| Hana
Tour with Valley
Isle Excursions |
|
2008
Rates |
|
List Price |
Our Price |
| Seniors
(60+) |
|
$114 |
$104 |
| Adults
(13-59) |
|
$124 |
$114 |
| Children
(12 & under) |
|
$94 |
$84 |
|
|
|
|
Valley Isle
Excursions now charges a $5 per person fuel surcharge which will be
added to the above rates.
Tour HANA...in style; then
continue your excursion on the magnificent road beyond Hana with
Maui's #1 Luxury Tour Company. Valley Isle Excursions takes
you on one of the most breathtaking drives on earth through Maui's
tropical rainforest. 617 curves, 54 one lane bridges to Hana,
pineapple fields, spectacular cliffs, bamboo jungles, waterfalls,
tropical streams and pools, colorful and fragrant island flowers and
rainforest vegetation are all to be enjoyed on your way to
"Heavenly Hana".
The tour includes pick-up and return to your
hotel, continental breakfast, a lavish picnic lunch buffet served on
linens and china, and complimentary beverage service throughout the
day. View waterfalls, the Keanae Peninsula, "Heavenly Hana"
Town, and spectacular sea cliffs. This tour makes between 10-12
stops including Wainanapanapa State Park where you can walk around
on a black sand beach. The tour also stops for an hour at the Pools of Oheo (also known as the Seven Sacred
Pools) where you have the opportunity to swim under a waterfall.. This tour goes all the way around the Haleakala side of the
island, including the road beyond Hana where the rental car
companies do not allow you to drive. This area includes Charles
Lindbergh's Gravesite, the majestic gorges near Kaupo, the rugged
lava coastline of South Maui, and wine tasting at the Tadeschi
Winery.
The thing that makes this tour special is their
luxurious Comfort Cruisers. These air conditioned vehicles hold 12
people, each with an ultra-comfortable individual reclining chairs. From the
elevated view from your Comfort Cruiser you see more than the views
from a rental car that sits lower to the ground. Sit back, relax,
and let their expert guides do the driving for you as they share
their love for and knowledge of the Hana Highway.
If Valley Isle Excursions is
not available, we can also book you on a Hana tour with
another company called Ekahi Tours which uses very
similar vehicles. We prefer Valley Isle
Excursions because their tour includes breakfast and a
really nice lunch served in a park-like setting. Ekahi
Tours does not include breakfast and they stop at the
Hana Ranch Restaurant for lunch. Our rate for Ekahi Tours is
$115.00 per adult, $100.00 per senior over 60, and children 11
and under are $85.00. Either Ekahi Tours or Valley
Isle Excursions are superior to Hana tours offered by cruise
lines because of the smaller vehicles and the more personal
experience.
UPDATE:
1/1/2008
The road beyond the "Seven
Pools" area is still closed to traffic due to rockfall
hazards following our earthquake back in October of
2006. This means that the tours
return through Hana town instead of continuing on to the
winery in upcountry Maui.The only regular stop
that is not currently included on the tour is the
winery.
Because this is a long day (10-11
hours), this tour is not recommended for children under 3.
 |
 |
NCL
cruise ship passengers are able do the Hana tour
with either
Valley Isle Excursions or Ekahi Tours on their
first
day in port in
Kahului. They will
pick you up at the harbor shortly after you disembark.
Please note that they cannot tour you on your second day
in port unless you are on the Pride of Aloha with a
departure of 9:30pm. Unfortunately Lahaina
cruise ship passengers are not able to do this tour
either on day one (you arrive too late) or day two (your
cruise ship departs too early). |
 |
| NEW!
Halfway to Hana with
Ekahi Tours |
| 2008
Rates |
|
Our
Price |
|
Seniors 60+ |
|
$79 |
|
Adults
(13-59) |
|
$89 |
|
Children
(11 and under)) |
|
$65 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesdays,
Thursdays, and Saturdays only
Don't have time
for the 10 hour tour to Hana and beyond? Check out Ekahi Tours
and their new Halfway to Hana Tour. Actually, this tour goes a
little more than halfway to Hana. Most people think of Hana as
a destination but in actuality it's a journey, and you don't have to go all the
way to Hana in order to see the rain forest, waterfalls, and
dramatic coastline vistas around the Keanae Penninsula. You'll
learn about Hawaiian culture and myths from Ekahi Tours
"local style" guides.
You will enjoy a comfortable ride
in a 13 passenger motor coach with BIG windows. The tour
company will pick you up at your hotel, condo, or cruise ship.
Lunch is included in the price of the tour.
Wear a bathing
suit under your clothing if you'd like to enjoy a brief swim at a
waterfall.
.
|
|
NCL
cruise ship passengers are able do the Halfway to Hana tour on
their second day
in port in Kahului. Return time is around 2:30pm to
3:00pm. Lahaina
cruise ship passengers are able to do this tour if
you can catch a tender and be on shore no later than
7:45am. Return time is around 3:30pm to 4:00pm |
 |
| Haleakala
Sunrise with
Ekahi Tours |
| 2008
Rates |
|
Our
Price |
|
Seniors 60+ |
|
$90 |
|
Adults
(13-59) |
|
$95 |
|
Children
(11 and under)) |
|
$75 |
|
|
|
|
|
A sunrise at
Haleakala can be a truly spiritual experience and Ekahi Tours will
take you there local-style. Travel
to the 10,023 foot summit with Ekahi and experience the dawn of
creation all over again. Panoramic views, nature in the raw, and the
wonders of Haleakala National Park will leave you breathless!
