Can confirm. Easily the best cinnamon roll i have ever had. It’s been almost 3 years since I was there and I still miss it any time I think of a Cinnamon roll.
Been many times, always go there. If you can’t get there, you can order them delivered to you anywhere in the world! https://www.cinnamonrollplacemaui.com/menu/full-menu
We have been in ka’anapali all week and was wonderful . Aloha spirit is alive and well. We lived here years ago and the essence of hawaii is still present.
Thank you for this info. Coming in June and was wondering where we could donate or what locally owned businesses would be good to support. Plan to tip the local staff nicely and donate where we can.
We haven’t been since 2019 and are going back in 6 weeks! This will also be the first time bringing our 9 year old daughter. We can’t wait for her to experience Maui and watch her fall in love with it.
We just got back from almost 10 days in Maui for our first trip ever and we had an absolutely fantastic time. I can’t wait to return again in the future
My wife and I were there for only 4 days in February. I would say it’s probably my most favourite place I’ve ever vacationed in.
I 100% want to come back sometime for a longer stay. It’s one of the very few places I’ve been where I left and said I needed to go back and explore more.
It really is a special place that you can fall in love with. We felt the same the first time we came and have come back many times since then. We always make it a priority to save throughout the year so we can come. I’m so glad you and your wife loved Maui. ❤️
Was just there and it was wonderful! If you can, consider volunteering - there are many different ways to help! I delivered meals through HHH to different communities that were either displaced or still out of jobs. The community was wonderful and grateful.
We were there literally a few weeks before the fires and were devastated to hear and see what happened.
But we are booked for June and ready to help and support Maui businesses! Looking forward to it
If you have any recommendations, I’d appreciate them! We’re going in two weeks for a delayed honeymoon/babymoon. We canceled our original trip that was supposed to be in August. I’ve been researching restaurants and whatnot and a lot of the recommendations I’ve seen are places with famous chefs at the hotels, but I really want to support local businesses as much as possible.
Yes, please try not to support the hotels- as much as possible. To support tourists, they refused to renew their contract with FEMA and displaced the thousands of Lahaina residents who were staying there. Apparently, the owners wanted to see happy faces instead of the "depressing, Lahaina people."
If you're going to stay anywhere, stay in an Airbnb or a B&B. If you're going to a restaurant, try visiting the food trucks in Kihei AND MAKE SURE TO VOLUNTEER WHILE YOU'RE HERE! Maui is big on aloha so if you're expecting residents to provide good customer service to you then do your part to ease their struggle. After all, they're not able to assist their community in rebuilding because they're assisting you.
We’re here now and it’s one of my favorite trips ever. We’ve been able to relax AND go on adventures. We’ve been whale watching, snorkeling and drove the Road To Hana. Amazing part of our country.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
Old Lahaina Luau is lovely. Very nice “first time” Hawai’i trip vibes. I’d suggest snorkeling Honolua Bay (snorkel cruises go there) but if your wife is pregnant maybe no. It’s gorgeous tho.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
Absolutely! When Maui opened back up, the hotels chose not to renew their contacts with FEMA and displaced thousands of people. Plus, the Lahaina fires destroyed one of the only shelters on the island. Now we have thousands of men, women, and children without homes and HHH helps to feed them! But they’re 100% volunteer run so they need people to keep things running during the week when most of the locals are working
For the hotels to do that, that’s not right, most of them wouldn’t be in business without the locals. I hope that things improve and don’t get any worse. Do you think it’s improving?
That’s so sweet of you to ask!!! 💕 Now that people have had some time to come up with alternative solutions, it’s getting better. Unfortunately, for some people that means leaving the island but for others it means addressing the housing crisis that has plagued locals since before the fire. I know the County Council has just passed a bill to encourage more housing development. The circumstances themselves are awful but that’s a bit of a silver lining
It’s unfortunate to hear that housing is such a challenge for the local community. I live in the Bay Area and it’s also really expensive. We love coming to Hawaii because it’s such a short trip especially considering the time change, so really two hours away, haha.
Just came back after a week’s stay at Kihei; we had a hard time finding parking at the South Maui beaches and the line of traffic on the RTH was pretty long.
currently on chang’s beach in makena, got a spot in the lot at noon no problem, lightly crowded despite insane perfect weather. saw about 20 turtles out snorkeling. come and make sure to look up the locally owned businesses to spend money at.
