Have a talk to the ladies at Hookipa Haven (vacation rentals) in Paia. They are lovely people that helped us so much finding and organising accommodation late last year.

We stayed at Maui in a "Condo" we got thru Owners Direct. www.ownerdirect.com:443/accommodation/maui
They were pretty good value, good quality. We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo in Kihei.
We are using them again to travel to London on a couple of months.

I have been staying at Maui Ocean Breezes www.mauivacationhideaway.com/ which is 10 minutes on from Hookipa. Its a bit off the tourist path but feels like the real Maui with lush grounds, ocean view etc and it has a pool which is great for the family when I go off sailing. They have a 4 person cottage but I prefer "hibiscus hideaway" which also sleeps 4 with 2 seperate bedrooms and costs about $250 per night. Close to Haiku which has some good eating options and not overcrowded with tourists. Also close to Matt Pritchard who is great to hire gear from.

One other car hire tip - try these guys as the cost inlcudes all insurance, collision waiver excess and a free tank of gas for brand new cars at the airport (through Almo). Cost me just under $300 per week for a brand new Holden Captiva http://www.carrentalhawaii.com/html/home-commonwealth.html

Maui Sunset condo's on Sth Kihei Rd. Check out VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) Good deals and close to a lot of places. About a 20 minute drive to Kanaha. Also try Village By the sea just down the road. Less exxy.

Nusbreath, good tip on that car hire. I had booked a mini van through Dollar rentals last week but they were not very forthcoming with insurance costs. Their parent company Thrifty charge close to $40 per day so I really wanted to know what Dollar would charge me. I tried your suggestion - carrentalshawaii.com and they gave me a quote only $30 dearer but with full insurance and you can return the car empty of gas! A much better deal. Thanks for the tip. Matt Pritchards gear rental website looks good as well. Gary Coffs Harbour

Heerey said...
Another good car rental is Al West Car Rental, you can rent new or second hand station wagons. Through be careful the insurance they offer does not cover you for non-local driving ie Road to Hana and Haleakala.

www.aloharentacar.com/

Cheers

Not sure about this mob I received there quote and now they refuse to answer a simple question I had about insurance. Sent 2 more emails to book a van and still no reply, not a good sign for a 1st time customer.

Aloha rental car (al west) are great, never had an issue. Just don't take their older cars up the volcano or to hana

Gear hire from hi tech, always great service

ejmack said...
Just curious - do most people rent the "middle aged vehicles"?

Sounds like there's going to be a few of us there in June.

Maui vacation advisors have helped me/us out so far - very pleasant to deal with.

We have rented an older mini van from Al west - sometimes the aircon works

Maybe we should have a cricket match?

windaddict said...
EJMack: Ian and I booked with Al West's when we went last year, we got the Old rusted out windsurfing van...despite the rust the van ran beautifully for the entire two weeks. We stayed in Kihei and drove up to Kanaha/Hookipa every day, did a drive to Makena, and Lahaina in it also and it was ticking over beautifully...

I have booked with them again this year too for my forth coming trip.

Thanks Marcus! I have gone for the older mini van from Al West's. Should be good. If no aircon I'll hopefully be able to wind down the windows....It's only 2.5 weeks after all and then back to mid winter. :)

windaddict said...

ejmack said...

windaddict said...
EJMack: Ian and I booked with Al West's when we went last year, we got the Old rusted out windsurfing van...despite the rust the van ran beautifully for the entire two weeks. We stayed in Kihei and drove up to Kanaha/Hookipa every day, did a drive to Makena, and Lahaina in it also and it was ticking over beautifully...

I have booked with them again this year too for my forth coming trip.

Thanks Marcus! I have gone for the older mini van from Al West's. Should be good. If no aircon I'll hopefully be able to wind down the windows....It's only 2.5 weeks after all and then back to mid winter. :)

No need for aircon..wind the window down and enjoy the warmth! It doesn't get that hot over there anyway....compared to Melbourne summer.

You guys must be getting pretty excited now! Only 1 month or so to go!

Oh yeah. Jerry keeps me updated every other day about how many more sleeps to go. He even has a phone app to count down the days.