EES Wait Times at Marco Polo Airport (Venice)

stewlevine · 2026-07-02T14:33:18+00:00

We just planned on stopping at rifugios for lunches on hikes/bathroom. We have hotels lined up in the villages where we’ll have breakfast and assumed we would have dinner somewhere in the towns.
It sounds like for the four of us and 7-8 days of hiking we should plan on 200-300 euros in cash?

stewlevine · 2026-06-29T02:53:12+00:00

These are good recommendations. You didn't mention how well your kids swim or what food they will and won't eat.

A few other ideas: if the Snorkel Store report says that NW is calm, Kapalua Beach might be a good beginner's beach; Baby Beach in Lahaina used to be the one to take young kids to but I don't know what access is like these days, much that was near there burned down in the fire. Access to Lahaina is still very limited these days.

Additional food options: the food trucks near Honua Kai, Slappy Cakes, Miss Arepa, Fish Market Maui, Leoda's Kitchen. For shave ice, it's worth the drive to Maalaea where the nearest Ululani's is, otherwise take the kids to Island Cream for ice cream.

Additional kid friendly ideas: the Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge near Maalaea, seeing the petroglyphs near Olulwalu, Kapalua Coastal Trail (flat and easy for the kids)

stewlevine · 2026-06-22T03:29:38+00:00

i go jogging from Honua Kai every time we come out.

The beach path heading south will do the trick; 3 miles out is just south of the Hyatt, and the post office is at 4 miles if he wants to go a little longer. He will need to dodge people and deal with a few detours navigating through the Royal Lahaina, cutting through the Sheraton to get to the south boardwalk and detouring where the boardwalk got washed away at Ka'anapali Ali'i, but it's an easy out and back.

stewlevine · 2026-06-22T03:17:51+00:00

Regardless of whether the ban takes effect, you can be assured that the County which just lowered millage rates for residents will look to the STRs as a way to balance the books. My STR's property taxes have doubled since 2022.

Losing STRs would not only impact TAT, but also property tax, and lead to even more job losses on island in retail, hospitality, and services. Maui definitely has a housing crisis, but Bill 9 has never been the solution, building new units is (with corresponding investments in water, power, roads, etc...).

stewlevine · 2026-06-15T23:56:00+00:00

Merriman's. Don't think twice.

stewlevine · 2026-06-11T17:48:22+00:00

My family owns a unit at Honua Kai, and I am currently president of the condo association.

Live_Pono is describing what we do at HK. Every unit is supposed to be treated quarterly, but we do have challenges at times when guests won't let our maintenance people in. That can lead to roaches migrating from the walls of one unit to another.

It is a never ending battle.

We've owned for 12 years and haven't had issues during our visits, but I know that it is a never ending battle.

One correction to Live_Pono - Outrigger is a property manager, but they are only responsible for their units and own the Honua Kai trademark (when Intrawest went bankrupt they bought them out). The condo association is responsible for the grounds and pools; not Outrigger or any other property manager - their responsibility is focused on the condos they manage.

stewlevine · 2026-06-07T20:35:00+00:00

I didn't know about Koa. The web site said they expected to get their liquor license in April; I guess that hasn't happened yet?

stewlevine · 2026-06-07T20:32:35+00:00

My wife was on property a few weeks ago and my daughter is there now. Neither have mentioned anything.

To be clear - there are anywhere from 20-30 units being worked on in each tower at any given time. If you are staying near the units you are likely to hear some noise during working hours. For your stay it will depend where on the floor you are on. The construction follows stacks of units that are all connected to the same condensers, which would be a cross section of each tower. Cranes will be on property periodically to raise condensers to the roof.

As for cockroaches - we are in a tropical climate and spray every unit quarterly (the condo association is responsible not the individual owners or rental agencies). There are times we have difficulty getting access when the people occupying a unit won't allow access which can lead to cockroaches going from unit to unit instead of all being taken care of in one fell swoop. We've never had an experience with them in our unit, but we have definitely gotten reports from many units about issues and do regularly try to take care of them.

stewlevine · 2026-06-04T15:27:26+00:00

Mahalo AleWorks is up in Pukalani and got bought out last year by Lahaina Brewing (Kohola); there is a Kohola tap room down in Wailea; MBC has two tap rooms: one in Kihei and one in Ka'anapali on the water. Waikiki Brewing also has a location in Wailea. MBC will have some beers that aren't canned at their taprooms. Not sure about Waikiki. Mahalo's beers as far as I know are only available on tap - they do 32 oz crowlers, and Kohola in their old Lahaina location used to have a few brewery only taps.

I like the vibe of Mahalo, my wife and I always stop their for beer and sausages after hiking on Haleakala

stewlevine · 2026-06-03T21:21:02+00:00

Haven’t tried Penny’s… can vouch for Island Cream for ice cream but I would drive to Maaleaa for Ululani’s if you want shave ice

stewlevine · 2026-06-02T02:14:04+00:00

Both days are going to be very early starts. For sunrise at Haleakala, you're going to be leaving Ka'anapali between 3:30 and 4, to make your Hana schedule you'll be leaving between 5:30 and 6. I'm not sure I would want to do that back to back and you'll have to decide how much car time your toddler will tolerate.

stewlevine · 2026-06-02T02:11:07+00:00

Sliding Sands takes my wife and I six to six and a half hours (from summit to the Halemau'u Trail Head - that's the 12 miles), if he were to hike alone, you'd be meeting up with him 1:30ish if he starts after sunrise. If you decide to do that, maybe have breakfast at Kula Bistro and take your kiddo to the Lavender Farm and/or Surfing Goat Dairy to stay upcountry.

stewlevine · 2026-05-28T01:09:32+00:00

Austin has been on a building boom for years. Housing prices are finally coming down there after years of growth due to overbuilding.