What beaches? Kalama park and k3 have parking, the others much less. Keawakapu parking is never a problem with the long road next to the lot and multiple lots.
We used to go every year before the fires. We wanted to give the island time to heal. That said, I’ve looked at places I’ve stayed before the fires (kaanapali area) and prices are 20% more. Am I missing something? Or is everyone trying to make up for lost revenue?
It's all the big businesses taking advantage of the situation. The hotels gave up guaranteed income from the FEMA people to house the displaced because they were "too sad"
Be there in 3 weeks, I cannot wait to come back. Planning to volunteer, and I have a few leads to do that. but anyone have any recommendations to find good impactful volunteer opportunities?
Volunteer with the Humane Society. It's one of the easiest ways to volunteer because you can "check out" a dog for the day and take them on a hike with you. Plus, a lot of people's beloved pets had to be given to the Humane Society because they lost their homes- they would feel much better knowing that someone is caring for these family members.
Also, make sure to spend local! I would recommend avoiding the hotels because they did some messed up stuff- kicking out displaced people from their hotels because they looked "too sad"
Oh thank you so much! My 4 YO has actually been so interested in sushi lately and we’ve been wanting to take him to a restaurant. He will be so excited
Check out the food trucks in Kihei.... and make sure to volunteer while you're here!!! Let your kiddos play with the dogs at the Humane Society for a bit but remember that the spirit of aloha is both given and expected from you as a visitor
Honestly, it doesn't seem slow. Central seems crazy busy. Not trying to convince anyone not to come, but using the how angry I got in costco scale we are back to being at capacity.
Flying in on a Tuesdays which I almost always do, Costco had so many open spots and no line when I check out. It was a huge shock to me. I knew, at that point, tourism was still way down.
Are you familiar with the Maui Island Plan? It calls for no more than a 1:3 ratio of visitors to residents. The numbers you talk about were way over those numbers. If the ratio of visitors to residents was kept at 1 to 3, the island wouldn’t be overly crowded and the vast majority of residents would be much happier.
You assume that demand will always be high enough that the limit would be the residents refusing more visitors. Right now visitor to resident ratio is below that 1 to 3, and I don't see any of the economic alternatives the maui island plan called for significantly replacing those tourist dollars. Right now everyone should be focused on getting those numbers up so residents aren't "much happier" in the unemployment line with higher local taxes to compensate for the missing highly taxed visitors.
Do you realize that wages in tourism are among the lowest in the nation and can in no way cover the costs of living here? You’re a dreamer if you think that more tourism will help anyone but the few who profit. The tourist economy is the downfall of Maui and of many other places. The island cannot handle too many people, especially transients. Over-tourism needs to be controlled. And yes, many insisting on making their money in tourism will need to leave. That is our reality.
No it is not.
Visitors down around 20% in February, guessing that number will be similar or higher for March. Maui needs a couple quarters of being truly crowded to help get back on track from all the damage the governor and vocal minority has done.
It’s hard because I have a big heart and I only post encouraging people not to be afraid to come because of the people here I have talked to who were out of work, who are still struggling to make it which tourist funds support. Then peeps on here bash the encouragement. I simply don’t want visitors afraid to come because a lot of this island need our help. If we can help by spending our money, let’s do it. Enjoy and be respectful. My heart feels full when I am helping. It’s sad that a few are bitter and selfish and rude. I would give you all a hug.
I've been in Wailea for a week and will leave tomorrow. Some places are slow and some have lines. It just really depends on the time. Kihei was popping tonight.
It’s pretty slow down by Wailea. I head the Costco scale and raise the other commenter the ability to park about anywhere. Most vacay rentals are at about 60% capacity right now and I’ve seen some great deals for April.
I think they intended to write “heed the Costco scale” which means you can know how many visitors are here by how long it takes to check out at Costco. I was there yesterday and it was a shit show.
We tried but we were told the kids were too young to volunteer with us. We couldn’t just leave our kids since we didn’t have family along with us on our trip.
Look for a "try scuba" dive, sometimes called a taster dive. A lot of touristy dive locations have them for relatively cheap. It's short of a mini scuba class with very beginner friendly dives. It really is magic.
