Combining Diving and Non-Diving Activities on Maui

[clpkab]

Looking forward to my first trip to Maui. Will be traveling with a non-diver, so I have to balance out the activities. I realize that traveling to the summit for sunrise or sunset shortly after diving is out, but are there other typical tourist spots I'll have to wait to get to. For example does the Road to Hana involve any elevations that need to be avoided?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[diversteve]

I'm pretty certain the high point on the Hana road is 1300'. It pretty much hugs the coastline so it's not real high.

In case you were planning to go upcountry - Makawao is about 1500'. Kula (Botanical Gardens) is about 3000'. You're probably only going to do that on the way to Haleakala anyway. Technically the Haleakala visitor center is like getting on a plane (7400') and the summit is 10,023.



Really you just need to stay off the slopes of either volcano after diving and you'll be fine.

 

[song]

We love Maui, will be back there in June. Take advantage of the jet lag when you first arrive. Since you'll be wide awake around 3am anyway, plan to head for sunrise on Haleakala on your first morning on island. Depending upon the location of your hotel/condo it may take a couple of hours to make it to the summit. We chose to do the post-sunrise bike ride down the mountain so we had one of the outfitters pick us up with their shuttle so we could safely try to nap for the long van ride to the summit; then a gorgeous, wild ride down the mountain once the sun was up.

The best advice we got for the road to Hana was to start driving well before sunrise so we'd be east of Paia very early. The point is to get moving early to avoid getting stuck behind large buses. Much of it is 2 lane roads with no passing. Pick up a picnic lunch at your hotel or stop at a shop in Paia. Gorgeous & worth the trip.

Boat dives depart really early too so jet lag will have its advantages for that too. With a little schedule manipulation diving and upcountry are both easy to include, just not on the same day. We just had separate dive days and upcountry days. Maui has tons of stuff to keep you occupied. Include some lounge-around time in your schedule. Enjoy!

 

[UnderwaterBumbleBee]

Anyone have any opinions of driving to Hana the opposite direction? I keep hearing some of the best scenery is after Hana and you might avoid some traffic this way (also read about possible road construction)? The south side looks kind of interesting too.

 

[leo]

Anyone have any opinions of driving to Hana the opposite direction? I keep hearing some of the best scenery is after Hana and you might avoid some traffic this way (also read about possible road construction)? The south side looks kind of interesting too.

The advantage of doing the loop clockwise is that you do the south side - which has no tourist/bus traffic in the afternoon. The only way to avoid traffic on the road to Hana (north side) is to do it early before there is any traffic... not to do it in the opposite direction (that won't allow you to avoid traffic due to shared-single lane bridges).

 

[Ouvea]

Looking forward to my first trip to Maui. Will be traveling with a non-diver, so I have to balance out the activities. I realize that traveling to the summit for sunrise or sunset shortly after diving is out, but are there other typical tourist spots I'll have to wait to get to. For example does the Road to Hana involve any elevations that need to be avoided?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

The road from Kuhului to Hana does not climb very high. However, if you choose to continue, the road that parallels Kihei on the return trip does climb quite high and you have a spectacular view of that side of the Island. Do not just go to Hana and double back. You will miss on a seldom visited and stunningly beautiful, if not highly diverse, part of Maui. Drive with due care on the more remote areas (this will be marked on most maps), as the roads do turn into passages that accommodate only one car at a time. Also, some sections west of Kuhului and South East of Hana are not paved (easily passed them with POS Ford Focus).

As for diving, I scheduled two boat trips with B & B Scuba. They board at 5:45AM in the morning and had us at Molokini with absolutely lake like water conditions. We were back on shore by 10:30AM (both my dives were an hour in length).

After an hour of rest, I had the remainder of the afternoon to loop up to the West and then east (Hana), the following day. You're in for a treat. Maui has a very diverse landscape that is akin to a smaller Big Island with much easier beach access. If you have to refuel in San Jose-CA, I can fit in a suit case just fine and won't trouble you at all. I'll even pay for the extra luggage fee!!

Have a great vacation!

 

[Shaka Doug]

Any chance you can turn your non diver companion into a diving companion? Maybe an Intro SCUBA lesson would work... Maui is one of the best places in the world to make you first dive. We have turtles!! Everyone loves turtles!!