Experience Maui two ways
A selection of budget-conscious and luxury options for both kinds of travellers
We Canadians are a diverse lot. Some of us are on limited budgets or just like finding great deals.
Other folks don’t mind splurging on the best restaurants or the most luxurious hotels.
Here’s a look at how to enjoy one of the world’s great vacation spots, Ka’anapali Maui, in two distinct ways.
On a budget DOING
Sure, you can spend US$100 or more and see great South Pacific culture on display at a hotel or luau.
But the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel puts on a free Hawaiian dancing and musical show every evening that anyone can attend, even folks who aren’t staying at the hotel. kbhmaui.com
The lovely outdoor Whalers Village shopping centre next door offers free hula lessons every afternoon. whalersvillage.com/en.html
Need some exercise in the sun? It’s only $25 to rent a standup paddleboard for an hour at the Hale Huaka’i in front of the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel and $15 per hour after that. Lessons are $87 per person.
Ka’anapali is a fine place for it, too, with clear blue waters and (usually) gentle, rolling waves. Swimming, body-surfing and snorkelling at Ka’anapali Beach are, of course, free.
The best snorkelling is up at Black Rock in the middle of the beach, where you’ll often spot turtles bobbing in the clear blue water.
And there’s no charge to stroll and people-watch along the beach or the beach walkway that snakes its way along the ocean for several kilometres on either side of Black Rock.
DINING AND DRINKING
Food can be expensive on Maui, but there’s plenty of good value.
On the main highway, CJ’s serves up massive breakfasts and big sandwiches at lunch. It’s often cited as one of the best values on the island. cjsmaui.com
Hank’s Haute Dog Stand at the Sheraton Maui features Portuguese sausages with pineapple, bratwursts and other great dogs from $10.95, including fries. Not super cheap but tasty.
A better value with more interesting food might be the nearby Hula Grill where you can get two fish tacos and tortilla chips for $19, or a big burger and fries for $16.
The Sheraton Maui serves up lovely Mai Tais and other cocktails right on Ka’anapali Beach for as little as $12.
Settle in an hour before sunset to listen to the strains of lovely Hawaiian music and then catch the torch-lighting ceremony, where they have a fine-looking, shirtless young fellow light tiki torches along the water and then out on Black Rock, a series of jagged, volcanic rocks jutting out into the ocean.
He finishes the ceremony by bowing to the gods and then diving off the rocks and into the Pacific.
Touristy but lovely. sheraton-maui.com
STAYING
The Ka’anapali Beach Hotel bills itself as the most Hawaiian hotel in the state. It’s a bold statement, but they can back it up.
Guests can partake in free lei-making or ukulele lessons and other activities.
Departing visitors are serenaded every morning with hourly ceremonies featuring a special song and the presentation of kukui nut leis. The nuts are all dark, but each time you come back to the hotel to stay you’re given a white nut as a replacement.
The rooms aren’t fancy but they’re very nice, and the grounds are spacious, with a nice pool, a model of an authentic Hawaiian outrigger canoe that hotel workers built and beautiful plumeria and palm trees on a deep-green lawn.
Best of all, one of the world’s top beaches is on your front door, along with great shopping and restaurants. Rooms for May using the Friends Rate were recently listed from US$211 per night including a compact rental car. kbhmaui.com