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Warm Alohas from beautiful Maui!
I've found myself sending detailed emails to guests, potential guests, and just folks who want to know about Maui and I really do love sharing what I know - so please feel free to ask me anything, even if you aren't staying here!
Also, check this out for some good background info about Huelo.
Favorite Beaches Within 20 Minutes
Twin Falls
Mana Foods
Grocery Shopping
Haleakala Crater, Ulapalakua Winery & More
Mama's Fish House
Closest Dining
Directions & Time to Makawao & Haleakala Crater
Rain & Weather
Right before you get to our road, at mile marker 2 of the Road to Hana is Twin Falls (guidebook info)
Oh, and don't pay attention to Maui Revealed when it says not to visit Twin Falls - their info is outdated, over the past five years or so, Twin Falls has become a worthy attraction for all. (Okay, maybe if you are 1 to 1.5 hours into a drive from the South or West sides and need a speed-tour of the Road to Hana you might skip it to prioritize other stuff.) Staying with us you aren't the speed-tour, snap a photo and run type of folks - don't skip Twin Falls.
The best thing about being so close is you can really explore Twin Falls - feel free to get muddy, wet, whatever, and drive right back here to get showered and a change of dry clothes!
The best priced and largest selection natural foods store
is right on your way to our place from the airport: Mana Foods in Pa'ia.
When you pass into Pa'ia turn Mauka (up the mountain) on Baldwin Ave (the
only traffic light in Pa'ia is here.) Not far up on the left you will
see Mana Foods. You won't find better prices or selection on natural foods
on the island (that said, it is a hole in the wall!)
In fact, the natural foods at Mana are cheaper than many of the normally less-expensive foods at the regular supermarkets on Maui. (Maui supermarkets are much higher priced than what you are probably used to on the mainland.)
As far as grocery shopping goes, Mana Foods in Pa'ia (see
previous entry) is a good place to go. The only other store closer to us
is Hanzawa's. For a tiny place Hanzawa's has a remarkable variety of goods
- and gas pumps. They are about 15-20 minutes drive on Kaupakalua Rd. You
only pass Hanzawa's from here if you are driving to Upcountry Maui (Makawao,
Kula, Ulapalakua, Haleakala Park, etc.) so it is otherwise "out of the
way."
If you want a mainstream supermarket, you'll need to go
to Pukalani Foodland, or in Kahului there are several to choose from. There
is also a Costco & Kmart you pass coming out of the airport - if
you want anything in bulk (beverages is a natural.) Also a great place to
get snorkel gear, boogie boards, and gifts for friends back home (hint: stop
there on the way to the airport when you leave to buy boxes of mac nuts,
coffee, etc.) .
This is the best time in twenty years to go for sunrise in the Crater as all the in-park portions of the downhill bike tours have been suspended starting this coming week due to too many injuries (and several deaths.) These tours usually clog the place up for sunrise big-time, so I'm guessing it will be far less packed for the time being.
I would suggest that everyone go to see the sunrise at Haleakala crater, then hike in on sliding sands trail for a while (if you are fit enough to hike back out uphill at 10,000 ft elevation) Tip: it is a heck of a lot easier to hike in than out!
The best time to do this is your very first day, because it will be a heck of a lot easier getting up that early while your body is still running on your home time zone!
It will be very cold before sunrise, and still stays cool for the morning, so be prepared for that. Morning is the best time for hiking Haleakala because later in the day it typically fills with clouds obscuring your views.
After you are done at Haleakala, drive to Ulapalakua. If you like wine, check out the winery - if not, just enjoy the drive! Either on the way there, or back (depending on timing) don't miss Grandma's Coffee House in Keokea - it is a small place you can easily miss - the food and baked goods are great there. If you keep your eyes peeled after the road turns into 1-lane each way you'll spot it just before the Kula Hospital.
Okay, if you are not on a budget for every meal, make a reservation at Mama's before you come (they book up frequently ahead of time.) Try and book 30-60 minutes before sunset if you can get that time slot.
It is the closest restaurant to us, just before you get to Pa'ia. I would consider Mama's Fish House the best restaurant on the island if you factor in ambiance and location right on the beach (food-wise it does have matches...but can't be exceeded) ...with prices to match... Mama's is not for the economically faint-hearted (it would be a must for me as a tourist, but living here and having paid that bill one too many times, we now only go when someone else is paying!)
If you don't drink, you're looking at ~ $100 for dinner for a couple. Drinks will bring that number up considerably.
Closest dining from here besides Mama's Fish House (see above) are the several choices in Makawao and Pa'ia. All are reasonably good.
In Pa'ia, the Pa'ia Fish Market is really very good
and moderately priced. The fish market doesn't wait on you and you
need to share picnic-table style with other folks - we like to get
take-out from there and go to Baldwin Beach Park to set down on the
sand and eat dinner to the crashing waves and watch the sun set over
the West Maui Mountains. Sunsets that direction are frequently spectacular
with the sun rays bursting through cloud-covered giant green peaks
- picture postcard perfect sights! The beach is also mostly deserted
at this time, and is a mile long, so you can claim a space all for
yourself. Baldwin Beach is on Hana Hwy about 1/2 mile from Pa'ia Town,
There are plenty of other places in Pa'ia to eat. Flatbread Pizza is good
- especially if you have kids (they are exceedingly kid friendly.) No place
in Pa'ia is on my bad list, and no places require reservations, so try whatever
looks good when you're walking by!
A guest just asked me how long it takes to get to Makawao and to Haleakala Crater - here is my answer:
Drive time to Makawao is roughly 20-25 minutes.
It really depends on how comfortable you are driving exceedingly
twisty-turny roads.
Haleakala Summit is a LOT of switch-backs all the way up from Upper Kula
on, so it takes a long time to get up there - Kula is about 30 minutes, and
another 1.5 hrs from Kula to the summit. We used to live on Crater Rd at
4000' in one of the last houses on the road. This is about 2 miles into the
switch-backs, and it was maybe 1.25 hr drive from there.
Here is a map from where our road hits the Road to Hana to Makawao and Haleakala
Crater - Makawao is on the way. I mapped it bypassing Makawao traffic though
a more scenic route here.
The more common, more traffic (especially am hours just before school & work),
less scenery route would go through to Haleakala Hwy on Makawao Ave here.
This is the rainforest, so, yes, it rains!
Fortunately, much of the rain comes in the afternoon and overnight - but it can (and does) rain in the day as well.
[Almost] guaranteed sun can be had on the leeward resort areas for the same reason we get so much rain (the majority of clouds are blocked by the volcano.) The resorts are in the desert - inside the resorts it looks like jungle - very green; they divert a lot of water from this side (and the Iao Valley aquifer) of the island over there to grow their gardens which makes it very lush and beautiful wherever they have irrigated. (plus they have professional landscaping that is designed to be idyllic - out here mother nature does the landscaping - which is beautiful in a very different way!)
We also get plenty of sun here as well. But the weather is unpredictable (you can't even predict most of the rain for more than a few hours prior) - if interested, check a weather satellite image on the web a few times over the next few days to see what I mean...clouds come out of nowhere (the ocean) blow into the volcano, dump incredible amounts of rain (an inch in an hour is not uncommon) and then vanish back to rainbow and sun just as fast as they came.
So the short answer is: if rain is absolutely unacceptable, then you definitely want to stay in South or West Maui where the resorts are located! You could always do what the majority of folks do: stay in the resort areas and take a day-trip to Hana to experience this side. That is what we do in reverse - If the rain won't let up we just get in the car and drive to the sun!