You will need a car. You can stay anywhere on the island that has parking and amenities you are looking for. You will not enjoy the island if you don’t have a car to drive around. Unless you going to Maui for a specific purpose like a multi day excursion, wedding, honeymoon…., Misertravel recommends you stay on Oahu instead and just fly roundtrip to Maui on the same day and use a rental car for all your sightseeing. Other than that, be prepared to spend a lot of money if you stay at any accommodations in Maui.. Book your hotel and rental cars early and stay in Oahu and fly roundtrip daily to the other islands. Book a hotel that allows changes. The price dropped three times when I booked my hotel, and I was able to modify the reservation to a lower rate.
If you are booking any stay in Hawaii, you will realize the grand total to book any type of room on the islands can double with fees. A three-night stay for $600 will usually double to $1200 when you try to book it in Maui, Kauai. If you are just visiting just for sightseeing, you may find staying in Oahu/Honolulu/Waikiki and flying round trip on Hawaiian airlines each day and using a rental car can save you so much money on your trip you can use the extra money saved to travel somewhere else. The island of Oahu has the best prices on everything for the entire state of Hawaii.
Misertravel stayed on Waikiki beach every night and made round trip flights to the other islands and was able to see the entire island of Maui and Kauai by flying to each island early in the morning and returning to Waikiki at night on the last flight. The Hawaiian airlines flights were $40 each way and my hotel in Waikiki was $160 per night with fees. For example, the lowest cost one night stay on Maui was just under $600 per night with all the fees.
Since you need a rental car, keep checking the rental car rate you booked since the price sometimes drops. Lately, the ‘pay now’ rate on rental cars on third party website is extremely lower than the actual company. Read the reviews from Google from actual customers that rented cars there. Hawaii has a lot of sand, don’t forget to clean inside your rental car before returning it. It’s a good idea to take a video of the car inside and out when you pick it up. Make sure to fill up the gas tank before returning.
Pack your snacks and drinks and go to the supermarket for additional items.
Maui
Maui is one of the islands you should commute to by flying round trip from Oahu if you happen to be in Hawaii. The mountains, waters, and overall natural beauty is the island is spectacular. Here are some things you should know about or do in Maui!
Hana highway
Hana highway is an amazing sightseeing road. It is a long drive ranging to about 64 miles and takes 10-12 hours to and back, maybe sooner if you can control yourself from taking pictures of the unreal views. But you have to be a good driver and keep your eyes on the road because there are narrow roads and sharp turns. This long journey also includes 60 waterfalls, and 50 bridges. I personally recommend bringing your drone. The most amazing views are best seen from above and not accessible by anything aside from a helicopter.
While you are on Hana highway touring Maui, it’s essential to pack food with you or eat before.
There are little to no restaurants along this road, just fruit stands. Everywhere you pass there will be a fruit stand. There are also no bathrooms so make sure to use the bathroom before you go.
Along this highway, I made the mistake of not packing food, only two bags of chips. I made a stop at one of the stands out of desperation for food. I ended up buying a banana bread for a whopping 10 dollars.
Weather
The weather in Hawaii is on and off. It won’t say it’s going to rain in the forecast but the whole trip it rained at least once a day. The rain was typically a light shower for about 10 – 30 minutes, then it stopped. This can also vary in different parts of each island, there might be one small section with rain and another without.
A Saigon Cafe
If you’re feeling hungry and want some delicious Vietnamese cuisine, definitely check out A Saigon Cafe. The food is delicious, and the waiters are hilarious. It definitely is an at-ease restaurant and locals seem to come to this spot. This restaurant is located in Wailuku, HI, on the island of Maui.
Overview
It’s safe to say Maui is a definite place to go while you are in Hawaii, there are countless beaches, trails, and geysers. Fun fact, Maui has over 80 beaches! So It’s pretty much impossible to not find something to do on this island.