Windsurfing on The Island of Maui Hawaii
Places of interest
Sprecksville Jaws Hookipa Lahaina Makena Hana Haleakala Baldwin Beach Park
In early 2002 I was lucky enough to have to have the opportunity to travel the Island of Maui in the mid Pacific ocean to full-fill the dream of so many windsurfers and surfers. I was incredibly lucky to have been able to spend 2 months on this glorious tropical island paradise. I travelled with 2 other friends for the entire 2 month trip and our "Home" was visited by 4 other people during that time for periods of up to 4 weeks. Although Hawaii is one of the most expensive states in America research and the ability to travel with others made the 2 month trip surprisingly cheap, in fact my 2 months compared in price to some 2 week trips less exotics destinations. I will try to give some guidance in where to find the best deals on accommodation and car hire as well as places to visit and avoid on the island of Maui.
We travelled by United Airlines and although these carriers were slightly more expensive on basic flight price the overall cost of the flight was cheaper because they give you a huge baggage allowance of 60 kgs compared with 22 kgs on many of the other European carriers. Excess baggage for windsurfing kit can be up to £200 so with strict packing rules we managed to secure our windsurfing kit aboard the plane for £25 extra on our ticket price. This was because of the size of the bags and not the weight. I managed to take the following:
Naish 8' 11" 104 litre board
3 sails 4.2m 5.0m 6.0m
1 carbon mast 430 m
1 carbon boom
mast extension
mast feet
3 fins
2 kites 12.2 m 15.5 m
2 bars and lines complete
Kite-board
Wakeboard and bindings
Clothing and associated gear for 2 months.
I managed to get all of the windsurfing gear and kite-boards into 1 board bag by wrapping the sails around the board and mast and i put all the kites and gear into a suit case. This was all pre 9/11 so the checks may be a bit more stringent. Total price for the return flight was £315 ( £ 295 + 20 board fee)
By getting to the airport super early the check in staff are not very busy and are much more open to helping and understanding what is going on with your bags. We even got our gear carried around on a cart by the staff! Because we went by United Airlines our gear was cleared all the way to Hawaii and we wouldn't have to check it in again at Los Angles.
The flight to LA was 11 hours and the flight is uneventful. LAX is busy and very well laid out. We had to collect our gear from the baggage area and carry it through to the next terminal but it was taken straight off us at the check in as we had already checked it through at Heathrow. 2 hours is all you get at LAX and then it was on to a 737 to fly us all the way to the magic islands. Our airplane was half empty and the spare seats came in handy for laying out on.
It was dark when we landed so we were unable to get a view of the islands from the air and we would have to wait until daybreak to get our first view of the islands that we all knew so much about and had all seen so many pictures of! We arrived in the dark and in the middle of a tropical rain storm. Rain drops the size of marbles! But still 80 degrees and quite pleasant!
Our car was waiting in the car park as instructed so it was off to find our house! ( It took a short while to sort out the car because in the states you cannot start a car unless you depress the clutch pedal)
Our Car!
Our car was rented for the 2 months in advance from MAUI CRUISERS (Visit this site to see the "Links" page everything you could want to know about maui) this car was a "heap" but as promised it was a reliable heap that never let us down in the entire 2 month period. It went places that even 4x4 cars would struggle. it came with free roof bars (I think they actually held the car together) but most important the rental price included insurance and states taxes. Car rental in the states looks cheap to start but if you are not a U.S national, insurance will almost certainly double or triple the daily hire price so beware. Total cost for 62 days rental $2400= £1760 as at that time we only got $1.36 to the pound. We loaded all of the gear on to the car and set of to find "Paia" and our home for the next 62 days.
The road to Paia is a wide and well sign posted main highway and the journey took us about 45 mins in total. The sky was black and we could not see anything through the rain soaked windshield and the difference revealed the next day was astounding! We found our house relatively quickly upon arriving in Paia and unloaded the car into the Garage that was provided with the house( An absolute must if you are going to take your own gear to the islands)
Our house
We rented the house for the entire 2 months for a total of $4000 which worked out to about $21 per person per night. Accommodation is very expensive on Maui but to put it in to perspective the cheapest hostel with no privacy or board storage would have been $23 per person per night. I managed to get this deal by first asking what the price was per night then asking what would be the discount for 30 days and then pouncing with the 62 days question. Once that was agreed I then got a deal to pay the whole rental in advance and in full by wire transfer. $ talks and I managed to knock off over 30% of the initial price over the phone. I had checked the credentials of the agent and I contacted the local police department to ask for verification of the brokers address and location. Once satisfied I wired the money across. Our house could sleep up to 5 in 2 bedrooms and a sofa bed. Friends were due to come out and visit us and we had arranged a price with them in advance so it made our rental price reduce even more. (we charged $12per person per night) And as a result I had to sleep on the sofa for 52 of the 62 days. (but I got the air conditioning that was quiet!!!)I had full details of the broker but they have since moved off the islands and I do not know how to contact the owner of the house. But it available to rent with this company. The House was called
"Hale Kai"( The house by the sea)
Akoni place
Paia
Maui
Next day it was off to get some provisions and go and pay for the car. We decided to pay to join "Costco" in Kahului and that meant that we could shop for everything under one roof and cook for next to nothing. The place is absolutely huge and has every thing you could ever need. I kept my card and was able to renew it when I went to California the next year. We then travelled through Kahului to find Maui Cruisers so we could pay for our car and sign the paper work (You only get 24 hours on the insurance before it becomes void) . We followed the instructions and ended up in some scrap yard in the back end of Kahului. We met "Bob"! Actually we "Heard" Bob long before we met him. "Bob" should be kept away from sugar and coffee and anything like blue smarties! But he had a warm and friendly smile and apart from deafening us with every word he showed us around the "Site" Around us were the remains of little Toyotas and vehicles that I couldnt really recognise and over on one side of the site there was a line up of little Toyota Tercels. In the UK they would all be MOT failures but we were assured that all the mechanics were tested and renewed if needed and that we would "Blend in "with the locals if we drove the car. We didn't have to worry about keeping it clean or going off the main roads but he warned us not to travel to certain parts of the island as the roads were very dangerous. The map was consulted and we all swore that we would not do those roads!! (Guess we we went 3 weeks later????) True to his word the cars were fantastic and his service was great. Friends blew a tire on the other side of the island one evening and Bob came out in another car and gave it to them and they left him to sort of the tire by the side of the road and he drove it back.
Cheers Bob You are a top bloke!!!
Click on the Map to see more detailed maps of the island
Places of interest
Sprecksville Jaws Hookipa Lahaina Makena Hana Haleakala Baldwin Beach Park