Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Maui with a group sponsored by the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas and the Westin Maui and organized by Stryker Weiner & Yokota Public Relations, Inc.
The group consisted of a diverse group of travel writers from both new and traditional media representing large publications such as Ebony Magazine, smaller, yet prestigious publications such as Executive Traveler, as well as freelance writers. Our group ranged in age from 24 to 50, and consisted of both men and women, married and unmarried. What each of the writers had in common was that, aside from myself, this was each writer's first visit to Maui.
I always find it both interesting and educational to experience Maui through the eyes of first time visitors. It is a mistake to assume that every first time visitor will go away having seen all that Maui has to offer and with nothing but fond memories of their Maui experience. The good news, however, is that most first time visitors will someday return to experience what they missed the first time.
Attempting to give a first time visitor an overview of Maui in a four or five day period is a challenge to begin with. That challenge is complicated when the weather is some of the worst to hit the island in the last year, at least for two of those days.
I'll be writing in more detail about the resorts where we stayed, the restaurants where we ate and the activities that our group chose during this brief visit. I think, however, that in the end, there were some lessons to be learned by all which may very well help any of you who are considering a first time visit to Maui.
Maui Weather
Maui weather can be unpredictable, especially from November till March. Storms and heavy rain may roll across the island with little notice and what may seem like a beautiful day in West Maui, may actually be a terrible day elsewhere.
On one day of our trip, a group of us ventured to Upcountry to tour the Alii Kula Lavender Farm, the Tedeschi Winery and the Surfing Goat Dairy. Upcountry was somewhat overcast but generally pleasant until the late afternoon winds took charge while we were at the dairy.
The youngest member of our group (and by far the lost athletic), Quinn, chose to explore South Maui and in particular La Perouse Bay. She had a great time, with fine sunny weather. At the same time, the weather on Maui's North Shore was extremely rainy, and the summit of Haleakala was socked in with clouds.
That cloud cover over Haleakala extended to the next day when well traveled freelance writer Lauren and her husband Mark made the long drive to the summit, only to be disappointed in being unable to see anything. At the same time, Quinn and I were on a catamaran snorkel and sail off of the southern coast of West Maui and had near perfect weather.
Flexibility
Maui's weather requires that a visitor be flexible in planning activities. This is difficult when your visit to Maui is short and there is so much that you want to do in a limited amount of time. However, only by being flexible and by adjusting your itinerary based on the weather conditions across the island will you make the most of the limited time that you have. There may well be places you want to see or things you want to do that you simply will not be able to do. Just move on and plan on those for your next visit to Maui. Make the most of the time you have and the activities available on each particular day.
On our second full day, four of us were scheduled to participate in a hike and kayak tour in West Maui run by Maui Eco-Adventures. As the day dawned, however, the weather in West Maui was terrible and we soon learned that our kayak tour had been cancelled. Instead of settling for a short hike in the rain along the coast of West Maui, we asked our guide, Brian, if we could do an extended hike elsewhere on the island. We ultimately settled on a longer hike in the rainforest of the Waihe'e Valley just north of the more famous I'ao Valley. What can be better than hiking through a rainforest in the pouring rain? All of us thoroughly enjoyed the hike and the challenges we faced (and conquered) in the process. Being flexible allowed us to have a wonderful Maui experience.
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