Maui is the best.
The best place in the world.
I have been to Maui over 25 times, and now live there for part of
each year. This paper contains
my suggestions to help you get the most out of your trip to paradise.
Here you will find loads of helpful hints about the many wonderful
sights and activities and restaurants and hotels on Maui.
You
can read or print the latest version of this Maui info paper, as well as
find over 200 additional pages of other Maui information, plus numerous
photos, on this web site, which is at
www.mauihawaii.org
Print
out this entire paper from the PDF format version at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/MauiPDF.pdf.
Use it to help plan your trip, and take it to Maui for reference.
Make copies for friends going to Maui, or tell them to read it at
www.mauihawaii.org. Don’t leave
home without it!
Whether you print this paper or not, you can get more detailed information
at
www.mauihawaii.org
by clicking there on the tabs for the subjects you want to read more about,
such as Hotels-Condos (reviews of specific hotels and condos with photos of
their rooms and pools), Restaurants (reviews with menu lists and photos of
the food), Activities (comparisons of companies offering whale watches,
luaus, guided van tours, snorkeling, helicopters, and other activities), Car
Rentals (tips on getting good deals), Golf (all the courses on Maui
discussed), Weather (including charts of temperatures for each month),
Timeshares, Webcams, Weddings and Honeymoons, and many more.
CONTENTS:
I
can’t give you page numbers, because this paper prints out on different
numbers of pages, depending on how you downloaded it from the Internet, and
on which program you used to print out the file.
But here are the major sections of this Maui information paper, in
the order you will find them:
Introduction
When to go
Overview of Maui
Updates
Agents and Visitors Bureaus
Frequent Flyer Points
Car
View from the plane
Where to stay
Sections of Maui
Condo or hotel?
Hotel & condo suggestions
Major hotels (table of facts)
The first things you need to know
Weather
Dress
Tours & activities
Leis
Views of whales and of other islands
Why you should tell them where you heard about them
Other stuff you need to know
Sights and activities
Your first day on Maui
Beaches
Road to Hana
Lahaina
Iao Valley
West Maui
Whale Watching
Snorkeling
Haleakala Crater
Upcountry
Grand Wailea Hotel
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Maui Ocean Center
Golf
The last lava flow
Horseback rides, ATV rides
Kahakuloa Valley
Pineapple Tour
Lavender Garden
Hike
Luau
Shopping
Free things to do
Cheap things to do
Rainy day activities
What to do with the kids
A Hawaiian Experience
Restaurants
Restaurant tips
The very best restaurants on Maui
Expensive restaurants
Moderate priced restaurants
Inexpensive restaurants
Pizza
Brunch
Breakfast buffets
Restaurants with good sunset views
Additional restaurants
Night life
Additional information
Books
Web sites
Weddings on Maui
Reference:
Phone numbers
Some quotes about Maui
All the Hawaiian islands you can visit
A little geology
Questionnaire
INTRODUCTION:
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO GO TO MAUI:
It’s
ALWAYS a good time to go to Maui.
In
the winter, there is more chance
of rain on Maui than at other times of the year.
But this is still the best time to go to Maui because you can escape
from the terrible winter weather back home.
And it usually only rains for a couple hours, once or twice per week.
There are parts of Maui that get more rain (such as Hana and Kapalua),
and parts that get less rain (such as Wailea).
But Kaanapali Beach, my favorite part of Maui, does not get much rain
either, and an hour or two of rain sure beats a week or two of snow back
home. And winter is the only time to see the whales.
Christmas to New Year is the most crowded time and the most
expensive time to go to Maui.
Hotels can charge their highest prices this week, because they are usually
completely filled with families traveling during the time school is out.
Summer is the hottest time on Maui, and the least rainy.
It’s a good time for many families to bring the kids while school is
out.
Spring and fall are the least crowded times to go to
Maui, so you can get the best package deals on hotels and condos, the
easiest time getting into any restaurant, and the least traffic on the
roads.
For a
detailed chart showing the temperature and rainfall for each month of the
year on Maui, see the Weather page of my Maui website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/maui-weather.htm
OVERVIEW OF
MAUI:
Maui
is composed of two half‑islands (east and west), joined by a wide valley.
Maui is 48 miles long and 26 miles wide, or six miles at the
narrowest point of the valley between the bays (728 square miles).
The population is 127,000 residents, plus 42,000 tourists.
The largest city is Kahului (population 20,000).
Maui is the second-largest Hawaiian island. Over 2 million tourists come to Maui each year.
The airport you will come in at is in Kahului, in the northeast
corner of the central valley.
Unfortunately, nobody will give you a flower lei when you arrive in Hawaii
unless you bought it in advance as part of a package tour.
But you can buy leis at a shop in the airport main terminal, or you
can buy them cheaper another day at a grocery store.
[The code-letters for the main airport in Kahului are OGG, which
honors a pilot named Bertram J. Hogg, who pioneered commercial passenger
flights between the Hawaiian islands.
There is a smaller airport in West Maui (Kapalua), but it only
handles propeller shuttle flights from Honolulu.
The code-letters for that small airport are JHM, which stands for
John Henry Magoon, a pilot who was the president of Hawaiian Airlines when
the Kapalua airport opened.]
The
Hyatt Regency, Westin, Sheraton, Kaanapali Beach, Royal Lahaina, Maui
Kaanapali Villas and several other hotels and condos are on Kaanapali Beach,
north of the town of Lahaina, on the west side of WEST Maui.
Three of those hotels are much older than the others, and so are less
expensive but also much less luxurious:
Royal Lahaina opened in 1962, Maui Kaanapali Villas in 1963 and
Kaanapali Beach Hotel opened in 1964.
(The Sheraton originally opened in 1963, but was completely rebuilt,
not just remodeled, in 1996, so is now the newest hotel on Kaanapali Beach.)
The Ritz Carlton Kapalua is about 20 minutes north of Kaanapali
Beach.
The
Wailea Marriott (formerly Outrigger and before that Aston Wailea and
formerly Intercontinental), Grand Wailea, Four Seasons, Fairmont Kea Lani,
and Makena Beach (former Maui Prince) are the main hotels in the Wailea
area, which is the other popular modern hotel section, and is in the
southwest part of EAST Maui (often called SOUTH Maui).
(The Renaissance Wailea, formerly the Stouffer, closed in 2007.)
The
above paragraphs list hotels, but there are also many very good condos to
stay at on both sides of Maui (west and south).
So if you prefer a condo over a hotel, see the “Hotels & Condos” tab
of my Maui website at www.mauihawaii.org for detailed information about many
condo choices, including photos of specific hotels and condos buildings,
rooms, pools and beaches.
The
roads you will drive on (between airport and hotels and restaurants) are
excellent, modern, well‑maintained and well‑marked.
The drive from the Kahului Airport to your Kaanapali Beach hotel is
30 miles and takes 50 minutes.
If you are staying at one of the Wailea hotels, the drive from the airport
is about 18 miles and takes about 30 minutes.
The driving distance between the two main resort areas, Kaanapali and
Wailea, is 36 miles and takes about one hour.
There are only a few main roads on Maui, so it's easy to follow the
map you get from your car rental agency, and you will learn your way around.
UPDATES:
Please send comments or questions via email to Jon@mauihawaii.org.
Please include the word Maui in the subject line of your email, so I
can separate your email from the junk and spam emails.
I
post an updated version of this file onto the Internet every April. The version you are reading was posted in April of 2010.
If your trip to Maui will be later than the end of April of 2011,
then you should read this version for now, but you should also download the
next version of this file, from my Maui site,
www.mauihawaii.org
again, after the end of April, 2011.
TRAVEL AGENTS AND VISITORS BUREAU AND MAP:
See
your travel agent or shop the internet, for package deals that may include
airfare and hotel and/or rental car.
Compare those package prices with the price you can get by booking
directly with the hotel or condo and with the airline.
Suggested Maui travel agent to help you pick and reserve where to stay
(which hotel or condo), or reserve your boat rides and luaus and other
activities, reserve restaurants, reserve golf, buy tours, arrange guides,
and arrange for any special requirements you may have:
Kay Ryan (“Maui Kay”) of Maui Vacation Consultants.
Email her at
kay@mauikay.com or see her web
site at www.mauikay.com
(You can call her at 1-808-669-0451, but email is best.)
Kay can email back and forth with you before you arrive, send you a
packet of info brochures about Maui, book activities in advance before you
arrive if desired, meet you in your hotel or condo, spend an hour with you
highlighting maps and answering questions and orienting you to Maui, and
allow you to call her any time during your stay on Maui with more questions.
Another special service that Kay offers, is finding exactly the right
condo or hotel for you to stay in.
Since she lives on Maui and does this every day, she is very familiar
with the many choices available, and will discuss your needs with you, to
reserve the place that best fits your own needs and budget.
This hotel or condo booking service costs you nothing, since Kay acts
as a travel agent and gets her commission from the hotel or condo.
Tell her you heard about her on Jon’s Maui Info website, and you can
be sure she will give you great service.
To
reserve your own activities for your Maui visit (luau, boats, tours,
helicopter, whale-watch, horseback, etc.) or to get info about discounts on
those activities, see the Maui Activities section of this website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/mauiactivities.htm
For
more information before you go, or after you arrive, call the Maui Visitors
Bureau at 1-800-525-MAUI or
1-808-244-3530 or see their web site at
www.visitmaui.com. For
other islands as well as Maui, call the Hawaii Visitors Bureau at
1-808-923-1811. For Lahaina
events, call 1-888-310-1117 or see www.visitlahaina.com
While
on Maui, stop in for info at the Lahaina Visitors Center, in the old
courthouse behind the Banyan Tree in Lahaina.
It’s open every day 9-5. Phone 667-9193.
You
can get a free map of Maui (and big informative color booklet) before you
go, by ordering the Maui Vacation Planner from the Maui Visitors Bureau at
1-800-525-MAUI or 1-808-244-3530 or on their web site at
www.visitmaui.com
To
find out what special events will be going on during the dates you will be
on Maui, call
Lahaina Events Hotline recording
1-888-310-1117
Lahaina Town Action Committee
1-808-667-9175
www.visitlahaina.com/events_calendar.html
Kaanapali Beach Association
1-866-386-6786
www.kaanapaliresort.com
Maui Arts and Cultural Center box office
1-808-242-7469
www.mauiarts.org
For
schedules of free entertainment in the two tourist shopping centers in the
two main resort areas:
Whalers Village
www.whalersvillage.com
Shops at Wailea
www.shopsatwailea.com
FREQUENT FLYER POINTS:
Be
sure to sign up for United or American or Delta Airlines "Frequent Flyer
Club" (or whatever airline you are flying) before you go. It's free. Both
husband and wife should join.
And speaking of that long and cramped and boring flight from home to Hawaii,
always remember this:
Getting to Hawaii from the east coast or the midwest isn't a lot of fun but
the hassle will fade to a distant memory when you wake up in paradise the
next morning.
YOU NEED A CAR:
Be
sure to reserve a rental car before you go.
You will need a car to get around on Maui.
Ask about AAA discount or AARP discount on your car rental, if you
belong to AAA or AARP. Ask your
travel agent about hotel or condo packages that may include a rental car.
For lots of tips on how to get the best price on a rental car in
Hawaii (or anyplace) see the Car Rental Deals page of this website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/carrental.htm
THE VIEW FROM THE PLANE:
On
the flight from the mainland to Hawaii, 50 minutes before landing time, look
for the Hawaiian Islands out the left side of the plane.
First you'll see the Big Island, then Maui. Fifteen minutes later, see Oahu on the right side of the
plane. Waikiki Beach is on the
right just before landing. If
you are changing planes in Honolulu, also see the brief section about Oahu
on about the third page from the end of this paper.
WHERE TO STAY:
WHICH SIDE OF MAUI TO STAY ON:
There
are two major resort areas on Maui – West and South.
The west side includes Lahaina, Kaanapali, Honokowai, Kahana, Napili
and Kapalua. The south side
includes Wailea and Kihei. I
prefer the west (Kaanapali) side because it is more beautiful (lush green
mountains), and is very close to Lahaina (fun historic tourist town and boat
harbor). However, Wailea has
the advantage of slightly less rain in the winter, and is a quieter area
than Kaanapali because the major hotels are not quite as close together.
Just
north of Kaanapali, there are many smaller condo complexes in Honokowai,
Kahana, and Napili. They are
less expensive than staying right on Kaanapali Beach, but they are not
within walking distance of the big resort hotels and shopping, and some of
them do not have air conditioning.
Kihei is the major condo area on the south side.
Kihei has many family restaurants.
Instead of luxury resorts like in Kaanapali and Wailea, Kihei has
less expensive condos. These
condos are mostly across the street from the beach, and that street tends to
be congested with heavy traffic.
Traffic is also congested and slow in and around Lahaina (west Maui),
especially during rush hour.
CONDO OR HOTEL:
There
are about 15 major hotels, and more than 100 condos, for you to pick from on
Maui. The advantages of a hotel
are: consistent quality of
rooms, more elaborate grounds and pools, shops and restaurants in the
building, more service (such as room service and bellman service).
The advantages of a condo are:
more space, larger rooms, kitchen for you to do some of your own
cooking, and usually lower prices.
Bear in mind that the quality of condo rooms varies widely, both from
one condo building to another, and from one unit to another within the same
condo building. In addition, some of the cheaper condos do not have air
conditioning or daily maid service, so be sure to ask about that.
Most condos will not let you reserve a specific room to be sure you
are getting one of the nicer units.
But if you book your condo through Maui Kay at Maui Vacation
Consultants (email her at
kay@mauikay.com) then she can usually recommend and request a specific unit
that she knows is one of the best in whatever building you and she select.
(Tell her you heard about this special service on Jon’s Maui Info
website.)
Wherever you stay, at the end
of your visit you may run into the problem that checkout time is in the
morning (often around 11AM), but your flight back to the mainland does not
depart from Maui until that evening.
If so, ask your hotel or condo whether they have a “courtesy room”
where you can shower or change clothes to get ready for your flight out
later in the day, after your morning checkout from your own room.
SOME HOTEL & CONDO SUGGESTIONS:
Do
not pay “rack rate” (= list price) at any hotel or condo on Maui, or
anyplace else! Always ask the
hotel or condo, and your travel agent, for discounts, seasonal specials,
weekend rates, holiday rates, AAA discount, AARP discount, and any other
lower rates. Check with the
hotel itself (calling directly to the hotel on Maui), as well as through the
hotel chain’s national toll-free phone number.
Check that hotel’s (or that hotel chain’s) web site for discounts.
Join the hotel chain’s Frequent Guest program (usually free, like
airlines’ Frequent Flyer programs), and ask about discounts for members of
that program. Ask about package
plans that include hotel and rental car and airfare.
Also call Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays at 1-800-242-9244 to ask what
air/land packages they have available for the hotels and condos you are
considering. For special
service and help choosing the condo that best matches your own personal
needs and budget, book your condo through Kay Ryan (see the paragraph above
and email Kay at
kay@mauikay.com), and tell her you heard about this service on Jon’s Maui
Info website. For discounts on
many Maui condos, book online from Dave Williams at
http://royalhawaii.com
or email him at
info@royalhawaii.com or call
him at 1-888-722-6284 and tell him that you heard about his discounts on
Jon’s Maui Info website.
To
check prices at any hotel or condo, use the "Cheap hotel rooms" box half-way
down this web page:
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos
For
more details about selecting the best hotel or condo for your stay on Maui
(including PHOTOS of hotel and condo rooms, buildings, pools and beaches),
see the Hotels & Condos section of this Maui website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos
These are my favorite places to stay on Maui
(see below for other choices).
The webpage link listed for each of these has more details including
pictures of that specific hotel or condo.
Hyatt
Regency (808)
661-1234
Best hotel on Kaanapali Beach
(my favorite area), with beautiful grounds and great location.
