Anybody been to, or live in, Hawaii?

[Demona]

I'm in the middle of planning my wedding, which is going to be on Maui in Oct 2018. Specifically, we have rented a villa for us and our guests in Wailea. Our ceremony/reception are going to be at Gannon's. While I can work all the costs of the house, ceremony, venue, etc into my budget -- what I don't know about is the cost of food/drinks. We are going to buy breakfast items, snacks, beverages, and booze for the house.

Has anybody hit up Costco or local stores there? Do you happen to have a recollection of how island prices stack up to mainland prices? I figure I'm adding probably $5 to each item's base price (then add the 4% sales tax). Does that seem about right? For examples:

• a handle (1.75L)of Tito's vodka costs me $35.00 here, but would cost me $40-45 in Hawaii
  
  A case of water would cost me $7.00 here, but would cost me $12 on the island.

Also, all of us are going to be on Maui for a week. Is there anything we should do? Fantastic places to eat -- for lunch or dinner? We do love tasty bars up to fancy restaurants. Also if anybody knows of a fun night spot to drink, dance, or listen to music please add that too

My brother is all about a luau -- would you say its worth it?

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by Demona

I'm in the middle of planning my wedding, which is going to be on Maui in Oct 2018. Specifically, we have rented a villa for us and our guests in Wailea. Our ceremony/reception are going to be at Gannon's. While I can work all the costs of the house, ceremony, venue, etc into my budget -- what I don't know about is the cost of food/drinks. We are going to buy breakfast items, snacks, beverages, and booze for the house.

Has anybody hit up Costco or local stores there? Do you happen to have a recollection of how island prices stack up to mainland prices? I figure I'm adding probably $5 to each item's base price (then add the 4% sales tax). Does that seem about right? For examples:

• a handle (1.75L)of Tito's vodka costs me $35.00 here, but would cost me $40-45 in Hawaii
  
  A case of water would cost me $7.00 here, but would cost me $12 on the island.

Also, all of us are going to be on Maui for a week. Is there anything we should do? Fantastic places to eat -- for lunch or dinner? We do love tasty bars up to fancy restaurants. Also if anybody knows of a fun night spot to drink, dance, or listen to music please add that too

My brother is all about a luau -- would you say its worth it?

I have been to the Hawaiian Islands many times as Ritz-Carleton & Four Seasons are both clients of mine and I have photographed many of thier hotels/resorts in the Hawaiian Islands. I have also vacationed there on muliple occassions as I'm a volcano junkie and love Mount Kilauea, Volcanoes National Park, Haleakala National Park, etc. Even if I am there on a job, I always schedule at least a couple of days for myself. It really is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. The last time I went we hired a boat to take us to one of the lava flows that was empting into the sea. It was one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing spectacles I have ever seen.

As to the prices of the various goods your asking about, I really have no clue as I have never done any grocery shopping while there or ever stepped foot into a Cost Co.. Since food is included in my job expenses, I always eat out when I am there for a job and we always ate out when on vacation as well so I really cant help you in that regard. We did wind up going to a popular weekly farmers market the last time we were on vacation on Maui and that was pretty amazing. We purchased some Maui grown coffee, some fresh produce and these freshly chilled coconuts which were absolutely to die for. If you enjoy farmers markets you should really check some out.

As to various activities that you should do, I can suggest a few and you can always use the internet as well. There are TONS os sites that specialize in travel and the various activies that are available in the country/state/city your planning on visting. If you want to take some time to see the actual beauty of the island, you really cant beat highway 360, also known as the road to Hana. I am a road trip junkie and always take scenic byways every chance I get and Highway 360 is one of the most beautiful streches of road I have ever driven. Its around 50 miles in total and there are a TON of scenic lookouts where you can pull off the road and enjoy the view. Its great if your looking to take some pictures.

Maui also has some amazing diving and snorkling if your into that sort of thing. I love scuba diving so I always try and get at least 1 dive in whenever I visit the Hawaiian islands. Haleakala National Park is another great place if your looking to enjoy the actual beauty of the island. Mount Haleakala is the worlds largest dormant volcano and you can drive right up to the summit and right down into the crater of the volcano. There are also some great hiking trails, both at Mount Haleakala and the rest of the park. There is also some great mountain biking in the area. My wife and I are outdoor junkies so we usually tend to focus on outdoor activies like hiking, kayaking, scuba diving, etc and Maui, as well as the other islands, are chock full of amazing outdoor activities.

Another great spot is Peahi, also known as Jaws to surfers. That is of course if you love kicking back and watching HUGE waves. Its located just off the Hana highway so you can actually stop by and check out Jaws if you decide to drive the Hana highway. The lookout on the Peahi cliffs is the best place to view the waves. The bad news is Jaws is really hit or miss based on wether there is a high surf. You can check the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) for live wave observation charts.

http://www.pacioos.hawaii.edu/waves/buoy-pauwela/

That will help let you know if its worth the trip. If your lucky enough to get a high surf while your there, its a spectacle like very few others. The first time I went, it was a total bust as the waves were only about 4-5 feet high. I got lucky the 2nd time I went and it wound up being a spectacle like very few others I have seen. Waves got as high as 15 feet. It was incredible. Honestly, I could spend days sitting back and watching waves like that come crashing in.

Basically if you enjoy outdoor activies, Maui has more than enough to keep you busy. If your looking for info for more indoor type activities or nightlife references (bars, restaurants, etc.), I am really not the best person to ask. While I have eaten out at quite a few restaurants there, I never remember the names and I can say the same for the bars. I went to plenty that I enjoyed, but I cant remmeber the names for the life of me. There was one nightclub in particular that I abolutely loved, but I just cant remember the name for the life of me. I even asked my wife if she remembered the name and she's drawing a blank as well. I am just terrible when it comes to remembering names.