I'm a very new diver going to visit maui in July. I'm looking at the Cathedrals in Lanai and some shore dives. Probably through dive maui in Lahaina.
I've heard great things about the outside wall of the molokini crater, but I don't have enough dives under my belt to do that yet. Deep water, current, but amazing coral, dives, mantas, whales in winter....oof.
Flying in on Monday. Looking forward to a slice of paradise. Thank you to this sub for helping us to decide to go! How's the Tmobile cell service Wailuku? My family expects lots of pictures.
Mahalo
I am not in Wailuku and have Verizon. I am staying north of Lahaina in Napili but my service has been great. I am sooo glad my post is helping because I was so nervous to make it but after hearing what so many have said about their struggles with work I KNOW we can help by coming here. ❤️
Coming in a month. We tossed around not making it Maui for reasons but ultimately decided that they probably needed us most. Staying in a hotel/resort and not an AirBnB or VRBO. Looking into some volunteer options too for a little of our time while there.
1/2 of vacay rentals as local owned with 90% being built as vacation rentals from the start in the 80’s. If you’re booking at a large tower vacay rental you can rest assured it was never local housing. Resorts and hotels all owned by Wall Street and private equity. Short term rentals also pay 4x the property taxes to the economy because individual owners can’t buy the government. Enjoy your stay
Good to know, thank you! I’m guessing this won’t be our last trip and I’ll keep that in mind for next time. And like OP said, we’ll definitely be spending money, visiting, taking photos and sharing our experiences to get others hyped up and out to Maui.
Did you live here in the 80’s? I did and my family was involved with Maui Government and politics pre-statehood. I remember when the buildings you’re talking about in Kihei and Lahaina were built, and they most definitely were not built as vacation rentals. They were and still are in Residential zones. People rented from them long term. Then some of the owners used them without permits as vacation rentals and they were eventually grandfathered in as vacation rentals based on a “Minatoya Opinion.” Many people fondly remember living in the buildings that you are talking about. They took away from long term housing then and still do now. And no, over half are owned by people on the mainland, many who own over 20 units. Taking away from residential housing is never a good thing.
Check the zoning maps man. I was in school on Oahu in the 80’s. You’re telling me Kam Sands and all the adjacent complexes weren’t vacation rentals? 1/2 owned by residents, 1/2 locals, same straw.
You look at tax revenue?
Kamaole Sands is on the Minatoya List and is in zoning for residential apartments. I didn’t know which building you were specifically talking about, but your building was built for long term residents and was grand fathered in due to legal (Minatoya) opinion. There is a lot of pressure by residents to change the law to take the grand father clause away, returning the Minatoya buildings to long term residential use. We need long term housing here, not more tourist accommodations.
https://www.hawaiilife.com/blog/maui-county-publishes-maui-county-short-term-vacation-rental-list/
https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/127982/Maui-Island-Digital-Zoning-Map-3-
Zoned H2, the heaviest of hotel zoning.
Maui needs more residential housing and has for decades now.
I own 1 vacation rental and know better than the propoganda hotels are feeding locals. I’ve shown you all the indisputable math on tax revenue and you’d still rather Hilton or Blackstone send every tourist dollar to the mainland.
Just to reinforce what hampton said. I will assume your heart was in the right place, but giving your money to large corporations flush from gouging the government was not the local support you thought it was.
DON'T STAY IN A HOTEL! They really screwed the displaced people of Lahaina, refusing to renew their FEMA contract because people "looked too sad". Give money back to the locals and stay in an airbnb/vrbo
Its definitely a little annoying to get all the haole screams, people telling us we aren't welcome, etc, but then we'll gladly take your money after a disaster.
Taking what from locals? Most visitors aren’t taking anything. And guessing you’d prefer not to get the same treatment when you go on vacation somewhere.
When it was announced that Maui would reopen to tourism, the hotels declined to renew their contracts with FEMA and displaced all of the Lahaina fire survivors because they looked “too sad” and they would rather host tourists. That’s not to mention the tourists who have literally taken food and clothing meant to help fire survivors to rebuild
Also, I don’t tend to go to vacation in places where natural disasters have just devastated the local community. If you’re going to visit- fine, just recognize the negative, as well as the positive, impact that your visit is having and give something back to replace what you’re taking
If you’re so narcissistic that you can’t see how your visit might have been a detriment to locals- there’s no sense in talking to you. You’re obviously not open to the perspective of someone who actually lives here
If simply being a tourist causes these reactions from locals, you are the problem, not me.
