5 Days in Maui

Wailea is the polished end of Maui, a strip of resorts on dry lava land, and its beaches are public, which many visitors don't realize. Wailea Beach itself is a golden crescent with a gentle slope and, most mornings, flat water.

Come early for a parking space in the small public lot and a swim before the sunbed rows fill up. The catch is price: this is the most expensive coast on the island, so treat Wailea as a place to swim, not eat.

A rocky point splits Ulua Beach from Mokapu Beach next to it, and the reef around that point is the easiest place on the south coast to see fish without a boat. In summer the water is usually calm and clear in the morning. You'll see parrotfish, butterflyfish and, with luck, a green sea turtle, called honu in Hawaiian.

Rent a mask and fins from a shop in Kīhei the day before, check the surf report, and stay out when waves are breaking on the point, because winter swells make this bay rough. Wear a mineral sunscreen.

Past the last resort the road narrows and runs out into dry kiawe scrub, and then the landscape opens onto Mākena State Park. Big Beach, officially Oneloa, is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and more than 100 feet (30 m) wide, which is why it takes a crowd without feeling crowded. The cinder cone of Puʻu Olaʻi rises at one end. Go for the space, the views of Molokini and Kahoʻolawe and the sunset, not for snorkeling. The shorebreak can be heavy and unforgiving, so do what the bodyboarders do: watch the waves for ten minutes before you go in, and keep children in the shallow edge. Little Beach, the small cove around the point, has its own reputation and its own Sunday-night crowd, and you don't need to visit it.

Kīhei is a long, practical, low-rise strip of condos, shops and beaches, not a postcard town. Its best stretch is the three Kamaole Beach Parks, a few minutes apart on South Kīhei Road, each with sand, grass, showers and picnic tables. They're county parks, so they're free and open to everyone, and that makes them the best budget swimming on this side of the island.

Kamaole III, the southernmost, is the family favorite. If the surf is up at Wailea or Mākena, this is where you go.

Hawaiian shave ice is nothing like a snow cone. The ice is shaved so fine it's closer to snow, which lets the syrup soak through instead of pooling at the bottom. Ululani's on South Kīhei Road is one of the Maui names people drive for, with flavors like lilikoi (passion fruit), coconut and li hing mui, and the classic tweak of adding a scoop of ice cream or sweet azuki beans underneath.

Order a small, because a regular is huge.

End the day on the long sand between Kīhei and Wailea, which faces west over the water towards Kahoʻolawe and Lānaʻi. Sunset here is one of the island's quiet pleasures: the sky usually goes orange and pink, and the beach is half-empty compared with Kāʻanapali.

From about November to April, scan the horizon for the spout of a humpback whale, and bring a light layer for when the sun is gone.

Molokini is a crescent of rock about three miles off the south coast, the rim of a volcanic crater that mostly sank into the sea. The islet is only 23 acres, a state seabird sanctuary, and its sheltered inner curve is a marine reserve where fishing and feeding fish are banned. That's why the water is so clear: you can see a long way down along the crater wall, with reef fish, and in good conditions the visibility is the main attraction.

Boats leave early, usually from Maʻalaea Harbor (some smaller boats leave from the Kīhei boat ramp), and take about 5 hours including breakfast and a second stop for turtles; one large Maʻalaea operator lists 200 USD for adults and 140 USD for children at the time of writing. Choose a morning trip, because the wind builds later. A large catamaran is cheaper and a smaller boat has fewer people in the water. The channel can be choppy, so take seasickness tablets if you're prone.

On the road up to ʻĪao Valley, the Bailey House is a 19th-century mission home that now holds the Maui Historical Society's collection of Hawaiian artifacts. The museum sets out Hawaiian stone tools, wooden calabashes and old photographs of Maui before the resorts.

It's small, and it explains the places you'll see: how the valley was farmed, why the Hawaiian kingdom's chiefs fought here, and what the land looked like before sugar and pineapple. Go straight from the harbor, because it closes at 2pm.

Wailuku is the county seat, a low old town of wooden storefronts a few miles from the airport, and it's where Maui's local-style cooking is easiest to find. Sam Sato's is known for dry mein, a plate of egg noodles with a bowl of broth on the side to pour over, plus manju (sweet bean buns) from the counter. A short walk away, Tasty Crust is the pancake and plate-lunch counter that locals have used for decades.

Both are working lunch counters, not restaurants for a long evening, and both keep local hours. Sam Sato's serves breakfast and lunch only, to about 2pm, and by most listings is closed Sunday and Monday. Tasty Crust says on its own site that it is closed Monday and open 6am to 8pm the other days.

The name means "cloud supreme" in Hawaiian, and the weather agrees: the valley fills with cloud and drizzle in the afternoon. The green walls rise on both sides of a stream, and at the end, a spire called Kūkaʻemoku, the ʻĪao Needle, stands about 1,200 feet (366 m) above the valley floor. This was a sacred place for Hawaiian chiefs, and in 1790 it was the site of the Battle of Kepaniwai, where Kamehameha I's forces defeated the Maui army. The valley is a National Natural Landmark.

