25 Things About Maui
25 Things About Maui
1. Island Time.
Being on Island Time is a real thing. Take it slow and practice Aloha.
The speed limits on some of the roads may seem unusually slow and it does take a while to get from place to place even though everything really is so close. The roads are often narrow and there can be a lot of traffic congestion so remember, no one is really in a hurry here on the Island so go with the flow.
2. Sea turtles!
Sea turtles are an endangered species and there are very specific rules to follow for their safety. It is illegal to touch a sea turtle. Click on this to see more on sea turtle viewing guidelines.
Sea Turtles are a common sight on Maui. They come ashore regularly and are often seen swimming near shore where humans are snorkeling, swimming and surfing. Be sure to give them plenty of space and enjoy them from at least 15 feet away. They are beautiful majestic creatures and can live to be more than 100 years old. You can judge the age of a sea turtle by the width of it's back. They grow about 1 foot across every 20 years.
3. Nakalele Blowhole, West Maui
Nakalele Point is a land mass on the eastern edge of the northern tip of the island of Maui. Located on Highway 30, between mile marker 38 and 39 you will see a green sign in the grass to help point the way.
There's lot's of parking and a demanding but doable .8 mile out and back hike here but you can see the blowhole as we did from just off the parking area. It can be very slippery and muddy after a rain, we discovered, so we opted to not hike down. On a dry day it would be quite different.
Blowholes are extremely dangerous. A good rule of thumb is to stay where the land is dry. That can be hard to do if it has rained recently. Use good judgement while visiting this wonder on Maui!
4. West Maui, Highway 30. #NottheRoadtoHana
Continuing on from Nakalele Blowhole is a short drive on a path less taken around West Maui back to Kahului known as the Kahekili Hwy. This road trip is stunningly beautiful!
5. Joey's Kitchen
You will find this restaurant in a small mall in Napili, West Maui. It's great Filipino food with island flair. Bring your own wine or get some at the nice market next door. They have a $5 corkage fee. What a bargain!
Rumor has it that Chef Joey used to work at Roy's in Kaanapali but recently left to open this restaurant for himself. Everything we had was excellent and we found many locals who obviously ate there regularly.
We ate here more than once and some of us had the mussels more than once! Highly recommended.
Order the Crispy Pata to share. Oh my is this good!
6. Mama's Fish House
The Pearl of Maui as restaurants go. Or should I say Black Pearl? You'll have to see the picture of my dessert below. It's their signature dessert. All desserts are made in house by the way.
We came here for lunch the week of Thanksgiving with family and friends. They don't have seating for a group larger than 5 or 6 at any one table so we had adjacent tables and visited each other during our visit to Mama's. Be sure to make reservations and come early. You will want to take in the grounds and the beach on your way in. The cove where this restaurant is located is one of the most beautiful on the Island in my opinion.
This restaurant is amazing. The staff is well trained and works as a unit. Each person plays a very specific role to ensure that guests are cared for to the best of their ability. Nothing is rushed here and service is impeccable. We had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves at Mama's.
Mama's Fish House is expensive but worth it! If you enjoy going to a concert or the theater and are willing to spend the money for the ticket, think of Mama's as the same kind of event. You will have a great experience beyond the excellent food and drinks here.
This is a beautiful stop half way up Haleakala on the Piilani Highway. There is also a cute little ranch store across the street that serves sandwiches and such.
It's known for it's pineapple wines but has a wide variety to choose from. I really liked the sparkling rose' called Lokelani that was dry for a rose' and very nice! I'm truly a red wine gal from the Northwest so I might be a lot partial to dry wines. If you are into whites you may really like the different varieties here.
The grounds are beautiful and they had some lawn games set up and someone with a bearded dragon that was fun to watch too! Don't miss the amazing wood sculptures in front of the tasting room known as The Hula Circle.
8. Visit the Maui Arts & Cultural Center
There are many things presented at the MACC worth seeing so check the schedule when you come to Maui. Concerts, dance companies and celebrations of all kinds happen here on the campus of the University of Hawaii. We happened to catch a Rita Coolidge concert that was really entertaining! They had a a beautiful full service bar set up outdoors before the concert with seating.
9. Visit Maui Brewing Co.
This was a great place for us to visit because we were such a large group and with kids too. We ate here a few times and there was plenty of good food on the menu to choose from, large portions and an enormous selection of brews! It is noisy and not exactly romantic but a wonderful place for groups and families. The service was quite good too.
