My girlfriend and I just got back yesterday from our 6 day/5 night trip to Maui. Booked this trip on a whim about 6 weeks ago. Had never been to Hawaii before so we honestly didn't really know what we were doing. Having said that, everything we booked was worth it.

• Arrived at about 2pm local time. Grabbed our rental car from Sixt (I recommend getting a car). Arrived at our hotel at about 3:45 or so after taking our time driving from the airport.
• Stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua - Again, didn't really know what we were doing when booking, but this place ended up being perfect. It's a bit removed from the rest of the touristy spots, so it felt pretty laid back. The hotel was amazing. 5 pools, so it never felt crowded. The beach was private and close. And the restaurants were incredible. Every night, they had a singer in the evening for about 2-3 hours. We had dinner there on Sunday and the singer was Ashley Toth. She was incredible. Taking in the view of the ocean in the background while having an amazing dinner with amazing entertainment felt magical. And the staff were incredible. Always made us feel special.
• Old Lahaina Luau - booked this after reading some reviews. Picked it because it's supposed to be the most traditional. Was not disappointed in the least. About 6 people per table, so we were sat with two other couples. 4 course dinner with a performance that incorporated traditional dance with the history of the islands. Bring your sunglasses. The sunset this time of year requires them.
• Road to Hana - was told not to not do this so we booked a guided tour through Dynamic Tours. Our guide was Lepa, and she was awesome. She was actually from Hana, so not only did she know all the little things others may not, but she also knew like 80% of the people we passed. It was "hey auntie" and "hey cousin" the whole trip. She made sure the young kid on the trip stayed engaged and felt heard. There were like 12 people in our group. My gf and I from Indiana, two from Italy, two from the Netherlands, and the rest from California. It's always a bit awkward to be randomly put with strangers on a trip like that, but from very early on, she had us feeling like one big Ohana. The trip itself was amazing. We stopped for banana bread, a little swimming, a coconut stand (ran by Mariah Carey's brother? What!?), black sand beach, and a peninsula with amazing rocks and waves, among other stops. If you drive it yourself, make sure to pull over for locals, and stop a lot to take in the views. As the guy who is usually the driver, it was great to have someone else doing the driving so I could take it all in. From pick up to drop off, I think this took about 9 hours or so. Maybe 10.
• Sunset dinner cruise - Can't remember the company name right now, but the boat was called the Gemini. The crew (Rich, Kayla, and Andrew our Captain) were awesome. The food was sort of buffet style and delicious. Endless drinks if you want (I ended at 4 drinks). Rich took some pictures of us with our phone, and even took a cheeky selfie of him and his gf which was funny when we were scrolling through our photos. The water can be choppy, so bring your sea legs.
• Waterfall hike booked through Hike Maui - again, didn't really know what to do, so kinda picked this on a whim. Our guide, Kaden, was super knowledgeable and awesome. We had an older lady in our group who had just had acl surgery like 6 month ago or so, do she was a little nervous through some spots. He took good care of her and helped through the rougher spots. We stopped to do some cliff jumping and swimming. And also stopped for lunch which they provided. He even brought backpacks to put our stuff in so our backpacks wouldn't get muddy. He had bug spray too. Wear shoes you don't mind getting muddy. And water shoes for the swimming. Trip was like 5 or 6 hours from pick up to drop off.
• Ocean center - really nice aquarium with lots of cool local ocean life. Maybe smaller than what I expected but still very cool. We walked through twice.
• Other - Leoda's for pie. Right next to Leoda's is a little market and a really good coffee place. Go early to Leoda's, sometimes they run out of the popular pies. - Not to state the obvious, but beaches are everywhere. So don't worry about where to go to swim, you'll have lots of options. - Bring sunglasses. - Rent a car. - Don't take lava rocks, other rocks, or sand home with you. The curse of Pele will get you. Found a rock in my backpack as I was unpacking (I suspect it got in there when transferring my stuff from the Hike Maui backpack to my backpack). Just got back from the local USPS to mail it back. Cost me $20 for 3 day shipping to get it back to the island. - The coffee everywhere was so good. - Sparky's for lunch in Kahului was really good. They stay busy for a reason. - Nakalele Blowhole was really cool. It was near our hotel, so pretty convenient to get to. - Take lots of pictures. My photos don't really do the island justice, but still, take lots of pictures. - Please don't litter. We saw some plastic cups in the beach near our hotel and it was kind of sad to see. It's not the staff's job to pick up your trash from the beach. Don't be an a**hole, make sure your trash ends up in a trash can.
• Keep the aloha spirit with you. Take it home with you if you can. We're clinging to it.

