13 Things You Must Do In Maui!
This post is all about things to do in Maui, Hawaii. Whether you’re looking to just relax on the beach or go on an adventurous hike, Maui truly has something for everyone!
Maui is the second largest island of Hawaii. Each island has its own unique beauty, but I think Maui is the perfect blend of scenic nature and exciting things to do. The food in Maui is so good it has to be a separate post, which you can read here.
{RELATED: 20 Amazing Places To Eat In Maui}
Each thing to do in Maui will be organized by town and region for ease of planning. Let’s go!
Kahului (Central Maui)
Kahului will probably be your first stop in Maui because Kahului Airport (OGG) is located there. Maui has several airports, but OGG is the only one that accommodates direct flights from the US mainland.
My fiance and I stayed in Kahului during our trip to Maui and it was a great decision for us. We were so close to the airport and it is in a very central location. With a rental car, we were able to visit practically every region of Maui with no drive being longer than one hour. I highly recommend getting a rental car if you plan to visit more than one region of Maui! There are not a ton of activities in Kahului but we found lodging here to be more affordable than some other towns in Maui.
Food Truck Park – 520 Keolani Pl, Kahului, HI 96732
I cannot overstate how much I LOVE this food truck park. I would stay in Kahului again just to be close to it. This post would be too long if I went into detail here, so check out my 20 Amazing Things To Eat In Maui post for more.
Wailuku (Central Maui)
Iao Valley State Park – 54 S High St, Wailuku, HI 96793
Iao Valley is a beautiful place of calm in Wailuku. It has beautiful, lush gardens, hiking trails, and is home to the Iao Needle. You do have to pay for parking ($10) and admission ($5) but it is worth it. Iao Valley has a special place in my heart because it is where my fiance proposed!
Whale Watching – 300 Ma’alaea Rd Ste 211, Wailuku, HI 96793
Every winter, thousands of humpback whales migrate from Alaska to the Hawaiian Islands. If you can get to Maui during whale season, going on a whale watching tour is a must-do! The season is from November to May, with peak season between January to March. We went in February and were able to see so many whales!
There are many companies you can purchase whale watching tours from, but we booked with Pacific Whale Foundation to support their cause. Our guides were super knowledgeable and passionate about whales – their commentary really added to our experience.
We woke up early for a sunrise tour that departed from MaÊ»alaea Harbor. It was beautiful to see the sun rise above Haleakala! Bring layers – being on the water can get cold, but it did warm up considerably when the sun came out.
I was amazed by how many whales we saw and how close we were able to get to them! Truly a majestic sight. Pacific Whale Foundation guarantees whale sightings, or you can go again for free another time. They also have tours departing from Lahaina if that is a more convenient location for you. Book here.
Nakalele Blowhole & Olivine Pools – Poelua Bay, Wailuku, HI 96793
The Nakalele Blowhole and Olivine Pools can be found along the same road by a scenic rugged coastline. Though the drive includes stunning ocean views, the roads are very narrow and winding, so be careful!
The Nakalele Blowhole is a hole in the ground that connects to an underground ocean cave. When the ocean rises or waves crash into it, a jet of water and air come out forcefully through the hole. We had to do a pretty steep downhill climb to get closer, but it was awesome to see up close. I promise it is more impressive than my photos:
The Olivine Pools involve a similar downward trek. We did not climb down this one since we were trying to beat sundown, but even the view from above is great.
Kapalua (West Maui)
Kapalua Coastal Trail
This coastal trail is one of my favorite hikes in Maui because it is both scenic and not too strenuous. It is less than 2 miles one way, and takes you through lava fields, alongside the ocean, and passes by several resorts in Northwest Maui.
The trail is bookended by two beaches: Kapalua Beach at the south end, and D.T. Fleming Beach at the north end. Both beaches have parking lots! Kapalua Beach was a great place to end our hike and relax. It’s also an excellent snorkeling location.
Kaanapali (West Maui)
Snorkeling at Black Rock Beach
Black Rock Beach is my favorite beach in Maui. I had the best snorkel experience of my life here and you can also cliff jump!
The water is warm, clear, and calm – literally the perfect snorkeling conditions. We saw so many different types of colorful fish, stunning coral, TURTLES, and could even hear whale songs underwater! It was wild and magical.
There’s no better place to rent snorkel gear than The Snorkel Store in Lahaina (more to do in Lahaina below). Though we had booked a separate snorkel tour elsewhere, we wanted to have snorkel gear in our rental car at all times just in case an opportunity arose! It was a great way to experience Maui.
The Snorkel Store will fit you for gear, give you a helpful map of snorkel spots around Maui, and send a snorkel report to your email everyday detailing the best spots to snorkel given the weather conditions. They also gave us coupons to restaurants to use in Lahaina!
Lahaina (West Maui)
Shopping & Eating
I really love Lahaina. There are so many places to shop and eat, and it is such a beautiful town.
Visit Front Street to eat, do some souvenir shopping, and peruse art galleries. You can also see the famous banyan tree up close! My Front Street food recommendations are in this blog post. Whalers Village, an outdoor mall in Lahaina, is also a great spot to grab a bite and shop.
{RELATED: 20 Amazing Places To Eat In Maui}
Luau (Feast at LELE)
On our first trip to Hawaii, I knew we HAD to go to a luau. There are so many great luaus to choose from in Maui, but we chose to go to the Feast at LELE luau for a couple of reasons: 1) location 2) not buffet style.