Art and rare birds in the lobbies, waterfalls in the pools, rope
bridge, children’s play pool, great daily buffet breakfast and more.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/hyatt-maui.htm
Grand
Wailea (808)
875-1234
Best hotel on Maui, with
nearly all ocean-view rooms, good service, and super elaborate pools and
water slides. However, it is
very expensive, and it is in the Wailea area, which I do not like as well as
the Kaanapali area.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/grand-wailea.htm
Kaanapali Alii
(808) 667-1400
Large luxury condo suites (one
or two bedrooms) in a great location on Kaanapali Beach. These beautiful condos are expensive, but you get about 1500
square feet in a one-bedroom and about 1800 square feet in a two-bedroom
condo.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/kaanapali-alii.htm
Sheraton (808)
661-0031
Newest hotel on Kaanapali
Beach (my favorite area), completely rebuilt in 1996, a great location at
Black Rock. More quiet, but
less elaborate pools and so less fun for kids, than the Hyatt and Westin in
that same area. The Sheraton
also tacks on extra charges, like a resort fee, more expensive parking than
the other Maui hotels, and a $50 per night charge if you need to add a
rollaway bed in your room. Some
of the lanais are very small and don’t have space for more than one chair.
Some of the rooms & bathrooms are small, and some rooms have only an
armoire instead of a closet.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/sheraton-maui.htm
Other excellent choices:
Westin (808) 667-2525
Beautiful hotel with
elaborate pools. Right in the
middle of Kaanapali Beach.
Rooms are smaller than at the Hyatt or Sheraton.
Rooms in the older of the two buildings have no closet (only an
armoire), so ask for a room in the newer building, called the Beach Tower
building. (This was the Maui Surf hotel until it was rebuilt and
reopened and that newer tower added by Westin in 1987.)
Note: this is NOT the same place as the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort
Villas, which is a new timeshare at a different location.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/westin-maui.htm
Whaler (808) 661-4861
Condo buildings on
Kaanapali Beach. A little less
expensive and a little less luxurious than Kaanapali Alii.
Adjacent to Whalers Village shopping center.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/whaler.htm
Four
Seasons (808)
874-8000
Quiet luxury hotel in Wailea.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/four-seasons-maui.htm
Ritz
Carlton (808) 669-6200
Quiet, elegant luxury hotel a
few miles north of Kaanapali, but not on beach, and more likely to be cloudy
or get some rain. Also not much
for young children in the Kapalua area.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/ritz-carlton-maui.htm
Mahana (808) 661-8751
One of the very few condo
buildings where every room is oceanfront, so views are terrific.
Studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom condos (including full
kitchens), but no stores or restaurant in the building .
Beach and pool are small and simple.
About a ten-minute drive from the main Kaanapali resort area or 15
minutes from Lahaina. Built in 1975.
You can get a discount on rooms there (and at other Aston properties) by
booking through Dave Williams:
email to
info@royalhawaii.com or
see his web site at
http://royalhawaii.com
and tell him you got his name from Jon’s Maui Info website.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/mahana.htm
Fairmont Kea Lani (808)
875-4100
Well-appointed
all-suites hotel in Wailea.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/fairmont-kea-lani-maui.htm
If
you want someplace less expensive than those above, there are dozens of
other good condos and hotels to choose from.
They are less luxurious, or older, or not in as good locations, as
those listed above. But they
offer good value, and best of all, you are still on Maui!
Here are just a few of the possibilities:
Kaanapali Beach Hotel
(808) 661-0011 or toll-free 1-800-262-8450
Same great location as the
Sheraton, right on Kaanapali Beach, but about half the price of the Sheraton
because it’s much older.
Wonderful friendly service.
Free shows. Hawaiian atmosphere
and décor.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/kaanapali-beach-hotel.htm
Maui
Kaanapali Villas (808) 667-7791
or Aston toll-free 1-800-922-7866
Another way to spend
less money and still be near Kaanapali Beach.
It’s on the other side of the Black Rock hill from the main Kaanapali
Beach hotels, so a much longer walk to all of the resorts, shopping and
restaurants. But its beach is
less crowded, and they have both hotel rooms and condo units available.
Built about 1963, so much older than the more expensive resorts like
the Hyatt.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/maui-kaanapali-villas.htm
Hololani condos (808) 669-8021 or toll-free
1-800-367-5032
In Kahana, about 5 miles
north of Kaanapali Beach. On a
small beach. All ocean-view
units. No air conditioning.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/hololani.htm
Papakea condos (808) 669-4848
On the ocean, near a beach, a
couple miles north of Kaanapali.
Studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom condos.
Studio units here cost about one-third of the price of the big resort
beach hotels (Sheraton, Grand, Hyatt, etc.).
http://www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos/papakea.htm
For
more details and many additional hotel-condo choices, plus photos, see the
Hotels-Condos section of this website at
www.mauihawaii.org/hotels-condos
The
excellent book, Maui:
The Most Complete Guide to Family Fun and Adventure by Aluli, can
help you decide where to stay, especially if you want information about
condos and smaller places that are not listed on my website. That book has information about each of 200 hotels, condos,
and B&B’s on Maui. It includes
descriptions and toll-free reservation numbers,though the rates in the book
may be out of date. More
information about this and other Maui guidebooks is on my books page at
www.mauihawaii.org/mauibooks.htm
You
can get a free color brochure with small photos and basic information about
each of about half (about 100) of the hotels and condos on Maui from Maui
Accommodations Guide at
1-800-221-6118 or
www.mauiaccommodations.com
Major hotels (listed in south to north order)
| Name | Location | Year Opened | # Rooms | Phone (808) | Comments |
| Makena Beach | Wailea | 1986 | 300 | 874-1111 | Former Prince. Isolated |
| Fairmont Kea Lani | Wailea | 1991 | 450 | 875-4100 | Strange appearance, all suites |
| Four Seasons | Wailea | 1990 | 380 | 874-8000 | Elegant quiet luxury |
| Grand Wailea | Wailea | 1991 | 787 | 875-1234 | Fantastic grounds & pools |
| Wailea Marriott | Wailea | 1976 | 546 | 879-1922 | Former InterContinental & Outrigger |
| Hyatt Regency | Kaanapali | 1980 | 815 | 661-1234 | Best hotel on Kaanapali Beach |
| Westin | Kaanapali | 1987 | 761 | 667-2525 | Elaborate pools, small rooms |
| Kaanapali Beach | Kaanapali | 1964 | 430 | 661-0011 | Very Hawaiian |
| Sheraton | Kaanapali | 1963 | 510 | 661-0031 | All newly rebuilt 1996 |
| Royal Lahaina | Kaanapali | 1962 | 540 | 661-3611 | Old but newly renovated |
| Kaanapali Villas | Kaanapali | 1963 | 266 | 667-7791 | Both hotel and condo units |
| Ritz Carlton | Kapalua | 1992 | 463 | 669-6200 | Elegant luxury, poor location |
THE FIRST THINGS YOU NEED TO
KNOW:
WEATHER:
Weather in the resort areas of Maui (Wailea and Kaanapali) is warm all year
round. Winter high around 81;
low around 64; ocean water 75. Summer
high about 88, low about 69, ocean water 79.
The most rain is in December and January, while the least rain is in
June through September. When it
rains in the resort areas of Maui, it sometimes only lasts 15 minutes,
though it can rain all day in the winter.
However, the weather can be completely different on another section
of the same island: each island
has a windward side that gets most of the rain.
On the chance that you might get a rainy day, you could bring a small
umbrella or light raincoat.
Call 877‑5111 for Maui weather.
If it is raining in your hotel area on Kaanapali Beach and you want to find
a sunny beach, try going to Kamaole Sands III Beach in the south part of
Kihei, where it rains much less.
If it is raining even in Kihei and Wailea, go further south, past the
Makena Beach Hotel, to Big Beach (Makena Beach Park), where it practically
never rains. (Notice the
cactuses beside the road.)
See
the Weather page on this (Jon’s Maui) web site, for a detailed chart of the
high, low, water temperature, and inches of rain, for each month of the
year.
www.mauihawaii.org/maui-weather.htm
Hawaii weather web site:
www.hawaiiweathertoday.com
Maui
weather web site:
www.mauiweathertoday.com
The
sun is intense here at about 21‑degree latitude (similar to the latitude of
Mexico City), so use at least a 15‑rated sunscreen on all exposed skin every
day, even if you're just going shopping or exploring.
DRESS (WHAT TO WEAR):
Dress
is very informal resort clothes everyplace.
Guys do not need a tie or jacket in even the fanciest restaurants
(but slacks and a shirt with a collar are advisable).
More information in the clothing question on my FAQ page at
www.mauihawaii.org/faqs.htm
TOURS & ACTIVITIES:
Your
hotel has a tour desk to help you with directions, maps, and tour & activity
reservations. You can also use
the tour desk in any other hotel, and the maps you get from your rent‑a‑car
company. You can call or go to
make your own tour & activity reservations with Barefoot Discount Tours
(661-8889 in Lahaina), or Activity Warehouse (667-4000).
For
information about discounts and advance reservations for the activities for
your Maui visit (luau, boats, tours, helicopter, whale-watch, horseback,
etc.), see the Maui Activities section of this website at
www.mauihawaii.org/mauiactivities.htm
When
considering which tour company to use for tours that go by van, such as the
ride to the top of Haleakala or the ride to Hana (if you don’t want to drive
them yourself), bear this in mind:
cheaper tours often use bigger vans with more people on your tour.
If you pay more, you can usually get a smaller van with a smaller
tour group, so you get more personalized service.
Temptation Tours (877-8888) has comfortable vans with only 6-8
people, so it is more luxurious but more expensive.
Ekahi Tours (877‑9775) is moderate, with 13-passenger vans and
mid-range prices. Polynesian
Adventure (877‑4242) has 25-passenger vans and is often the cheapest of
these three tour companies.
When
you are in the city of Lahaina, there are activity‑sales booths on the main
street (Front Street) where you will be shopping, but be sure to avoid
the "discount" tour sellers who require you to attend a time-share sales
presentation. Do NOT
attend any time-share sales presentation under any circumstances!
For more about why to avoid timeshare sales presentations, see the
last question and answer on the FAQ page of this website at
www.mauihawaii.org/faqs.htm
You
can hire a personal tour guide just for you, by calling Guides of Maui
(formerly called Rent-A-Local) on Maui at 877‑4060.
www.guidesofmaui.com
LEIS:
I
know it’s disappointing, but nobody will greet you with a lei on your
arrival, unless you have paid for it in advance as part of your tour
package. So buy a lei for
yourself. They are available in
shops at the airport (most expensive place to buy anything), or at florists,
less expensive at grocery stores (any Safeway or Star Market), and even
cheaper at Wal-Mart and Kmart and Costco (all near the airport).
Make
your fresh flower leis last longer by asking for a plastic bag to put them
in overnight when you buy them.
Each night, soak the lei in cold water for 30 minutes, shake off the excess
water, then put it in a plastic bag, blow the bag up with air, and tie it
shut. If there is a refrigerator in your room, put the lei in the
plastic bag (tied shut) in the refrigerator.
If you don't have a refrigerator, put a couple ice cubes in the
plastic bag with the lei overnight.
If you couldn't get a plastic bag when you bought the leis, soak them
in cold water in the sink in your hotel room overnight (add a couple ice
cubes).
THE VIEW OF WHALES AND ISLANDS:
Stand
on the beach in back of your hotel or condo and watch for whales (winter
only). You may see a "blow"
that looks like a gray puff lasting only a couple seconds; or you may see a
black hump briefly surface, followed immediately by a split tail diving back
into the water. From Wailea,
Kaanapali, or Kihei, you are looking west.
If you are on Kaanapali Beach, the island you see straight out is
Lanai, about nine miles away, formerly covered with Dole pineapple
plantations, now having two luxury hotels.
The island you see far to your right, is Molokai, about 25 miles
away, a mostly undeveloped island with two hotels, mule rides, and a former
leprosy colony. If you could see through the far‑left tip of Molokai,
Honolulu (on the island of Oahu) would be 85 miles away from Kaanapali
Beach, to the west‑northwest.
If you are at a Wailea hotel, instead of Kaanapali Beach, then the larger of
the two islands you see is Kahoolawe (used by the U.S. Navy for bombing
practice from 1941 to 1990), and the tinier island you see just two and a
half miles away is Molokini, a crescent sliver of the top edge of an old
volcano crater. You are 2,397
miles from the west coast of the mainland United States.
WHY YOU SHOULD TELL THEM WHERE YOU HEARD ABOUT
THEM:
When
you go to restaurants, sights, shows, or shops, that you heard about on this
web site, you can get the best service by telling them you heard about them
on Jon’s Maui Info website.
Why? Because you only go there
once, but the readers of this web site represent many Maui visitors.
The people in these restaurants and other businesses know that I will
hear about the kind of service they give you.
They know that I will only continue to recommend them if they give
great service to the people who read about them here and who report their
experiences back to me by email and by filling out the questionnaire at the
end of this paper. So tell your
waiter or waitress, tell the person at the check-in stand in the restaurant,
tell the person who answers the phone when you call to make your
reservation, tell the manager or chef at the restaurant if you see him/her,
tell the guide on your boat or van tour, tell the salesperson at the shop,
tell the person who collects your money at the show, tell the person where
you pay admission to the sights, tell them all! Tell them you heard about them on Jon’s Maui Info website.
I do
not accept any money to list any restaurants, hotels or attractions on these
pages. I only mention places I
know from my own experience and the experiences of people like you who tell
me about your trip to Maui. I
write these pages because I love Maui and I want you to have the best
possible experience there.
If you write about your Maui trip or hotel or condo on TripAdvisor or other
websites, please mention that you got helpful information to plan your trip
from this website at
mauihawaii.org. I also
appreciate you telling your friends about this Jon's Maui website.
OTHER STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Do
not use the road around the north side of West Maui to get from the airport
to your hotel in Kapalua, Napili, Kahana, or Kaanapali, even though your GPS
may tell you that is the shortest route.
It is a very narrow and difficult and dangerous winding mountain
road. You must instead use the
road around the south side of West Maui.
Hawaiian words and place‑names:
There are only 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet (A E I O U H K L M
N P W). Actually there
are two more sort-of letters in the Hawaiian alphabet:
the okina '
(which creates a guttural break in the pronunciation of a word) and
the kahako (symbolized by a straight line over any vowel, which elongates
the vowel). Usually there are
no silent letters, so pronounce every letter in each word.
If
you get tired of nature and want to see a theater play or concert, call
242-7469 for the schedule at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului
(shows in the 1200-seat Castle Theater). Free tours on Wednesdays.
www.mauiarts.org
While
driving in your rented car, flip through the stations to find Hawaiian music
to listen to on the radio. Try
FM 93.5, 102.3, or 105.1, and AM 900.
Two
munchies to try on Maui:
Kitchen‑Cooked brand Maui Potato Chips
Taro Chips (like Potato Chips)
When
leaving Maui, sit on the left side of the plane, for a possible view
of Kaanapali Beach just after takeoff.
Do
not take the discount tour offers from timeshare vendors.
They put you through a convincing-sounding sales talk, to try to sell
you extremely overpriced timeshares.
For more on TimeShares, see
http://www.mauihawaii.org/time-shares.htm
PLEASE SEND ME A POSTCARD FROM MAUI.
Address it to:
Jon Blum
P.O. Box 2691
Farmington Hills, MI
48333
I
would also appreciate it if you could fill out the questionnaire on the last
page, and mail it to me. Or
email your experiences to me at
jon@mauihawaii.org
and include the word Maui in the subject line.
THANKS!
SIGHTS AND ACTIVITIES:
YOUR FIRST DAY ON MAUI
Pick
up lots of free brochures about activities, sights, tours, restaurants,
etc., in brochure racks at the airport (in the baggage claim area), in your
hotel lobby, at shopping centers (Lahaina Center, Kahana Gateway, Azeka
Place, Foodland-Kihei, or others), or on the streets of Lahaina or
Kihei. These great brochures,
such as Maui Gold, This Week Maui, 101 Things to Do, and Maui Activities &
Attractions, are full of coupons and information about Maui activities.
Stock
up on soda, chips, sunscreen, beach chairs, and other essentials at Safeway
grocery store (Lahaina Cannery or Piilani Village Kihei), Times Market
(Honokowai Marketplace or Kihei), Wal-Mart or Kmart or Costco (Kahului, near
airport), Longs Drugstore (Lahaina Cannery or Kihei or Kahului), ABC (many
shopping areas), or Whalers General Store (in many strip malls).
My wife and I did a price check on a dozen common items, and found
grocery store prices on Maui are an average of 40% higher than in Michigan!
