Royal Lahina Vs.Napili Surf Beach Resort Vs.Ka'napali Beach Hotel

[simskiscuba]

Wife and I just scored some free tickets to Maui-I dive she no longer does.
Been looking at a bunch of places to stay for 10 days in July. The above hotels I think are close to what we're looking for but I'm real open to suggestion

My needs: Best possible access to daily diving so that I'm not spending my life getting back and forth to boat (don't think shore diving is much of an option-highly prefer not to solo dive- if I were to find a dive buddy while there all the better ).

Her needs: On beach, not too far from walkable restaurants and shops or on some kind of public x-port as I'd prefer not to deal with a car.

Our needs: Should be reasonably priced. ( no jokes please about relativity or oxymorons!) I know Hawaii is expensive but we're looking for something in the middle of the scale, not the top. Also, on the "action and noise" scale our preference is somewhere in the middle (teen son not joining us-WooHoo!) but we're flexible.

Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome. So far only in the beginning to middle planning stage. Please try to be reasonably kind-RTFM has already been done and these types of things change over time.

Thanks in advance for the consideration.

 

[DiveMaven]

The Royal Lahaina is actually on the very north end of Kaanapali Beach, 3 miles from Lahaina, so walking distance to restaurants won't be the greatest, though you can get to Kaanapali Beach proper pretty easily (though it might be a warm walk in July!). Napili is even farther from Lahaina, and IMO not in walking distance to anything. The Kaanapali Beach Hotel is directly ON Kaanapali Beach (on the boardwalk) where you can walk to many restaurants and shopping at Whaler's Village.

As far as walking to any boat diving operation, that just isn't going to happen with these 3. If you want to be within walking distance of just about everything, you'll either want to be in Lahaina or Kihei. In Lahaina, you could stay at the Outrigger Aina Nalu and be within walking distance of great restaurants, shopping, and Lahaina Divers for dive charters. You wouldn't need a car though I believe getting from the airport to Lahaina would run anywhere from $40-90.

Kihei is more spread out than Lahaina and all the boat operators run out of the Kihei boat ramp. The accommodations in the heart of Kihei, by the best beaches, close to restaurants, and all within reasonable walking distance, aren't really within walking distance of the Kihei boat ramp. Since you have to be at the boat ramp anywhere between 5:45 and 6:30am, I'm not sure you'll want to rely on the bus on S. Kihei Road. I've seen many people simply grab a cab that early in the morning, and if they're renting gear and only have a backpack, walk back to their accommodations. We've given divers rides before, so there might be someone on your charter who would be willing to transport you.

An option for shore diving where you won't need a buddy is with Shaka Doug or Maui Dreams in Kihei (but I don't believe either provide transportation), or particularly in W. Maui, you can check with whatever resort you're staying with and potentially dive with them in front of your resort.

Keep in mind that Maui doesn't have good public transportation, so you really can't rely on it to get you around. Renting a car is always recommended. Check VRBO.com for condo rentals as well.

 

[simskiscuba]

Thanks Maven! Great information. Going to check out the outrigger. Do you know of any resorts in west Maui where you dive right out of the resort?

 

[cabguy]

The two resorts I know you can dive from are the Sheraton by Black Rock or the Westin Ka'anapali ocean resort villas.

 

[diversteve]

I've stayed at Napili Sunset (condos) right next door to Napili Shores. It's pretty isolated so you'd likely need a car. It's also about 8-10miles to Lahaina from there. The two boat operators in Lahaina are Lahaina Divers and Extended Horizons.

There's a bus that picks up at Napili Shores next door that would take you to Lahaina (or your wife to Whalers Village in Ka'anapali but I don't think it runs real early in that area. So you'd likely miss the morning two tank trips out of Lahaina - they leave early to avoid the tradewinds coming back in the early afternoon. About the only thing in the Napili area is Kahana Gateway - it's a smaller shopping complex. Too far to walk but the bus probably goes right by it. There's a Roy's there for a nice (pricey) dinner and some other shops.

I've also been to the Ka'anapali area a bunch of times. From the Royal Lahaina Resort your wife could walk to Whaler's Village. It's got to be less than a mile first along the beach boardwalk, then you cut over by the golf course (or go through the Sheraton Black Rock) - pickup the boardwalk again to Whalers. As DM said the Ka'anapali Beach resort is the 2nd hotel north of Whalers. http://www.whalersvillage.com/

About a mile and a half north of there is the Aston Ka'anapali area. Across the street from their entrance is the area's food store and there's a couple other shops in that complex also - Subway, a Pizza place etc. Maybe it's not quite that far. Tiny Bubbles Scuba is also there - I think they only do shore dives locally. IDK anything else about them - just saw it one day.

