Maui Visitor Guide

After many years of coming to Hawaii for vacation as a kid in 2020 I was fortunate enough to make the move to Maui. I always have friends ask me for information and recommendations and decided to put this page together with lots of information for locals and visitors.

Restaurants

1) *Mama’s Fish House – Paia: Get the Mahimahi that is stuffed with crab and basked in macadamia nut crust. Its one of the dishes they are known for. I recommend lunch so you can have daylight to see the view. Recommendations are required. You can make a reservation on Opentable.com too. Also all of the parking is free valet but you tip the valet guy. There is NO ATM there so bring some cash for tip.

2) * Sea House - Napili Kai Resort - Amazing views of Napili Bay. 430-5 is the Early Bird.

3) *Plantation House - Kapalua - One of my go to places and highly recommend.

4) * Aloha Mixed Plate - In Lahaina behind Safeway. Yummy food and nice portions.

5) Sansei – Kapalua and Kihei have locations

6) ABC Store at the Shops at Wailea - Great for lunch with the fresh deli and hot food.

7) * Star Noodle – Good for lunch or dinner. Food is good

8) * Lineage– Asian food at the Shops at Wailea

9) * Leilani's - Whalers Villege at Kaanapali. Very good food and great sunset views right at the beach. All places in Whalers Villege validate the parking with $15.00 purchase.

10) *Hula Grill an Leilani’s – They are next to each other at Whalers Village on Kaanapali Beach.

11) Leoda’s Kitchen – This is on the road from the airport not far after the tunnel. Great food. Great to stop at to pick up a sandwich or eat in.

12) *Mala Ocean Tavern – Lahiana

13) *Honu Seafood – Lahaina

14) Maui Brewing Company – Brew pup they make their own beer and have locations in Kihei and Kaanapali. I prefer the location in Kihei as the menu has more options.

15) * Roys – This is in Kaanapali but it’s a chain so you can go to the one in SF.

16) * Monkeypod Kitchen – Wailea

17) * Gannons – Located at the Golf Course in Wailea.

18) * Cool Cats - Located in Kihei. Happy Hour is great and Costco has gift cards where you pay 79.00 and get 100.00 in gift cards.

19) ABC Store - Honkowai - They have a deli open until 3pm. Food is very good and have never been disappointed

20) * Dukes - If you cannot get a reservation the wait list opens at 3pm.

21) Slappy Cakes - Open only for breakfast and you can make your own pancakes. Lots of fun and they have POG and Mimosa's.

22) Sale Pepe - Not open as of now but when it does I highly recommend.

23) Leoda's - Olawalu - Yummy Pies! Even if the line looks long is usually goes fast.

24) Pizza Paradiso - In Honokowai just north of Kaanapali. Late night food and they have differenet events.

25) Nalu's - In Kihei. Good breakfast and Lunch. They hose the LGBTQ+ Brunch on the first sunday of each month.

Restaurants with * you can make a reservation with opentable.com

Kama`aina Deals

The following places have a good discount if you are Hawaii Resident

1) Leilani's - 10% off food only

2) Mala Ocean Tavern - 20% off the entire bill

3) Kimo's - 20% off the entire bill

4) Billabong, Ripcurl and Quicksilver - 10% off

5) Hui Hui - 10% off food only

6) Marriott/Bonvoy - Enter Z43 as the Group Code when booking

7) Lanai Ferry - Locals can buy 2 additional ferry tickets for their friends

8) Parking at Makena Beach - Free for Hawaii Residents. Look for the attendant in the lot.

9) Plantation House - 10 % off food only

10) Trilogy/Sea Maui - Call for the discount but it a generous discount

Tips and Ticks

1) If you want to go to Dukes go at 430pm and they open up the wait list. You can put your name in and they text when the table is ready.

2) Slappy Cakes - The waitlist is online so go put your name in and watch online.

Places to Visit and Activities

1) Sunrise on Haleakala – If you do this go EARLY. Give yourself a min of 3 hours so you can get to the top well before sunrise to see the stars. The road isn’t to windy only certain parts. If you go bring sweatshirts/hoodie and long pants..Its really cold at the top before the sun comes up. What we usually do also is take the blanket off of the bed and take to wrap ourselves with it. If you do this you need to make a reservation for the sunrise cause it gets crowded. Its only 1.00 for the reservation so even if you don’t go might be good to have. You need to give yourself like 3.5 hours to get to the top. I think reservations are 60 days to the day but you can check and it will note on the calendar when you can start to make a reservation.

https://www.nps.gov/hale/planyourvisit/haleakala-sunrise-reservations.htm

2) Road to Hana – This can be fun but it’s a LONG 52 miles. You might just want to drive like 20 miles down the road and that’s it so you see the rainforest. You cannot technically go around the entire island so you have to turn around when you get to Hana and go back on the same road. It’s a very very curvy road. If there is any rain in the forecast or it is raining I would not go cause the waterfalls to swim will be closed and the road might be dangerous and flooded. I recommend that you find a tour and take that as the guides will know exactly where to stop plus they will do all of the driving.

3) Luau’s

a. Old Lahaina Luau – Don’t sit on the ground seating it sucks.

b. Drums of the Pacific – If you go to this get the VIP for a few extra dollars its worth it. This is at the Hyatt in Kaanapali.

c. Ritz Carlton Luau - Worth the money and the food is really good..Plus its not totally outdoors so you do not have to worry about the rain.

d. Grand Wailea Luau - Another highly recommended luau.

4) Ziplines – The only one I like is this one: http://www.zipline.com/maui. Go on the Haleakala location. Its not very much walking and the zip lines start short and gradually go. I have had friends that are terrified of heights and they loved it.

5) Snorkeling – Molokini is the place to go. It’s a small island off of the coast. https://www.prideofmaui.com/trips/morning/

6) Montage Spa – Kapalua: iF you do this do the outside hut massage. Also the Spa Wish gift cards work from Costco. I don’t think they have the cards at the Costco on Maui so get them here before you go. https://www.montagehotels.com/spamontage/kapaluabay/

7) Iao Valley – Very peaceful with lots of history. It was used as a lookout to see if the island was being invaded. You need to make reservations just google Iao Valley and you will find the link. Reservations are only about 1.00 and there for crowd control.

8) Big Beach (Makena Beach) – This is down past Wailea. If you want to take a trip to another beach this beach is awesome. Go early so you can park in the lot. Also they only have porta potties so just be ready for that. Do not leave any valuables in the car.

9) Beach at Napili Bay – Awesome public beach

10) Maui Ocean Center – Never been personally but heard good things about it and will go next time I am there.

11) Whale Watching – January to March is when you will see whales all over the place. Otherwise you will not see any as that is when they make the journey to Maui to have their babies then head back to Alaska.

12) Surf Lessons - Maui Surf Pro's is the best and I highly recommend taking lessons with them.