What are we missing? What should we avoid?

Maui ‘26

August 12th - Arrival Day

Tin Roof - Lunch
Costco - Food for 13 days
Arrive at Polo Beach Club
The Shops at Wailea
Grand Wailea Soft Serve Ice Cream

August 13th

Ho’okipa Beach (Watch surfers)
Paia town
Paia Fish Market
Ululanis Shave Ice

August 14th

Honolua Bay

August 15th

Chill Day
Maui Swap Meet - 310 W Kaahumanu Ave, Kahului - 7 - 1 pm
Explore Kihei
South Maui Fish Company - Lunch/Dinner

August 16th

Chill Day
Breakfast at Sugar Beach Bake Company

August 17th

Pipiwai Trail

August 18th

Chill Day -l

August 19th

Snorkel at Honalua Bay
Snorkel at Ka’anapali
Leilani’s - Lunch
Whalers Village

August 20th

Kihei Farmers Market - 9-1 pm - South Maui Gardens
Dinner at Koast

August 21st

Breakfast at 808 Grindz
Lahaina for the day
El Blue - Lunch

August 22nd

Chill Day
Down to Earth smoothies

August 23rd

Chill Day
Garden of Eden Arboretum

August 24th

Hike Lao Valley
La Perouse Bay
Lunch at Lineage

August 25th

Chill Day
Star Noodle for Lunch or Dinner
Haleakala Volcano Sunset

August 26th

Snorkel at Black Rock
Snorkel at Airport Beach
Westin Ocean Villas Food Trucks

August 27th

Fly Home

Just booked two gold ocean front villas through outrigger anyone that has booked these villas or other options in the area have some good advice on how to best spend our week here. Also if someone has stayed in these villas can you give me a idea of what to expect

We’re planning to do the Road to Hana tomorrow, and we’re wondering if it’s worth making the additional trek out to Kipahulu for the Pipiwai Trail. Is it worth the extra 30 minutes of driving? How is the drive compared to the rest of the R2H?

Thanks for your insights!

Eloping on wailea beach in Maui. Currently looking for any dinner recommendations for a party of 15-20 people. Somewhere close by with more of a private dinner vibe. Open to any food suggestions but something that won’t be excessively expensive. Budget is $1000-$3000

Aloha, I'm looking for recommendations for a reasonable condo for 3 adults in May 2027 for one week. We will have a rental car for the week. Mainly looking to just eat and relax for a week. Would like to be close to the beaches but doesn't have to be oceanfront as long as there is parking for us during the day at recommended beaches. Thank you for your help!

Hello,

Will be visiting in September. One of the trips goals will be to scuba. We have taken an introduction to scuba in the Caribbean and have decided to get fully certified and would like to do some beginner dives in Maui.

First question is; should we get all of our certification dives at home or should we do them in Maui? We live in landlocked state and there is a few options for certification dives in local reservoirs and at the aquarium. We are unsure if this will really prepare us for diving in the open ocean, but on the flip side we want to maximize our time doing "real" dives vs certification dives. Our trip is on the short side, just 5 nights, 6 days.

Second question; any suggestions on dive sites / companies / tours would be good for you have for beginner divers would be most welcome!

We will be staying in Ka'anapali area if that helps.

Hello! My wife and I and our two daughters, aged 5 and 7, are looking to book our Maui vacation. I thought I was set on Aston Maui Kaapalani Villas, but I think we are more interested in one that has like a bungalow or lanai/ground floor type room (not the biggest fan of being high up in a high rise).

Sheraton is a nice location, has great pools and a nice lanai/ground floor room, but it is pricier. We are looking for mostly a nice property with direct beach access as we will be at the beach more, but would also like some pool time.

So then I came upon Royal Lahaina Resort & Bungalows and Costco seems to have a pretty good deal. We really like the ground floor bungalows with garden views (ocean front is not a necessity). I just have a couple questions. If you have been there with kids, does one of the pools at least have a shallow end (like around 3 to 3 and a half feet) for a soon to be 5 and 7 year old? How did you/your kids/family like staying there? Any tips/advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you and sorry for the long post!

Ideas for itinerary for the week w a very active 4 year old. August. We are staying in Wailea coming from the east coast.

Maui Hike?
Beach/ pool
What are some must sees and dos ?
Haleakala Crater?

