It has been said that Hawaiian Islands are "God's Gift to the Planet"...and Maui is one of them ! We visited Island of Maui in July , and were totally amazed by its natural beauty.Details in this blog might help all of you , who are planning a trip to Maui :)
The year-round temperature in Maui doesn't vary much. So just plan your trip and go.
The main Maui Island airport is Kuhulai, HI (OGG) airport. One will need a car to travel around the island so make sure you rent one. This island is mainly divided in 3 parts, West Maui, South Maui and North-East Maui. Most of the tourist actions happen along the West side or the South side.
There is a wide range of accommodations available in Maui. You can find hotels,resorts and condos of every size and budget in Kapalua, Kaanapali, Lahaina, Kihei, Makena and Wailea-on western coast and few in Hana-East Maui.
In our 4 days stay @Maui, we visited few beaches in South Maui, Lahaina, Hana Drive and Haleakala National Park.
Here is the detailed map of Maui,
Day 1 : In Explore mode...
We started our day by visiting few beaches in South Maui. Most of these beaches are in Kihei town.
The very first destination of the trip was Wailea Beach, a beautiful beach...you would want to spend an entire day here !!
Next one was Polo Beach, a lovely rock and sand beach. Because of the location, this beach is generally crowded. But its good for swimming and water activities;mainly snorkeling.
We then headed to Big Beach, officially known as Makena beach, a scenic sandy beach. It is one of the largest still less crowded beaches in Maui. But be careful guys ...strong currents are common here.
Really a good start of the day, now it was time to check out Lahaina town....!!
Lahaina, is an old town located on the west course of Maui. We enjoyed roaming on Front street, there are plenty of restaurants, art galleries and pubs on the street. Don't miss the famous Banyan Tree-One tree that stands 50 feet tall, is almost a quarter of a mile around and has more than 10 trunks. You can go for Luau in Lahaina, its a Hawaiian feast. It features food and entertainment, such as Hawaiian music and hula dancing. There are very famous Luau like Old Lahaina Luau, Feast At Lele, Hyatt regency luau etc.
One of the main attractions in Lahaina is Ka'anapali beach, this beach is serene and beautiful and known for its sunset. We enjoyed one of the best sunset views ever.
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| Sunset view from Ka'anapali beach |
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| Fireworks |
Day 2: An Adventure Galore - Hana Drive
The weather was just perfect so we decided to drive to Hana Town. The Hana Highway is a 68 mile stretch of road that connects the Hana town to the rest of Maui. It’s a curvy coastal road with views of cliffs, beaches, waterfalls, tropical flowers and miles of rain forest. It’s a well paved road, but it has approx. 600 sharp curves and 55 one-lane bridges.
You will stop for many lookouts and waterfalls, take your time to enjoy every bit of it !! Allow atleast 7-8 hrs for the round trip. It is advisable that you start your journey really early if you are planning to drive till the end of road, may be by 7:00 AM .Avoid driving on this highway in dark and make sure you return back before sunset.
We started at around 8:30 AM from Wailea, not so early ! Headed to Paia town, had light breakfast and off to Hana Drive..
Tips
- Bring some food with you when you go to Hana Drive.
- Fill up gas tank to top before starting Hana Adventure.
- If you are prone to motion sickness, bring motion sickness tablet.
Starting Point: Paia Town. From Paia town turn right at Hana Hwy/Hwy 36 E - Entry sign for Ho'okipa Lookout.
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| Ho'okipa Beach |
This beach is world famous for windsurfers, because of good weather we could see many surfers !! By the time we left, adrenaline was building up...
Our next stop was Twin Falls Farm Stand.
The very first waterfall on the road to Hana was Twin Falls. We stopped at Twin Falls farm Stand and followed their trail to falls. After returning we had an amazing sugar cane juice and fruits at farm stand. This is one of very few good snacks stand on the drive.There are no restaurants on Hana Drive !
