Hawaii (Maui) Trip - Ten Recommendations & Tips

Planning your trip to Maui, Hawaii? Looking for suggestions and tips? Well, I have quite a few to share with you. Here you go...

1. October is a nice time to visit Maui. The weather is very nice (not too cold or not too hot). It was not very crowded as well. Whale watching starts in December. Some activities are closed during that time.
2. Plan your trip during a regular time/weekends as opposed to long weekends. Normally, everyone wants to go out during a long weekend. I believe Hawaii would get crowded during long weekends. First of all, the fares may be too high during a long weekend (I didn't travel during a long weekend and hence, I paid just $1600 for two people including flight, stay and rental car). Second of all, people are taken in small groups for most of the activities (snorkeling, parasailing, submarine tour etc.,). If you are traveling on a long weekend, you may have to wait for a long time for all these activities.
3. Book a hotel with a kitchen. This is my first stay in a hotel room with a kitchen. We felt as if we were in home. We prepared all our food in the room. My wife and I are vegetarians. We hardly wasted any time in looking for a vegetarian restaurant. We had healthy food that was prepared by us (actually, prepared by my wife ! :)).
4. We weren't able to see Nakalele blow hole & Dragon's peak in Maui. Hopefully, you can get better directions from the web, if you are going to visit these places.
   
5. I would recommend you to stay in two different hotels during your stay. One hotel can be in West Maui and the other hotel can be in Central or East Maui. You can complete the activities and other West Maui attractions during your stay in West Maui. You can visit the places in Central or East Maui during your stay in the Central or East Maui. That way, you don't have to drive a lot.
6. Don't try to squeeze-in visits to too many islands in one trip. 5 - 7 days is a reasonable time to spend in Maui.
7. Maui's Best is a good website to book for your activities. You can also save more if you signup for the 2 hours seminar from Wyndham Vacations.
8. If you are going to leave from SFO airport, I would recommend parking your car in "Anza Parking" as opposed to "Burlingame Parking". Anza has more frequent shuttle services and also the parking lot is guarded.
9. Do not miss the "Hana Highway" drive. It is more scenic than you could imagine. The drive is very safe.
10. Do not hesitate to plan for the Maui trip with your infant. We did it. So, you can also do it. The only draw back is that you cannot do the activities together with your spouse.