A paved 0.6-mile loop leads to the needle lookout and a small garden of plants Polynesian settlers brought. It's short, so you don't need more than an hour. The park is open 7am to 6pm.

Maʻalaea Harbor is a working small-boat harbor on the isthmus, and the aquarium by the water is the one stop on the island that's good in any weather. It's open 9am to 5pm every day, with last entry at 4pm, and the exhibits are arranged by Hawaiian habitat: reef, open ocean, sharks, and a walk-through tunnel.

It comes last because it stays open when the Wailuku stops have closed, so it only works if you leave ʻĪao Valley by about 3:15pm. Skip it if you're short of time or have already snorkeled well, or keep it as the rainy-day plan for any day of the trip. Buy tickets in advance.

The sunrise at the top of Haleakalā is one of the great sights of the island, and the park limits it. Between 3am and 7am you can only enter the summit district with a reservation, sold on Recreation.gov and nowhere else. It costs 1 USD per vehicle and is separate from the park entrance fee, which is 30 USD per vehicle, valid for three days. Some days are released 60 days ahead and a portion two days ahead, both at 7am Hawaii time, and each person can hold one reservation every three days. The park sets a limit of 150 vehicles on the four viewing areas.

Treat it as a small expedition. The drive from the entrance gate takes about 30 minutes on a road with no streetlights and no guardrails, and parking lots close when full. Pre-dawn conditions are often wet, windy and below freezing, so wear long trousers, a warm jacket, gloves and a hat. There's no food, fuel or clothing for sale in the park, and emergency help is at least an hour away. If you can't get a slot, the NPS suggests quieter Leleiwi or Kalahaku overlooks after 7am, or going up in the evening for the stars.

After sunrise, drop down the road and stop at the overlooks. Leleiwi Overlook looks into the crater, and Kalahaku Overlook gives a different angle on the same depression, 11 miles (18 km) across and nearly 2,600 feet (800 m) deep. Both are easy roadside stops, and the lighting is better after sunrise, when the colors in the cinder cones come out.

The last stop is Hosmer Grove, near the park entrance. A short loop trail climbs through a forest of introduced trees into native shrubland and has a birding overlook for the endemic forest birds, which are small and shy. Walk it slowly. It's also the most pleasant place to be warm again.

Makawao is the center of Upcountry, a former ranching town on the north slope of Haleakalā, home to the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys), with galleries and a few cafes on its main street. The reason to come is Komoda Store and Bakery, which has been selling cream puffs, stick donuts and guava malasadas on Baldwin Avenue for decades.

Opening at 7am and running out by late morning, it fits perfectly with a sunrise descent. Buy a cream puff and a stick donut, and eat them on the sidewalk. The shop is closed on Wednesdays and Sundays by every listing found, but its closing time varies by site, from 1pm to later.

Kula is a different Maui. At 3,000 feet the air is cool and dry, the fields are grown with onions, proteas, lettuces and flowers, and the views down the slope to the ocean and the West Maui Mountains are the best on the island. Kula Botanical Garden, a family garden on the slope of Haleakalā since 1971, is the easy way to walk through it.

It's a short, quiet stop with self-guided paths through many species of plants. Go for the cool air and the view, and skip it if rain sets in.

Upcountry is also Maui's farm country, and Surfing Goat Dairy is a goat farm that makes cheese and welcomes visitors for tastings and tours. It's an unpretentious stop, and children usually love it.

If you don't want a tour, you can buy cheese at the shop and take it to a picnic table. On a warm afternoon the cheese makes a better picnic than anything in the next town.

The farthest stop is a winery on the old Ulupalakua Ranch, on the south slope of Haleakalā at about 2,000 feet. MauiWine makes sparkling wines by the traditional method and wines from Maui Gold pineapples; its Maui Blanc, a semi-dry pineapple wine, is more than half of its roughly 360,000 bottles a year. The tasting room is in the King's Cottage, an old ranch house, and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm.

Sip the pineapple wine and the sparkling wine, and walk the grounds. Pineapple wine is a curiosity rather than a great wine, but the ranch setting with its views of the south coast is worth the extra driving.

Olowalu is a tiny settlement on the highway about five miles south of Lahaina, and its best-known stop is Leoda's, a pie shop and sandwich counter in a converted plantation-style store, which the restaurant's site lists as open daily from 10am to 6pm. It's a pleasant start to the day, with sandwiches and a case of pies.

Buy a slice and a coffee for a late breakfast, or a pie for the evening. Go before the lunch crowd, because the place is small and the line grows. Check the website before you drive, especially on holidays.

Lahaina was the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom in the 1800s, a whaling port that grew into a tourist town, and on 8 August 2023 a wind-driven fire destroyed most of it. At least 102 people died, and more than 2,200 buildings were destroyed, including many historic landmarks. Many residents lost their homes. This is a place of mourning as well as recovery, and a visit only makes sense if you come as a guest of the people who live and work here.

What's open changes, so check mauirecovers.org, the County's recovery site, the week you go. Fenced-off areas and private property are off limits. In late October 2026 Front Street was open to vehicles again, the famous banyan tree and its park were still fenced (the tree can be seen from the sidewalk), and the interim ʻUlu o Lele Marketplace for local businesses, on the former Outlets of Maui site, was due to open on 10 November.