You can shore dive at the Sheraton Black Rock. Expect a bunch of snorkelers overhead though. They have an on-site dive operator also but I've read they use smaller tanks. I've also heard mixed reviews about a dive off the Ka'anapali Beach Club (former Embassy Suites) in Ka'anapali. Some people said it was sandy/cloudy, others liked it. They have an on-site operator as well. I may be wrong about this location so check it out.

Old Airport Beach (Kahekili) is another dive north of there. Most of the resorts are on good beaches so not the best for diving.

In Wailea, the Grand Wailea is on Wailea Beach - it's a dive we try to do every time. But it's a little more expensive than what you're looking at...lol.

I'm bored so I fired up Google Earth and located some distances for you:

RLR to Whalers Village - .8 mi.
KBH to Whalers - .2mi.
NS to Lahaina 9 miles.
RLR to Lahaina Divers on Front/Dickenson 4.1 miles. Their boat is just down the street.
NS to Kahana Gateway - there's a Roys for dinner and some shops - 1.7 mi.

It's really hard to do Maui w/o a car. Unless you want to stay/dive/eat at your resort or nearby. The shore dives are spread all along the coast - most are several miles apart. fwiw it's about 30-45 mins. between Lahaina and Kihei. More with traffic.

hth,

 

[simskiscuba]

Sounds like I probably need a car. If I stay at the Outrigger and it's walking distance from Lahaina divers is that where people meet in the morning. Thanks everybody for your help!

 

[DiveMaven]

Yes, Lahaina Divers meets at their shop on Dickinson Street in the morning. Here's one other thing you may want to consider: You say you have 500-999 dives....are you really sure you'd like to dive with an operator that is geared toward the beginning or once a year diver? Do you want to be on a boat with 24 divers? Do you want to do an "underwater tour" designed to get you back to the boat in 25 minutes, or do you want to have guides that go slow and look for all the fantastic critters that Hawaii has to offer?

We dive with Lahaina Divers to Lanai because of the comfort of the big 46' Newton boats as the crossing can be rough, but it's a compromise for us as they don't do the type of diving we prefer. When we dive with them, my husband leaves his camera in the condo since they simply go too fast during the dive to do much critter hunting or photography.

This is why our preferred operator is Ed Robinson's Diving Adventures (ERDA) in Kihei. When we used to stay in Kaanapali, we used to drive down to Kihei in the mornings to meet the boat, and have always felt it was worth the time, effort, and gas. They are the perfect match for the style of diving we like to do....slow and slower, with an emphasis on finding as many critters as possible, and geared toward the experienced, independent diver.

 

[simskiscuba]

Great advice! I appreciate it and will explore that option as well. The mitigating consideration is that just as I love to dive I also value my marital status and am willing to compromise somewhat on dive quality vs the amount of time it takes me away from my wife. I have learned through years of hard earned R&D that "When Momma's happy everybody's happy".
If I want to dive every day then I'm willing to make some reasonable compromises,

 

[freewillie]

Depending upon how much your wife likes to shop she may get bored of Whaler's village in a day. It's a smaller shopping center and although has many nice shops it won't take long to check them all out in a day or two.

Although you are trying to avoid dealing with a car, you may find that you need a car to get around. Napili is a little out of the way and you would definitely need a car. The other two hotels are on Ka'anapali and offer more in terms of proximity to shopping. If you didn't have a car you could pick up a shuttle to the Westin Ka'anapali Shores but the dive center may be limited to hotel guests.

You could always call Starwood/Westin Ka'anapali Shores directly and ask for a vacation preview package. It is actually a time share resort and the rooms are laid out with either full size kitchens or smaller mini kitchen which is actually a microwave and sink. Barbecues are available and many families cook and barbecue to minimize the cost of eating out. They have these special preview packages and for about $400 you can stay for several nights, enjoy the facilites but you need to attend 2-4 hour sales presentation. Depends on whether you like to sit through these things. Personally, I'd prefer to pay for the hotel and not be bothered, my wife likes to get the discount. Sooo, I sit through these things. Happy wife, well, you know.

If you stay at the Westin Ka'anapali you are literally next to the Whaler Village so your wife can walk to shops and you could take the shuttle to the Westin Shores and since you are Westin guest you could still use the facilities.

You could also get a car, drive into Lahaina, let your wife shop in town while you are diving. More shops for her, better diving for you.

There is also a shark dive at the Maui Ocean Center which is an aquarium at Kihei. Your wife is included in admission price for the dive, she could see you dive or go next door small shopping area. After you can have lunch at aquarium restaurant right on the Harbor. Food is actually pretty good from what I remember with great view.

 

[DiveMaven]

There is also a shark dive at the Maui Ocean Center which is an aquarium at Kihei. Your wife is included in admission price for the dive, she could see you dive or go next door small shopping area. After you can have lunch at aquarium restaurant right on the Harbor. Food is actually pretty good from what I remember with great view.

The Maui Ocean Center is actually in Maalaea, not Kihei...although the two places aren't that far apart, it does make a difference.