My wife and I absolutely love meeting a chill Bodega cat! Even more so, I love surprising her by suggesting a location, only for her to realize that I picked out a shop with a friendly cat!

On our last visit, we met the cat at the Rodeo General Store in Makaweo. Do you know of any other shop/bodega cats that we might visit on our next trip?

The Lanai Cat Sanctuary is already on our radar, but sadly we won't have time to visit on our upcoming trip.

Mahalo for the recommendations!

Our family is planning to go to Maui in April 2027 and considering 2 nights of camping in Haleakala (plus 3 nights at a hotel). Any recommendations for places to rent camping gear? Would rather not pack our tents, sleeping bags, etc. on the plane. Mahalo for any leads!

I am so excited to be going to Maui in a few weeks for my honeymoon! The trip also coincides with my birthday, so my fiancé and I want to book a sunset cruise on the evening of my (the bride hehe) birthday. We are staying in Wailea, would depart from Maalaea, and are looking for opinions between Trilogy and Alii Nui!

We are considering either 1) the Trilogy captain’s sunset dinner sail with the full meal, 2) the Trilogy sunset sail with just apps/cocktails, or 3) the Alii Nui sunset happy hour with just apps/cocktails (Alii Nui’s dinner cruises are booked out on my birthday). Trilogy’s cocktail sail is the cheapest, though it’s only $40-50 more for either Trilogy’s dinner sail or Alii Nui’s happy hour.

We would love any input on these options! Hoping for a peaceful, romantic date night to celebrate both the honeymoon/my birthday! All look great so it’s hard to pick without any insider knowledge! Thank you!

Looking for someone doing Road to Hana sometime this week who can bring a baby carrier back. I left it at the Haleakala Kipahulu District visitor center (at the Pipiwai trail and 'Ohe'o Gulch). We are staying in Kihei but willing to travel to you to get it. It's a purple Tula mesh carrier.

If anyone is going to Waimoku Falls tomorrow I left the top of my son’s water bottle on the water bottle filling station at the trailhead. Claim it from lost and found or find it and bring it back to civilization. I’ll meet you anywhere near the Kīhei area or Kahului. My son was appalled that I wanted to just replace his water bottle. He requested I drive back to Hāna to get it. Please save me Reddit!!!!

Using this community because I became addicted to it before my trip and I still have it all over my feed and am sure others on the island are in the same boat.

Just so my post is flair accurate.
Waimoku Falls is awesome, but super mucky. Don’t wear old crocs. Wear real hiking shoes.
Also, don’t be afraid of going around the South of the island, road is a bit gravely and you got to avoid some potholes, but beautiful and not as curvy as the Hāna route.

Best seafood and authentic Hawaiian restaurants near Wailea (no more than a 25 min drive)

Any price point/ aesthetic is fine with us. We just want great food!

Has anyone stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort Wailea in Maui and know how strict they are about room occupancy? We are a family of 6 (4 kids), but the room we’re looking at has a maximum occupancy of 4. If we book just one room, are they likely to make us book a second room at check-in, or is it not usually enforced? We’d love some info. Thank you very much 🙏

Aloha! My family is planning a trip to Maui end of May-early June 2027. There will be 10 adults and 4 children (all under 5) and we would like to stay together in a large house or adjacent condos.

Kaanapali is our preference and so far it seems like Honua Kai is the best fit. We are leaning towards the villas and would book two adjacent condos on the ground floor to accommodate everyone. I am not seeing many other options that provide enough space for our party, look nice/newer, and are ground floor. We will have 4 kids with us all under 5 and the idea of a large patio with grass for the kids to play on is very attractive. It’s a plus to not have to lug luggage in and out of elevators also. Please let me know if you have any insight or suggestions that I may be missing!

Side note: My wife and I visited this last April with our one year old and stayed at the Westin and had an amazing time. I need to write a review on that trip and this sub was very helpful in that decision. The short is we had an amazing time and can’t recommend it enough.

For a smaller group or just two families this would be a great option but we want to have a large kitchen and more space to gather and spend time together than at a pool or common area.

Can anyone suggest about a 1/2 day of drive / explore / look around for myself, husband and 17 year old son before rest of family members arrive . First time in Maui . Seeing Haleakala sunrise and RTH later in week . Staying in Wailea . Thanks!

i know there’s a million other things to see/do, but we will have a slow/nothing day to not be so stressed, is there any place we can play billiards or go bowling?

