Maui This Summer

I always stay in a place on the beach here in Oregon. However we stayed in a motel a couple of blocks from the beach in LaHaina. The motel was less expense. We spent very little time in our room. We walked to the beach; spent most of our time outside. The motel had a pool Which we did use often. I rented a car so we could explore on our own. We walked in Lahaina.
We really liked the luau in Lahaina.

We went several years ago. At that time Lahaina was smaller And more personal than a resort town. My daughter was 13. One of the maids brought her daughter to spend time with her Since there were no other children staying there. There were no time shares. Don't know what it's like now.

Affordable on the beach isn't likely on Maui, unless you go in the off-season/not school breaks. Even then, on the beach will not be cheap. Consider going just a tad inland and you'll save money. We stayed at the Maui Eldorado in Kaanapali (walking distance to the beach) about 10 years ago when we went and it was fine. We weren't in the room long enough to appreciate beach views anyway, so it was fine to walk five minutes to get to the beach.

I would check out VRBO.com. When we looked at going to Maui with the kids a couple years ago, it was much cheaper to rent through them than to book a hotel. In the end, we couldn't go because it was just too expensive, though (airfares killed the plans).

Kayak is the best site for air but it doesn't include Southwest. I love Southwest so I would check Kayak and then check the SW website and compare. You can find lots of deals on Expedia, etc. I have used them and had success.

It's not a bad idea to consult a travel agent. I know with the internet it's fairly easy to do things yourself but I love using an agent!! It's so easy! We just tell her our budget and she does the rest.

We go to Maui often but we always stay in a timeshare. Any hotel on the beach is going to be over $100 a night. The resort type hotels will be probably around $200 a night. The Trip Advisor website has good reviews of hotels.

You will need a car. There really isn't any public transportation. We spend the majority of our time in Kihei, but we do travel up to Kannapali and Lahaina, and down to Wailea and south of there.

I book directly through my airline website ( AAir or Southwest).
We have loyalty rewards from Marriott and Hilton. I book directly through the hotel website.

I don't know what you mean by affordable because that differs from person to person and budget to budget. We stayed at a Beautiful Marriott property for free for a week and flew in/out in first class free, all with frequent flyer and travel awards. I think the average cost per night was around $500 plus taxes at the time.

The last time we went, there seemed to be more timeshares than hotels. I wasn't crazy about that. We love a nice resort hotel. Both Hilton and Marriott are good for those. We stayed at a Sheraton resort in Kapula Bay.

I'm used to booking air travel and hotels a lot so it's no biggie but if you are not used to it, you might feel more comfortable going through an agent.

I never ever go through discounters. Those tickets are first to be bumped.

We like Kaanapoli, Kapula Bay for nice hotels. Lahaina is more touristy and we spend lot of time there when in Maui. There's a great luau in Lahania. Mama's Fish House in Paia is fantastic but pricey.

We fly from DFW and rent a car.

travelocity.
khairete
S.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton, not super affordable, but honestly nothing in Maui is! There was a magic show called Kupanaha at the Westin in Kannapali, we went there for that and the hotel was lovely. Also went to the Hyatt in Kannapali and the way it is situated on the beach is fantastic. I think you can't go wrong. We were in Kapalua which was a little further up and less to do up there. Kannapali and Lahaina were a little more hoppin! Have a great time- it's beautiful there! Not sure what ages your kids are, but ziplining was our fave activity for us and our 11 year old. Oh, and there's a day cruise that leaves Maui and goes to Lanai island, that was fun, too. As we went, a giant school of dolphins escorted the boat- it was the coolest thing to see. The only problem is the water is choppy on the way back, so if anyone gets seasick you may have issues. We knew we were in for it when before we left they set out a GIANT basket of Dramamine!