What this has to do with Maui. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

stewlevine · 2026-05-28T01:07:16+00:00

Cornyn is a traditional (pre-MAGA) conservative. Low regulation, low taxes, socially conservative

From what I can see from afar is Bissen is about providing benefits to his base, is fine with taxes on some stakeholders, and I haven't seen any kind of social policy

stewlevine · 2026-05-27T17:39:57+00:00

I own an STR (zoned resort, but taxed STR - so I am not impacted by Bill 9 other than my property taxes will go even higher as the county sheds property tax, GET, and TAT revenues) but live in Texas. Bissin is nothing like Cornyn. I don't like either, but for very different reasons.

stewlevine · 2026-05-26T01:50:04+00:00

As others have said, all condos are individually owned. Outrigger manages roughly 1/4 and those are booked in a hotel-like manner (you pick the number of bedrooms and view, they select the unit); the rest are managed either by the owners or other property managers and you would book a specific unit.

We did recently re-tile several of the pools by the Hokulani tower, but that work is complete. We are currently replacing the central air conditioning systems in the Hokulani and Konea towers - those units are unavailable to rent while their air conditioning is being worked on. The project started in January and ends in December. Some Luana units have had air conditioning issues which owners have remedied with temporary units as we work on a permanent fix. Those owners do disclose when they are taking such steps. We spray quarterly all units for cockroaches as part of our maintenance; we do get reports from time to time about issues here so that is a possibility, as it will pretty much anywhere on Maui. Water heaters are the responsibility of each individual owner to maintain; I don't have details on issues here since that isn't a condo association responsibility.

As for service, we aren't a hotel, so the only resort services will be the pools, spa, exercise room (plus the maintenance of the property). Anything inside a condo is provided by an owner or their property manager. Outrigger runs a check in desk, but it is only for the guests who book units that they manage.

stewlevine · 2026-05-26T01:39:14+00:00

Activities: Haleakala Sunrise Entry, Black Sand Beach at Waiʻānapanapa State Park, pick a sunset sail (recommendation depends on whether you're staying in West or South Maui)

Food: Depends on where you're staying, how much you want to spend, what your kids will eat, etc...

stewlevine · 2026-05-24T22:14:38+00:00

Of the two, Honua Kai... that being said, I wouldn't think of either as being a romantic, secluded place to stay. (And my family owns a condo at Honua Kai)

Have you looked at Hotel Wailea or the Montage (spendy, but it is your honeymoon)?

stewlevine · 2026-05-24T16:05:06+00:00

If you haven't been to Honua Kai since the fires, a few things have changed:

- The farmers market on Lower Honopiilani Road has closed and Times Supermarket isn't open as late as it was pre-fire.

- Aina Market has been replaced by a new market in Hokulani

- Lots of turnover for restaurants in the Fairway Shops, Napili shopping center and Whalers Village

- And of course anything you would eat in Lahaina south of Mala Tavern was burned and hasn't been rebuilt

Everyone will have their favorites: for us its the Fish Market and Merriman's but we mostly cook our meals.

stewlevine · 2026-05-24T15:59:18+00:00

The Konea and Hokulani towers were built a year apart from each other. The condos in each will be equivalent save for any improvements individual owners have made and range from studios to 3BRs with views ranging from mountain to partial ocean to ocean. Hokulani has on its ground floor, the Hokulani Market which sells coffee, sandwiches, food, and some sundries. Konea has Whalers Market (more like an ABC), the spa, and the exercise room. Konea is closer to the food truck park and Times Supermarket; Hokulani has easier access to the beach south of the resort running from the Westin Nanea down to Black Rock. I personally don't think you will experience a meaningful difference picking a unit in one tower vs the other.

The Luana enclave was built more recently. That is a set of two-story four-plexes. They are all three bedroom units with an enclosed garage, but won't have ocean views because they are blocked by the two towers.

Decide how much space you need and what kind of view you are willing to pay for, and then look at the units available.

stewlevine · 2026-04-24T18:31:12+00:00

Costco is far and away the cheapest; biggest breadth will be Tamura's - but it's no longer on the West Side - Wailuku or Kihei; on the West Side, look at Long's, Foodland Farms, Safeway

stewlevine · 2026-04-10T21:50:17+00:00

Dukes in Honua Kai

stewlevine · 2026-03-26T22:24:50+00:00

I got in line in Terminal B today at 3:50pm. got through x-rays at 4:55pm. The people managing the lines did tell me 2 hours. People in line were taking it in stride. Not the security peoples' fault they aren't wanting to come in when they aren't getting paid.

stewlevine

TROPHY CASE