LIFE’S A BEACH
When
I think of Maui I think of scenery.
But when most people think of Maui, they think of beaches.
Here’s what you need to know:
All beaches in Hawaii are public.
You can, and should, try out several beaches while you are on Maui.
Don’t only go to the beach in front of your own hotel or condo.
Each beach is different and each beach is beautiful.
Here are some beaches I suggest.
Kapalua Beach was rated as the most beautiful beach in the world a few years
ago. That was before they
built expensive condos that block some of the view, but Kapalua Bay is still
worth seeing. Kapalua means two
borders (or more figuratively “arms embracing the sea”) which refers to the
fingers of lava that reach out on both sides of this bay and block the
strong waves from disturbing swimmers.
Kaanapali Beach is the “in place” to be on Maui,
the place where the action is.
Three great resort hotels (Sheraton, Westin,
Hyatt), one very good older hotel (Kaanapali Beach Hotel), two major
condos (Kaanapali Alii, Whaler), a shopping center (Whalers Village), and
three very good restaurants (Cane & Taro, Hula Grill, Leilani’s) are located
on this beach. There’s a great
snorkel spot at Black Rock (in front of the Sheraton).
There are booths to rent all sorts of water equipment, and you can
even get some boat tours on catamarans that pick you up right on the beach.
Kaanapali Beach is my favorite place to stay on Maui.
More about Kaanapali Beach, including pictures, on the Kaanapali
Beach page of this Maui website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/kaanapali-beach.htm
Baby
Beach has much calmer waters than most other beaches, because an offshore
breakwater blocks many of the big waves from reaching the shore.
This makes it a good place for children to go in the ocean, though
even here they of course need adult supervision.
Baby Beach is in the north part of Lahaina. Park on Kai Pali Street, just off of Front Street.
Olowalu is a popular snorkeling beach.
It’s south of Lahaina on Route 30, at Mile Marker 14.
Kamaole III Beach is the best beach in Kihei.
Kihei is a town crowded with condos, most of which are across the
street from the beaches, rather than being ocean-front.
It’s a good place for families on a budget that does not allow
staying at the big resort hotels.
More about the three Kamaole Beaches in Kihei, including pictures, is
on the Kamaole Beaches page of this Maui website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/kamaole-beaches-parks-kihei.htm
Keawakapu Beach is a less crowded beach where Kihei meets Wailea.
Big
Beach is also called Makena Beach or Oneloa Beach.
You’ve got to see it, because this beautiful area is the last large
undeveloped beach on the sunny side of Maui.
It’s ¾ of a mile long, with not one hotel or condo in sight. It’s south of the Makena Beach Hotel (the southernmost hotel
at the end of Wailea).
Ho’okipa Beach Park is the place to watch windsurfing.
(The waves are too rough for swimming.)
It’s on Route 36 just past the town of Paia, on the north shore.
Never
leave anything of value in your car or on the beach, since theft from
beaches and rental cars does occur.
Most Maui beaches have no lifeguards.
Whether they are present or not, swimming in the ocean can be
dangerous. You could drown.
You could get cut by coral.
Something could bite you.
Swim at your own risk.
(My lawyer made me say that.)
ROAD TO HANA (ONE DAY)
The
road to Hana, and the crater at the top of Haleakala, are probably the two
most famous sights of Maui. You
can drive the road to Hana yourself, or take a tour in a van.
It is a long and difficult drive on a narrow winding mountain road.
If you prefer to have a tour van take you, you can sign up at your
hotel or at any tour booth to take the all‑day ride to and from Hana.
Whether on your own or on a tour, you will see the gorgeous scenery
of the rainforest, including many beautiful waterfalls of various shapes and
sizes along the mountainsides.
If you drive yourself, leave your hotel by 8 A.M., and take a picnic lunch.
If you are staying on West Maui, I recommend the “Hana Box Lunch”
which you can get at CJ’s Deli in the Fairway Shops just outside of
Kaanapali (667-0968). Allow six
hours to get to Hana (with stops to see scenery), and three hours to return
(without stops). It's 81 miles
from Kaanapali; the hard part (the Hana Road) has 617 curves and 56 one‑lane
bridges. If you are prone to
motion sickness, do not read (not even the map) in your car or tour van. You must drive back from Hana the same way you came, NOT by
the unpaved desolate southern route.
Hana itself is just a quaint small village, isolated from the rest of
Maui by the mountain road.
There is nothing much to do there.
The point of this trip is the sights on the road to Hana, rather than
Hana itself.
On
the way to Hana, just past Mile Marker 16, turn left at the sign to Keanae,
for close-up views of waves on lava rocks.
Stop near the end of that peninsula to pick up a couple loaves of the
world’s best banana bread, at the Keanae Landing Fruit Stand.
If
you have extra time, you can drive another 40 minutes beyond Hana to the
beautiful Pools of Ohe’o, also called Ohe’o Gulch and Palikea Stream. (This
area was formerly called the Seven Sacred Pools, but there are more than
seven and they are not sacred, since that was just a marketing term made up
by a Hana hotel worker in the 1950’s.)
There are several lovely waterfalls cascading into the series of
natural pools, working their way down the mountain slope.
A little further beyond here is Charles Lindbergh’s grave at Palapalo
Hoomau Church, but it is not visible from the road and is difficult to find.
If
you drive to Hana (rather than taking a van tour), be SURE to take along the
excellent "Hana CD Guide." Call 572‑0550 the day before you go, for
directions on where to get it (at their booth by the Shell station on Dairy
Road in Kahului, which you will pass on your way to the start of your trip
to Hana). This is an audio CD
that tells you what to see along the way.
You play the CD in your car while you drive to Hana.
You will see twice as many wonderful sights if you take this guide
recording along. An excellent
guidebook that includes color maps & photos, and describes where to find
specific waterfalls and parks and scenic lookouts along the way, is Maui
Revealed. For more details
about this and other Maui guidebooks, see the Books section of this website
at
www.mauihawaii.org/mauibooks.htm
The
day before you drive to Hana, call the Maui police at 244-6400 (or the Hana
Branch at 248-8311) to find out whether there will be major road
construction delays on the road to Hana.
LAHAINA (ONE DAY)
If
you haven’t spent a day in Lahaina, you haven’t really been to Maui. From Kaanapali Beach, turn right onto the main road, drive
for eight minutes (four miles), and go into Lahaina on the right.
From Wailea or Kihei, take Route 31 north to the central valley, then
Route 310 across the southern edge of the valley, then Route 30 west and
north to Lahaina (about 50 minutes drive from Wailea, but certainly worth
the trip).
Lahaina is an old whaling port and tourist town loaded with many shops and
restaurants, plus a busy little boat harbor and lots of historical
buildings. Spend the day
walking through Lahaina, shopping and snacking.
Rest under the giant Banyan tree (planted in 1873) at the south end
of the shopping strip. Stop in
at the Lahaina Visitors Center in the Old Courthouse behind the Banyan Tree.
See the Pioneer Inn, the original Lahaina hotel, in use since the
whaling days of the last century.
(The ten rooms at the Pioneer Inn were the only accommodations in
West Maui until the first hotel on Kaanapali Beach was built in 1962.)
Buy a Maui T-shirt.
Visit Dan’s Greenhouse (at the corner of Lahainaluna & Waine'e) to see the
live parrots, piglets, and plants for sale.
In my experience, the most interesting shops to see are on Front
Street, but the best prices are off of Front street.
I found the best deals on souvenirs, Hawaiian clothing, candy, and
other items at Hilo Hattie’s (667-7911) in the Lahaina Center (behind the
Hard Rock Café at the north end of the shopping area).
Have
a casual supper in Lahaina. For
the best food in Lahaina, I recommend Pacific O or I’o in the 505 shopping
center, two blocks south of the banyan tree.
Also good (but crowded) is Kimo's restaurant, which is on the more
central part of Front Street.
If you’re looking for something less expensive, I suggest Lahaina Pizza
Company 661-0700, or Bubba Gump 661-3111.
Lists of menu items, and photos of the food, for these and many other
Maui restaurants are on the Restaurants pages of this Maui website, all
linked from
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants.htm
IAO VALLEY (HALF OR FULL DAY)
The
Iao Needle is a 2,250-foot tall rock formation surrounded by lush green
mountains, in the center of the west half of Maui.
The road into the Iao Valley begins in the center of downtown
Wailuku. Take an umbrella,
since there is often a light steady drizzle there.
Walk along the path from the parking lot.
There are great views from the top of the walkway, and a lovely
stream to stroll by at the bottom of the walkway.
There
are four sights to see on the road to Iao Valley, before or after you go to
the Iao Needle. I am listing
them below in the order you would find them on your way OUT of the Iao
Valley.
Hawaii Nature Center at 875 Iao Valley Road (phone 244-6500).
Modern interactive science museum, with exhibits about Hawaiian flora
and fauna. Admission charge.
Guided hikes available.
Open 10 AM – 4 PM. On the right side of the road, as you drive away from Iao
Needle.
www.hawaiinaturecenter.org
Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens, adjacent to the Hawaii Nature Center.
Garden and architectural displays from eight cultures that
contributed to modern Maui:
Chinese, Japanese, New England, Portuguese, Native Hawaiian, Korean, Puerto
Rican and Filipino. Free.
Open 7 AM to 7 PM.
www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/html/sites/kepaniwai_park_heritage_gardens.html
Tropical Gardens of Maui (phone 244-3085).
Beautiful gardens with gorgeous flowers and a wide variety of labeled
trees from various tropical climates throughout the world.
Owned and maintained with Aloha by Bernie and Andy Graham. Admission charge.
Allow at least 30 minutes for a self-guided stroll through the
gardens. Closed Sundays. On the left side of the road, as you drive out of Iao Valley.
Wear mosquito repellant.
See their web site at
www.tropicalgardensofmaui.com
for photos and information about the gardens.
You can even order plants or cut flowers from their web site, and
have them shipped to your home, so you can enjoy Maui flowers back on the
mainland.
Bailey House Museum (phone 244-3326) run by the Maui Historical Society. Ancient Hawaiian artifacts, plus displays about the
missionary times of the 1800’s on Maui.
Could be boring if you are not into this aspect of history. Admission charge.
Open 10-4 Monday-Saturday.
On the right side, just before you re-enter downtown Wailuku.
www.mauimuseum.org
WEST MAUI (FULL DAY)
On
your way to or from the Iao Needle, or on a separate day, stop at the Maui
Tropical Plantation, on the Honoapiilani Highway in Waikapu.
Call 244‑7643, or ask at your hotel for easy directions (it's on a
main road). This is a
constructed site to show and teach tourists about Hawaiian agriculture. There is a tram tour showing you banana trees, sugar cane,
guavas, pineapples, Macadamia nut trees, etc., plus a tourist shop and snack
bar. It is interesting and
modern, but commercial and artificial.
It is more like Disney's Jungle Boat Cruise than like the more
natural beauty you see on the rest of Maui.
On
your way back from the Iao Needle or the Maui Tropical Plantation, turn
right from the main road (just south of Maui Tropical Plantation), to drive
uphill into the Waikapu golf courses.
The view from the clubhouse area is beautiful, and includes the
entire central valley of Maui, plus both the north (Kahului) and south
(Maalaea) bays. The clubhouse
is an interesting building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
If the road to that Waikapu clubhouse at the top is closed, you can
get most of the same view from the adjacent Kahili (formerly Sandalwood)
golf clubhouse, or just from the road leading to the Sandalwood clubhouse.
Drive
south along the main road after leaving the Iao Needle or Maui Tropical
Plantation or Waikapu golf courses.
Stop at the whale watching lookout point along the side of the road
just after you get back to the ocean area.
Look for whales (winter only).
On an exceptionally clear day, you can see the snow-capped peak of
one of the two mountains on the Big Island of Hawaii (120 miles away) in the
distant haze, behind the southern tip of Maui, from that scenic lookout.
As you continue your drive toward Lahaina and Kaanapali, you will
wind around the mountain on the south coast of West Maui.
Notice the old Lahaina Road, above the current road, demarcated by an
old stone wall. The current
road you are driving on was built in 1951.
Continue along the road around the south edge of west Maui, and watch
for rainbows (in the late afternoon) in fields and valleys on the right side
(opposite from the ocean side of the road).
The flat-topped piles of rocks you see in the fields on the mountain
side of the road here are just stacks of rocks that workers made when they
cleared the fields.
If
you haven’t already seen Lahaina, read the section about it above and stop
off there now. Otherwise, pass
Lahaina, continue 5‑10 minutes, and turn left into the Kaanapali Beach area. There are several hotels in a row, starting with the Hyatt
Regency on the south end. Walk
through the Hyatt grounds to see the Oriental art, live animals, and pools
with waterfalls (see the section about the Hyatt above). Next take a stroll down the beach to see the great pools in
the back of the Marriott timeshare, and then the spectacular multi‑level
pools and waterfalls in the back of the Westin Hotel.
All beaches in Hawaii are public, so you don't have to be staying at
any of these hotels to spend an hour or two walking along the beautiful
Kaanapali beach and seeing the islands of Lanai (straight out) and Molokai
(on the far right) across the ocean, plus the poolsides of all the hotels.
Shop at the Whalers Village shopping center in the middle of this row
of hotels. Good places for
lunch in Whalers Village Shopping Center are Cane & Taro, Hula Grill, and
Leilanis. Continue your walk to
the Sheraton Hotel at Black Rock, where the snorkelers are watching the fish
and vice versa.
See
the RESTAURANT list below, and select one of the restaurants listed in
Whalers Village for supper. I
recommend Hula Grill, either the casual section on the sandy floor, or the
fine-dining covered section.
It is
possible to drive all the way around West Maui because the road is paved all
the way. However, I do not
recommend driving the northern coast, because the winding mountain road is
VERY narrow there, and can also be blocked by falling rocks or by rain.
It takes one hour and 22 minutes to drive 34 miles from Kaanapali to
Wailuku via the northern route, or just 35 minutes to drive the 24 miles
from Kaanapali to Wailuku via the normal excellent roads of the southern
route (assuming no traffic congestion).
WHALE WATCHING (HALF DAY)
The
humpback whales start arriving in Hawaii at the end of November, and most
are gone by the beginning of April.
The number of whales are at their peak from January through March
(especially during February).
During those months, you can see whales almost every day from your hotel
lanai (balcony) if you have a good ocean view.
There are about 7500 humpback whales in the North Pacific Ocean,
about 5000 of them come to Maui at some time during the winter, and about
1000 are around Maui and the nearby islands at any one time in the peak
months of winter. As of 2008, the number of whales that come to Hawaii in the
winter was increasing by 7% per year, so the number is expected to double by
about 2018. Humpback whales
come to Maui every winter, and so should we!
For a
chance at a closer look, ask at your hotel or at an activity sales booth, to
find out the most convenient time and place to go out on a boat to see
whales and dolphins blowing and jumping in the ocean (winter only). Boats leave from Lahaina and from Maalaea.
For more info about whale watch boats, including a comparison of some
of the companies that offer that activity, see the Whale Watch page in the
Activities section of this website, at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/maui-activities/whale-watch.htm
People often ask me where they can “swim with the dolphins.”
The answer is not on Maui.
Your best chance is at Sea Life Park or at the Kahala Mandarin
Oriental hotel, both on the
island of Oahu. They also offer
dolphin encounters at the Hilton Waikaloa Hotel on the Big Island of Hawaii,
but it’s by lottery there and a lot more people ask for it than they have
slots for, so most people do not get to do it there.
SNORKELING (HALF DAY)
There
are risks to snorkeling, as with any ocean activity, but it's great fun.
Rent your snorkel gear at Maui Dive Shop or at Snorkel Bob's for
about half the price they charge at the big hotels.
Several branch stores of each are all over Maui, mostly at small
shopping centers. If you've
never snorkeled, ask about lessons at your hotel.
A good place for your first snorkel is by Black Rock, next to the
Sheraton Hotel. (Park at
Whalers Village shopping center half a mile away, much cheaper than parking
at the Sheraton.) A good place
to take children for their first snorkel is Baby Beach, in Lahaina, because
the water is usually calm at that beach. (Baby Beach is in the north part of Lahaina.
Park on Kai Pali street, just off of Front Street.)
