The Pacific Coast Highway in 1 Week

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Back to MauiMaui, Hawaii: The Pacific Coast Highway in 1 Week

Landing at Kahului Airport--If there's a long wait at baggage claim, step over to the state-operated Visitor Information Center, where you can pick up brochures and the latest issue of This Week Maui, which features great regional maps of the islands, and ask about island activities. After collecting your bags from the poky, automated carousels, step out, take a deep breath, proceed to the curbside rental-car pickup area, and wait for the appropriate rental-agency shuttle van to take you a half mile away to the rental-car checkout desk. (All major rental companies have branches at Kahului.)

If you're not renting a car, the cheapest way to get to your hotel is SpeediShuttle (tel. 808/875-8070), which can take you between Kahului Airport and all the major resorts between 5am and 11pm daily. Rates vary, but figure on $24 for two passengers to Wailea (one way) and $48 for two to Kapalua (one way). Be sure to call before your flight to arrange pickup.

If you're staying in the Lahaina-Kaanapali area, transportation service is available through Airporter Shuttle (tel. 800/259-2627 or 808/877-7308), which runs every half hour from 9am to 4pm; the cost is $13 one way, $19 round-trip.

You'll see taxis outside the airport terminal, but note that they are quite expensive--expect to spend around $60 to $75 for a ride from Kahului to Kaanapali and $50 from the airport to Wailea.

If possible, avoid landing on Maui between 3 and 6pm, when the working stiffs on Maui are "pau work" (finished with work) and a major traffic jam occurs at the first intersection.

Avoiding Kahului--You can avoid Kahului Airport altogether by taking an Island Air (tel. 800/323-3345; www.alohaair.com) flight from Honolulu or the Big Island to Kapalua-West Maui Airport, which is convenient if you're planning to stay at any of the hotels in Kapalua or at the Kaanapali resorts. If you're staying in Kapalua, it's only a 10- to 15-minute drive to your hotel; it takes 10 to 15 minutes to Kaanapali (as opposed to 35 or 40 min. from Kahului). Island Air also flies into tiny Hana Airport, but you have to make a connection at Kahului to get there.