Honestly, my recommendation would be to use the internet or buy a guide book of Maui from Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet makes fantastic guide books and they contain all the information you could possibly need for activities, restaurants, bars and nightlife, etc. Before I hiked The Grand Circle of National Parks for the first time (back when I was 22), I purchased guide books for Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. I literally spent 2 months thoroughly reading those books. By the time we took the trip...well, lets just say I couldnt have possibly been more prepared. I read up on all the national parks, state parks, scenic byways, national monuments, camp grounds, outdoor activities, restuarants, etc. It really made all the difference in the world as we always knew exactly where we were, exactly where we were going, the best ways to get where we were going, all of the activities available to us in any given area, etc.

Basically, taking that kind of approach to traveling (basically learning everything on your own as opposed to relying on locals or guides) was so helpful and made that Grand Circle of National Park trip so enjoyable that I wound up adopting that approach for every major vacation/road trip I have ever taken. I literally have 2 full shelves on one of my bookshelves that are full of guidebooks for all of the different states/countries that I have visited. So again, the best advice I can give you is to buy a quality guidebook on Maui and really take the time to thoroughly read it. Also use the internet as a secondary research tool. If you find a location/activity/restuarant/bar etc. in the guidebook that really interests you, use the internet to do even more research. If I have learned one thing in all my years of travelling, its that proper planning and preparation can be the difference between a disappointing vacataion and a vacation that blows your mind. The key is proper preparation and having proper knowledge on the place your visiting.

Congratulations on your engagement!! I hope you have an amazing wedding and an absolutely amazing time in Maui.

[Demona]

Thanks, OC!

I do snorkel, and my fiancé dives, so we are bringing our gear. I plan on walking out to the beaches every day possible and getting in for a few hours at least. I may, or may not, have planned the wedding to be in October on Maui because it's high season for Tiger Sharks...I'm a marine biologist who specialized in ichthyology/shark bio by degree (though non-practicing in the workforce). I really should finish my dive cert, but that's not in the wedding budget

Mike and I are totally doing the Hana Highway. Plan is to go just the two of us after the week with our family/friends is all up. Then wake up early and do the sunrise on top of the mountain. I hear it is amazingly beautiful. From there it will be onto another island for a couple of days.

Moon Maui is the guidebook that I have coming. I also ordered one for the Big Island. Mike wants to see Pearl Harbor (he's a WW2 junkie), while I want to see active volcanos. I'm not sure who will win out on the Island Hopping Battle, but I sure do hope it's me

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by Demona

Thanks, OC!

I do snorkel, and my fiancé dives, so we are bringing our gear. I plan on walking out to the beaches every day possible and getting in for a few hours at least. I may, or may not, have planned the wedding to be in October on Maui because it's high season for Tiger Sharks...I'm a marine biologist who specialized in ichthyology/shark bio by degree (though non-practicing in the workforce). I really should finish my dive cert, but that's not in the wedding budget

Mike and I are totally doing the Hana Highway. Plan is to go just the two of us after the week with our family/friends is all up. Then wake up early and do the sunrise on top of the mountain. I hear it is amazingly beautiful. From there it will be onto another island for a couple of days.

Moon Maui is the guidebook that I have coming. I also ordered one for the Big Island. Mike wants to see Pearl Harbor (he's a WW2 junkie), while I want to see active volcanos. I'm not sure who will win out on the Island Hopping Battle, but I sure do hope it's me

My pleasure! Sounds like you have a good grip on things and buying the guidebooks is one of the smartest things you can do, especially in regards to restaurants and night life. You will be thankful you did the proper research. And since you are travelling the Hana highway, a very smart decision by the way, just make sure you check that morning too see if there is a high surf at the time as Jaws really is a MUST SEE if your already in the area and you have a high surf. Since your a marine biologist, I imagine you absolutely love the ocean and seeing waves that are 12-15 feet high come crashing in is one of the most beautiful spectales I have ever seen from the ocean. And its nice to hear your spending enough time to visit some of the other islands as well as they are all spectacular and all offer something well worth doing. You definitely picked a great spot to get married!

And what a fantastic degree, even if your not currently practicing. I have been an avid scuba diver since I was roughly 10 years old and have always had a deep facination with sharks. There was actually a point in my life where I was contemplating going to commercial-diving school. Anyways, we live in Costa Rica for part of the year and as I am sure your aware, Costa Rica is renowned for Hammerhead sharks. Cocos Island, which is right off Costa Rica, is one of the best places in the world to see Hammerhead sharks. Whats great about Hammerheads, again as I am sure your already aware, is that during the day they tend to form into large schools. Its both absolutely breathtaking and a tad bit frightening being in the water with so many Hammerheads. Here is a picture taken in the waters off Cocos Island.



Its also a great spot for bootlenose dolphins, giant mantas, large yellowfin tuna and lots of other large aquatic animals. Costa Rica is one of the best countries in the world in regards to the amount of protection it has given the population of animals that live both on the land and out at sea. So schools of Hammerheads like that are very common during the day.

I have never seen a Tiger Shark when diving in Hawaii, but I am always aware that they are out there when diving there. Its one of the 3 sharks that I really dont want to encounter while I am diving, the other 2 being the Oceanic White Tip and of course the Great White. I really dont want to be in the water when those sharks are around. Hammerheads are dangerous enough for me, lol.

Again, congratulations and I hope you guys have a fantastic time. Its really hard not too in Hawaii. And I really hope you wind up winning that battle of the islands. As nice as Pearl Harbor is (I am a big WWII history buff myself), it just doesnt compare to active volcanoes.