Feast at LELE is at a stunning location. The tables are set up ON the beach! While we were waiting for the luau to start, we were able to take pictures on the sand as the sun was setting and they’re some of my favorite photos from our entire trip.
For luau food, I think it is important to manage expectations. They are cooking for a huge volume of people and you are paying more for the entertainment than 5-star food. I haven’t been to any other luaus to compare, but the food was pretty good! I have more to say about it in my food blog post. There was also an open bar. I loved being able to relax while food and drinks were brought directly to our table, contrary to the buffet style that other luaus have. To me, that was worth the price!
The show itself was wonderful. I loved learning about Hawaiian history and culture and all the performers were so talented. The fire show at the end made for a memorable finale!
Kihei (South Maui)
Kamaole Beach Park
This beach park consists of 3 beaches, Kamaole (or “Kam”) Beach I, II, and III. They are all located along the same road in Kihei and are within walking distance of each other. We only visited Kam Beach I due to time, but you can’t go wrong with any of them! The beaches have soft white sand and are also great snorkeling spots. There are plenty of amenities (parking, picnic tables, shops, bathrooms) close by too.
Kihei Kalama Village
We loved perusing the shops and restaurants in Kalama Village. One of the best meals of our trip was here at Three’s Bar & Grill (more in this food post)! There are so many cool vendors to shop for souvenirs and handcrafted gifts to bring home.
Makena (South Maui)
Snorkeling and Kayaking in Makena (Turtle Town)
Seeing whales and sea turtles in the same day made this excursion one of the most memorable of our trip! We booked this tour from Viator.
The day started early with kayaking. Partway through, our guide spotted a whale so we kayaked toward it (within a safe distance of course). We were able to see its fins waving!
Once we reached Turtle Town, we put on our snorkel gear and jumped off our kayaks. I have never seen so many sea turtles in one place! Kayaking to get there was tiring but the views and snorkeling experience were definitely worth it.
Paia (North Maui) –> Hana (East Maui)
Road to Hana
No Maui guide is complete without the Road to Hana. The Hana Highway is 64 miles long with breathtaking views of oceanside cliffs, waterfalls, beaches, and more! It begins in the town of Paia (also a great stop for food, even if you’re not making the journey to Hana) and takes you all the way to Hana, hence Road to Hana.
Unless you plan to book a tour, this may be the #1 reason to get a rental car in Maui. Make sure you have a full tank of gas before you go!
This is what I recommend bringing on your journey:
- The GyPSy Guide ($10 mobile app worth every penny)
- I don’t know what we would have done without this app! This is a GPS and tour guide all-in-one. As you can imagine, driving mountainside can mean spotty signal but this app was able to navigate us the entire time. It also kept us entertained during the hours of driving, providing us with history, interesting facts, and places to visit.
- Snacks and water
- This is especially if you are heading out early in the morning, which I recommend you do. We got coffee and breakfast before heading on the road. You will encounter places to get food the further you drive!
- CA$H for food
- Motion sickness medication
- Sunscreen
- Bug spray
- Bathing suit and a change of dry clothes
- Shoes you don’t mind getting wet (for beaches, swimming holes, dipping into waterfalls)
- Comfortable shoes (to change into for long hikes)
As I mentioned earlier, you definitely want to start on the Road to Hana early. We hit the road around 6 AM and turned around to head back to Paia around 3 PM so we could beat sunset. You don’t want to be on those narrow, winding roads in the dark!
There is also so much to see, so you need to maximize your time during daylight hours unless you plan on staying in Hana for a night. This post would be way too long if I went through every single stop, but below I will list the places I think are worth your time and some photos:
Stops you shouldn’t miss:
- Ke’Anae Peninsula (Mile Marker 13)
- Honomanu Bay (MM 14)
- Upper Waikani Falls / Three Bears Falls (MM 19-20)
- Wai’anapanapa State Park (MM 32)
- My favorite stop: requires a reservation online in advance, but you MUST come here to see the black sand beach!
- Koki Beach Park (MM 51)
- Hamoa Beach (MM 52)
- Waioka Pond / Venus Pools (MM 48)
- Wailua Falls (MM 45)
- Pipiwai Trail (MM 42)
- A 4-mile roundtrip hike that takes ~2 hours to complete. You are rewarded with a view of the 400-foot Waimoku Falls at the end!
- Requires admission to Haleakala National Park. The pass is good for 3 days, use it to visit the Haleakala Summit another day!
Haleakala Summit
Haleakala is a dormant volcano that is perhaps the most notable landmark in Maui. The summit is over 10,000 feet above elevation and the good news is, you can drive to the top!
The most popular times to go are sunrise and sunset. If you go at sunrise, you’ll need to make a reservation here. There are no reservations required for sunset, which is went we went!
We chose to go during sunset because we wanted to stay afterwards to see the stars. It’s hard to describe how amazing it was to stargaze at the top of a volcano – it’s an experience I’ll remember forever!
Note: Bring layers! I literally wore a down jacket because it can get down to 30-40 F at the top. Also bring snacks! Especially if you are going at sunset, a lot of restaurants may be closed for dinner by the time you return. We stopped at a local market and picked up bento boxes. It’s also a good idea to bring towels or a chair to sit on while you wait for the sun to rise/set.
That wraps up all the things you must do in Maui! Congrats on making it to the end of this long post haha. The food counterpart of this Maui series can be found here. Drop any comments for me if there’s anything you’d like to know more about, or if you have a question!