10. Snorkeling off Molokini
Snorkeling off Molokini was one of the most memorable things about Maui for all of us. If you can afford to do this I really recommend it. We had an amazing time with our guides and our captain, Don Burns, aboard the Seafire. Check them out at www.molokinisnorkeling.com They are safe, reputable and great with kids and families.
Our guides were very knowledgeable about the wildlife and the island history giving us a lot of information and allowing everyone plenty of time for questions.
If you have never been snorkeling before, they have all the equipment you need, they will teach you everything you need to know and help you every step of the way so you have a safe and exciting adventure. If you need a prescriptive mask you can rent equipment from Snorkel Bob's. They are everywhere on Maui. Departures are from Kihei, HI.
On our way back to shore from Molokini we fed these little birds a few bread crumbs and they followed us all of the way back to Kehei boat launch! They are so cute!
11. Enjoy your accommodations
This is where our three families rented condos from the local owners. These condos and many other condo complexes in the area rent through VRBO, Home Away, Air B&B and other services when the owners are not staying in them. We really enjoy using these services when we travel. So far we have had wonderful experiences in the homes and condos that we have rented.
The Hale Mahina Condo complex is a very special place indeed! We were all very happy with our rentals and had great experiences here.
Every afternoon we gathered together for some beach time here at Hale Mahina, relaxing by the pool and hot tub that were very well maintained and enjoying the grounds filled with amazing tropical flowers at every turn. The kids played in the sand and we saw sea turtles swimming in the water and climbing up on the beach. Several coconuts floated up on the surf too. That was oddly interesting to see!
We talked about the days events and made plans for dinner until the sun was nearly set. Then it was time for pictures and a conch ceremony performed each night by an owner who happened to be there the week we visited. (video below)
Conch Ceremony performed by a local condo owner. Thank you! We really enjoyed that!
12. Get some of the islands Best Ono Fish Tacos at Ohana Tacos.
We had the fish tacos here one day for lunch. It was really very good and they had so much more to offer. They have a great salsa bar and everything is made fresh there. This place is very popular for take out with people living or staying in local condos.
13. Take time for the sunsets.
Sunsets in the islands are some of the best in the world. You are on vacation so take time out to enjoy them.
14. Check out the Farmer's Markets
The produce markets on the islands are a mainland cooks dream. So many amazing new things to try and gawk over! Even if you aren't a cook you will enjoy the copious amounts of beautiful fresh fruit just waiting to be cut up and eaten.
Don't gather any to take home though, there are strict regulations against bringing fruits home from the islands. You can purchase pineapple after passing through security in the airport that you can bring home with you but the price may both stun and amaze you.
15. Take time to smell the flowers.
Really...smell them... they are amazing!
16. Have Brunch at "The Gazebo" Napili Shores Condo Complex, West Maui.
This is a fabulous place for brunch! Check them out on Yelp HERE. We had a large party and needed to be split up again but that was all right. Table space at this place is really at a premium! We did a little shopping at the gift shop outside while we waited. It's a lovely location and it really didn't seem that long although I think we did wait around 40 minutes to be seated.
The service was great despite the crowd and the food is wonderful. We didn't feel rushed either.
Try the Banana Pancakes and the Fried Rice! Wow!
17. Take the back road to Hana, Pilani Highway
It's possible to make a loop of Haleakala instead of driving the same road to Hana and then back again. We took the Piilana Highway up to the Maui Winery again and then continued on around the island from there. There are a few small sections that are not paved and one fairly lengthy spot that is something like cobblestone and extremely bumpy but none of it was impassable for our small car.
I've heard some rental agency's will tell you that you can't take a rental car to Hana but absolutely everyone does. There was literally no one on the road all in the morning and we arrived at Hana in time be one of the first few tables for lunch at Hana Ranch Restaurant. We had truly beautiful outdoor seating and service was wonderful. We had a fresh tuna poke appetizer and burgers that were very well prepared. It was interesting to stop there as we had just passed the actual Hana Ranch on our way into Hana from the southwest. It's a very large and scenic place.
We love off the beaten path road trips and this was certainly just such a drive. It was so gorgeous and the weather was perfect. There is nothing else quite like this drive anywhere on the island.