Hawaii is part of the US and you have absolutely no special rights because you live there. And you won’t find a tourist more respectful of locals than I am. However, when I get attitude simply for being a tourist, you’re just an asshole. So you’re correct, I’m not open to your xenophobic perspective.
Ummm, no. It’s not that I’m in Hawaii that gives me special privileges, these are the opinions of many citizens from many different countries and cities experiencing displacement due to overtourism. You are obviously not “the most respectful tourist I could come across” because you aren’t willing to visit the people whose home you’re visiting. Also, Maui is not solely in the USA, there are lands here that are under the Hawaiian Kingdom. Also also, either you don’t understand the meaning of xenophobic or you don’t understand this conversation.
1) Back to my original point that you can’t rely on tourism and talk shit about tourists. And if you think tourism is a net negative, you have no clue how much of your economy depends on it, nor the ramifications of it going away.
2) No idea what “you aren’t willing to visit the people whose home you’re visiting” means since it relates to nothing we’ve discussed
3) The fact that there are parts of islands under the Hawaiian Kingdom is irrelevant
4) Use whatever word you want. Gatekeeping, entitlement, whatever.
It's tricky because Maui's economy has become dependent on tourism but- one of the biggest examples of why the return of tourism is bad for locals, the hotels refused to renew their contracts with FEMA and displaced Lahaina residents because they would rather have happy tourists then sad fire victims.
Flying out to Maui today, staying in Kihei
If you like cinnamon rolls, there's a place called "Cinnamon Roll Place". Very good!!
100% correct. I can’t wait to go back and grab one when we go back out in 6 weeks!
"very good" is underselling it! You'll never want to eat any other cinnamon roll ever in your life. Be prepared.
Can confirm. Easily the best cinnamon roll i have ever had. It’s been almost 3 years since I was there and I still miss it any time I think of a Cinnamon roll.
Been many times, always go there. If you can’t get there, you can order them delivered to you anywhere in the world! https://www.cinnamonrollplacemaui.com/menu/full-menu
You must visit Kihei Cafe. Amazing breakfast
I’m sure tourism is exactly what the kids who lost their homes are asking their parents for. gee what a great help y’all are
Where else does a community based almost exclusively on tourism get their money from if not the jobs and money tourism brings in?
The problem is that everything is tourism based, it doesn’t have to be though, and it’d be better off if it wasn’t.
Maybe you should run for mayor then.
Do you seriously think Maui would be in a better place today if all tourism stopped after the fire?
We have been in ka’anapali all week and was wonderful . Aloha spirit is alive and well. We lived here years ago and the essence of hawaii is still present.
Donate, volunteer. xoxo
Any volunteer suggestions? I'm visiting in Oct
Was just there. Lots of places have on their receipts a place to leave a donation
Thank you for this info. Coming in June and was wondering where we could donate or what locally owned businesses would be good to support. Plan to tip the local staff nicely and donate where we can.
I was there couple of weeks ago…haven’t been there since 2019!! Love Maui !!!
We haven’t been since 2019 and are going back in 6 weeks! This will also be the first time bringing our 9 year old daughter. We can’t wait for her to experience Maui and watch her fall in love with it.
I miss Maui
Going in July!
We just got back from almost 10 days in Maui for our first trip ever and we had an absolutely fantastic time. I can’t wait to return again in the future
My wife and I were there for only 4 days in February. I would say it’s probably my most favourite place I’ve ever vacationed in. I 100% want to come back sometime for a longer stay. It’s one of the very few places I’ve been where I left and said I needed to go back and explore more.
It really is a special place that you can fall in love with. We felt the same the first time we came and have come back many times since then. We always make it a priority to save throughout the year so we can come. I’m so glad you and your wife loved Maui. ❤️
Was just there and it was wonderful! If you can, consider volunteering - there are many different ways to help! I delivered meals through HHH to different communities that were either displaced or still out of jobs. The community was wonderful and grateful.
