re: Maui must-dos

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millions of tourists'

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Link or you are once again exposing your ignorance.

If you are a golfer, play the Plantation course at Kapalua. Incredible views and you can relive your round on TV every January when the pros play it.

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I have to say, this is probably one of the most ridiculous thing I have heard anyone ever say. I feel like this person might have heard/read about this drive but has never done it on their own. If you drive to Hana and back without any stops, you have wasted a ton of gas, time and energy.

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Yeah and the douche bag still thinks the attraction of The Road to Hana is to get to Hana and wonders why he was so disappointed

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We're renting a place in Kihei as a base.

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Nice. If I were to do it over, I would probably get a place in either Lahaina or Kaanapali. Just because most of the things we were doing were around that area and it is about a 40min drive to get there. Maybe about 30 mins from Kihei. Either way - Kihei is a very popular place. Kihei and Wailea are good for those who want to stay in a touristy area with a bunch of resorts, populist restaurants, shopping etc. Lahaina has a cool small town feel. Kaanpali felt like a rich people area with golf courses and expensive hotels (Ritz is over here). Most boat tours will leave out of Lahaina, though some will leave out of Maalea (usually the dinner cruises).

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We thought about spending a night in Hana but we aren't, we are going to do it all in one day. I'm a little nervous about that as it seems like a LONG day.

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Again, if i were to do it over and I didn't have to spend 7 nights at one resort, I would probably overnight in Hana. The road past Hana gets a LOT more stressful than the road to Hana. If you think the road upto Hana is stressful, just wait until you go past Hana. If you can at all, and you want to see the Oheo Gulch, Honoma Bay (awesome body surfing) and Venus pools (for sunrise), overnight in Hana. Can't recommend that enough. Just remember though - you can't swim in the 7 pools (aka Oheo Gulch) anymore. You can see them from the road, but access is closed for months due to the frequency of accidents here. Venus pools is a bit of a perilous hike. I wouldn't do it with kids. If you want to pass on both of these, then you can turn back from Red Sand Beach (which I highly recommend). In this case, you can do road to Hana in a day.

Pro tips about road to Hana:
1) Rent a smaller car, especially if you plan to go past Hana. People drive way too big cars on these roads where a lot of times it becomes hard to fit two cars through because they have been sold on the idea that they need 4x4 full size SUVs on Maui. No, no you don't. Not at all. Get the smallest car you can find and eliminate 60% of the stress. All that said - we were in a Ford Explorer. Only because SUV rental was cheaper than Economy rental through Costco (paid $185 for a week).

2) Don't stop on every stop. For example the first stop - Twin Falls is nothing special compared to whats in store. Most people will stop in that spot and spend too much time there and they hurry the rest of the way.

3) Keep cash on you. You want to taste Aunty's banana bread on the way and it is cash only.

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We are doing the Old Lahaina Luau.

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Very nice.

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We are thinking of doing the Snorkeling Expedition out to the Molokini Crater/Turtle Town. Hear anything about that?

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Yes this is a very popular tour. However, if you have a full day, I would go all the way out to Lanai with Trilogy. It's expensive but the crew is awesome. The food is great. I was surprised by the quality and taste of the food. They take care of you and huge focus on safety. Also Trilogy is the only people that can take you to the #1 Beach in America (Hulopoea Beach Park). They basically get you on the island and you have 3-4 hours to spend on the beach. You can chill on the beach, hike the small hike to Sweetheart Rock, Snorkel off the beach (great snorkelling here) or take the island tour. Or do all. Its up to you how you spend your time here.

Lastly - If you have a Costco membership, that will be a huge benefit here as gas is almost 70-90c cheaper at Costco than anywhere else on the island.