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Seeing Maui Without a Rental Car

All the guidebooks recommend renting a car when visiting Maui. This made perfect sense to me until I heard the experience of a German couple who rented my condo unit on a last-minute trip to Maui. There were no rental cars to be had on the entire island during their stay. Yet they still had a great vacation. Based on what they told me and additional research, here are some tips for having a great Maui vacation and seeing all the sights without a rental car.

1. Choose a convenient location. Select a vacation rental unit on or across the street from the beach and within walking distance of shops and restaurants. For example, the Maui Banyan condo complex is across the street from the Kamaole Beach Park II and within a 10-minute walk of at least nine restaurants offering everything from high-priced steak and seafood to pizza and affordable Mexican fare. Be aware that in Maui, "oceanfront" does not necessarily mean "on the beach" as some areas of the coast are rocky rather than sandy.

2. Use an airport shuttle. Low-cost transportation from the airport to your condo unit along with all your luggage and in the reverse direction at the end of your vacation is available from airport shuttle companies for only $12 a person and up, one-way.

   

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3. Visit activity kiosks. Sprinkled throughout condo and resort areas in Maui are little booths selling tours and activities, including luaus, kayak trips, helicopter tours, snorkeling or whale-watching boat trips, sunrise visits to the top of Haleakala Mountain and even vans that take you on the famous road to Hana. Tell the kiosk person where you are staying and that you don't have a car, and he or she will find options for you that include pickup at your place or that have an embarkation point you can walk to. For example, some snorkeling and whale-watching trips leave from the Kihei boat ramp, which is a 15-minute walk from the Kamaole Beach Park II area and the Maui Banyan.

Reserve a comfortable, well-equipped South Maui beach condo for your upcoming visit to Maui.

4. Find out about walking trails. Two areas of Maui have very long, mostly paved walking/running trails. One takes you from Kihei through Wailea to Makena, and the other runs for almost 5 miles along Ka'anapali Beach north of Lahaina. If you're staying close to one of these, I highly recommend you walk it. In winter it's a great way to see whales, and any time of the year it gives you access to unsurpassed ocean scenery.

5. Rent a bicycle. Roads along the coast in Maui tend to be pretty level, and even if you're not in top shape, you can bike farther than you can walk. Rates run around $22 a day, $99 a week. Ask at the bike rental shop (there are quite a few on Maui) for recommended routes. They'll tell you which roads have bike lanes and are relatively safe.

6. Rent a scooter or moped. One week I saw four college-age guys whiz around on scooters several times. They'd obviously chosen to get around this way and seemed to be having fun with it. In South Maui, rates for scooters run around $39 a day, $199 a week, and they deliver the vehicle to you. You must be over the age of 18 to rent this form of transportation, show identification and have a major credit card.

7. Take the public bus. The public bus system is fairly extensive on Maui and enables you to go from Kihei or Wailea to Lahaina or vice versa, as well as to other major centers of population. Find the routes and schedules on the County of Maui web site.

So don't assume your holiday is ruined if you can't manage to rent a car for your trip to Maui. Chances are you'll simply have a more adventurous visit than you would otherwise!

Written by Melinda Makawani

Maui Banyan Condo Rental  |  1215 South Kihei Rd. #O-432  |  Kihei, Hawaii 96753

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