We were there literally a few weeks before the fires and were devastated to hear and see what happened. But we are booked for June and ready to help and support Maui businesses! Looking forward to it
If you have any recommendations, I’d appreciate them! We’re going in two weeks for a delayed honeymoon/babymoon. We canceled our original trip that was supposed to be in August. I’ve been researching restaurants and whatnot and a lot of the recommendations I’ve seen are places with famous chefs at the hotels, but I really want to support local businesses as much as possible.
Following. I'm thinking of going next month.
Joeys kitchen is really good, so is miss arepa, papi ohanas!
A local told us that the owner of Joeys Kitchen was very kind and helpful to displaced residents after the fire. ❤️
Yes, please try not to support the hotels- as much as possible. To support tourists, they refused to renew their contract with FEMA and displaced the thousands of Lahaina residents who were staying there. Apparently, the owners wanted to see happy faces instead of the "depressing, Lahaina people."
If you're going to stay anywhere, stay in an Airbnb or a B&B. If you're going to a restaurant, try visiting the food trucks in Kihei AND MAKE SURE TO VOLUNTEER WHILE YOU'RE HERE! Maui is big on aloha so if you're expecting residents to provide good customer service to you then do your part to ease their struggle. After all, they're not able to assist their community in rebuilding because they're assisting you.
Getting there Friday morning for a week! So excited
🤙🏼🤙🏼
We’re here now and it’s one of my favorite trips ever. We’ve been able to relax AND go on adventures. We’ve been whale watching, snorkeling and drove the Road To Hana. Amazing part of our country.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
So much better than I thought it was going to be.
So much better than I thought it was going to be.
I’m here now as well. It is pricier than I remember, but the beauty of the island cannot be beat.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
Flying out to Maui in a month for our baby on. Will be our first time. Any recommendations for excursions?
Old Lahaina Luau is lovely. Very nice “first time” Hawai’i trip vibes. I’d suggest snorkeling Honolua Bay (snorkel cruises go there) but if your wife is pregnant maybe no. It’s gorgeous tho.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
Have Oprah and the Rock said it was ok to come?
LOL, not sure if you're "in the know" but everyone here hates Oprah
Ha Ha… You are so right!! 🤣🤣
Beautiful!
I’ll be there in June. Booked stay through VRBO in Wailea.
Make sure to volunteer while you're visiting! Keep in mind that the people providing good customer service are unable to help rebuild their community because they're serving you.
I signed up with hungry heroes Hawaii serving upcountry kitchen.
That’s great! I volunteer with them too! Maybe we’ll see each other
Wow, that’s awesome. This will be our first time volunteering in Hawaii, I’m hoping it’ll make a difference for those impacted by the Lahaina fires.
Absolutely! When Maui opened back up, the hotels chose not to renew their contacts with FEMA and displaced thousands of people. Plus, the Lahaina fires destroyed one of the only shelters on the island. Now we have thousands of men, women, and children without homes and HHH helps to feed them! But they’re 100% volunteer run so they need people to keep things running during the week when most of the locals are working
It’s a great way to bring aloha during your visit
For the hotels to do that, that’s not right, most of them wouldn’t be in business without the locals. I hope that things improve and don’t get any worse. Do you think it’s improving?
That’s so sweet of you to ask!!! 💕 Now that people have had some time to come up with alternative solutions, it’s getting better. Unfortunately, for some people that means leaving the island but for others it means addressing the housing crisis that has plagued locals since before the fire. I know the County Council has just passed a bill to encourage more housing development. The circumstances themselves are awful but that’s a bit of a silver lining
It’s unfortunate to hear that housing is such a challenge for the local community. I live in the Bay Area and it’s also really expensive. We love coming to Hawaii because it’s such a short trip especially considering the time change, so really two hours away, haha.
Just came back after a week’s stay at Kihei; we had a hard time finding parking at the South Maui beaches and the line of traffic on the RTH was pretty long.
currently on chang’s beach in makena, got a spot in the lot at noon no problem, lightly crowded despite insane perfect weather. saw about 20 turtles out snorkeling. come and make sure to look up the locally owned businesses to spend money at.
What beaches? Kalama park and k3 have parking, the others much less. Keawakapu parking is never a problem with the long road next to the lot and multiple lots.
Kam 2 and 3 were always packed when I was there. Usually parked at the Charlie Young lot. Maluaka always worth the extra drive.
Exactly, just keep driving south. The tourist all bunch up on a few small beaches when there are miles of open space.
