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Maui Highlights
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.
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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.
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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