Maui, The Valley Isle
We’ve visited Maui three times, and to us, Maui seems to be the most touristy of the Hawaiian islands that we’ve visited. Usually, being touristy is a little turn-off to us. Maui is an exception. There are a lot of people here, restaurants are full and dinner reservations are needed. However, it is so beautiful and spread out that it doesn’t feel crowded. There is so much that we love about Maui. Humpback whale season (January through March), sunrise at Haleakala, bike riding down from Haleakala to Paia, great restaurants (Mama’s Fish House, Paia Fish Market, MonkeyPod Kitchen & Duke’s), fun shopping, quaint little towns, great sights under the water (Mala Pier, Molokini crater, Lanai cathedrals.), the road to Hana, breweries, distilleries and so much more.
Where to Stay in Maui
On each of our visits, we’ve stayed in Ka’anapali, at either the Westin Maui Resort & Spa or the Marriott Vacation Club resort, Maui Ocean Club. The resorts in Ka’anapali are on the beach, with great views across the Maui channel of Lanai and Molokai. From January to March, humpback whales come to these waters to either mate or give birth and raise their calves before making their way back to Alaska for feeding during the summer. We’ve seen so many whales, just while sitting at the beach or pool, walking along the boardwalk, or even while driving on Highway 30. There are other areas to stay, such as Wailea, Kapalua, Paia, and other spots in the Upcountry.
What We Did on Maui
Bike Down Haleakala after seeing the sunrise. - Seeing the sunrise at the beginning of a new day is an amazing experience. This Maui sunrise is extra special when viewed from way up above the island shores, at Haleakala (house of the sun) Summit. This is a popular activity and you will need a reservation if you plan to drive up on your own. For our tour with Bike Maui, we were picked up from our resort at 1:45 a.m. and took a van ride up to the Haleakala visitor center. We arrived at the visitor center in darkness (it’s cold up there. I had a light jacket and stocking hat and was uncomfortably cold. Wear something warm, layers are good. Although it’s Hawaii, it’s dark, windy, and cold. It’s 10,000 feet above sea level and temps before sunrise are around 40 degrees). After waiting in the darkness, the sun slowly starts to rise. Seeing the sunrise, and soaking in the great view as the color lit up the sky and clouds before daybreak was stunning. We loved the incredible views east of the morning sun and watching the morning light spread across the volcano’s crater floor. As the gathered crowd is watching the sunrise, a park ranger begins chanting an ancient Hawaiian blessing for a new day. Her lilting voice reminds us that this is an important place in Hawaiian history and that each day's rising sun is something to be cherished.
After the sun had climbed above the clouds and the new day had begun, we hopped in the van and drove down about 3,000 feet to our bikes. We followed our guide on an exhilarating and picturesque ride to the town of Paia (you can choose a guided or self-guided tour). The ride was all downhill, requiring very few pedal strokes. We cruised through different climate zones and ended up in Paia. After the downhill cruising, we took care of our early morning hunger with a meal at Cafe Mambo.
This was a great experience! As this tour begins early in the morning, we’d recommend doing this on your first morning on Maui, if Maui is your first island. Getting picked up from your resort at 2 a.m. for the tour is tough, but with jet lag from coming over from the mainland, it feels like it’s 6 or 7 a.m., which makes it easier.
Whale Watching - the best place to see whales in Maui is the Maui Nui Basin. It's estimated that more than half of the humpback whale population migrates to the Maui Nui Basin for breeding every winter. The Maui Nui Basin refers to the waters between Maui, Lanai, and Kaho'olawe and is a protected sanctuary for the whales. Whale watching season in Maui is November-May with peak season typically running between mid-January and March.
Maui is the best place in Hawaii to watch whales from the shoreline. We’ve often been able to see whales from the beach at Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club, and while driving Highway 30 between Ma’alaea and Lahaina. Be careful while driving, it’s a busy stretch of road with lots of curves. It’s great for the passengers in the vehicle as they can enjoy the ocean view and spot whales. There is a scenic lookout spot not far outside of Ma’alaea, which is fittingly called Whale Lookout Point.
There are plenty of companies that will take you in a boat to spot whales. We used Blue Water Maui and our guide was great! She was very knowledgeable and we learned so much about humpback whales. Plus, we followed a female and her competition pods, followed a mom and her calf, and saw two different whale breaches. As the whales are in Maui to breed or give birth, there’s a lot of activity in the water. A competition pod is a group of males pursuing a female. Early in our boat ride, we spotted a female with two males in pursuit. Later a third male joined, then a fourth, and then a fifth. Our guide explained their behavior to us, how (if) the female selects a breeding partner, how the males battle to become the dominant male, and much more. There was a lot of excitement when one male hit another male in the face with his tail! Seeing the whales from the shore is awesome, but to see them up close (boats have to stay at least 100 yards from the whales) and to learn about the whales and better understand what you’re seeing, a guided whale watching trip is a must-do!