Other top snorkel spots on Maui are Mile Marker 14 (just south of
Olowalu), Kapalua Bay, Honolua Bay, Makena Landing, and (a boat ride away)
the island of Molokini. Ask for
a free snorkel map at Maui Dive Shop or call them at 1-800-542-3483, or
check out their web site at
www.mauidiveshop.com
If
you want help with your snorkeling, and a boat ride and food too, you can
take a half-day snorkel cruise.
You can get on a catamaran right on Kaanapali Beach (or Lahaina Harbor or
Maalaea Harbor), sail for an hour or so, and stop off at a couple good
snorkel spots that are deeper and have more fish than you would see
snorkeling from shore. For details, ask at the activity tour desk at your hotel, or
book the cruise at Barefoot Discount Tours (661-8889 in Lahaina), or
Activity Warehouse (667-4000).
More info, and a comparison of several of the companies offering snorkel
cruises, is on the Snorkeling page in the Activities section of this website
at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/maui-activities/snorkeling.htm
For
discounts on snorkeling cruises, whale watches, tours, luaus and other Maui
activities, see
http://mauifun.net/
HALEAKALA CRATER
(HALF OR FULL DAY)
Haleakala (elevation
10,023 feet) is the mountain that makes up all of the east half of Maui.
The crater at the top of this volcano is one of Maui’s most
incredible sights.
The
view at the top of Haleakala is beautiful at any time of the day, so you
don’t have to go only at sunrise.
You'll see the multicolored volcano crater (that last erupted in
1790) and the views of Maui's central valley.
It is much colder at this elevation than at the beach, so take along
heavy clothes, sweater, coat, scarf, gloves, etc.
Call 572-4400 for Haleakala National Park info or see
www.nps.gov/hale. Park
admission $10 per car. Free
ranger talks in the summit building at 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30 AM.
The
crater is seven and a half miles long, two and a half miles wide, and 3000
feet deep. You will look down
on the clouds, and see the "Big Island" of Hawaii in the distance across the
ocean. (The left mountain is
Mauna Kea 80 miles away, and the right mountain is Mauna Loa 100 miles
away.)
If
you want to make an all-day trip to Haleakala, take along a picnic lunch. If you are staying on West Maui, I recommend the “Hana Box
Lunch” which you can get at CJ’s Deli in the Fairway Shops just outside of
Kaanapali (667-0968). Eat that
lunch at the Enchanting Floral Gardens (878-2531) in Upcountry along the way
up. Or
on your way up for a mid-day (or sunset) trip to the top of
Haleakala, stop off at the Sunrise Protea Farm (just after you turn from
Route 377 onto Route 378) to buy some snacks to eat during the drive or at
the top. There are no stores
beyond this point (about half way up).
They’ve got muffins, cookies, sandwiches, fruit, pop, and ice cream. (Shop closes at 4 PM.)
On
the way up or down from the crater, stop at the pull-over lookout points for
glorious views of Maui’s central valley.
At the top, park in all three parking lots and get out for each of
the different views of the crater from each vantage point.
On the way out of the park, stop at Hosmer Grove (just outside of the
National Park entrance) for a walk through a beautiful small forest.
Sunrise on Haleakala:
Sign
up at your hotel, or at any activity sales booth, for a tour to the top of
Haleakala, leaving between 3 and 4 A.M.!
You will ride in the dark up to the top of this huge dormant volcano
that makes up the bulk of east Maui.
On your way up to the top for sunrise, stop at one of the several
pullover lookout points about half way up, and look at the beautiful stars
in the pitch dark skies.
Wear heavy sweaters, winter coats, scarf, gloves, hat, and every warm piece
of clothing you have because the temperature two miles up is 30 to 40
degrees at sunrise, there is no heat in the observation building, and you
will be out in the cold for about two hours.
Also take along the blanket from your hotel room, to wrap yourself
in. (You can drive up there
yourself, but I don't recommend the unfamiliar mountain road in the dark.
It's 64 miles from Kaanapali Beach and takes about 2½
hours.) At the top,
before sunrise, it is darker than you ever saw, and you will see more stars
than you have ever seen.
Sunrise is indescribably beautiful, with the sky slowly turning various
colors, and the sun coming up over the ocean and clouds and volcano crater
below you. After sunrise, your
tour may stop at a couple observation points around the crater.
Then you drive down the mountain in daylight and get great views of
the central Maui valley below.
When you get back to your hotel, go back to sleep until mid‑afternoon.
There is a small chance of overcast clouds at the top of Haleakala
that could ruin the view some days.
Call 877-5111 for Maui weather.
If you are from the east coast or the midwest, you might want to plan
this sunrise trip to Haleakala for your first or second morning on Maui,
when you will find yourself waking up very early because of the time-zone
change.
UPCOUNTRY (FULL DAY)
"Upcountry" is the part of Maui on the valley side of Haleakala. It includes a few small towns (Makawao, Pukalani, Haliimaile,
Kula), gardens, ranches, the beginning of the road to the summit, and
incredible views of the central valley of Maui. Because of the elevation, it is a little cooler in Upcountry
than at the beach. It takes
about an hour to drive to Upcountry from the resort areas of Kaanapali or
Wailea.
Makawao is a small paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) town with several shops, and
small art galleries highlighting local artists.
See glass blowing 10:30-4:00 most days at Hot Island Glass at 3620
Baldwin Avenue (call 572-4527 to confirm).
You can eat at Casanova's Italian Restaurant (572-0220) or the
Makawao Steak House (572-8711).
The
best food in Upcountry is at the Haliimaile General Store (572-2666).
It’s open for both lunch and dinner weekdays, but only for dinner on
weekends. There is also good
food at the Kula Lodge (878-1535), half way up the mountain, and you get a
great view of the central valley from there.
There
are two gardens in Upcountry that are open to the public, in addition to the
lavender garden discussed below.
The Enchanting Floral Gardens (878-2531 or see their web page at
www.flowersofmaui.com
) costs $7.50, is the best of the two gardens, and is open from 9 AM
to 5 PM every day. It has a
one-hour stroll through an extensive garden with a wide variety of tropical
flowers and plants. The Kula
Botanical Garden (878-1715) costs $10 and is open from 9 AM to 4 PM every
day. It has a one-hour stroll
through a garden without as many bright flowers, but with a great variety of
plants plus a few birds and a koi fishpond.
As
you continue driving further through Upcountry, stop for a cinnamon roll at
Grandma's Coffee House in Keokea.
Then pass the Ulupalakua Ranch, and stop at the Tedeschi Vineyards
(878-6058) for a free tour and wine tasting.
(Tours twice a day, at 10:30 and 1:30.)
www.mauiwine.com
After
you look at the view down to Wailea and Kihei from the Tedeschi Vineyard,
it's time to turn around and go back the way you came.
(If you continue around the south side of Haleakala, you will get to
a section with no paved road.
Do not drive there.)
GRAND
WAILEA HOTEL
If
money is no object, you should stay a few days at the Grand Wailea Resort
(875-1234). This spectacular
hotel, opened in 1991, has facilities superior to any of the other wonderful
hotels on Maui. Your experience
begins with a lei greeting, free drink, and personal introduction upon your
arrival for checkin. The
building and grounds are gorgeous, filled with art and flowers.
Most of the 787 rooms have ocean views.
The multiple connecting pools have slides and water elevator and
caves like you will find no place else.
The 1,200 employees are friendly and anxious to please you. There are terrific restaurants.
If you don't want to spend any money to stay at this resort, at least
take a walk around the grounds and see it.
(No, you can’t use the pools if you are not staying at this hotel.)
Restaurants in the Grand Wailea are:
Grand Dining Room (breakfast), Bistro Molokini (California & island
cuisine), Humuhumu (Polynesian dinner), and Café Kula (casual).
I recommend the Humuhumu restaurant for good fish entrees and great
sunset views.
They
sometimes serve Sunday brunch and daily breakfast buffet in the Grand Dining
Room, but I did not find those buffets to be as elaborate as the buffets I
recommend in my Brunch and Buffet section on approximately page 34.
HYATT REGENCY HOTEL (ONE
MORNING)
If
you are staying in a hotel on Kaanapali Beach, you are within a mile of the
Hyatt. If you are staying in
Wailea, you have to drive 36 miles to Kaanapali Beach.
It's certainly worth the trip to see the Hyatt and the other
Kaanapali resorts.
The
Hyatt Regency Maui has a buffet breakfast every morning (not just on Sundays
like some of the other hotels).
The brunch is in the Swan Court Restaurant, in the Hyatt (phone 661‑1234).
Stuff yourself on all‑you‑can‑eat
omelets or pancakes, papaya, melons, muffins, cakes, pineapple, fresh fruit,
bacon, eggs, crepes, fish, juice, etc.
Then wander around this beautiful hotel (opened in 1980) and see the
large swimming pools with bar behind waterfall, penguins and parrots in the
lobby, flamingos and flowers and exotic plants out back, and expensive
oriental art all over the place.
MAUI OCEAN CENTER
This
excellent aquarium opened in 1998 at the south end of
Maui’s central valley.
It takes about two hours to tour the exhibits about Maui’s sea life,
including live fish, sharks, turtles, rays, and others.
Ask about the AAA discount on admission if you are an AAA member.
Also good Seascape Restaurant open for lunch only.
Call 270-7000 for information, or go to their web site at
www.mauioceancenter.com
GOLF
I
don’t play golf, so I have no personal experience with the sixteen beautiful
(and expensive) golf courses on Maui.
However, a friend of mine who plays golf says that the best golf
course on Maui is the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
He says second-best is the Bay Course, also at Kapalua.
A close third best are the North and South courses at Makena.
He says the Kaanapali golf courses are not challenging enough.
There are also much less expensive Maui golf courses in the
non-tourist areas. All of
Maui’s golf courses are discussed in more detail on the Golf page of this
website at
www.mauihawaii.org/golf.htm
There
is less rain in Wailea and Makena than in Kapalua and Kaanapali. So if it is too windy or too rainy to play golf at the
Kapalua courses, you may find better weather by driving 60 minutes (from
Kaanapali) to play one of the two Makena courses (the North is more
challenging than the South), or one of the three Wailea courses (Emerald is
the most scenic and prettiest, compared to the Blue and the Gold).
You
must have reservations at all of these popular courses, especially for the
early morning tee times. You
can make reservations for the Kapalua courses up to 25 days in advance, by
calling (808) 669-8044. Call early in the morning for the best choices, since they
start answering the phone at 6 AM Hawaii time.
If you’re playing at the Wailea courses, the phone number for
reservations is (808) 875-5111; and for Makena it’s (808) 879-3344 (reserve
those tee times up to 30 days in advance).
You
don’t have to stay in a Kapalua hotel to play golf at the Kapalua courses,
or in Wailea to play the Wailea courses:
you can stay anyplace and play golf anyplace.
However, you do get a discount on golf at the course affiliated with
the hotel you stay at. Another
way to get a lower price on golf, is to start in the mid-afternoon instead
of in the morning.
SEE THE LAST LAVA FLOW
If
you drive south on Route 31, past the condos of Kihei and the resorts of
Wailea, past the Makena Beach hotel, past Big Beach, the road becomes
narrow. Soon thereafter, you will find the road takes you over Maui’s
last lava flow. In this eerie
landscape, you can see lava that flowed down from part-way up this side of
Haleakala volcano in 1790. Be
careful, as you can fall and injure yourself on the sharp lava rocks. (This flow did not come from the top of the crater, which
last erupted 650 years previously.)
If you continue a little farther, the road ends at La Perouse Bay.
HORSEBACK RIDES, ATV RIDES
If
you enjoy horseback riding, I suggest Pony Express Tours.
They have long rides down into Haleakala Crater, or shorter rides
around Haleakala Ranch. Either
way, you get spectacular scenery, small groups, and an experienced guide.
For more information, call them at 808-667-2200, or see their web
site at
www.ponyexpresstours.com
More
info about horseback rides in various parts of Maui, including a comparison
of some companies offering those rides, is on the Horseback Riding page in
the Activities section of this website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/maui-activities/horseback-riding.htm
Another Maui adventure is riding an ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle).
This is a low motorized vehicle that you drive (in a small group with
a guide) on the hills of Upcountry or West Maui.
You’ll see beautiful scenery that is not accessible by car.
Most allow only one adult (and no children) per ATV.
See the activity sales desk in your hotel or the activity sales
booths in Lahaina or Kihei for choices of ATV tours in various parts of the
island. More info is on the ATV
page in the Activities section of this website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/maui-activities/atv-tours.htm
KAHAKULOA VALLEY TOUR
If
you love Maui and want to learn more about what it was like before the white
people arrived a couple hundred years ago, then this is the tour for you.
It is a guided tour, including a long drive and a 1-hour guided walk,
that takes you to an isolated valley on the north side of West Maui, where
there are no hotels or condos.
You will see unspoiled mountains and waterfalls.
You will hear about the way the native Hawaiian people lived, from
the time their ancestors first arrived on these islands in about the year
500 A.D. You will walk through
taro farms, and may meet some of the few remaining full-blooded Hawaiians,
who want to preserve their cultural heritage.
You can’t go here yourself, because it is on private land, so sign up
for this 6-hour tour with Ekahi Tours by calling 877-9775 or see
www.ekahi.com
PINEAPPLE TOUR
Maui
Pineapple Company offers a 2½ hour tour of their pineapple fields in Kapalua
(north of Kaanapali and Lahaina).
You will learn all about pineapple growing, and you will be amazed at
the wonderful taste of a pineapple that has been picked the minute before
you eat it. And you get to pick your own pineapple to take with you.
(Maui Pineapple Company has stopped most of its growing of pineapples
commercially on Maui, and Dole has given up on growing them on the island of
Lanai.) Call 669-8088 for
information and reservations.
LAVENDER GARDEN
This
garden in Upcountry opened in 2002.
It’s out of the way so you won’t find it without knowing where to
look. Nanea ao Kula (Serenity of Kula) is a former protea farm that
Alii Chang has turned into a lavender garden from which they produce
numerous products containing lavender.
You can tour this lovely garden, with its gorgeous views of the
central valley of Maui, on your own, or with a guide.
They have a 30-minute walking tour, or a lavender tea with lavender
lecture and tour, or a longer lavender luncheon, with lecture and tour, so
call and ask about the schedule.
They do try to sell you their lavender products at the end of the
tour. Phone 878-3004 or
283-3777 or see
www.mauikulalavender.com
or
www.aliikulalavender.com
HIKE
I
don’t usually hike, but my wife and I did do part of the hike on the Lahaina
Pali Trail in 1999. This is a
5-mile hike over the West Maui mountains.
We only walked the first half mile uphill, and then turned around and
came back down. It is a
beautiful hike, with wonderful views of the mountains and ocean.
Like us, you can do as much or as little of it as you like. To get to the start of this trail, look for a small dirt
parking lot just off the main road (Honoapiilani Highway), just past Mile
Marker 11 (just past an emergency call box, just past the first section of
wire fencing screen on the side of the mountain), on your way from the
Lahaina-Kaanapali area toward the central valley of Maui.
Call 871-2521 for information and a brochure about the sights along
the Lahaina Pali Trail hike.
I’ve
been told that you can take a great guided hike through the rainforest or
other beautiful parts of Maui with Hike Maui 879-5270 or see
www.hikemaui.com. If you
prefer to go by yourself instead of paying for a guide, check out the hiking
trails in Iao Valley state park.
There are also books about hiking on Maui at all of the bookstores on
Maui. Two of the best are
Hiking Maui, The Valley Isle, by Robert Smith, and Maui Trails:
Walks, Strolls and Treks on the Valley Island, by Kathy Morey.
You can get either of them before you go, at major bookstores or by
ordering it online. There is a
clickable link to order those books from Amazon, on the Books page of this
Maui web site at
www.mauihawaii.org/mauibooks.htm
LUAU (ONE EVENING)
There
are several Hawaiian luau dinner shows available any evening. The food is interesting; the show has various Polynesian
island dancers and music. Every
tourist should go to one luau during their visit to Hawaii.