In order to provide
more personalized tours and blend in with the Hawaiian community,
Ekahi refrains from using large buses. Their vehicles for this tour
hold 24 passengers. Their tour includes
round-trip transportation from your hotel, park admission, and a
very nice breakfast at a restaurant near the end of the tour.
Availability on
this tour is limited to just two vehicles per sunrise, so
those seats sell out very quickly. Reservations should be
made WEEKS ahead of time.
Dress warmly in
layers ... summit conditions vary but it is MUCH colder than at sea
level ... often in the high 30's or low 40's before sunrise. Because
of the high elevation, this tour is not recommended for anyone with
breathing or heart problems.
|
|
NCL
cruise ship passengers are able do the Ekahi sunrise
tour on their
second day in port in Kahului.
They will pick you up one block from the cruise ship. This can also work for Lahaina
cruise ship passengers on their second day in
port if your cruise ship is spending two days in
Lahaina. They will pick you up at Lahaina Harbor. |
|
| NEW!
Upcountry & Iao Valley with
Ekahi Tours |
| 2008
Rates |
|
Our
Price |
|
Seniors 60+ |
|
$79 |
|
Adults
(13-59) |
|
$89 |
|
Children
(11 and under)) |
|
$65 |
|
|
|
|
|
Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays only
This very
diverse tour offers fantastic drop-dead gorgeous ocean
panoramas from high on the slopes of Upcountry Maui.. You'll
see everything from the most recent lava fields on Maui at the
La Perouse Bay Overlook ... to an upcountry lavender farm ...
to Maui's winery ... to Central Maui's Iao Valley State Park
and the famous Iao Needle. Stops are also made at Ho'okipa
Beach Park which attracts the world's most elite windsurfers,
and a protea flower farm in Upcountry Maui.
You will enjoy a comfortable ride
in a 13 passenger motor coach with BIG windows. The tour
company will pick you up at your hotel, condo, or cruise ship.
Breakfast is not included with this tour, and a stop is made in Paia town at Charley's Restaurant where you
may purchase lunch. You'll
learn about Hawaiian culture and myths from Ekahi Tours
"local style" guides.
.
|
|
NCL
cruise ship passengers are able do the Upcountry and
Iao Valley tour on
their first day
in port in Kahului. Return time is around 2:30pm to
3:00pm. Lahaina
cruise ship passengers are able to do this tour if
you can catch a tender and be on shore no later than
8:45am. Return time is around 3:30pm to 4:00pm |
|
Activity
Tips
Van tours offer a
nice advantage over driving around on your own. Many of the most
scenic roads on Maui are rather narrow and winding with bridges that
are only one lane wide. An experienced tour guide / driver who knows
the road will ensure that everyone in your party gets to enjoy the
view. Mini-coaches that these companies use sit higher than a
regular rental car and offer superior visibility with oversized
windows ... you'll see things looking over the top of the guardrail
that you would miss if you were in a rental car. These vehicles are
superior to a tour done in a bus (for obvious reasons) or a standard
14 passenger van that is difficult to crawl in and out of.
Another advantage of the smaller vehicle with great visibility;
don't be surprised if
your guide knows your name by the middle of the tour.
If you love to drive on curvy winding
one-lane roads that you've never seen before, you might enjoy the
drive to Hana! Go for it! Many people HATE the drive to Hana,
but love the ride there. That's when a tour like Valley
Isle Excursions is perfect. Their Hana adventure is really first
quality ... the food is excellent, the ride comfortable, and the
group is small. Ever been on a bus tour where one or two people were
holding up a group of 55? That won't happen on smaller tours like
this. It's a good choice.
If you don't
have 10 hours to dedicate to a Hana tour, or if you are on a
cruise ship and want to attend a luau later the same evening,
consider the Upcountry / Iao Valley tour or the Halfway to
Hana tour with Ekahi Tours. You'll see and learn lots about the island!
If you want to see a Haleakala
Sunrise, don't forget about the downhill bike ride!
They'll pick you up and take you to the summit in the middle of the
night ... after watching the sunrise you coast 38 miles downhill
with only 400 yards of peddling! If one or two people in your party
don't want to ride the bike back down, they have a van rider rate.
For more information on that, go to our Bike
Down a Volcano page.
If you want to watch a Haleakala
Sunrise but no one in your party is interested in biking, then
the Ekahi Tours trip is a good idea. The road to the summit
of Haleakala is not as narrow as the road to Hana, but there are
hairpin turns ... LOTS of them. And driving it in the middle of the
night in the dark can be a challenge. Actually, if you aren't
properly rested, driving can be dangerous. Consider going with this
tour ... you can rest your eyes on the way up instead of having to
prop them open with toothpicks and getting white knuckles from
holding the steering wheel too tightly.
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We
are a true activity company; we do not promote timeshare sales in any way.