Go scuba diving from the shore or a boat - Maui is the only place where we’ve done shore dives. The waters around Maui have so much to see, in 15 feet of water and/or 70 feet of water. For shore dives, it's hard to beat Mala Pier. Mala Pier was built in 1922 and destroyed by Hurricane Iniki in 1992. The remains of the pier are in shallow waters and are home to many Hawaiian green sea turtles. In addition to turtles, we’ve seen white tip reef sharks here, lots of other marine life, and octopi. Our memorable deeper water dives at Maui were near the Molokini Crater and the Lanai Cathedrals. The visibility at Molokini was so good and there was so much marine life here! The Lanai Cathedrals was a unique dive location with crazy coral formations that you were able to swim through, in and out of, and around.
Drive the Road to Hana - Hawaii has seemingly endless scenic drives, with the Road to Hana being the best known. This scenic drive, Highway 36 on maps but officially named the Hana Highway, is on the northeast coastline of Maui. From Paia to Hana is 45 miles, but this is a well-traveled road with over 600 curves and 59 bridges, most of which are one lane. This will be an all-day trip (there and back). From our resort (on the West side of Maui) to Mama’s Fish House at the end of the drive was a 14 hour day. Don’t let that discourage you. The Hana Highway is the crown jewel of Hawaii's scenic drives with lush rainforest valleys, over 15 waterfalls (some visible from the road, some needing a short hike to reach), black sand beaches, white sand beaches, green cliffs, curves that hug the coast with dramatic ocean vistas and more.
There are many places to stop along the Hana Highway. However, unless you spend the night in Hana, you can’t do everything in one day. So relax and take your time. It’s the journey, not the destination that matters. And, pay attention to the road! While there are so many spots to stop to visit a beach, soak in the beauty of the stunning ocean views, take a hike, and/or check out waterfalls, there aren’t a lot of places to grab food or something to drink. Stock up with some snacks, bottles of water, etc. before you leave Paia. There are a few fruit and banana bread stands on the Hana Highway. Make sure to stop for the banana bread, you won’t be disappointed!
There are many places to stop along the Hana Highway. However, unless you spend the night in Hana, you can’t do everything in one day. So relax and take your time. It’s the journey, not the destination that matters. And, pay attention to the road! While there are so many spots to stop to visit a beach, soak in the beauty of the stunning ocean views, take a hike, and/or check out waterfalls, there aren’t a lot of places to grab food or something to drink. Stock up with some snacks, bottles of water, etc. before you leave Paia. There are a few fruit and banana bread stands on the Hana Highway. Make sure to stop for the banana bread, you won’t be disappointed!
There are plenty of articles and itineraries written about the best things to do and see on the Road to Hana. Research these before you start this drive so you have a game plan. We purchased an audio Gypsy Guide for this, which we would highly recommend. The tour is GPS-based, so it lets us know a bit in advance of any upcoming stops and what we could expect to see there (make sure to bring a car charger for your phone). This audio guide helped us decide if we wanted to stop there or if we wanted to skip it. The audio guide also used some of the quiet time between points of interest to provide a wealth of Hawaiian history. Having this guide made the drive much more enjoyable for us.
As we’ve only done the Road to Hana once, (and we didn’t do the full loop, turning around a little past Hana) we don’t have a“Best of”, but these are some of the stops that we made;
Ho'okipa Lookout wasn’t far outside of Paia and was our first stop to watch surfers taking on the waves.
Honomanu Beach
Rainbow Eucalyptus trees at the Ke'anae Arboretum
Ke’anae Lookout and big waves at Ke'anae Bay
Waikani Falls (The Three Bears)
Hanawi Falls
Wai’anapanapa State Park and black sand beach. This was one of our favorite spots, and apparently, a lot of people feel the same, because now you need to make a reservation for entry and parking here. They don’t accept same-day reservations.
Wailua Falls
Seven Sacred Pools at Ohe'o
Lower Waimoku Falls. Near the end of a long day, and after a mile hike to the Seven Sacred Pools, I talked Kim into a mile-long, steep uphill climb to these falls. Her reaction once we got here "there isn't any ******* water"
Haleakala sunset - We’ve enjoyed many great Maui sunsets and set out one afternoon to catch the sunset from the top of Haleakala. We grabbed a late afternoon beer at Mahalo Aleworks in Makawao and discussed sunsets with the bartender. He suggested going to Ulupalakua Scenic Overlook if the clouds didn’t clear from Haleakala. We headed part way up to Haleakala before deciding it wasn’t a good day for sunset viewing, turning around and going to Ulupalakua Scenic Overlook. We arrived before sunset and got to enjoy the sun setting behind Molokini crater and Kaho'olawe Island (The target isle).
North of Ka’anapali - With so much to see on Maui, we didn’t venture north of Ka’anapali until near the end of our 2nd visit to Maui. We read reviews of the entire Highway 30 loop and decided we probably didn’t have the right vehicle to make the entire loop, so our plan was to turn around at the Nakalele blowhole. We took Hwy 30 north from Ka’anapali, stopped for lunch at the Plantation House Restaurant at the Plantation Golf Course in Kapalua before heading out for our drive.
