My wife and I recently spent four days on Maui, seeing how things are going in the wake of the devastating Lahaina fires and checking out new (to us) hotels and restaurants. I’m happy to say that things are moving along, although not at the pace some would hope. New homes are being built in Lahaina, and there’s a new restaurant in the north end of town, where a cluster of waterfront buildings and the Lahaina Cannery Mall escaped the deadly fires. The second night of our visit, my wife and I ate dinner at the wonderful Star Noodle, which Read more
Kaanapali
I always knew I was ahead of my time. Okay, all joking aside, I was happy to read in Travel + Leisure magazine that a poll of 2,000 U.S. travellers found that Maui is the most romantic place on earth. The magazine said that FunJet Vacations recently released the findings of a poll it conducted with Talker Research looking into the most romantic destinations in the world. After polling 2,000 “general population Americans” to find out their preferred spots for romance, it turned out that Maui led the way, with 34% of respondents naming it the most romantic destination in Read more
It’s been a tough year for tourism on Maui, but positive signs are emerging. Virtuoso, a luxury travel agent network that books exclusive vacations around the world, said its sales for Maui resorts are up 4% for the first six months of the year. For the winter holiday or “festive” season, sales are up a whopping 66%. A network spokesperson on Monday, Aug. 12 said that West Maui/Lahaina bookings are about 7% lower than Wailea, which makes sense given the incredible fire damage to Lahaina in August of last year. “Even with the noticeable impacts on tourism to Maui, we Read more
I was sitting in my back yard in Toronto a little more than a year ago, enjoying a fine summer’s day while I wrote a travel story. Suddenly there was a message from my sister on Facebook messenger. “Such a shame about Lahaina.” Five words that stopped me in my tracks. I hadn’t turned on the news that day and wasn’t aware of the terrible fires that had gutted most of historic Lahaina and killed more than 100 people. I quickly started reading about the devastation, my mind going continually more numb as the minutes advanced. The photos were heartbreaking. Read more
You absolutely adore the sun and sand of Hawaii and crave a Maui vacation this year. But your piggy bank is running dangerously low. So, what are you to do? My advice is “go anyway.” But keep your costs under control. A Maui trip can be reasonable if you follow a few tips from a guy who’s been a couple dozen times over the years. So, here are some sugge(Also, please visit responsibly. The scars from the Lahaina fires are still fresh. If you go, please don’t stop to take photos of damaged areas, and don’t pry into people’s lives. Read more