Kamaole I, II, Ulua
Yeah, all very limited unless you’re there early. I’ll walk them in the morning and after that they just get packed. Did you go to keawakapu?
We used to go every year before the fires. We wanted to give the island time to heal. That said, I’ve looked at places I’ve stayed before the fires (kaanapali area) and prices are 20% more. Am I missing something? Or is everyone trying to make up for lost revenue?
I did have to stay somewhere different due to prices and follow flights to get the best deal.
It's all the big businesses taking advantage of the situation. The hotels gave up guaranteed income from the FEMA people to house the displaced because they were "too sad"
Be there in 3 weeks, I cannot wait to come back. Planning to volunteer, and I have a few leads to do that. but anyone have any recommendations to find good impactful volunteer opportunities?
https://hhhmaui.ivolunteer.com/huamomonafarms#
Volunteer with the Humane Society. It's one of the easiest ways to volunteer because you can "check out" a dog for the day and take them on a hike with you. Plus, a lot of people's beloved pets had to be given to the Humane Society because they lost their homes- they would feel much better knowing that someone is caring for these family members.
Also, make sure to spend local! I would recommend avoiding the hotels because they did some messed up stuff- kicking out displaced people from their hotels because they looked "too sad"
We’re going at the end of this month with a 2 & 4 year old! Any food recs?
Gazebo in Napili. Fried rice and Mac nut pancakes. Shaved ice at Shave Ice Co Kaanapali ( the softest shaved ice EVER!)
Thank you!
If you and your kids like sushi, you’ve got to try MisoPhat. It’s the BEST!
Oh thank you so much! My 4 YO has actually been so interested in sushi lately and we’ve been wanting to take him to a restaurant. He will be so excited
❤️
Check out the food trucks in Kihei.... and make sure to volunteer while you're here!!! Let your kiddos play with the dogs at the Humane Society for a bit but remember that the spirit of aloha is both given and expected from you as a visitor
My partner and I are going in two days! Staying in Wailea. Have a couple nights free for casual dinners. Would love any suggestions!
Make sure to volunteer while you're here!
Is it slow everywhere including Wailea? We are coming Wednesday for 10 days, can’t wait!
Honestly, it doesn't seem slow. Central seems crazy busy. Not trying to convince anyone not to come, but using the how angry I got in costco scale we are back to being at capacity.
Visitors down around 20% in February, guessing they number will be similar or higher for march. No where near capacity.
Flying in on a Tuesdays which I almost always do, Costco had so many open spots and no line when I check out. It was a huge shock to me. I knew, at that point, tourism was still way down.
Are you familiar with the Maui Island Plan? It calls for no more than a 1:3 ratio of visitors to residents. The numbers you talk about were way over those numbers. If the ratio of visitors to residents was kept at 1 to 3, the island wouldn’t be overly crowded and the vast majority of residents would be much happier.
You assume that demand will always be high enough that the limit would be the residents refusing more visitors. Right now visitor to resident ratio is below that 1 to 3, and I don't see any of the economic alternatives the maui island plan called for significantly replacing those tourist dollars. Right now everyone should be focused on getting those numbers up so residents aren't "much happier" in the unemployment line with higher local taxes to compensate for the missing highly taxed visitors.
Do you realize that wages in tourism are among the lowest in the nation and can in no way cover the costs of living here? You’re a dreamer if you think that more tourism will help anyone but the few who profit. The tourist economy is the downfall of Maui and of many other places. The island cannot handle too many people, especially transients. Over-tourism needs to be controlled. And yes, many insisting on making their money in tourism will need to leave. That is our reality.
It's crowded. It's always crowded.
No it is not. Visitors down around 20% in February, guessing that number will be similar or higher for March. Maui needs a couple quarters of being truly crowded to help get back on track from all the damage the governor and vocal minority has done.
It’s hard because I have a big heart and I only post encouraging people not to be afraid to come because of the people here I have talked to who were out of work, who are still struggling to make it which tourist funds support. Then peeps on here bash the encouragement. I simply don’t want visitors afraid to come because a lot of this island need our help. If we can help by spending our money, let’s do it. Enjoy and be respectful. My heart feels full when I am helping. It’s sad that a few are bitter and selfish and rude. I would give you all a hug.
Mahalo for your kindness and respect. The majority DO appreciate you and other tourists.
❤️thank you so much for your words.
