Sounds like your October vacation to Hawaii will be better than mine. Going with wife and baby and will be staying in Wailea. I did not, cannot, and may never qualify for Kona - congratulations.

Jealousy aside, that's a long time to spend in one place in Hawaii. I recommend that after Kona you go to Kauai. Great hiking (trail running), probably great mtn biking, and obviously plenty of ocean for swimming. It is beautiful and MUCH more relaxing than Maui. And cheaper.

Not sure where the race venue is on Maui, but you can't go wrong staying in Kihei, Wailea, or maybe Lahaina. West side of the island is the way to go. Ride up Haleakala as a tune-up!

Sounds amazing. Enjoy!

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/kj

http://kjmcawesome.tumblr.com/

I faced this decision in 2014 and planned to hop right over and stay at this place for the duration in Maui. Those plans ended up changing, but if I had a do over, I would go with the same plan. I don't Kona is all that great compared to Maui, and there is next to no mountain biking in Kona. If you're racing Xterra World's, I would think you'd want to stay fresh by riding the dirt in the lead up.

IMO get to Maui asap...I am from Canada and spend 2 weeks in Maui every spring during cheapx time for training. We chose Maui but go to kona because we have to.

Talk to the bike shop In Paia they will set you straight re trails etc

Maurice

Other than I'd say go to Kauai for a few days and chill, I second going to Maui Cyclery and talking to Donnie. Quick search looks like there are not a lot of public trails available but they'll know for sure.

I would say for sure get the hell out of Kona, you should have your fill of it by race end. And don't do the island hop thing, just go to your spot in Maui and dig in for a bit. Flying on planes and doing tourist stuff on ironman legs is just going to get you sick. You will be there in less than an hour, get a case of good local brew for the off days after kona, and just keep your feet up and go in the ocean every day til you feel like riding again..

Somewhat off-topic, but my gf and I fly into Maui on 16th October. Would be cool to arrange some Slowtwitch mountain bike rides in the week leading up to the race.

I should have clarified: my gf will be racing Kona and I get to race Maui. The venue for Maui is Kapalua..

There appear to be more options (that are reasonably priced as well) on the west side.

In Maui you need to rent a car regardless....usually cheap at that time. Depends if you want to stay close to race sight... Where is is? Personal opinion but I would stay Inkiheie... I AM Cheap though ;-)

Maurice

One thing to think about for Maui is that the whole bike course only opens up about 5-7 days ahead of the race as it is private property. The lower half of the bike (and run course) is on the resort so open at all times. It does appear that public trails seem limited and was going to suggest the Maui Bike Park but it seems that it closed in January.

Cheap is good ;)

Once airline, car rental, and lodging get added to the $550 Maui registration fee (which feels a little steep to me...) it's going to be an expensive month...

The actual race is at DT Fleming beach park, which is in Kapalua. But I was contemplating spending less on the 10-12 days between Kona and Wed/Thurs of Maui race week (and staying further away from Kapalua) and getting a room at the host venue (either Ritz or Outrigger) for the two nights surrounding the race.

I had a friend do Xterra there last year and he stayed at the Best Western (I believe that's what its called) in Lahaina. Lahaina is only about 4-5 miles from the Ritz. Just like you have planned, he stayed at the Ritz the night before the race.

The Big Island is a lot cheaper than Maui, with regards to hotels. After the IM, you could head toward Waikaloa and check out the Hilton or Marriot in that area. Of the hotels in the location, those two are usually the cheapest. The Hilton is HUGE but the grounds are nice and you can easily ride/run from there. There's a lot to do on the Big Island so it can take quite a bit of time to explore.

On Maui, I've stayed at hotels and the condo complexes in Kaanapali (near the Ritz). Both are great options but you need to keep checking over and over to get the best price. My wife changed our reservations several times between hotels and condos

You'll be there long enough that I'd recommend staying on the south side of the island (Kihei/Wailea) for the downtime between the races, then moving closer to the race site a few days prior. Cheap condos abound in the Kihei area. Wailea is more upscale if you're looking to make it rain.

The west side is awesome, really the whole island is, but it's a long haul out of there if you're looking to explore a bit. For example, you've had a couple suggestions to talk to Donnie at Maui Cyclery up in Paia. That's about hour longer drive each way from the race area than it would be from Kihei/Wailea. Same if you want to go upcountry/Haleakala/Hana, etc. Tack on 1.5-2hr extra driving round trip to get to any of those places if you're up on the west side.

Hell, as long as you're going to be there I'd even be considering staying upcountry, maybe in/around Kula, for a few days. It's an entirely different world up there than it is in the big tourist areas, and worth checking out IMO.

We stay here:

http://www.kiheikainani.com/joomla/index.php

Yes I am cheap…it says 139$ in low season but we got 99$ U.S. in May, my bet is you'll get that rate. Check the pics on each room. Some are "nicer" IE laminate, flat screen and king bed…still you get what you pay for.

In terms of food we have skipped Costco last few years and just went to 24 hour safeway, pretty cheap and 5 min away. "fred's" Mexican bar about 50 feet away as is the beach, "cafe aux lai" nice for appies, "sorrentos" great for half price sushi.

Looks like race site will be 45 min from Kihei drive, not a bad idea to stay closer for 2 nights..depending on race goals etc.

Cheers,
Maurice

Some good tips on this thread, i commented on it a week after getting back from maui myself


http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...string=maui#p5960715

I've had that thread bookmarked via email threads since its inception; it has proven quite useful!

Honestly, to me the "easiest" thing to do seems to be to book something cheap on the south side like Maurice mentions earlier for the first 10-11 nights, making both the west side and the east side somewhat accessible (although that's a roughly 1hr drive to race site from the condo he mentions). Either way, gonna have to bite the bullet pretty soon.

And if you stay in Kihei, make sure you hit Coconuts (stupid name) in Azeka's Place (the one on the non ocean side of the highway... is that makai? never get that right) for amazing fish tacos :)

And check out Outrigger Pizza, a mobile food truck, fantastic pizzas. Can get the locations per day on Yelp, also comes to Azeka's Place (but on the ocean side of the highway, at least a couple years back). ETA looks like they have a permanent spot as well in Kukui Mall in south Kiehei

There is mountain biking on the west side of Hawaii island but it's not the same as Maui. Plus to find the more technical trails you'll have to hook up with some locals (The guy that owns Bike Works for example, but he'll be a bit swamped).

The new bike course for Xterra is just as difficult in its own way as the old one. It does have the advantage in that you can ride the whole course ahead of time. A good reason for arriving a bit early anyway.

Personally if I were a mainlander I'd enjoy watching the big show here, go to the awards banquet with your s/o and then head out on Monday or Tuesday afternoon on one of the very few direct Kona to Maui flights on Hawaiian Airlines. Go enjoy the beaches (we have Hapuna for a beach on this side... very nice but they have a whole island's worth), the trail running and the mountain biking while she recovers,

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

We have done the Xterra worlds for many years. Keihei is more central and less expensive if you are spending any time on the island before the race. We stay at the Luana Kai (look them up direct on the web) they are super reasonable and very low key. Not trendy or high end - but a good bargain and there is a nice bbq and pool area. You can check out the photos of different units on their website. We usually move over to the west side of the island and rent a condo in Kapalua starting the Thursday before the race. The bike course is not open for preriding until either Wed or Thurs before the race. If you want to rent a road bike and do the 'West Maui Loop' it is a pretty intense but beautiful road ride - ask at the local bike shops.