We continued our journey further in anticipation of more surprises :)
Then started the sequence of breathtaking views !! Just cant describe the beauty of it in words. There was a Botanical Garden called "Garden of Eden", which offered views of waterfalls and ocean .
We continued our journey and frequently stopped on road for sightseeing and glimpse of few more lookouts and waterfalls on our way.
Yet another lookout , Honomanu Bay Lookout !!
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| Honomanu Bay |
It all looked so gorgeous. By this time we had fallen in love with Hana Drive :)
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| Ke'anae Peninsula |
Next destination was Ke'anae Peninsula, its beautiful with lots of black volcanic rock, crashing waves are common here...so be careful !!
Our journey continued to Hana Town, its a small town with its own charm. Few miles from Hana Town is Hamoa beach, one of the prettiest and untouched beach we had seen so far.
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| Hamoa Beach |
The Hana Hwy goes further into Oheo Gulch-The seven sacred pools, visit them if you have time. For us it was time to return as it was already 4:30 PM.
For detailed information on Hana Drive Attractions refer ,
On our way back we could not stop thinking about the beautiful views, but did not know something more wonderful was yet to happen....!!
When in Maui you would not want to miss a single sunset. We reached hotel and immediately went to hotel's private beach to enjoy sunset.
Just could not stop admiring Mother nature when we saw golden sunlight sparkling through trees and blue water !! "Magic hour" that's what artists call time before sunset.
Looks like a postcard,doesn't it ?
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| Before sunset |
Finally the sunset !!
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| Sunset from Wailea |
Day 3 : Laid Back day
After two busy and wonderful days we were in lazy mood that day, enjoyed hotel's pool and beach !!
Day 4 : Haleakala National Park
In Hawaiian language Haleakala means " House of The Sun" . Everyday so many visitors gather at Haleakala summit ( 9,700 ft above the sea level ) to witness a spectacular sunrise. But you need to get there really early to enjoy pre dawn beauty and sunrise.You can either drive there or take a bus ride.We had chosen Maui Downhill ride !!
The tour van came to pick us from hotel at 2:30 AM, taking the whole day off really helped us getting ready so early :). It was around 2 hrs drive from hotel to the the Haleakala Visitor Center. It is generally very chilly there so make sure you wear warm clothes in layers.When we reached it was so cold and windy..clouds everywhere. It was literally like a tornado !! We were almost sure we would not be able to see the sunrise , so sad !!
Miracles do happen :) Suddenly it was all clear and we could see sun rising - Pre Dawn beauty ! It was an unforgettable experience. When the sun finally rose, the view was so serene and heavenly over the horizon. It was indeed a spiritual experience.
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| Once in a life time experience |
Next destination was Volcano Crater.It was still windy so we clicked few pictures and returned to our van.
The driver then took us down to 7000 ft, from there we were going to start our bike
ride.We were so excited !! We started down the hill with the guide in lead. The guide was
in front of us watching the cars and van was behind the group.It was adventure cum fun ride.Totally loved it !
We did stop at a scenic place for pictures. It was foggy and drizzling on the way down, that made atmosphere so romantic. By the time we reached Kula, the smell of Eucalyptus was evident, so soothing. After having breakfast at a small restaurant we continued our ride.We rode down the hill for almost 2 hrs.It was really one of the highlights of the trip.Highly recommended !!
No wonder Maui has been voted " Best Island in the World" !!
Few more tips:
- Hawaii is in HAST timezone.So you are surely going to have a jet lag :)
- Get a free Maui Map from the airport
- Tune in to KPOA 93.5 for Hawaiian Music
- Get a Mosquito Repellent and Sun screen
- Molokini Island is very famous for water sports.
- Lahaina Pizza Co. serves really good pizza. Do try !
- For Indian food lovers, there is a very good Indian restaurant "Monsoon India" In Kihei.
Few More Attractions :
- Hawaii Ocean center
- Iao Valley
- Ka'anapali Beach Club resort
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