Getting There

By Plane

If you think of the island of Maui as the shape of a head and shoulders of a person, you'll probably arrive on its neck, at Kahului Airport. If you're headed for Molokai or Lanai, you'll have to connect through Honolulu.

At press time seven airlines flew directly from the U.S. mainland to Kahului: United Airlines (tel. 800/241-6522; www.ual.com) offers daily nonstop flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles; Hawaiian Airlines (tel. 800/367-5320; www.hawaiianair.com) has direct flights from San Diego, Portland, and Seattle; American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com) flies direct from Los Angeles; Delta Airlines (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) offers direct flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles; America West (tel. 800/327-7810; www.americawest.com) has nonstop service between Maui and Las Vegas; and American Trans Air (tel. 800/435-9282; www.ata.com) has direct flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix.

The other carriers -- including Continental (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com) and Northwest Airlines (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com) -- fly to Honolulu, where you'll have to pick up an interisland flight to Maui. (The airlines listed in the paragraph above also offer many more flights to Honolulu from additional cities on the mainland.) Hawaiian Airlines offers jet service from Honolulu.

Landing at Kahului Airport

If there's a long wait at baggage claim, step over to the state-operated Visitor Information Center, where you can pick up brochures and the latest issue of This Week Maui, which features great regional maps of the islands, and ask about island activities. After collecting your bags from the poky, automated carousels, step out, take a deep breath, proceed to the curbside rental-car pickup area, and wait for the appropriate rental-agency shuttle van to take you 1/2 mile away to the rental-car checkout desk. All major rental companies have branches at Kahului.

If you're not renting a car, the cheapest way to get to your hotel is SpeediShuttle (tel. 877/242-5777; www.speedishuttle.com), which can take you from Kahului Airport to any one of the major resorts between 5am and 11pm daily. Rates vary, but figure on $33 for one to Wailea (one-way), $46 one-way to Kaanapali, and $63 one-way to Kapalua. Be sure to call before your flight to arrange pickup.

You'll see taxis outside the airport terminal, but note that they are quite expensive -- expect to spend around $60 to $75 for a ride from Kahului to Kaanapali and $50 from the airport to Wailea.

If possible, avoid landing on Maui between 3 and 6pm, when the working stiffs on Maui are "pau work" (finished with work) and a major traffic jam occurs at the first intersection.

Avoiding Kahului -- If you're planning to stay at any of the hotels in Kapalua or at the Kaanapali resorts, you might consider flying Island Air (tel. 800/323-3345; www.islandair.com) from Honolulu to Kapalua-West Maui Airport. From this airport, it's only a 10- to 15-minute drive to most hotels in west Maui, as opposed to an hour from Kahului. Pacific Wings (tel. 888/575-4546 or 808/873-0877; fax 808/873-7920; www.pacificwings.com) flies eight-passenger, twin-engine Cessna 402C aircraft into tiny Hana Airport and also flies into Kahului.

Immigration & Customs Clearance

Foreign visitors arriving by air, no matter what the port of entry, should cultivate patience and resignation before setting foot on U.S. soil. U.S. airports have considerably beefed up security clearances in the years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and clearing Customs and Immigration can take as long as 2 hours.

People traveling by air from Canada, Bermuda, and certain Caribbean countries can sometimes clear Customs and Immigration at the point of departure, which is much faster.

Interisland Flights

Don't expect to jump a ferry between any of the Hawaiian islands. Today everyone island-hops by plane. Since September 11, 2001, the interisland carriers have cut way, way, way back on the number of interisland flights. The airlines warn you to show up at least 90 minutes before your flight and believe me, with all the security inspections, you will need all 90 minutes to catch your flight. Also, be sure to book your interisland connection from Honolulu to Maui in advance.

Aloha Airlines was the state's largest provider of interisland air transport service. Unfortunately, it closed up shop on March 31, 2008.

Hawaiian Airlines (tel. 800/367-5320 or 808/871-6132; www.hawaiianair.com) is Hawaii's other interisland airline featuring jet planes.

In 2006 a new airline entered the Hawaiian market. Owned by Mesa Air Group (which has more than 1,000 flights to 166 cities across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico), go! (tel. 888/IFLYGO2; www.iflygo.com) began service with 50-passenger Bombardier CRJ200 jets with service from Honolulu to Maui, Kauai, and both Hilo and Kona on the Big Island.

In 2007 visitors to Molokai and Lanai got not one but two new commuter airlines that began flying from Honolulu to Molokai and Lanai. go! started a new commuter service from Honolulu to Molokai and Lanai under the name go!Express, on their new fleet of Cessna Grand Caravan 208B planes. Another commuter airline, Pacific Wings, started operating a discount airline, PW Express (tel. 888/866-5022 or 808/873-0877; www.flypwx.com) with daily nonstop flights between Honolulu and Molokai and Lanai, plus flights from Kahului, Maui, and Molokai.

Island Air (tel. 800/323-3345 or 808/484-2222) serves Hawaii's small interisland airports on Maui, Molokai, and Lanai and operates deHavilland DASH-8 and DASH-6 turboprop aircraft. Although I have to tell you that I have not had stellar service from Island Air and would recommend you book on go!Express or PW Express if you are headed to Molokai or Lanai.