First timer too - questions
 

First trip to HNL / OGG end of July. 2 adults. Plan to stay in Sheraton Princess (HNL) for 2 nights, and 4 Seasons (Maui) for 5 nights. And I have various questions -

1. Should I get AOA Gold card ($30) or ENT book ($15)? It's mainly for activities and not too much for restaurants.

2. Do I need a car for the 2 nites in Oahu? We'll have a car in Maui.

3. Feast at Lele in Oahu. We both want to be able to enjoy Mai Tai there, and driving there is not an option. How much will a cab cost to / from 4 seasons. Or are there shuttles?

4. How "dangerous" is the drive to Hana? I'm talking about the feel, and not the acutal danger. :)
I got very scared driving down Highway 1 in CA (very close to cliff...1 lane road...etc). Very pretty, but I was shivering the whole way down.

Especially with your 5-day stay on Maui, the AOA Gold Card would probably be a safer bet (if you'll be mainly be using it for activities). Plus, you can get your Maui ENT coupons by fielding for them on the Coupon Connection (and I might have a few).

If you can afford it, I would keep the car. I've heard of many success stories, however, of people using public transportation (TheBus) or shuttles to/from the Airport during their stay here in HNL. What will you be doing (that will require you to leave Waikiki)? If you'd want to visit places like the Arizona Memorial, North Shore, Haunama Bay, etc. you'll want the comfort of driving around in a car (especially given your time crunch of two days).

Feast of Lele is actually on Maui in Lahaina. To be honest, I don't even know if Maui has cabs. If it's the Polynesian Culture Center you're talking about on O'ahu... you'll need a car.

It's windy but a good experience. :)

Good luck!

aloha

Oops. I meant Feast at Lele in Maui, not Oahu.
What about pre-arrange car services? How much are they?

Found a good website that should help you out with transportation on Maui:
http://www.johann-sandra.com/hawaii/maui/mauitrans.htm

Little did I know that there are cabs on Maui :)

aloha

FWIW, there's no public transportation on Maui, which makes hitch hiking a perfectly acceptable practice.

I can also weigh in on a couple of your questions. Although we rent a car in Maui, we also take a cab service to and from dinners where adult beverages are served. We use a small cab company operated out of Lahaina by a "Tony" and his wife who operate clean, dependable cabs. When they drop you at a location, they also make arrangements for a pick-up time and are ALWAYS there when they say they'll be. They are also available to take you to other parts of the island if you desire. I thought I had their card with me...I'm traveling this week....but can't seem to find it. If I do locate it, I'll post info here later.

On your question as to the "pucker power" ;) rating of the drive to Hana, I understand exactly where you're going with this. If the hairiest drive you ever had was a 10 and a drive down a straight,flat stretch of a desert highway was a 1, I'd say the Hana drive is a 7 or so. What prevents it from being "worse" is that there are substantial guard rails/walls on the route and mucho vegatation growing along the roadside.
I've made the drive a couple times and I'm no fan of winding roads, hundreds of one-way bridges, etc., so it can be done. But don't forget...after they pry your fingers off the steering wheel in Hana, you're going to have to turn around and repeat the process on the return trip. :)
There's an alternative to driving the same route back....a widely known "shortcut" but I'm not necessarily recommending that. Others may want to weigh in on this.
And don't forget, there are many tour services that will pick you up at your hotel and drive you to and from Hana. You can sit back and enjoy the scenery and let them deal with the drive. You can arrange this service at any hotel you are staying in.
Enjoy your trip! I may see you over there as we plan a couple trips to Maui this summer.

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I'll rent a car in Oahu now, probably cheaper than taking cab everywhere.

Cholula, if you can post the cab name (and maybe average price), that'd be great!

Where do you purchase the AOA Gold card ? Is there a website?

Thanks :p

http://aoagoldcard.com/index.html?referer=act

aloha

Thank you Slippahs!!

Aloha

:cool:

I've got to ask, what is the shortcut?

You can easily just keep going around the island and into Wailea. It's a very easy drive. There's a lot of misinformation out there about this stretch of roadway. Guidebooks and people will tell you it's dangerous, unpaved and rutted. I drove it a couple of months ago and it was very smooth and safe. About five miles of it is unpaved, but it's well graded. The roadway is not as narrow and not nearly as winding as the traditional road to Hana. There also aren't any of the one-lane bridges where you have to stop and wait for other cars. There are some bumps on the paved section, but not a big deal. A very nice aspect to it is that it's not congested like the other route is. You can easily be to Wailea in 2 hours form O'heo Gulch.

The one caveat I would make is to stop at the ranger station at O'heo Gulch and ask the road conditions (we were there after some extremely heavy rainfall, but it was still open to all vehicles a couple of days after the rains subsided). If they tell you it's open, it will save you a heck of a lot of time.

I'll second that! We were a bit apprehensive after seeing the car-rental company's warnings and such, but the drive is no big deal. In fact, I think some of the most amazing scenery is just past Hana where the road is cut into the cliffs along the ocean...Absoutely breathtaking! There were a number of cars on the road, so you won't be the only one breaking the rental car rules.

Sometimes I wonder if the rental companys wouldn't be smarter to not mention the road past Hana so prominently....doesn't this encourage people to do the drive just because it says not to? Maybe a little reverse psychology would work...



K

This webpage sure makes the road beyond Hana sound scary; are they overhyping it?

http://maui.101thingstodo.com/guide/...ail.php?id=226

How much time can one save getting back to Kaanapali by doing the complete loop?

Easily 2-3 hours.

Is it as scary as the webpage makes it sound? I suppose it depends on you and what you're used to. I don't find it very intimidating, but I've driven it many times. If you do the loop, you will be on the land side all the way (ocean on your left) so that would be even less frightening for anyone a little anxious about it.

How's the cell phone coverage out there?

aloha