Places to call to ask about luaus:
Old Lahaina
Luau
667-1998
Royal
Lahaina Hotel 661-3611
Hyatt
Regency Hotel 661-1234
Feast at
Lele 667-5353
Grand Wailea 875-1234
Makena Beach
Resort (former Maui Prince)
874‑1111
Wailea Beach
Marriott
879-1922
Activity
desk at your hotel or booths in Lahaina or Kihei
The
Old Lahaina Luau (my wife’s favorite) is the most authentically Hawaiian,
has the most beautiful oceanfront setting, has the most comfortable chairs
(if you don’t choose to sit on the ground), has the most old Hawaiian music,
and has less touristy music than a hotel luau.
It is at 1251 Front Street in the north part of Lahaina, across from
the Lahaina Cannery Mall. Space
for 440 guests and often sold out, so call far in advance for the best
seats. More expensive than the
hotel luaus, and generally not discounted like the hotel ones.
Toll-free reservations phone 1-800-248-5828
www.OldLahainaLuau.com
My
personal favorite luau is at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, because it is more
showy, with the Hawaiian music that all we tourists love.
Kids often like the Hyatt luau because it has fire dancers and is
less serious than the Old Lahaina Luau.
I also like the luau at the Royal Lahaina Hotel.
It has a good combination of authentic and touristy music and dance,
with a beautiful sunset backdrop.
At
the Old Lahaina Luau, and at the Feast at Lele, you are assigned to a
reserved seat when you make your reservation, so the further in advance you
buy your ticket, the closer you will sit to the stage.
For most other luaus, there are no reserved seats, so the earlier you
arrive that evening, the closer to the stage you can choose to sit.
The
Feast at Lele is more expensive than most other luaus, but its food is more
elaborate and is served to you by waiters (instead of a buffet like the
other luaus). It has just 150
people in the audience and just 8 dancers in the cast, so it is much smaller
than the others. However, my
wife and I and the friends we went with did not like it.
We had long waits between dinner courses and long waits between
segments of the show. Then the
food courses and the show segments came at the same times, so we could not
fully enjoy either one. We
found most of the performers difficult to see from most locations in the
audience, because the small cast was spread out and the stage was not
significantly elevated.
For
any luau, you can usually get a discount by calling for the best price at
Barefoot Discount Tours (661-8889 in Lahaina) or Activity Warehouse
(667-4000 in Lahaina). (Never
get tickets to anything from anyone who asks you to sit through a timeshare
sales presentation.)
More
info about luaus is on the Luau page in the Activites section of this
website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/maui-activities/luaus.htm
SHOPPING
Where’s the best place to pick up those souvenirs you’ve just GOT to take
home?
For the most fun shopping:
lots of small stores on Front Street in Lahaina.
For the most choices in one place (and good prices):
Hilo Hattie (Lahaina & Kihei).
For the lowest prices:
Wal-Mart in Kahului.
For
Hawaiian music CD’s, there are some at Hilo Hattie and a much larger
selection at Border’s Bookstore in Kahului or Barnes and Noble bookstore in
Lahaina. But the best prices are at Wal-Mart in Kahului.
Six main shopping areas and one store I suggest:
Front
Street in Lahaina
Little tourist shops for T‑shirts and souvenirs and art
Whalers Village on Kaanapali Beach
661-4567
Nicer tourist shops and restaurants.
Good souvenir shirt choices at Crazy Shirt.
www.whalersvillage.com
for the monthly activity calendar of free shows
The
Shops at Wailea
879-1991
Upscale shops and restaurants in a beautiful modern open-air mall
www.shopsatwailea.com
The
Cannery on the main road outside the north edge of Lahaina
Modern enclosed mall
Regular stores, tourist shops, restaurants, Long’s Drugstore, and
Safeway 24-hour supermarket
Lahaina Center at the north end of the Front Street (Lahaina) shopping
district
www.lahainacenter.com
for lists of stores and calendar of free entertainment
Queen
Kaahumanu Center in Kahului
877-4325
Sears and Macy’s and about 90 other stores, plus food court
Biggest shopping center on Maui
Where Maui residents (not just tourists) shop
Hilo
Hattie in Lahaina (667-7911) and Kihei (875-4545)
There is one store on Maui that deserves its own special mention.
Hilo Hattie may be tacky, but it’s got good prices on all the clothes
and souvenirs that you want to bring home from Maui.
An amazing 25% of all the visitors to Hawaii stop in at one of the
Hilo Hattie stores on one of the islands some time during their visit.
After you get your free shell lei on arrival, you will be astounded
at the huge selection of aloha shirts, dresses, costume jewelry, trinkets,
candies, nuts, souvenirs and other Hawaiian-themed STUFF.
In case you don’t buy enough when you are there, many of the items
available in the stores are also available on their web site at
www.hilohattie.com
Was
there really such a person as Hilo Hattie?
Well, sort of. Clarissa
Haili (1901-1979) was a comic singer, one of whose songs in the 1940’s was
called “When Hilo Hattie Does the Hula Hop.”
She also appeared as Waihila, a flower seller, in a 3-minute scene
near the beginning of the 1961 movie “Blue Hawaii” with Elvis Presley.
A clothing factory on the Big Island, named after the character Hilo
Hattie, was bought in the 1960’s by Jim Romig, a businessman from Washington
state. He turned it into the
company that exists today with several large stores throughout Hawaii.
FREE THINGS TO DO
HULA
SHOWS AT SHOPPING CENTERS
Several shopping centers
have free hula shows once or twice per week.
Call for days and times:
Whalers Village
www.whalersvillage.com
661-4567
Lahaina Center
www.lahainacenter.com
667-9216
Lahaina Cannery Mall
www.lahainacannery.com
661-5304
Queen Kaahumanu Center
877-3369
Wharf Cinema Center
661-8748
HULA
SHOW AT KAANAPALI BEACH HOTEL
Daily at 6:30 PM.
Call 661-0011 for information.
You can watch this show free from some seats around the edges of the
audience, or you can sit at the tables in the center of the audience.
There is no charge to sit at the tables, but the waitress will expect
you to order drinks or snacks if you sit there.
SINGERS SUNDAY AT KAANAPALI BEACH HOTEL
Sunday mornings behind the buffet brunch room, outside and in back of
the Kaanapali Beach hotel, sit at the round tables and listen to live music.
HAWAIIAN CULTURAL TALK AT RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL
Fridays at
10 AM, see a video about the Hawaiian people, with a discussion by Hawaiian
Cultural Advisor Clifford Naeole.
Call him at the Ritz 669-6200 to verify day and time.
KEALIA POND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
Walk around these quiet
and peaceful wetlands in the south part of Maui’s central valley, looking at
the birds and maybe some turtles.
Enter at mile marker 6 on Mokulele Highway (route 311) just north of
North Kihei Road (route 310).
Daytime only; closed weekends. Call 875-1582 for further information.
SHUTTLE BUS (some free and
others cost $1)
Whalers Village - Kahana
– Napili
Kaanapali Resort Trolley
Wailea
(Ask for schedule at
your hotel)
WHALE
CENTER OF THE PACIFIC
661-5992
Museum about whales in
the Whalers Village Shopping Center on Kaanapali Beach.
PACIFIC WHALE FOUNDATION info
A volunteer from the
Pacific Whale Foundation will answer your questions, give you brochures, and
lend you her binoculars to watch the whales (winter only) at McGregor Point
Lookout on the Pali portion of Honoapiilani Highway on the west side of
Maalaea Bay, from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM.
SIT
UNDER THE BANYAN TREE
In Lahaina, relax and
watch the tourists and the locals.
Meet artists there weekends from 9 AM to 5 PM.
OLD
COURTHOUSE BUILDING
In Lahaina, behind
Banyan Tree. Includes Lahaina
Visitors Center (open every day
9-5), art gallery, and old jail.
ART
Friday night is art
night in Lahaina. That evening,
or any day, walk through the numerous galleries there.
The Lahaina Visitors Center (in the Old Courthouse behind the Banyan
Tree) has a flyer with a map of Lahaina’s art galleries with names of the
artists featured in each.
WOW = Wailea On
Wednesdays. Wednesday evening,
or any day, see the art in galleries at the Shops at Wailea shopping center.
Schaefer International
Gallery at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului is free and open 11
AM to 5 PM daily, with rotating art exhibits.
You can also see
beautiful art in the major hotels in the resort areas of Wailea, Kaanapali,
and Kapalua. The best is the
art at the Four Seasons hotel in Wailea.
MUSEUMS
A few of Maui’s museums
are free: Whalers Village
Museum in Kaanapali, Printing Museum at Lahainaluna High School in Lahaina,
Hale Kahiko (Ancient House) at Lahaina Center, Hale Paahao (Irons House) on
Prison Street in Lahaina, Lahaina Heritage Museum in the Old Lahaina
Courthouse.
RAINBOWS
Watch for rainbows over
the ocean the first two hours after sunrise, and in the mountains the last
two hours before sunset. They
are most likely on days with some mist in the air, or days with light rain
showers, when the sun is visible in the opposite direction from where you
look for the rainbows. They are
most commonly seen from West Maui (the Kaanapali side of the island).
MOONSET
For a beautiful sight,
watch a nearly-full moon setting into the ocean, in a dark sky, with white
moonlight reflected across the ocean towards you.
The only time you can see this, is 1-3 days before a full moon, at
1-3 hours before sunrise. Look
in the western sky, at about the same position that the sun has been
setting. (On the day of a full
moon, and in the next few days, the moon sets in daylight, and so you do not
get the beautiful effect that you get by seeing it set in the dark, before
sunrise, on the last few days before full moon.)
A couple days before full moon, wake up 20 minutes before the time
the moon is due to set, to get this view.
You can find out the date of full moon, and the time of moonset and
sunrise, from home before you leave, on the Internet, by going to
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/data/docs/MoonPhase.html
(for the date of full moon) and to
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/data/docs/RS_OneDay.html
(for the time of moonset on any date).
If you refuse to get up around 4 AM for the above spectacle, or if
you are not on Maui at the right time just before full moon, then you can
get a partial similar view by watching a first-quarter moon set into the
ocean around midnight. Check
the above Web sites for date of early moon phase.
NIGHT
SKY
Look up at Maui's clear
skies any night, and see more stars and a different perspective than at
home.
If you are willing to spend money for a closer look, there are astronomy
programs with a telescope on the roof of the Hyatt every night for $25, call
661-1234 or see their web site at
www.maui.hyatt.com
Or for the most spectacular view, learn about the stars at the top of
Haleakala volcano, including dinner, sunset view, telescope and astronomy
lesson, for $75, from Star Gazers Maui.
Call 281-9158. (You have
to drive up to the top yourself.)
IAO
VALLEY
Huge rock formation and
surrounding valley scenery in the middle of the West Maui Mountains.
Also Heritage Gardens on the road into Iao Valley.
HOSMER GROVE
Beautiful small forest
of wide variety of trees (pine, spruce, cedar and eucalyptus imported from
all over the world). At the
7000-foot elevation, just below the entrance to Haleakala National Park.
Camping and hiking, but can be chilly.
http://gorp.away.com/gorp/resource/US_National_Park/hi/hik_hal4.htm
TEDESCHI VINEYARDS
Free tour of Maui's only
winery and free wine tasting.
In Upcountry. Call 878-6058 or
see their web site at
www.mauiwine.com
PETROGLYPHS
In Olowalu. Ask directions at the General Store. About a mile walk back into the fields, to see ancient rock
carvings on a cliff.
WATCH
THE WHALES
About 5000 humpback
whales come to Maui every winter.
Watch them from the beach or from your lanai.
January through March are the peak months, when you can see whales
every day.
WHALE
LECTURES AND FILMS
The Ocean Science
Discovery Center is run by the Pacific Whale Foundation in the Maalaea
Harbor Village, the shopping center adjacent to the aquarium.
Call 1-800-942-5311
for the current schedule of free lectures.
WATCH
THE MAUI VISITORS CHANNEL
Cable TV channel 7 has
constant information about things to see, places to go, restaurants, etc.
PICK
UP BROCHURES
This Week in Maui, Maui
Gold, 101 Things to Do, and others available on racks in hotels and shopping
centers.
SEE
DIFFERENT BEACHES
Use the book of maps
from your car rental company to drive around and see beaches on different
parts of the island.
PLAYGROUNDS FOR KIDS
Kamaole and Kalama Parks
have free swings, slides, and jungle gyms.
In Kihei.
GIANT
BUDDHA STATUE
Lahaina Jodo Mission has
the largest Buddha statue outside of Japan. In the north part of Lahaina,
(near the “Jesus coming soon” sign) turn off of Front street (toward the
ocean) onto Ala Moana street, and immediately bear left, and look for the
sign “Lahaina Jodo Mission.”
TOURS
IN THE HYATT
Sign up at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel on Kaanapali Beach, for their free Art & Garden Tour and
Wildlife Tour and Lei-Making class.
(The Hyatt also has a great Astronomy Tour on the roof most nights,
with a guide and a telescope, but it isn't free.
$25 and worth it.) Call
661-1234 for all tour times and days.
SEE THE FARMERS'
MARKET
Mornings (7-11 AM)
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Honokowai, a couple miles north of
Kaanapali.
Afternoons (1:30-5:30
PM) Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in Kihei (Suda’s Store in north part of
Kihei)
Fruits, vegetables, flowers, bread, jam, all often fresher and cheaper than
at the grocery store. And they
have free taste samples too!
WATCH
THE SUNSET
It looks different each
night, and it looks different from each vantage point.
Watch sunset from a different place each evening:
from your hotel or condo, from a sunset-view restaurant, from the
corner of Front Street and Papalaua in Lahaina, from S-turns park in Kahana,
from Olowalu (just north of the Olowalu General Store), from Kaanapali
Beach, from one of the three Kamaole beach parks in Kihei, from Wailea
Beach, from the hills of Kapalua, from the top of Haleakala.
On June 21 (the longest
day) the sun rises at 5:46 AM and sets at 7:11 PM.
On December 21 (the shortest day) the sun rises at 6:59 AM and sets
at 5:51 PM. However, depending
on where you are watching from, the sun may rise later or set earlier if it
is rising or setting behind a mountain or behind Lanai (an island about nine
miles away). In addition, the
sun rises earlier and sets later when viewed from the top of Haleakala, the
tallest mountain on Maui, two miles up.
For a list of sunrise and sunset times on Maui for each month of the
year, see the Weather page of this website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/maui-weather.htm
HISTORICAL SIGHTS OF LAHAINA
Take the self-guided
walking tour. Pick up a free
“Maui Historical Walking Guide” booklet in the Lahaina Visitors Center in
the old courthouse behind the banyan tree.
TAKE
A WALK ON THE BEACH
All beaches in Hawaii
are free and public.
FREE
SHELL LEI
At Hilo Hattie’s store
in the Lahaina Center (behind Hard Rock Café) in Lahaina, or in Kihei
WATCH
THE SURFERS
Riding the big waves in
the afternoon, off Hookipa Park on the north shore, two miles past Paia.
WATCH
GLASS BLOWING
See glass blowing
10:30-4:00 most days at Hot Island Glass at 3620 Baldwin Avenue (call
572-4527 to confirm) in Makawao.
DRIVE
THE ROAD TO HANA
See section about Hana
above.
WAIANAPANAPA STATE PARK
Four miles before Hana.
Includes a black sand beach and some trails to explore.
TOUR
REAL ESTATE
Look for signs
announcing “Open House” at condos and homes all over Maui.
Wander in and chat with the real estate agents about condos for sale.
Dream about owning a condo on Maui some day.
(Do NOT attend any Time Share sales presentations.
Do NOT even consider looking at any Time Share property.)
CHEAP
THINGS TO DO
MAUI
SWAP MEET (50 cents admission)
The only bargains on
Maui (T-shirts, jewelry, flowers, fresh fruits and vegetables, hand-painted
shirts and dresses, and an amazing variety of other STUFF) are at the Maui
Swap Meet, at Maui Community College in Kahului, Saturdays, 7 AM - Noon. (Note that this is a new location where they moved in January
of 2009.) It’s been going on
every week since 1981. 200
vendors and thousands of customers (60% locals and 40% tourists) show up
here each Saturday morning, so they know this is the place for a good deal.
See their web site at
www.mauiexposition.com
Email them at mauiexpo@aol.com
for more info.
CIVIC
CENTER CRAFTS FAIR ($1 admission)
Crafts and clothes sale
in the Lahaina Civic Center (between Lahaina and Kaanapali) on Sundays.