As we put Kapalua in the rearview mirror, traffic became much lighter. It was scenic, but it’s a narrow two-lane road with bikers and lots of turns which make it a little stressful for the driver. Thankfully, there are lots of places to pull over to park, so we could get out of the car to enjoy the views and get some pictures. Some of the points we stopped at were Makaluapuna Point, Slaughterhouse Beach (take steps down to the beach), Honolua Bay Lookout, Lipoa Point, and finally the Nakalele blowhole. We noticed some hiking trails along the route we drove, but we didn’t take any of them, maybe on our next visit. As planned, we turned around after the blowhole. We’d like to finish the whole loop sometime. The road does eventually narrow to one lane and becomes very rough, it didn't seem like something we could do in our rented Mustang.
Shopping in Lahaina Town - Strolling down Front Street in Lahaina town is an enjoyable way to kill a few hours. In addition to the great views of the water, there are so many shops to visit. Check out the Banyan Tree (which was planted in 1873), shop for Hawaiian apparel, check out all of the art galleries with photographic prints of scenic spots, enjoy a bite to eat and/or a place to grab a cold drink. Front Street has it all.
Visit the town of Paia - A quaint little town on Maui’s North Shore. It is generally regarded as the hippiest place on earth. Paia is known for its eclectic and friendly residents. Paia is a great place to stay (especially for those looking to catch a wave on a surfboard or do some windsurfing. Tourists can relax in the excellent restaurants, bars, and cafes, or take a stroll through the art galleries and small boutique shops.
Iao Valley State Monument - There is a parking and entry fee for the park. The main attraction here is the Iao Needle (Kuka’emoku) – a 1200′ (2250′ from sea level) high peak created by the erosion of the softer rock around it over thousands of years. In Hawaiian culture, it is known as the phallic stone of the god of the ocean (Kanaloa.) This is the second wettest place in Hawai’i (the wettest, on Kauai, is also unofficially the wettest place on earth).
After paying the entry fee, you’ll quickly cross a bridge where you have the option to go up or down. Taking the high road is a very short and very easy walk to the Iao Needle observation deck, where there’s a good view of the Iao Needle. On the way down from the observation deck, there are trails down to a short nature loop (with access to many informal trails.) These easy trails follow the Iao stream into the valley and offer some good views.
Ocean Vodka - This is an 80-acre organic farm in the foothills of Haleakala with sustainable farming practices. We enjoyed the tour here, learning about the local history of sugar cane farming while taking in the spectacular panoramic view of the north and south shores of Maui and feeling the tropical breeze. Oh yeah, there’s a tasting after the tour, which is done on the lawn in an area bordering one of their organic sugar cane fields.
Hali’imaile Distillery - This distillery and tasting tour was very interesting, as we learned the process for making their vodka, gin, and whiskey using the Maui Gold pineapples grown on their property. They also make rum, although the rum isn’t made from pineapple. Hey, there is a tasting after the tour here too!
Surfing Goat Dairy - Check out the goats and see the farm. This is a great place to get an overview of life on the farm, meet some goats, and taste some of their cheese. They even have a tour if you want to help out with the farm’s evening chores and milk the goats!
Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm - Enjoy the smells of a lavender farm and soak in the views from this elevated location in the upcountry region on the slopes of Haleakala. The lavender farm is over 13 acres with 45 different varieties of lavender planted. You can walk some of the grounds on your own or take a tour.
Where We Ate in Maui
Mama’s Fish House in Paia - An exquisite, expensive, and a place you must visit at least once.
Paia Fish Market in Lahaina Town or Paia - This is another must-visit place. For Maui, it is inexpensive for high-quality amazing food.
Duke’s Maui in Ka'anapali/Lahaina - While at Duke’s, make sure to leave room for a Hula Pie. Possibly the best dessert I’ve ever had.
Monkeypod in Whalers Village Ka'anapali - Order a Mai Tai, one of the best on the island.
Leilani's on the Beach in Whalers Village Ka'anapali - Nice casual environment.
Prison Street Pizza in Lahaina Town - New Jersey-style pizza by the slice or an entire pie.
Cafe Mambo in Paia - Unique menu, try the duck fajitas, they were delicious.
Hula Grill in Whalers Village Ka'anapali - Great atmosphere, go on a night they have musicians.
Maui Brewing Company's flagship location in Keheil, there is also a place in Lahaina. We went to the flagship location and it was awesome. We loved the style of the space, the beer garden, and the fun vibe.
The Plantation House at Kapalua Golf - Expensive, but with great views of the golf course and ocean. Maybe just stop by for a drink and pupus (appetizers).
Mahalo Aleworks in Makawao - Hipster local craft brewery with a food truck in case you are hungry.
Star Noodle in Lahaina Town - Located along the water, they serve fresh noodles and Asian-inspired share plates.
Pi Artisan Pizzeria in Lahaina Town - Hand-made artisan pizzas that are wood-fired.