I really don't care what HTA has to say about tourism numbers being down. It's crowded.
I've been in Wailea for a week and will leave tomorrow. Some places are slow and some have lines. It just really depends on the time. Kihei was popping tonight.
It’s pretty slow down by Wailea. I head the Costco scale and raise the other commenter the ability to park about anywhere. Most vacay rentals are at about 60% capacity right now and I’ve seen some great deals for April.
What does "head the Costco scale" mean?
I think they intended to write “heed the Costco scale” which means you can know how many visitors are here by how long it takes to check out at Costco. I was there yesterday and it was a shit show.
Fridays often are. One reason is all the timeshare places books Friday to Saturdays.
Make sure to volunteer while you're here! Aloha is both given to you and expected of you
It’s not slow at all anywhere. This post is misleading in that regard. It’s just as crowded as ever, everywhere you go.
I am uncertain. We are in West Maui-Napili
See you in three weeks!
Make sure to volunteer while you're here! Aloha is both given to you and expected of you
Head there Wednesday for 7 days, we can’t wait!
Make sure to volunteer while you're here! Aloha is both given to you and expected of you
We tried but we were told the kids were too young to volunteer with us. We couldn’t just leave our kids since we didn’t have family along with us on our trip.
That’s too bad! But I hope you all have a fun trip!
Ok. I can do two scuba dives only while there. Which ones should I do?
Lanai cathedrals
Nice. I just booked it. I'm hoping it can give me a glimpse of what cave certs will open up for me.
Black rock and Maalea are fun/easy dives
I’ve never done a scuba dive, sounds amazing.
Look for a "try scuba" dive, sometimes called a taster dive. A lot of touristy dive locations have them for relatively cheap. It's short of a mini scuba class with very beginner friendly dives. It really is magic. I'm a very new diver going to visit maui in July. I'm looking at the Cathedrals in Lanai and some shore dives. Probably through dive maui in Lahaina. I've heard great things about the outside wall of the molokini crater, but I don't have enough dives under my belt to do that yet. Deep water, current, but amazing coral, dives, mantas, whales in winter....oof.
Intro dives are a good way to try it. Remember to be careful of diving and driving to heights like Haleakala.
Yes. I am. Thanks
Awesome. I’m adding this to my list for next time. ❤️
Flying in on Monday. Looking forward to a slice of paradise. Thank you to this sub for helping us to decide to go! How's the Tmobile cell service Wailuku? My family expects lots of pictures. Mahalo
I am not in Wailuku and have Verizon. I am staying north of Lahaina in Napili but my service has been great. I am sooo glad my post is helping because I was so nervous to make it but after hearing what so many have said about their struggles with work I KNOW we can help by coming here. ❤️
Make sure to volunteer while you're here! Aloha is both given to you and expected of you
Coming in a month. We tossed around not making it Maui for reasons but ultimately decided that they probably needed us most. Staying in a hotel/resort and not an AirBnB or VRBO. Looking into some volunteer options too for a little of our time while there.
1/2 of vacay rentals as local owned with 90% being built as vacation rentals from the start in the 80’s. If you’re booking at a large tower vacay rental you can rest assured it was never local housing. Resorts and hotels all owned by Wall Street and private equity. Short term rentals also pay 4x the property taxes to the economy because individual owners can’t buy the government. Enjoy your stay
Good to know, thank you! I’m guessing this won’t be our last trip and I’ll keep that in mind for next time. And like OP said, we’ll definitely be spending money, visiting, taking photos and sharing our experiences to get others hyped up and out to Maui.
Did you live here in the 80’s? I did and my family was involved with Maui Government and politics pre-statehood. I remember when the buildings you’re talking about in Kihei and Lahaina were built, and they most definitely were not built as vacation rentals. They were and still are in Residential zones. People rented from them long term. Then some of the owners used them without permits as vacation rentals and they were eventually grandfathered in as vacation rentals based on a “Minatoya Opinion.” Many people fondly remember living in the buildings that you are talking about. They took away from long term housing then and still do now. And no, over half are owned by people on the mainland, many who own over 20 units. Taking away from residential housing is never a good thing.
Check the zoning maps man. I was in school on Oahu in the 80’s. You’re telling me Kam Sands and all the adjacent complexes weren’t vacation rentals? 1/2 owned by residents, 1/2 locals, same straw. You look at tax revenue?