Best are the days that have “Maui’s Own” gift and craft fair.
See their website at www.mauiexposition.com
MAUI
NEWS
Buy the Maui News and
read about restaurants, movies, entertainment, or even Maui politics.
WATCH
A POLO MATCH
At Haleakala ranch.
April through July only.
Phone 572-4915 for information.
RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES
Shop
at Maui’s largest shopping center, Queen Kaahumanu Center, in Kahului (ask
at your hotel for directions)
(When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.)
Lahaina Cannery Mall shopping and sometimes free hula shows
Tour
the insides of hotels in Wailea and Kaanapali
Numerous art galleries in Lahaina
Hawaii Nature Center on the road into Iao Valley
(see Iao Valley above)
Alexander and Baldwin Sugar Mill Museum on Puunene in Kahului
Whaling Museum at Whalers Village Shopping Center on Kaanapali Beach
Hui
No’eau Visual Arts Center in Upcountry
Borders Bookstore at the Maui Marketplace shopping center in Kahului, or
Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Lahaina
Leisurely lunch and dinner at any of the restaurants listed in the
restaurant section below
Ask
at your hotel about the nearest health club or spa for exercise or
relaxation
Rainy
day movies: rent a video at
your hotel or condo desk (or ask them for the location of the nearest video
rental store); go to a movie at
Lahaina Cinemas (249-2222, in Wharf center across from Banyan Tree in
Lahaina), Front Street Theaters (249-2222, behind Hard Rock Café in
Lahaina), Kukui Mall (249-2222 in Kihei), Queen Kaahumanu Center (249-2222
in Kahului), or Maui’s newest (1999) and biggest and most modern theater
which is the Maui Mall Megaplex (249-2222 in Kahului).
WHAT TO DO WITH THE KIDS
You
brought your children along to Maui.
Now what are you going to do to keep them happy and entertained?
Maui
Ocean Center (aquarium) in Maalaea
270-7000
More information above and at www.mauioceancenter.com
Hawaii Nature Center (science museum) on the road to Iao Needle
244-6500
More information in Iao Needle section above and at
www.hawaiinaturecenter.org
Hike
in the park in Iao Valley
More information above and at
www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/html/sites/iao_valley_state_park.html
Snorkel (if they are old enough and well supervised)
Baby
Beach in Lahaina (if they are too young for the waves at other beaches)
See a
different beach every day
See “Life’s A Beach” section above.
Free
hula shows at Lahaina Cannery Mall
661-5304
More information at www.lahainacannerymall.com
Luau
at the Hyatt 661-1234 or Royal
Lahaina 661-3611
More showy, so more entertaining for kids, than the more Hawaiian Old
Lahaina Luau 667-1998.
Pineapple Plantation Tour
669-8088
More information above.
Dan’s
Greenhouse 661-8412
At the corner of Lahainaluna & Waine'e in Lahaina.
Live birds and other animals and plants for sale.
More information at
www.dansgreenhouse.com
Under
the Banyan Tree in Lahaina
Younger kids just like running around here.
Older kids like seeing the people as well as the giant tree.
Hyatt
Regency Hotel on Kaanapali Beach
661-1234
See the penguins, flamingos, swans, and crowned African cranes.
Glass
blowing in Makawao 572-4527
Hot Island Glass at 3620 Baldwin Avenue (call to confirm times)
www.hotislandglass.com
Swap
Meet 877-3100
Great bargains and lots of choices of fun stuff to buy (in Kahului on
Saturday mornings).
More info above and at
www.mauiexposition.com
Hilo
Hattie Lahaina 667-7911
or Kihei 875-4545
Some of the best deals on kids clothes and souvenirs.
Ulalena show 661-9913
Hawaiian history told in dance and old Hawaiian music.
Some kids love it though others are bored.
More information at
www.ulalena.com
Read
the booklet “101 Things To Do On Maui” (free at brochure stands in the
airport and at shopping centers)
Let the kids spend an hour reading this booklet themselves and finding
things they’d like to do.
Dining ideas with the kids (more info in restaurant section below):
Family breakfast, lunch or dinner at CJ’s Deli & Diner 667-0968
Carryout from Honokowai Okazuya 665-0512
Fun family lunch or dinner at Bubba Gump 661-3111
Maui Tacos (good fast food)
Napili 665-0222 or Kihei 879-5005
Cheeseburger In Paradise Lahaina 661-0830 or Wailea 874-8990
Hard Rock Café 667-7400
DON’T JUST EXPERIENCE HAWAII,
HAVE A HAWAIIAN EXPERIENCE
If
you would like to make this more than just a vacation, or if you have been
to Hawaii before and are looking for something different to make this visit
even more special, then don’t just experience Hawaii:
have a Hawaiian experience.
Catch the Aloha Spirit.
Learn about the Hawaiian people, land, and culture.
The
Aloha Spirit is the natural kindness and friendliness of the Hawaiian
people. Aloha doesn’t mean
hello and goodbye. Aloha means
love. The people of Hawaii use the word Aloha when others would say
hello or goodbye, because they are expressing their love of all people.
The people of Hawaii are the most warm and friendly people I have
ever met. They are kind and
polite. They are happy to see
you and to help you. They don’t
push in line or act rudely or toot their horn or cut you off in traffic.
They take their time, take it easy, relax and enjoy the beauty of
nature. Return that attitude
and behavior toward the people you meet on Maui.
While you are visiting their island, catch the Aloha Spirit.
Learn a little of their ways and their lifestyle.
Take that spirit home with you.
When you are back home, and you are taking the time to be kind to
everyone you meet, remember that you learned about this Aloha Spirit during
your visit to Hawaii. In this
way, your Hawaiian experience will last the rest of your life.
Before you come to Maui, read a little about the history of this land and
people, such as the book “A Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands” by Dr.
Phil Barnes. While you are on
Maui, learn about the people and about this wonderful land in which they
live. Attend the cultural talk
by Clifford Naeole at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua.
(It’s free to everyone on Fridays at 10:00 AM, but call him at the
Ritz 669-6200 to verify day and time.)
Pick up the free “Maui Historical Walking Guide” booklet at brochure
racks or at the Lahaina Visitor Center behind the Banyan tree, and read it
as you walk to each of the historical sites in the old whaling town of
Lahaina and elsewhere on the island. Take the Pineapple Plantation
tour in Kapalua (669-8088), and the Kahakuloa Valley tour from Ekahi tours
(877-9775). Look at the exhibits in the free whaling museum in Whalers
Village. Take the free Kaanapali Beach history tour offered two
mornings per week (661-3271).
Attend the all-Hawaiian theatrical experience of the live Ulalena show at
the Maui Theater in Lahaina (661-9913).
Learn about the environment at the Hawaii Nature Center on Iao Valley
Road (244-6500) and at the Maui Ocean Center in Maalaea (270-7000).
Use the words aloha (greetings or love) and mahalo (thank you) at
least 5 times every day, and try to learn a dozen additional Hawaiian words
(aina = the land, alii = royalty, anuenue = rainbow, hale = house, honu =
turtle, mauka = toward the mountains, makai = toward the ocean, keiki
= children, kokua = cooperation, ohana = family, ono = delicious, pau =
finished). When you buy
souvenirs, look for things that are made on Maui.
When you go to a restaurant, order a local fish instead of a steak or
burger. At local restaurants
and grocery stores, sample more local foods such as guava juice, pog, Maui
chips, lomi-lomi salmon, shave ice, kona coffee, Maui onions, plate lunch,
kalua pig, poke, saimin, and maybe even poi.
Try the “Native Hawaiian Combination” dinner (fern salad, steamed
fish in lau lau, poi) at the Tiki Terrace at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel
(661-0011). During whale season (winter) stop off at the whale-watching
lookout near Maalaea, and learn from the guide at the Pacific Whale
Foundation van about humpback whales.
If you do the things in this paragraph, you'll come home with a far
better understanding of Hawaii than the usual tourist. Your family
will have a wonderful new respect for Hawaii and its people.
But even in this land so different from home, remember that back home
is “on the mainland” not “back in the states.”
RESTAURANTS:
RESTAURANT TIPS
Many
of the top restaurants on Maui serve a type of food
called Pacific Rim Cuisine.
This consists of a mixture of Asian and California styles of cooking,
stressing seafood. A good
choice at many Maui restaurants is "catch of the day."
This is generally a fish with a Hawaiian name, such as Mahi‑Mahi
(dolphin‑fish), Uku (gray snapper), Opakapaka (pink snapper), Ahi
(yellow‑fin tuna), or Ono (wahoo, like mackerel).
When you go to
restaurants that you heard about here, you can get the best service by
telling them you heard about them on Jon’s Maui Info website. Why? Because you
only go there once, but the readers of this web site represent many Maui
visitors. The people in these
restaurants know that I will hear about the kind of service they give you. They know that I will only continue to recommend them if they
give great service to the people who read about them here and who report
their experiences back to me by email and by filling out the questionnaire
at the end of this paper. So
tell your waiter or waitress, tell the person who greets you at the
restaurant, tell the person who answers the phone when you call to make your
reservation, tell the manager or chef at the restaurant if you see him/her,
tell them all! Tell them you
heard about them on Jon’s Maui Info website.
Many
of Maui’s best restaurants in all price ranges are described in more detail,
with menu lists and photos of the food, on the Restaurants section of this
website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants.htm
For
more detailed ratings of restaurants on all the islands of Hawaii (not just
Maui), buy the paperback Zagat Hawaii Restaurant Survey in bookstores
in Hawaii, or order it before you go, by calling Zagat in New York at
1‑800‑333‑3421.
There
are about 350 restaurants on Maui, and I have tried to find the most
wonderful of them for you.
(It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.)
It is a good idea to make reservations a couple days ahead,
especially if you are on Maui during the busiest times of the year (around
holidays or school breaks) or if you want to eat supper at the busiest times
(7‑8 P.M.). Don't think a
restaurant isn't good just because it's in a hotel or shopping center.
Restaurants and other businesses on Maui are opening, closing, and changing
every day. I only go there once
per year, and unfortunately cannot try every one of these restaurants every
year. About 100 restaurants on
Maui open, close, or change ownership per year.
Therefore, some of the restaurants and other businesses listed on
these pages may be gone, or may have changed, by the time you get to Maui.
Call before you go.
You
can save money on your Maui restaurant expenses with the following
suggestions:
Share an entrée (many restaurants have generous portions, enough for two
people).
Have an appetizer as your entrée.
Cut your entrée in half as soon as you get it, then eat only half of it and
take the other half back to the condo to have for dinner the next evening.
Eat out for lunch instead of dinner.
Some restaurants have “early bird specials.”
Call ahead to ask how much you can save by eating dinner early.
Carry out dinner from the Honokowai Okazuya & Deli (665-0512) on the west
side, or from Eskimo Candy (891-8898) on the south side.
The fish entrees here are as good as at many of Maui’s top
restaurants, for about half the price.
If you are staying at a resort hotel that has its own restaurant, ask when
you make your hotel reservation whether they have a package that includes
free breakfasts.
Here
are my favorite Maui restaurants:
THE VERY BEST RESTAURANTS ON MAUI
Here
are my seven favorite restaurants for the very best food on Maui. All of these are expensive.
Everything we have tasted on our many dinners at these places has
been wonderful.
PLANTATION HOUSE 669-6299
Kapalua
In the
Plantation Golf Course clubhouse above Kapalua.
My favorite Maui restaurant.
Wonderful Hawaiian/Mediterranean food in an elegant setting. Two or three kinds of fish in your choice of five or six
different preparations, plus meats and (by request) vegetarian.
Make a reservation and come early (5:30 PM) to get a good seat for
the spectacular view of sunset.
For top service at dinner, ask for Vicki to be your waitress, and tell her
Rosie and Jon sent you. Also
ask for the manager, Bob Jones, and tell him we sent you.
A great dessert here is Bananas Foster.
Also open for delicious breakfasts and lunches.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/plantation-house.htm
ROY'S
KAHANA BAR & GRILL 669-6999
Kahana
Upstairs in
the Kahana Gateway shopping center, a couple miles north of Kaanapali Beach.
In my opinion, the tastiest food on Maui.
For great service, ask for the manager, Justin, and tell him Jon and
Rosie sent you. Pacific Rim Cuisine.
Great chocolate souffle for dessert.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/roys-restaurant-maui.htm
I’O
661-8422
Lahaina
In the 505
shopping center in Lahaina.
Very tasty unusual preparations of several kinds of fresh fish, as well as
other great entrees. Beautiful
indoor décor, or sunset-view outdoor dining by the ocean.
Same owner and chef as Pacific O, which has similar food.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/io-maui.htm
NICK’S FISHMARKET 879-7224
Wailea
In the Fairmont
Kea Lani Hotel in Wailea.
Excellent service: the best of
any restaurant on Maui.
Excellent food (great seafood, with some chicken and beef available as
well). Even the salad course
(their own Maui Wowie salad) made me say “Wow!”
Beautiful open-air room.
Very expensive.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/nicks-fishmarket.htm
HULA
GRILL 667-6636 OR 661-3894
Kaanapali Beach
In Whalers
Village shopping center. Good
view of ocean and sunset.
Excellent dinners, including fish and meats, in the main dining area (not
the casual area on the sand floor).
Very good lunch (salads, pizza, sandwiches).
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/hula-grill.htm
HALIIMAILE GENERAL STORE 572-2666
Haliimaile
Creative preparations of delicious seafoods and meats.
In upcountry area, a one-hour drive from Kaanapali or 45 minutes from
Wailea, but worth the trip. Open for
both lunch and dinner on weekdays, but weekends are dinner only.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/haliimaile.htm
LAHAINA GRILL (formerly David Paul’s Lahaina Grill) 667-5117
Lahaina
The
food is innovative Pacific Rim cuisine and the service is excellent.
A couple examples of their unusual and beautiful preparations:
Reconstructed California Roll (appetizer stack of crab, avocado, and
rice); Maui Martini (a salad,
not a drink, in a martini glass). It's in the center of Lahaina, just off Front Street,
on Lahainaluna Road. Very
expensive.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/lahaina-grill.htm
EXPENSIVE RESTAURANTS:
SEE THE LIST ABOVE
for my seven favorite restaurants on Maui.
The
following are also excellent.
PINEAPPLE GRILL
669-9600 Kapalua
In the clubhouse of the Bay golf course.
Large picture windows look out on the golf course (and the ocean in
the distance), while you enjoy delicious foods beautifully presented.
Wonderful Pineapple Upside Down Cake for dessert.
Be sure to look up at the ceiling of the bar on your way in or out of
the restaurant.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/pineapple-grill.htm
PACIFIC O 667-4341 Lahaina
In
Lahaina at 505 Front Street shopping center.
Very tasty Pacific Rim Cuisine, beautifully prepared, oceanfront
setting, indoors or out, lunch or dinner.
Great sunset view, especially at the outdoor tables.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/pacifico-maui.htm
MAMA'S FISH HOUSE 579‑8488
Paia
This
is a one‑hour drive from Kaanapali Beach, or 45 minutes from Wailea.
Some of the best fresh fish preparations on Maui.
Very expensive. Excellent for lunch or supper, but go before sunset to get
the view of big ocean waves on the north shore.
It's near Paia, which is on the far side of Kahului, so go here on
the day you go to the big shopping center in Kahului, or when you go to the
little shops in Paia or Makawao.
Reservations required.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/mamas-fish-house.htm
GANNON’S 875-8080 Wailea
At Gold and
Emerald golf courses in Wailea.
Great food, beautifully presented, beautiful views.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/seawatch.htm
SARENTO’S ON THE BEACH
875-7555
Kihei
Excellent
food and service. Gorgeous
sunset view. At 2980 S. Kihei
Road, on the southern edge of Kihei, adjacent to Wailea (former location of
Carelli’s On The Beach). Very
expensive.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/sarentos-on-the-beach.htm
MALA
667-9394 Lahaina
Tasty and
beautifully presented variety of foods by Mark Ellman, former owner-chef of
Avalon. Wonderful Caramel
Miranda dessert. Ocean front
with indoor and outdoor seating.
Across the street from the ocean side of the Lahaina Cannery Mall
(Safeway grocery store).
