Honeymoon Discussions

Maui - Kehei vs Kanapali?

Hi Girls,Has anyone any advice on what area of Maui is best to stay at? We hear mixed reviews between Kehei and Kanapali. We are going Oct. 5/09 and spending 4 nights in Honolulu and then 7 nights in Maui but not sure where and if we should do the condo thing to help save some money, or hotel it? Anyone been to both?

Re: Maui - Kehei vs Kanapali?

  • So, first off you have location. Ka'anapali has a great (packed with tourists) beach on the West Coast, Kihei is at the northern end of the South Shore, and many people don't prefer the beaches as much.Having said that, I would much prefer to stay somewhere like Kihei, because I find the crowds get really overwhelming.Most of our guests are staying further up the West Coast in Kahana and Kapalua. It's so much more chilled out up there.
  • We were just in Maui last week and stayed in Ka'anapali.  We LOVED the location and I would recommend it over Kihei for sure.  The beaches are nicer and we really liked being close to Front St. in Lahaina (Maui's "downtown)- we went down there almost every night to people watch, walk around the shops and art galleries, and eat shave ice! Have you gotten Maui Revealed yet?  If not, buy it or take it out from your library.  It has great advice about where to stay and will help you find a good spot in Kihei if that's what you decide.  The authors were adamant that most of the beaches in Kihei have a lot of seaweed and can sometimes have an offputting smell.  Having said that, we have friends who stayed in a condo in Kihei and liked it very much.  We just preferred Ka'anapali and would stay there again in a heartbeat.  Costco.com surprisingly has good deals on hotels in Ka'anapali so you can probably save some money that way!
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  • I also prefer Kaanapali because of it's proximity to Lahaina.  I think if you stayed in Kehei, you'll find yourself driving over near lahaina and Kaanapali anyways.  Aside from our activities/excursions we did, we spent most of our time in Lahaina.
  • I personally would not stay in Kaanapali.  Just too much going on around there.  Its nice to drive there and do things (shopping, water sports, etc.) but I have stayed in Kihei twice and loved it!  The beach was much less crowded and its a less "touristy" area in my opinion.  We stayed in condos when we went both times and it was nice because you have a little more space with the living room and kitchen.  For a honeymoon, a hotel might be nice though.  I think either way you will love it!
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  • My honeymoon date twin! We are leaving on the 5th also, but we are staying for 3 nights in Hana and then moving to Maalaea which is down near Kihei. I like the fact that it's out-of-the-way and doesn't have the crowds. We have a condo with an ocean view and we're so looking forward to it! I much prefer the condo over a hotel... they're alot cheaper, you can get an ocean view for the same money or less than you'd pay in a hotel for a room with no view. Some of them have washer/dryer right in the unit, which is great. You can make your own breakfast, refigerate left overs from restaurants and keep your drinks cold. Many of them are stocked with boogie boards, beach towels, coolers, beach mats, etc that you can use for free. Check out VRBO.com
  • Really liked the Kanapali area as it had lots to do, was close to everything we wanted, and we could just stay at the hotel and it felt like not a lot of people.
  • We loved ka'anapali.  It's close to everything and the beach walk connects all the hotels and gives you access to whalers village....we did some shopping there and had a few good meals.[img]<a href="http://tinyurl.com/n74l8e" rel='nofollow'>http://tinyurl.com/n74l8e</a>[/img]
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