacred Pools Park when you go on the road to Hana.

I have lots of more good info, for anyone who is interested. If you have specific questions, please ask.

Steve

If we were to buy 2, 1-week time shares, can we use them concurrently? If so, what would the maintenance be on them?

ross23 wrote:

If we were to buy 2, 1-week time shares, can we use them concurrently? If so, what would the maintenance be on them?

Yes - You can use 2 ea 1-week timeshares concurrently. I have done so several times when coming to Maui with a large group. You can ask to have adjacent rooms, but the resort can't always accommodate that. So far, they've been able to put me in 2 rooms in the same building though.

Maintenance fees for this year are: 2 Bedroom: $1170.20 3 Bedroom: $1358.20

Why are the maintenance fees so varied in price for the same number of bedrooms/baths? If you can only use the timeshare every other year, do you pay fees every other year, too?

stevef26 wrote:

We usually go to Maui in March or April. It is great for whale watching right from your room.

If you are adventurous, take the road around the west side of the island. There are some spectacular views and the drive is really fun. There are also a couple of really good snorkeling spots around this side of the island not too far from Kahana. Part of this road is a one lane road, so it can be interesting when you meet other traffic. Sometimes, there are donkeys that will be on the road and they will actually stick their head in your car window and eat right our of your hand. Plan on about 3 hours for this drive, depending on how much time you stop along the way.

That drive takes your around to Kahului. When your get near to Kahului, you will be close to the Iao Needle. It is a nice tropical park that is definitely worth a quick stop.

The bicycle ride down Haleakala is also a lot of fun. Mostly coasting and riding the brake and if you enjoy the fresh air, you will enjoy the ride.

If you take a snorkeling trip to Molokini, be sure to go on the morning trip. Afternoons are always a lot rougher because of the trade winds.

The aquarium is great! Road to Hana is nice, but plan on ALL DAY. The first time I went, we made lots of stops and were gone for 14 hours. By the time we got back, everyone was very tired and cranky. Last time we went, we went on past the 7 sacred falls on the road they told us not to go on. It was fine and lots of great scenery that we would have missed otherwise.

If you go up to Haleakala you will have to buy a pass to get into the park. Be sure to save this pass, because it will also be good to get you into the Seven Sacred Pools Park when you go on the road to Hana.

I have lots of more good info, for anyone who is interested. If you have specific questions, please ask.

Steve

Hello Steve;

My wife and I are planning a trip to SOK in October, this is our first time going to HI, would you share some of the info you have, I am looking to possibly buy an activity package or something like that to see as much as I can, I also will rent a car to get around. Anything you care to share will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Ronald

Hello Ronald,

Sorry that I didn't see your question sooner! Hopefully you get this before you go!

I usually take a look at some of the packages that a vendor named "Boss Frogs" has to offer. They also have a website called "Bossfrogs.com" that can give you some ideas! They also offer some steep discounts if you attend a timeshare presentation. You can decide whether it is worth it or not!

Some of the things that I consider a "must see" in Maui are:

1. Drive up to Haleakala - I am not an early bird, so going to watch the sunrise is too much like work for me while on vacation. It is a very scenic drive up and if you are adventurous and like the out doors, sign up for one of the bike tours down the mountain. There is virtually no excercise involved. It is basically just an exercise in using the brake all the way down! The views and fresh air are breathtaking.

2. Shopping in Lahaina - Spending a day walking around the little town of Lahaina is just a lot of fun. Surprisingly, the shops have some pretty good prices on a lot of their stuff. If you like burgers, "Cheeseburger in Paradise" is a great place to eat. Usually the food at a place like this is not too good, but everyone in our party totally enjoyed it.

3. Submarine ride - The submarine ride is totally awesome. Don't take the yellow submarine, it is only a glorified glass bottom boat. The submarine actually takes you down about 130 ft and you see all kinds of marine life and even a shipwreck.

4. Helicopter ride - The helicopter ride over Haleakala and around to Hana is a once in a lifetime event. Well worth it!!!

5. Snorkel trip to Molokini - We enjoyed the boat ride over to the island of Molokini. The snorkeling was not on par with other places that I have been, but the outing was nice. If you go during whale season, then any boat ride is an experience.

6. Whale Watching Boat - The best whale watching boat that we found was the "Pacific Whale Foundation" that departs from Ma'alaea Harbor (right next to the Maui Ocean Center). Sometimes you can get a better deal on their trips if you book online at www.pacificwhale.org. They are very reasonable anyway!

7. Hawaiian Luau - You can't go to Hawaii without going to a luau. The Old Lahaina Luau is touted to be the most popular luau in Maui. I haven't been to that one, but I have been to a couple of others and found them to be quite enjoyable also. They have one at the Hyatt (Drums of the Pacific) in Kaanapali that was pretty good and right after, they had fireworks on the beach.

8. Snorkeling - There is some of the best snorkeling just to the northwest of Kahana. Follow the main highway around to the west and north past Kapalua. You will see a couple of pull offs and a bay. If the water conditions are good, you will see fantastic coral formations along with a wide variety of tropical fish, turtles, etc. This is probably some of the best snorkeling from the shore that I have seen!

9. Maui Ocean Center - If you have kids, or even if you don't, go see the Maui Ocean Center. It is a great aquarium with exhibits of all the local fishes along with a wide variety of sharks! It is reasonably priced and very entertaining!

There are many more things to do in Maui and I have just shared a few. If you are interested in more info, you can email me direct at sdfhou@aol.com.

Thanks, Steve

karyle2 wrote:

Why are the maintenance fees so varied in price for the same number of bedrooms/baths? If you can only use the timeshare every other year, do you pay fees every other year, too?

I believe that some people are a little confused about how much their maintenance fees are. I find some people are still quoting their maintance fees at the same rate as what they were paying several years ago! I guess they just pay the bill without paying attention to the different amount!

If you own a unit that is every other year, then you essentially pay 1/2 of the annual maintenance fee each year, so that you are just paying it in 2 payments instead of one.

I am pretty sure that the maintenance fees are pretty standard for each type of unit.