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/mala.htm
FIVE
PALMS 879-2607 Kihei
In the Mana
Kai condos, at the south end of Kihei.
Excellent food, beautifully presented, for breakfast, lunch and
dinner. Dinner is in a lovely
dining room, where window tables have a close-up ocean view, and a good
sunset view. Very expensive.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/five-palms.htm
LONGHI'S 667‑2288 Lahaina
At 888 Front
Street in the north part of Lahaina, and a newer branch at the Shops at
Wailea. Good food, especially
pasta. Super desserts too.
Great spot for people-watching.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/longhis.htm
HUMUHUMU 875-1234 Wailea
In the
Grand Wailea hotel. Full name
of this restaurant is humuhumunukunukuapuaa, named after the Hawaiian state
fish. Airy Polynesian setting
with gorgeous sunset views from some tables.
(Make a reservation and arrive when they open at 5:30 to get one of
the sunset view tables.)
Delicious food with interesting preparations.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/humuhumu-grand-wailea-maui.htm
TOMMY
BAHAMA’S 875-9983 Wailea
In the Shops
at Wailea shopping center. Very
good food, beautifully presented.
Very expensive
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/tommy-bahamas.htm
TIKI
TERRACE at the KAANAPALI BEACH HOTEL
667-0124
Kaanapali
Good food,
open air dining. Hawaiian
singers beginning at 6 PM, and a 1-hour hula show with singers beginning at
6:30 every night. Maui’s
second-best dessert: Banana
Caramel Eruption (hot fudge brownie with melted center, topped with
caramelized bananas & macadamia nut ice cream).
(For Maui’s best dessert, see Roy’s above.)
If you would like to have a healthy genuine Hawaiian dinner, order
the “Native Hawaiian Combination” (fern salad, papaya, steamed fish in lau
lau, taro and poi).
SPAGO
879-2999 Wailea
In the Four
Seasons Hotel, Wailea. Very
good Wolfgang Puck food, very good Four Seasons service.
Elegant décor. Indoor or
covered outdoor seating. Sunset
view. Very expensive.
WATERFRONT 244-9028
Maalaea
In Maalaea. Six
different fresh fish, each made as any of nine different preparations.
Beautiful view of Maalaea Bay if you come early (5:00 or 5:30) and
get an outside table before sunset.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/waterfront-maalaea.htm
GERARD'S 661‑8939
Lahaina
On Lahainaluna Road in mid Lahaina, a couple blocks off Front Street.
French. Beautiful
elegant table settings indoors and outdoors, elegant service, fabulous food.
Very expensive.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/gerards.htm
MODERATE PRICED RESTAURANTS:
(Note: These are "moderate"
only relative to the even more expensive restaurants in the above section.
Compared to back home, these are expensive.)
CANE
& TARO 662-0668
Kaanapali
In the
middle of Whalers Village shopping center, serving the best breakfast, lunch
and dinner in that shopping center.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/cane-taro.htm
KIMO'S 661-4811
Lahaina
On the ocean
in Lahaina. Good for lunch or
dinner. Several fish choices,
prepared several different ways, for dinner.
Salad included at no extra charge with entrees, unlike many of the
more expensive restaurants above.
Save room for their famous Hula Pie (a large ice cream dessert
specialty). One of the few places that stays open late in Lahaina,
usually with late night happy hour and music.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/kimos.htm
SANSEI 669-6286 Kapalua
On
Office Road near the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
Excellent sushi and similar foods.
Try their two “Taste of Lahaina Award Winners”
Mango Crab Salad Hand roll with Peanuts and Thai Vinaigrette
or Asian Rock Shrimp
Cake with Crusty Chinese Noodles & Ginger-Lime Chili Butter & Cilantro
Pesto. Call to ask if they
still have their 25% off everything special price for all food ordered
between 5:30 and 6:00 PM. (If
you go for that Early Bird pricing at 5:30, avoid Sundays and Mondays, when
they are extremely crowded with Maui residents getting an even bigger
discount.)
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/sansei.htm
BUBBA
GUMP 661-3111 Lahaina
At 889 Front
Street, across from Longhi’s, in Lahaina.
If you like shrimp (and if you saw the movie “Forrest Gump”), this is the place for lunch or dinner: wide variety of tasty shrimp preparations in a fun
atmosphere. Great ocean view
and sunset view.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/bubba-gump.htm
CAFÉ
O’LEI 891-1368
Kihei
Upstairs in
the Rainbow Mall at 2439 South Kihei Road.
Lunch and dinner. Good
variety of seafood, beef, flatbreads, sushi and more in a beautiful
atmosphere.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/cafe-olei.htm
KAHANA SANDS
669-5000 Kahana
In the
Kahana Sands condo at 4299 Lower Honoapiilani Road.
Open air with ocean views.
Breakfast choices include delicious chocolate-chip peanut-butter
banana pancakes (served until 2 PM).
Lunch has variety of tasty sandwiches.
Dinner several fish choices as well as beef, pork, chicken.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/kahana-sands.htm
BIG
WAVE CAFÉ
891-8688 Kihei
In the Kihei
Center that contains Longs Drugstore, at 1215 South Kihei Road.
Same chef-owner as Kahana Sands.
Great variety of delicious choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner in
a casual atmosphere.
Two-for-one early-bird specials.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/big-wave.htm
CASANOVA 572-0220 Makawao
In Makawao
(Upcountry). Large servings of delicious pasta, pizza, and Italian entrees.
Much lower prices than the restaurants in the resort areas.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/casanova-maui.htm
LAHAINA FISH COMPANY
661-3472
Lahaina
On Front
Street in Lahaina. Fish and
Italian
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/lahaina-fish-co.htm
SEASCAPE 270-7000 Maalaea
In the Maui
Ocean Center (aquarium) in Maalaea.
Lunch only. Generous
portions. Not only seafood.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/seascape.htm
THE
FISH MARKET 665-9895 Honokowai
This is not
a restaurant, but it’s such a wonderful place to buy seafood that I had to
put it in here. They sell
several kinds of fresh fish every day, and they make it unbelievably simple
for you to cook it for yourself in your condo.
They provide you with your choice of several toppings or marinades
for the fish, and even sell you a disposable pan to bake it in.
On the Lower Honoapiilani Road, a couple miles north of Kaanapali,
adjacent to the Honokowai Okazuya.
Tell the owners Jim and Tricia that you heard about them from Jon’s
Maui Info website, and they’ll give you a free taste of their fabulous
seafood soup.
MARCO'S GRILL & DELI
877-4446
Kahului
In Kahului
near the airport. Deli
sandwiches and Italian dinners in a modern casual setting.
Very good food, generous portions, quick service, plus a good variety
of yummy desserts.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/marcos.htm
CASTAWAY CAFÉ 661-9091 Kaanapali Beach
At the Maui
Kaanapali Villas condo.
Beautiful setting by the beach, good variety on menu.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/castaway.htm
LEILANI'S 661‑4495
Kaanapali Beach
In the
Whalers Village Shopping Center, on the beach.
Good seafood and steaks in the main dining area (dinner only)
upstairs. Limited less
expensive menu in the more casual bar area (lunch and dinner) downstairs,
including my favorite fish tacos.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/leilanis.htm
PIONEER INN 661-3636 Lahaina
Next
to the Banyan Tree in Lahaina.
Good food and good location for people-watching.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/pioneer-inn.htm
INEXPENSIVE RESTAURANTS:
HONOKOWAI OKAZUYA & DELI
665-0512 Honokowai
At 3600
Lower Honoapiilani Road, in a small strip shopping center, a couple miles
north of Kaanapali. The very
best take-out food on Maui.
Most menu items are under $12.
Their most expensive $17 fish entrees here are just as good as the $36 fish
dinners in the most expensive restaurants listed above, even though this
place has less atmosphere than McDonalds.
Ask about tonight’s fresh fish dinner specials.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/okazuya.htm
GAZEBO 669-5621 Napili
Breakfast
and lunch in a little open-air gazebo, on the ocean, behind the Napili
Shores condos, in Napili. While
you’re waiting in line to get in, walk down a couple steps toward the ocean
behind the restaurant, and take a look at the beautiful view of Napili Bay
and beach to the right.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/gazebo.htm
CJ’S
COMFORT ZONE DELI & DINER
667-0968
Kaanapali
On the main
Honoapiilani Highway, in the Fairway Shops (a small strip shopping center
just north of the entrance to Kaanapali).
Delicious sandwiches, salads, and entrees, for breakfast, lunch or
dinner. Also very good carryout box lunches to take along with you on
the Road to Hana or for a picnic anyplace on Maui.
Get their yummy “Hana Bar” for dessert.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/cj.htm
DA
KITCHEN 871-7782
Kahului or
661-6761 Lahaina
Delicious giant
plate lunches with kalua pork or chicken or beef.
Lunch or dinner M-F, lunch Saturday, closed Sunday.
In the Triangle Square shopping center near K-Mart in Kahalui, and in
the Wharf center across from the banyan tree in Lahaina
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/da-kitchen.htm
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/da-kitchen-wharf-lahaina.htm
LAHAINA COOLERS 661-7082 Lahaina
On Dickenson
Street, a couple blocks back from Front Street, in Lahaina.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Salads, pasta, tropical pizza, tortillas, burgers, fish.
Great fish tacos.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/lahaina-coolers.htm
ESKIMO CANDY 891-8898
Kihei
Wai Wai Place at
corner of Halekuai. Delicious
carry-out, and a few small tables to dine in.
Excellent fish lunches and dinners.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/eskimo-candy.htm
ALEXANDER’S FISH, CHICKEN, RIBS & CHIPS
874-0788
Kihei
1913 S.
Kihei Road in Kihei. Carry-out
several kinds of fish, plus chicken, ribs, shrimp, calamari, oysters, and
side dishes. You can choose
broiled or fried for the fish and most other items.
Lunch and dinner.
MAMA’S RIBS & ROTISSERIE
665-6262
Napili
In the
Napili Plaza. Great carry-out
chicken, ribs, chili and beef, either just the meat or complete dinners. Closed Sundays.
THAI
CHEF 667-2814
Lahaina and
874-5605 Kihei
Two
locations: in the Old Lahaina
Shopping Center behind Front Street, and in the Rainbow Mall at 2439 S.
Kihei Road . Very tasty, over
80 menu choices, including 19 vegetarian dishes.
Same menu lunch & dinner.
GABY’S PIZZERIA AND DELI
661-8112
Lahaina
In the 505
Front Street shopping center in Lahaina.
From the looks of this little sports bar, you would never guess what
delicious food they serve. Try
the Original Pizza Rolls.
BRIGIT AND BERNARD’S GARDEN CAFÉ
877-6000
Kahului
At 335
Hoohana Street (south of Wakea) in Kahului.
Wonderful lunches M-F, dinners some days.
European as well as Hawaiian preparations, pastas, salads and deli
sandwiches.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/brigit-bernards.htm
CAFÉ
DES AMIS
579-6323 Paia
At 42
Baldwin Avenue in Paia. Very
tiny restaurant, but with large plates of super-tasty Mediterranean and
Indian food. From morning
through evening they have crepes, curry wraps, breakfast crepes, salads,
Indian curries and sweet crepes.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/cafe-des-amis-paia.htm
MOOSE
MCGILLYCUDDY'S 667-7758
Lahaina
On Front
Street in Lahaina (upstairs).
Generous servings, wide variety of lunch and dinner choices, good food.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/moose-mcgillycuddys.htm
PENNE
PASTA CAFÉ 661-6633 Lahaina
Small restaurant
on Dickenson Street, a couple blocks back from Front Street, in Lahaina.
Lunch M-F, dinner every day.
Good variety of pasta, interesting pizzas, plus some salads and
sandwiches.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/penne-pasta.htm
ALOHA
MIXED PLATE 661-3322 Lahaina
At 1285
Front Street in the north end of Lahaina, across the street from the ocean
side of the Lahaina Cannery Mall.
Traditional Hawaiian style plate lunches of pork, beef, chicken, or
fish, with two scoops of rice and a scoop of macaroni salad.
Lovely setting of outdoor tables with ocean view.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/aloha-mixed-plate.htm
LAHAINA PIZZA COMPANY 661-0700 Lahaina
Formerly BJ’s Chicago Pizzaria.
In Lahaina. Upstairs (second
floor), just above street level.
Very good pasta & sandwiches as well as deep-dish pizza.
www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/bjs-chicago-pizzaria.htm
STELLA BLUES 874-3779 Kihei
At 1279 South Kihei Road in the Azeka Mauka (Azeka II) Plaza.
The usual breakfasts, wide variety of sandwiches and salads for
lunch, good choice of entrees for dinner.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/stella-blues.htm
SMOKEHOUSE BBQ
667-7005 Lahaina
At 930
Wainee in Lahaina. Lunch &
dinner barbeque sandwiches and plates.
HARD
ROCK CAFE 667-7400
Lahaina
In Lahaina. Noisy.
FOOD
COURT on second floor of Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Center in Kahului. Includes plate lunches, pizza, sushi, Japanese, Korean, Bar-B-Q, Chinese, McDonald's, and Mexican,
plus a view of distant mountains and ocean.
IHOP
871-4000 Kahului
International House of Pancakes in the Maui Mall in Kahului.
A
SAIGON CAFÉ 243-9560 Wailuku
1792 Main Street, Wailuku
Interesting and tasty Vietnamese food.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/saigon-cafe.htm
ROUND
TABLE PIZZA
662-0777 Kaanapali, or 874-8485
Kihei
My favorite pizza on Maui, plus terrific bread sticks
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/round-table-pizza.htm
PIZZA
PARADISO 665-0055 Honokowai
Good pasta, pizza, salads, bread.
In the Honokowai Marketplace shopping center by Star Market.
PLACES FOR GOOD PIZZA:
Round Table Pizza
Fairway shops in Kaanapali,
and 207 Piikea in Kihei
Pizza Paradiso
Honokowai Marketplace in Honokowai
Lahaina Pizza Company in Lahaina
Dollies Pizza, in Kahana (four miles north of Kaanapali Beach)
Shaka Pizza, Kihei
Pizza Hut on Honoapiilani in Lahaina
PAIA
RESTAURANTS:
Lots
of inexpensive places to eat in the town of Paia are described on this
website:
www.eastmaui.com/dinepaia.html
. . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SUNDAY BRUNCH
(On
the seventh day the chef created brunch):
MAKENA BEACH HOTEL (former MAUI PRINCE)
874-1111
Wailea
Maui’s most expensive ($48 in 2008) and most bountiful variety Sunday
brunch. 32 kinds of salad, 8 kinds of bread and rolls, 6 kinds of
cheese, 2 soups, 8 hot dishes, 16 desserts, and more.
Champagne, Caesar salad, garden salad, anchovies and numerous other
salad toppers and dressings, capers, olives, onions, seaweed, artichokes,
pea salad, noodle salad, lomi salmon salad, shrimp salad, smoked salmon,
sashimi, California rolls, sushi, papaya, melon, strawberries, other fruits,
shrimp, crab claws, pancakes, crepes, omelets made to order (choice of
numerous fillers including caviar), eggs benedict, bacon, sausage, breads,
rolls, lavash, breakfast cakes, sweet rolls, juices, beef, chicken, fish,
rice, Maui onion mashed potatoes, salmon Alfredo, steamed vegetables, dim
sum, crème caramel, cheesecake, bread pudding with three topping choices,
eclairs, tarts, cakes and pies.
TIKI
TERRACE at KAANAPALI BEACH HOTEL
667-0124
Kaanapali Beach
Less expensive than the other Sunday buffet brunches on Maui, but still a
huge variety of very good food.
Cold foods include 22 kinds of salads, salmon, sushi, fruit, soup, bagels,
rolls. Hot foods include carved
beef and ham, kalua pork, chicken, mahi (fish), crepes, potatoes, rice, chow
mein, waffles, omelet station.
Desserts include 20 kinds of pies, cakes, petit fours, and more.
No ocean view, but choose to eat at the outdoor tables so you can see
and hear the live music.
DAILY BUFFET BREAKFASTS
For a
good buffet breakfast or brunch any and every day (not just Sunday),
go to any and all of the following.
(Try a different one every day.
Call ahead to be sure they still have a buffet every day.)
