its great. Very interesting and you get dinner and warm clothes too!

Can some one elaborate? Our family is very interested!!

I replied to someone else who had a similar question, but I can't figure out how to reference that post, so I'll paste my prior reply here:

Yes - we were at Maui from 4/14 to 4/21 and did the Stargazers tour while we were there. It was GREAT! I highly recommend it - even if you only have a passing interest in astronomy. Jim and Benny were our tour guides and they were both very knowledgable and enjoyable.

We went up to the top of Haleakala, arriving around 5 and wandered around the crater for a bit. We met Jim and Benny at 5:45 and watched the sunset. Shortly after sunset and before the stars started coming out, we had the dinner that they provided - which was great (I had the chicken ceaser salad, my husband and son had subs). Then Jim and Benny brought out the telescope and started the tour. The clouds would occassionally roll in and we'd jump into our cars to stay dry, but otherwise the night was clear. It was definitely cold up there after the sun went down, but Jim provided down jackets, gloves (gardening gloves - he couldn't find winter gloves on Maui) and our souvenier knit caps (which were to keep). About half way through the tour, Jim provided us with hot chocolate, which was very good and very welcome. We watched the stars until about 9:30pm and learned a lot. Even my 11-year-old enjoyed it and learned things that he still talks about.

I was originally concerned about the drive down the volcano at night, but the reflectors built into the road make the road easy to see at night. We did have to drive cautiously, watching for the cattle that wander the volcano, but never saw any. The only "hazzard" we found on the drive down (other than the wear/tear on the engine and brakes) were the clouds. You do need to slow down and take extra care when driving at night down through them, but they don't last long and we only hit a cloud once on the downward spiral, so it wasn't too bad.

Overall, it was a great experience. I never had any idea that there were that many stars that you could see at night. We learned many of the constellations and history, saw star clusters, galaxies and even the rings of saturn. It was a GREAT and unique experience that we will all remember

We went in August 2006. My husband and, then, 8 year old daughter are both science buffs so I went mostly for them. I'd prefer stargazing on Hollywood Boulevard and figured looking at the milky way through a telescope wouldn't be much different than seeing it on t.v. I was so wrong! It still brings tears to my eyes thinking of the majesty of it. The only downside is it is FREEZING cold, even in late August! I wore two pairs of pants, two shirts, a sweatshirt, and the down parka and I was still cold - though I hate the cold anyway. Regardless, we are going back again in a few weeks with adventures planned everyday, but all we are really talking about is stargazing, again! The guides are awesome and the experience phenomenal.

Unless you live in a dark sky area, you will be amazed at the view of the night sky from the top of Haleakala.

It's nice to go with the group. The warm clothes and hot drink will be appreciated. also the instruction you get will make the viewing more enjoyable. My DH went with this group years ago.

He came home and order a small traveling telescope. (his 160cmTEC scope that's 5ft long wouldn't fit in a bag.)Now I get to pack warm clothes, tripod, scope,and mount along with our fins, mask, and swimsuits every year. I never get tired of star gazing on Maui.

If you can go before Sept9 or after the 16 you will have better viewing. The moon's brightness will wash out some of the stars light during that time. But any time, bright moon or not, it is beautiful. Also it's fun to get up on top and watch the sunset before the viewing.

While nowhere the experience of Haleakala, the Hyatt Maui has a rooftop stargazer program. They have a set of fancy telescopes and an astronomer to show you the sky. I saw the rings of Saturn! I just could not believe it! The sessions last about an hour. A full moon kinda of dampens the experience with so much light in the sky.