So: park, walk Front Street, buy something from a local business, have a meal, and go. Your money matters more here than your photos. Don't treat the burned lots as a backdrop, don't fly a drone, and don't take selfies in front of ruins. Residents are still living here.

Kapalua is the quiet end of West Maui, a resort area known for golf and for a cove with a famous crescent of sand. Kapalua Bay is a small, sheltered cove and one of the easier places on the island to snorkel with children. There's public parking and access, though spaces go early.

Around the headland, Honolua Bay is a Marine Life Conservation District with a famous summer snorkel and a famous winter surf break. In winter the waves are big and the bay isn't safe to swim, and in summer it's calm and the coral is good. Access is by a dirt trail from the highway, with no lifeguard, showers or facilities. Check the swell before you go.

Kāʻanapali's three miles (5 km) of white sand are lined with resorts, the Beachwalk and a shopping village, and it is the beach most people picture when they think of West Maui. West Maui is also dry and sunny, and the Beachwalk from Whalers Village toward Black Rock takes you past a good part of the strip.

The beach is public, with marked access paths. Public parking goes early, so arrive before lunch or park at Whalers Village, which charges. It's the most walkable resort area on Maui, and it's busy: that is the trade you make.

At the north end of Kāʻanapali Beach, Puʻu Kekaʻa, or Black Rock, is a black lava headland that Hawaiian tradition treats as a leaping place for souls. It's a popular snorkeling spot, calmest in the morning, but the evening is the reason to come: at sunset a diver from the Sheraton Maui lights torches along the cliff and then leaps into the sea, a ceremony that draws on stories of Chief Kahekili, the last ruling chief of Maui, and his leap from the rock.

It's free to watch. Stand on the beach or sit at the bar next to the rock and arrive 20 to 30 minutes early. Bad weather can cancel it, so ask at the resort. People have been hurt jumping from Black Rock, so don't copy the diver.

The Hāna Highway is 64.4 miles (104 km) of Routes 36 and 360 between Kahului and Hāna. It crosses 59 bridges, 46 of them one lane wide, and winds through about 620 curves, so an uninterrupted drive takes around 2.5 hours. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Many of the bridges date to 1910.

Halfway along, the Keʻanae Peninsula is a flat apron of lava where Hawaiian families still grow taro, with a church on the shore and the sea hitting the black rocks. Aunty Sandy's sells banana bread here and is the roadside stop most people mean when they talk about Road to Hāna banana bread. Swimming at the rocks is dangerous. Look, eat, and move on.

Waiʻānapanapa is the one stop you must reserve. The state lists reservations as required for parking and entry, booked at gostateparks.hawaii.gov with a time slot. Hawaii residents pay nothing, non-residents pay 5 USD each plus 10 USD per vehicle, and the park is open 7am to 6pm. It has a small black sand beach called Pailoa, formed from crushed lava, set against sea arches, a rocky coastline and a lava tube.

Check the park's status page before you plan around it, because storms can close it for days. If the reservation is full, the trip still works without it; you can stop at Hāna Bay or Hamoa Beach instead. Please don't carry the black sand home: the park asks visitors to leave it.

Hāna is a small town on a quiet coast with a community still tied to the land: it has a general store, a cultural center and museum, and little else, and that is the point. Hasegawa General Store, open daily from 9:30am to 6pm, sells everything from snacks to hardware and is where visitors buy a sandwich and a drink for the beach.

The Hāna Cultural Center and Museum is worth a short stop for the history of the district, and Hamoa Beach, a few miles on, is a crescent of sand backed by cliffs where the swimming is good on calm days. Fill your tank and buy lunch in Hāna, because the stretch beyond has no gas and little food.

The Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park is about 12 miles (19 km) past Hāna and is the end of the line for most visitors. The pools of ʻOheʻo, the "Seven Sacred Pools" of the old brochures, are closed to swimming for safety, and the park advises viewing them from the Kūloa Point Trail. Flash floods and rockfalls happen here, and storms have closed the district more than once, so check the park's status page and confirm it is open before you drive out.

The Pīpīwai Trail climbs past the stream through a bamboo forest to Waimoku Falls, and it's the best walk on the road. It's a long hike, so decide at the visitor center whether you have the daylight. Entry is paid by credit card, and there's no food or gas in the park. The same ticket works for the summit on another day, within three days.

Pāʻia is where the road starts and, on the way back, where the day ends. It's a small north-shore town of old plantation storefronts that became a surfer and windsurfer hangout, now full of shops and cafes, and it sits a few minutes from Hoʻokipa Beach Park, one of the world's best-known windsurf and surf spots. Green sea turtles often rest on the sand at the east end of the beach in the late afternoon. Stay at least 10 feet (3 m) away.

For a splurge, book a table at Mama's Fish House, on the beach in Pāʻia since 1973. The tables fill weeks ahead, prices are among the highest on the island, and the view of the water is why people go. If you only want a bite, the town has a lot of casual spots.