SWAN
COURT RESTAURANT IN THE HYATT REGENCY HOTEL
661‑1234
Kaanapali Beach
A wonderful daily buffet breakfast, including many hot and cold
breakfast items, made-to-order omelets, plus grilled fish, rice, and
potatoes. Great banana muffins.
Beautiful view of swans and waterfalls in pond.
Great artwork in the lobbies.
http://www.mauihawaii.org/restaurants/swan-court.htm
SHERATON HOTEL
661-0031 Kaanapali Beach
Excellent sweet rolls on the cold buffet, ordinary eggs and breakfast
meats on the hot buffet.
WESTIN HOTEL
667-2525 Kaanapali Beach
Ask for an ocean-view table in Tropica for a better setting than the
pool-view tables in Ono.
DUO
at the FOUR SEASONS
874-8000
Wailea
RITZ
CARLTON KAPALUA 669-6200
PACIFIC GRILL RESTAURANT IN THE FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
874-8000
Wailea
WAILEA MARRIOTT (formerly
Outrigger and originally InterContinental)
879‑1922
GRAND
WAILEA ‑ Grand Dining Room
875‑1234
......................................................................................................................................................
RESTAURANTS WITH GOOD SUNSET VIEWS:
Plantation House 669-6299
Kapalua
Hula Grill 667-6636
Kaanapali Beach
Sarento’s on the Beach
875-0001 Wailea
I’O
661-8422
Lahaina
Pacific O 667-4341
Lahaina
Mala 667-9394
Lahaina
Humu at the Grand Wailea
hotel 875-1234 Wailea
Gannon’s 875-8080
Wailea
Seahouse at NapiliKai
Beach Club 669-1500
Napili
Bubba Gump 661-3111
Lahaina
Castaway Café
661-9091 Kaanapali Beach
Lahaina Fish Company
661-3472 Lahaina
Kimo’s 661-4811
Lahaina
For
sunset (and sunrise) times for each month of the year on Maui, see the FAQ
page of this website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/faqs.htm
NIGHT
LIFE
I’m
usually back in my condo by 9:00 P.M., but people younger than me who stay
out later have told me that you can have a great time drinking, dancing, and
meeting the Maui residents, after that time.
Places they have told me are worth checking out:
Moose McGillycuddy's in Lahaina
Hard Rock Café in Lahaina
Lulu’s at the Lahaina Cannery Mall
Dollie's in Kahana
For
more details and longer lists of live entertainment on Maui, buy the
Thursday issue of the Maui News, which contains a special entertainment
section called “Maui Scene.”
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
BOOKS:
Suggested books to buy at home before you go:
Maui:
The Most Complete Guide to Family Fun and Adventure
by Aluli, (11th Edition, 2005) has detailed information about hotels,
condos, restaurants, sights, beaches, activities and tours. This is by far the most thorough Maui guidebook I have found,
since it is the only one that includes descriptions of practically EVERY
hotel, condo, and restaurant on Maui!
If you don’t see it on the shelf in your local bookstore, you can buy
it conveniently online. (There
is a clickable link directly to this book at Amazon.com, from the
Books page of this
Maui web site.) Read this one
to help you decide where to stay on Maui, and take it along for useful info
during your trip.
Unfortunately, some of the information is out of date, since the last
edition of this book was in 2005.
Maui
Revealed
by Andrew Doughty and Harriett Friedman (fourth edition, 2007) has details
and sights that I didn’t know about, even though I have been to Maui over 25
times. Good photos, good
maps, good directions, good index.
If it’s not in your bookstore, you can order it on the web from
Amazon.com with the clickable link from the
Books page of this
Maui web site.
Driving and Discovering Hawaii:
Maui and Molokai
by Richard Sullivan (Montgomery Ewing Publishers, 2007) has beautiful photos
and good maps, to help you drive around to all the best sights on Maui. If it’s not in your bookstore, you can order it on the web
from Amazon.com with the clickable link from the
Books page of this
Maui web site.
For
information about the other Hawaiian islands, as well as Maui, I suggest
Eyewitness Travel Guides Hawaii (published by DK) for loads of info &
maps and color pictures throughout the Hawaiian islands. This too can be
ordered online from Amazon with the clickable link from the
Books page of this
Maui web site.
UPDATES TO THIS INFORMATION ABOUT MAUI,
PLUS INFORMATIVE WEB SITES:
Please send comments or questions via email to Jon@mauihawaii.org.
Please include the word Maui in the subject line of your email, so I
can separate your email from the junk and spam emails.
I
post an updated version of this file onto this website at www.mauihawaii.org
every April. The version you
are reading was posted in April of 2010, based on information I learned
during my trip to Maui in February of 2010.
If your trip to Maui will be later than April of 2011, then you
should read this version for now, but you should also download the next
version of this “Printable Guide” from my website,
http://www.mauihawaii.org
again, after late-April, 2011.
Internet web sites with useful information about Maui
include:
Jon’s Maui Info
www.mauihawaii.org
Maui Visitors Bureau www.visitmaui.com
Info Maui
www.infomaui.com
Maui One
www.mauione.com
Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays 360-degree views of Maui sights and hotels
www.pleasant.net
Maui Kay: Maui vacation activities
www.mauikay.com
Maui Cheetah
www.mauigateway.com/~rw/cheetah.htm
Maui weather page www.mauiweathertoday.com
Tom Barefoot’s Tours page www.barefoottours.com/hawaiispecials
Maui Chamber of Commerce www.mauichamber.com
Weddings on Maui
www.mauiweddings.com/planfrm.html
Other
great Maui web sites on the MAUI LINKS page of this site at
www.mauihawaii.org/mauilinks.htm
WEDDINGS:
If
you are planning on getting married on Maui, you can get the information you
will need from these sources:
Maui Weddings page of this Maui website at
http://www.mauihawaii.org/wedding-honeymoon/hawaii-weddings.htm
Requirements and marriage license agents:
1-808-984-8210.
Free “Getting Married” pamphlet:
State Department of Health, Marriage License Office, 1250 Punchbowl
Street
Honolulu, HI 96813 or
call 1-808-586-4545 or 1-808-586-4544
or see their website at
www.hawaii.gov/doh/records/vr_marri.html
Free information booklet and directory from Maui Wedding Planners:
Maui Visitors Bureau
1-808-244-3530.
Weddings on Maui
www.mauiweddings.com
Free directory of wedding planners from Maui Wedding Association
mauiweddingassociation.com
Six pages of wedding and honeymoon information (pages 27-33) in this
guidebook: the 2005 (11th) edition of the book, Maui:
The Most Complete Guide to Family Fun and Adventure by Aluli.
REFERENCE:
PHONE NUMBERS (all in area code 808):
Activity Warehouse 667-4000
Airlines:
American 800-433-7300
Hawaiian 800-367-5320
Delta 800-221-1212
United 800-241-6522
Ekahi Tours 572‑9775
Four Seasons Hotel 874-8000
Grand Wailea Hotel 875‑1234
Hana CD Guide 572‑0550
Hyatt Regency Hotel (Kaanapali)
661‑1234
Kaanapali Beach Association
1-866-386-6786
Kaanapali Beach Hotel 661-0011
Lahaina Events Hotline recording
1-888-310-1117
Lahaina Visitors Center
667-9193
Fairmont Kea Lani Hotel
875-4100
Maui Arts and Cultural Center box office
242-7469
Maui Dive Shop (Kahana) 669-3800
Maui Tropical Plantation
244‑7643
Makena Beach Hotel
874‑1111
No Ka Oi Scenic Tours
871‑9008
Pacific Whale Foundation
879‑6530
Polynesian Adventure Tours
877‑4242
Restaurants:
See the preceding pages
Ritz Carlton Hotel 669-6200
Sheraton Hotel 661-0031
Tour companies:
Maui Vacation
Consultants 669-0451
Barefoot Discount Tours
661-8889
Ekahi Tours 877-9775
Polynesian Adventure
877-4242
Guides of Maui 877-4060
Transportation:
Kaanapali Resort
Trolley 667-7411
Lahaina Express Trolley
661-8748
Kahana Shuttle 661-4567
Wailea Shuttle 879-2828
Alii Cab Company
661-3688
Kaanapali Taxi 661-5285
Tropical Excursion Tours
877-7887
Wailea Marriott Hotel
879‑1922
Weather 877-5111
Westin Hotel 667-2525
Whalers Village Shopping Center 661-4567
SOME QUOTES ABOUT MAUI
Maui
is where people are sent when heaven is overbooked.
Here
today, gone to Maui.
You
go your way, I'll go Maui.
The
sun'll come out to Maui.
Happily Mauied
The
more the Mauier.
Eat,
drink and be Maui.
Whykiki? (when you can Maui)
I am
going to the island of the valley,
To Lahaina, Lahaina Luna.
Where the mountains are green, you will find me.
In Lahaina, Lahaina Luna.
They say that "Maui no ka oi"
And I agree.
Maui no ka oi‑‑‑
It's the only place for me.
That's why you'll find me
Down by the seaside,
Watching the moonlight,
The twinkling starlight,
The golden sunrise,
The evening sunset,
In Lahaina,
Lahaina Luna.
I'm
going to Maui tomorrow
To marry Tamara Malone.
Nothing could be finer
Than to live in Lahaina
And make Tamara my own.
I am going to the island of the valley
To live a life of delight.
I'm going to Maui
To marry Tamara tomorrow
Unless I get lucky tonight.
"The
loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean"
(Mark Twain,
1866)
"I'd
rather live one day in Maui than a month in New York." (Charles Lindbergh)
MAUI
NO KA OI (Maui is the
best)
The
unofficial motto of Maui, “Maui no ka oi,” was made up by Rev. Samuel Kapu
in 1897 when he wrote words to the song “Maui Chimes.”
My
feelings about Hawaii mirror those of Mark Twain, who wrote in 1889:
"No alien
land in all the world has any deep strong charm for me but that one, no
other land could so longingly and so beseechingly haunt me, sleeping and
waking, through half a lifetime, as that one has done.
"Other
things leave me, but it abides; other things change, but it remains the
same. For me the balmy airs are always blowing, its summer seas
flashing in the sun; the pulsing of its surfbeat is in my ear; I can see its
garlanded crags, its leaping cascades, its plumy palms drowsing by the
shore, its remote summits floating like islands above the cloud wrack;
I can feel the spirit of its wildland solitudes, I can hear the
splash of its brooks; in my nostrils still lives the breath of flowers that
perished twenty years ago."
ISLANDS WE HAVE VISITED
(In
order of our preference)
MAUI
Valley Isle. Built up enough
with hotels and towns with plenty to do, but NOT crowded with immediately
adjacent hotels and solidly packed tourists on the beach like Waikiki.
728 square miles, population 127,000.
Had 2.1 million visitors in 2005, of which 12% were from outside the
USA. According to an article in
the Maui News 1-12-06, 43% of
Maui adults were born in Hawaii, 37% in other U.S. states, and 20% in other
countries.
More statistics on Maui visitors, from the Annual Visitor Research Report
for 2003 from the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and
Tourism:
54% of Maui visitors came only to Maui while 46% also visited other Hawaiian
islands.
36% were first-time visitors to Maui, 64% were repeat visitors.
62% stayed in hotels, 29% in condos, 8% in timeshares, 6% with friends or
relatives (some stayed in more than one place so the total is over 100%).
The busiest month is July, with 51,000 visitors present on an average day.
Next busiest are August and June.
The least busy month is September, with 33,000 visitors on an average
day. Next least busy are
October and May. The December
average visitor count of 46,000 can be misleading, because there are very
few visitors in early December averaged with extremely high visitors during
Christmas week (by far the busiest week of the year).
38% of U.S. visitors to Maui come from California. Next highest are Washington 7%, Texas 5%, Illinois 4%, New
York 3%, Oregon 3%.
For the 12% of Maui visitors who come from outside the U.S., the most come
from Canada, followed by Japan, and then England, Australia, Germany.
OAHU
Honolulu. Most populated and
built up island. Waikiki Beach
area (suburb of Honolulu) has several big hotels on each block, and crowded
beach. Lots of good restaurants
and shows and stores. 905,000
residents. Had 4.8 million
visitors in 2005, of which 42% were from outside the USA.
Polynesian Culture Center.
Pearl Harbor. Ala Moana
Shopping Center. Aloha Tower.
Waikiki Beach (on Oahu) has over 100 hotels and condos, but is the same size
as Kaanapali Beach (on Maui), which has 13 hotels and condos.
You can usually get a magnificent view of Waikiki from your plane, if you
request to sit on the right side (seat F or K, whichever is by a window)
when coming in to Honolulu Airport, and on the left side (seat A) when
taking off from Honolulu.
KAUAI
Fern Grotto. Beaches, canyons,
cliffs, great sights to see. No
real cities, but very small towns and large open spaces.
Choose a hotel in Lihue or Poipu areas.
Population 60,000. Had
1.1 million visitors in 2005.
HAWAII
"The Big Island" ‑ largest Hawaiian island by far.
Two huge dormant volcanic mountains, one of which has snow on top all
year round. Some still active
volcanic areas. Black sand
beach on one area. Big ranches.
Cities of Kona on the west (sunny) side of the island, and Hilo on
the east (rainy) side.
Population 167,000. Had 1.5
million visitors in 2005.
LANAI
Formerly covered with pineapple plantations.
141 square miles, 3200 inhabitants. Had 150,000 visitors in 2005.
Two luxury hotels opened in 1991 (total of 363 rooms):
Lodge at Koele and Manele Bay Hotel.
Expensive hotels, expensive excellent restaurants in the hotels.
MOLOKAI
Very few condos and hotels, and no luxury resorts. Nothing to do, and no great restaurants, but some interesting
sights to see. Old leper
colony. 260 square
miles, 7400 residents. Had
150,000 visitors in 2005.
LOIHI
New island. Haven't really been
there yet. Eighteen miles
southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii and 3,000 feet below sea level, is a
new island being formed by an erupting underwater volcano.
In only 10,000 years, this new island will rise above the surface.
Better make your reservations soon.
OTHER
ISLANDS
Although Hawaii is best known for its eight main islands (Oahu, Maui,
Molokai, Lanai, Kauai, Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Niihau), the state actually
includes 132 islands, reefs and shoals that stretch 1,523 miles, from Kure
Atoll to underwater seamounts off the southeast coast of the Big Island.
FLIGHTS
There are 20-40‑minute flights on full‑size jets, from each of the four
major islands to each other, every hour or so.
Hawaiian Airlines flies Boeing 717’s between the four major islands.
To the minor islands (Molokai, Lanai, and others) you have to take a
much smaller plane or a boat.
A LITTLE GEOLOGY
The earth’s tectonic plates, moving westward slowly (3 inches per year) over
a “hot spot” of lava deep in the ocean, plus millions of years of erosion,
account for the fact that the islands on the eastern end of the Hawaiian
chain are the largest (newest), while those toward the western end are very
tiny (old and eroded). The
largest island is Hawaii, on the eastern end of the chain, formed about
300,000 years ago, and still enlarging as fresh lava pours into the ocean. The second-largest island is Maui. The newer (eastern) half of Maui is the larger side, called
Haleakala volcano, which formed about 750,000 years ago, and last erupted in
1790. The older (western) half
of Maui is the smaller side, the West Maui Mountains, which formed 1,300,000
years ago. The next islands, as
you move westward along the chain, are smaller because they have had more
years to erode. In parentheses
is the approximate age of each of these islands, in millions of years:
Kahoolawe (1.03), Lanai (1.3), Molokai (1.5), Oahu (3), Kauai (4).
Farther west are over a hundred much smaller and older islands, many
of them eroded down to sea level or below.
ALOHA!
P.S.
Please send me a postcard from Maui (see page 10).
Updated April 2010
QUESTIONNAIRE
I
would greatly appreciate it if you would answer the questions below.
Please mail this page (or your answers on a separate note) to:
Jon Blum
P.O. Box 2691
Farmington Hills, MI
48333
or
send email to
Jon@mauihawaii.org
Please include the word Maui in the subject line of your email, so I can
separate your email from the junk and spam emails.
What
did you like best on Maui (whether it was on these pages or not)?
What
did you like least on Maui (whether it was on these pages or not)?
What
needs updating on these pages?
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This
copy was last updated: April
2010
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