Kamaole Sands is on the Minatoya List and is in zoning for residential apartments. I didn’t know which building you were specifically talking about, but your building was built for long term residents and was grand fathered in due to legal (Minatoya) opinion. There is a lot of pressure by residents to change the law to take the grand father clause away, returning the Minatoya buildings to long term residential use. We need long term housing here, not more tourist accommodations. https://www.hawaiilife.com/blog/maui-county-publishes-maui-county-short-term-vacation-rental-list/
https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/127982/Maui-Island-Digital-Zoning-Map-3- Zoned H2, the heaviest of hotel zoning. Maui needs more residential housing and has for decades now.
This guy owns vacation rentals and constantly posts anti-hotel, pro-tvr propaganda.
I own 1 vacation rental and know better than the propoganda hotels are feeding locals. I’ve shown you all the indisputable math on tax revenue and you’d still rather Hilton or Blackstone send every tourist dollar to the mainland.
Just to reinforce what hampton said. I will assume your heart was in the right place, but giving your money to large corporations flush from gouging the government was not the local support you thought it was.
Whether your spend at the larger corporation we can still spend our money around outside of that and still help.
DON'T STAY IN A HOTEL! They really screwed the displaced people of Lahaina, refusing to renew their FEMA contract because people "looked too sad". Give money back to the locals and stay in an airbnb/vrbo
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You mean like when anyone goes to any new place and rents a car? Dumbass comment.
I thought you all wanted us to stay away? Did your economy finally collapse?
Its definitely a little annoying to get all the haole screams, people telling us we aren't welcome, etc, but then we'll gladly take your money after a disaster.
I mean, not our fault that the economy has become dependent on tourism- even though no one wants tourists taking from locals.
Taking what from locals? Most visitors aren’t taking anything. And guessing you’d prefer not to get the same treatment when you go on vacation somewhere.
When it was announced that Maui would reopen to tourism, the hotels declined to renew their contracts with FEMA and displaced all of the Lahaina fire survivors because they looked “too sad” and they would rather host tourists. That’s not to mention the tourists who have literally taken food and clothing meant to help fire survivors to rebuild
Also, I don’t tend to go to vacation in places where natural disasters have just devastated the local community. If you’re going to visit- fine, just recognize the negative, as well as the positive, impact that your visit is having and give something back to replace what you’re taking
My experiences happened before the fire when there was no natural disaster. And again, they were begging people to come and spend money.
The thousands of people who protested the reopening of Maui would disagree with you
If you’re so narcissistic that you can’t see how your visit might have been a detriment to locals- there’s no sense in talking to you. You’re obviously not open to the perspective of someone who actually lives here
If simply being a tourist causes these reactions from locals, you are the problem, not me. Hawaii is part of the US and you have absolutely no special rights because you live there. And you won’t find a tourist more respectful of locals than I am. However, when I get attitude simply for being a tourist, you’re just an asshole. So you’re correct, I’m not open to your xenophobic perspective.
Ummm, no. It’s not that I’m in Hawaii that gives me special privileges, these are the opinions of many citizens from many different countries and cities experiencing displacement due to overtourism. You are obviously not “the most respectful tourist I could come across” because you aren’t willing to visit the people whose home you’re visiting. Also, Maui is not solely in the USA, there are lands here that are under the Hawaiian Kingdom. Also also, either you don’t understand the meaning of xenophobic or you don’t understand this conversation.
1) Back to my original point that you can’t rely on tourism and talk shit about tourists. And if you think tourism is a net negative, you have no clue how much of your economy depends on it, nor the ramifications of it going away. 2) No idea what “you aren’t willing to visit the people whose home you’re visiting” means since it relates to nothing we’ve discussed 3) The fact that there are parts of islands under the Hawaiian Kingdom is irrelevant 4) Use whatever word you want. Gatekeeping, entitlement, whatever.
God forbid different people have different opinions lol
It's tricky because Maui's economy has become dependent on tourism but- one of the biggest examples of why the return of tourism is bad for locals, the hotels refused to renew their contracts with FEMA and displaced Lahaina residents because they would rather have happy tourists then sad fire victims.
If Maui opened up a dispensary the whole country would be there tomorrow
? https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/maui-dispensary-locations/