Maui Travel Guide

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Maui

Haleakala Crater, Maui © HVCB/Ron Dahlquist

From the top of its dormant Haleakala volcano crater to its lush rain forests, pristine beaches and rainbows of tropical fish in the offshore valleys and reefs, the Hawaiian island of Maui offers a magical dream-vacation in the Pacific Ocean.

Maui, named for a Polynesian god, is as close to paradise as it is possible to get. Originally six different volcanoes created a single landmass that, over the millennia, separated to become the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe. All remain administratively linked today as Maui County. Maui is the second largest of the populated Hawaiian islands (after Hawaii Island/Big Island itself), and also boasts the second largest population in the state. Its two main features are the Haleakala crater (the name means 'house of the sun'), which is the largest dormant volcano in the world, and the underwater valleys that connect Maui with its sister islands in the surrounding ocean, providing shelter for an abundance of marine life.

The island's main business centre is the town of Kahului/Wailuku, while the major resort area is in the west and concentrated in Ka'anapali and the historic whaling town of Lahaina. In south Maui is another busy resort district around the town of Wailea. Maui's tropical north shore is quieter without large hotels, only bed and breakfast establishments providing a quiet, relaxing break. The island offers several points of cultural and natural interest worth exploring, over and above its beautiful beaches and underwater wonderland.

Attractions

Lahaina Front Street © Randy Willis

Baldwin Home Museum

One of Lahaina's best preserved 19th-century landmarks, the house in Front Street built by Rev. Dwight Baldwin in 1834, stands now as the oldest house in Maui. Baldwin was a missionary who started a farm on the island and was responsible for growing... see full details

Yellow hibiscus © mauroguanandi

Enchanting Floral Gardens of Kula

Maui's beautiful botanic gardens cover eight acres on the slopes of Haleakala volcano at an elevation of 2,500 feet (800m). The gardens contain more than 1,500 species of tropical and semi-tropical plants, most of them flowering, from around the world, including proteas, orchids, hibiscus... see full details

Haleakala Crater, Maui © HVCB/Ron Dahlquist

Haleakala National Park

The Haleakala National Park extends from the summit of the volcano, down into the crater, then across the volcano's southeast slopes to Maui's east coast, beyond the town of Hana. The main reason for the park being visited by nearly one and a... see full details

Hana Highway © alexa627

Hana Highway

No visit to Maui is complete without hitting the highway - the Hana Highway, that is - that runs for about 50 miles (81km) between Kailua and Hana on the northeastern coast of the island. This hair-raising but incredibly scenic coastal... see full details

Maui Ocean Centre

The Maui Ocean Centre is an unrivalled aquatic experience and the largest tropical reef aquarium in the Western Hemisphere. The Centre is located in oceanfront Ma'alaea Village off the Honoapiilani Highway, within minutes of all major resort areas. It consists of indoor and outdoor... see full details

Whalers Village Museum

The whaling museum in the heart of Maui’s commercial centre, Lahaina, documents the sleepy port city’s evolution into a whaling boomtown in the middle of the 19th century, combining exhibits and educational displays. The Whaler’s Village Museum is home to an impressive collection of... see full details

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