I am wondering the cost of having a large Maui carved wooden hook shipped home. I don’t want to bring a large suitcase just to try to guess and bring one home with me plus I have seen the way baggage handlers throw the luggage around. Anybody done this? Approximate cost? I’m talking a big Maui hook, 2 ft tall at least

Bucket-list trip starts tomorrow! We are celebrating our 25th anniversary on Maui. We booked this trip only a month ago, a very last-minute YOLO decision! We missed out on things like Mama's Fish House and Haleakalā sunrise reservations, but did secure Waiʻānapanapa Beach reservations.

We haven't traveled alone in almost 20 years or ever left our kids behind, so this feels like a huge adventure. Since we don't travel often, this will probably be our one and only Maui trip. We're more interested in beautiful scenery, local food, culture, and some outdoor adventures than fancy restaurants, as well as just time to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

We're staying 7 nights at the Andaz, with one night at Hana-Maui Resort to experience Hana without giving up our Wailea stay. We'd love any suggestions, especially if you see something we should skip, add, or rearrange.

EDIT: We don't ever travel. We haven't been anywhere in 20 years. I don't know if we will ever come back to Maui, so I want to see as much as possible, while also having a balance of relaxation. Tried to schedule some downtime in. This is a loose schedule and we certainly won't do it all, BUT on the days we want to explore and see the sights, we can check the ideas I have come up with and take off. Hope this helps those who say it's too much. Trust me, we want to relax and enjoy the resort! But, we also want to see the sights. Hopefully we can find a happy medium! And we will snorkel off the beach at the Andaz. SUP, kayak, and outrigger canoe are all included resort activities that are just short 20-30 min activities we can do if we want.

Current plan (flexible!):

• Day 1: Arrive, groceries, Andaz, beach walk, relax.
• Day 2: Resort day + outrigger canoe, pool, Monkeypod.
• Day 3: SUP lesson, Upcountry farm tour (can't decide which!), Haleakalā sunset, lunch and dinner recs, please!
• Day 4: Road to Hana + overnight at Hana, Hana Farms Pizza
• Day 5: Waiʻānapanapa, Pipiwai Trail, Koki Beach, roadside stands for lunch. Ho'okipa, maybe try Mama's Fish House for a drink? or Paia Fish House
• Day 6: Snorkeling, kayaking, South Maui beaches, dinner at Kihei Food Trucks?
• Day 7: West Maui (Kapalua/Napili, Coastal Trail, Black Rock sunset ceremony), dinner at Sea House/Leilani's, Aloha Mixed Plate?
• Day 8: Relax at Andaz, spa, late check out 4 pm but can store bags and shower up until departure. Maui Tropical Plantation and Cafe O'lei before our evening flight?

A few questions:

• Which Upcountry tour would you choose (Oʻo Farm, Maui Gold Pineapple, Surfing Goat, Ocean Vodka, Maui Wine, Lavender Farms, Kula Farms, etc.)?
• Should we book a boat excursion (Trilogy Lanaʻi, Kai Kanani Molokini, sunset cruise)? Is it a must do or are we okay without one? Trilogy Discover Lanai Day available on Day 3 or Day 7. Kai Kanani is waitlist for all days of their Sunrise Molokini sail. Or is there anywhere else you recommend? Didn't know if the sunset cruise is wavy since it's late in the day?
• If ʻĪao Valley is open by then, would you fit it in anywhere?

Mahalo! We can't wait to experience your beautiful island.

I need advice on an excursion we are considering.

Coming from Wailea… heading to Waihe’e Ridge Trail. Working our way up to Honolula for the enchanted forest and snorkeling (conditions permitting). Making our way over to the Kapalua Trail and ending the excursion with a brief snorkel at kapalua bay. Then rewarding ourselves at Dukes and heading back to the hotel (along the opposing side {east} we came).

I am seeing information about how dangerous this can be. Is this true?? Literally any and all commentary welcome and needed!!!

I am planning to propose on the Kapalua Coastal Trail around 5 pm on a Saturday in September, then go to Merrimans for a nice dinner afterwards. I am nervous that I won't find an intimate spot on the trail to propose, and there will be too many people walking the trail that it will take away from the moment.

A few questions I have. Is this a good idea? How likely is it I will find a few minutes just us in a pretty setting to do this? Any other things I should know?

I was taking a look at the Walmart app to see if I could get groceries delivered to our resort in Ka’anapali and it looks like it’s an option now, whereas before it wasn’t even an option in the app.

Has anyone actually done this yet that can confirm? Grocery delivery to the other side of the island is a bit of a game changer.