Maui Kapalua Bay

Maui Vacation: Planning your Maui vacation?
Get advice from someone who had lived there for years. I am most familiar with the Lahaina side of the Island. But, have traveled all over. I lived in Maui for five years. My wife loves to tease me that as a teen: I had such a hard life. From the time I was 16 to about the age of 21 I was an empancipated minor, lived on the beaches of Maui, had income from part time jobs, played football on the beach, bathed in the gorgeous waterfalls that abound, chased girls, partied, and had a good ole time. Hard life, huh? Poor me. (snicker, snicker). My profile picture is taken at Napili Beach. Maui is a wonderful place. Maui no ka oi. Maui is the best!!

When traveling to Maui:The cheapest time of the year to travel to Maui is just after New Years up until Spring Break. During this time flights and hotels are cheaper. This is their slow time of the year.

You can fly into three airports on Maui. The main airport is in Kahalui. There are two others though; the Kapalua Airport and the Hana Airport. The Kapalua airport is just north of Lahaina and only smaller charter planes fly in there. The Hana airport I believe only has landing for little prop planes. Usually I try to fly in and out of Kapalua, because I will be staying on the Lahaina side.

There are many hotels and condos to choose from on your stay. On the Lahaina side if you like busy and very nice accommodations you probably want to look in the Ka’anapali area. If you want very fancy, but not as crowded then you may want to stay in the Kapalua area. If you want less expensive and slower you may want to stay in the condos between Ka'anapali and Kapalua, in Honokawaii, Kahana, and Napili. If you want really inexpensive there are hostels and camp grounds. The camp ground range is usually less than $25 a day. If you want dirt cheap you need to take or buy a fishing pole and then you can stay on the beach, but only if you are fishing. You aren’t supposed to camp on most beaches, but you can fish..so as long as you are fishing you may as well take a nap. But, watch out for centipedes, they are poisonous. A friend of mine was messing with one with his foot, and it bit him on his bare foot and his leg turned black and blue to his knee. It was a very painful experience with a long recovery time. So be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Driving: Beware of Rainbows and Whales:

Hawaii is a very beautiful place, but when driving rainbows and whales can be very dangerous. As you drive on Maui the rainbows are absolutely beautiful and the whales appear from November to April. You want to be aware of the other drivers who do not know where they are going and are watching these beautiful sights. ;“Wow, hunny look, did you see that whale jump out of the water. Look! There goes another one.” Please, don’t cut your trip to Maui short. While you drive you should always pay attention to the road. There are places to pull off and enjoy the sights. Mahalo. The view from the Pali Lookout is awesome; this is mountains between Kihei and Lahaina.

Beaches:

Starting from the north side of the Island working your way south are how the beaches are listed. The numbers in yellow are the beach areas. The numbers in red are the roads.

#1 Honolua Bay: The farthest north beach is not actually a beach, it is Honolua Bay. Honolua Bay is awesome. If you take the dirt road just past the bay you will end up on a lookout point about 150 feet above the bay. You’ll see all the cars: that is when the surf is up. This is an awesome point at the end of the day to watch the surfers as the sun sets. Keep an eye out for dolphins, whales, and turtles. I do not recommend taking the path down to the water; the path is very steep and dangerous.

There is a way to get down to the opening of the bay. There will be a little turn out that can be pulled into, and a walk of about 300 yards will lead you down to the bay. Please don’t pick any plants, they are native to the area and very fragile.

The below video give just a glimpse of the foliage heading down to rocky beach at Honolua Bay. Don’t climb the coconut trees. One day Travis, a friend of mine, and I were heading down to the bay and I saw this coconut tree that grew up about six feet, then sideways for about twenty feet, then up for another six, with all these coconuts on it. So, I decided to climb it and get some coconuts. I cross the twenty foot span and reached for a coconut and this monstrous, beady eyed rat came out of the tree. The whole jungle heard the high pitch screams of a girl as I barreled out of the tree(I’m a 6’4” male); while Travis rolled on the ground laughing. Rats make their homes in coconut trees. You will see on some of the trees there are metal bands around the trunk. Those metal bands are to keep the rats from getting the fruits. The rats can climb over the metal.

The beach is very rocky, but it is a great place to launch out from to snorkel Honolua Bay. Honolua Bay is a protected game reserve so there is no spear fishing allowed here. But, do take some frozen peas. The fish will swim right up to you to eat them. I actually caught a fish there once with my plastic bag filled with peas. The little fish was so aggressively trying to get my peas that I swooshed the bag over his little body. I let him go of course and no harm was done.

I almost drowned here once. A friend of mine and I were doing some free diving to see how far we could go down and make it back up before we drowned. I got down to forty feet and lost all my air about 30 feet from the surface. I came out of the water to my waist with my mask around my neck, gulping air. My friend thought he was going to have to come get me. The little crevice on the bay to the south is called slaughter house. This is the other place I almost drowned. Remember I was a teenager and teenagers think they are invincible.

#1 Slaughter House: Slaughter House is appropriately named. When the waves are up, this beach can be very dangerous. There is an access down to the beach, the path is very steep. If you park your car at the top, make sure you don’t leave any valuables in your car. There is a high number of thefts that go on there. In Maui I would ever leave anything in your trunk, glove box or anywhere else that is not very secure as thieves are good at getting to what they want. Just make it a habit to not have anything of value with you.

Slaughter House is a favorite of mine to body surf. The waves tend to be bigger, but the rides are short. I was in about a16 foot surf one day and lost my boogie board; ripped my leash strap right in two. I had no fins with me; bad idea. I managed to make it out past the waves and float on my back while I caught my breath again. The surf in Hawaii can be very dangerous. If you get pulled out to sea here, your next spot is Shipwreck beach on the island of Lanai eleven miles away. Then your next possible land, I think, is over 2000 miles away. There are no life guards on this beach or in the bay. Or at least there weren’t any when I lived there. This may have changed, but I doubt it. The beach is only about 500 feet long.

One day my friend Mark, his cousin, and I were at Slaughter House. The surf was up and I ask my friend about the advisability of his cousin from Ohio going into the surf. He said, ‘Ahhh, he will be fine. He has fins and a boogey board.” About 10 minutes later we where rescuing him off the rocks as the waves slammed us against the cliff. One big wave beat all three of us against the rocks. By God grace the boogie board, attached to the cousin’s wrist, slid over the top of all us and slid in between me and the cliff. Then I got pounded against it, as Mark and his cousin plowed into me… “Hi, Mark, remember that day.”

#2 D. T. Fleming: Just north of Kapalua is a wonderful beach called D.T. Fleming. They have outdoor showers (if you are taking the least expensive route and sleeping (ahem……I mean fishing) on the beach remember this is a public shower, open and on the beach), bathrooms, and a life guard tower. You will have to check for times that the life guards are present. Obey the life guard’s instructions; they know the beach and sea very well. The current can be strong here, pulling from right to left if you are looking from the beach. This is a good sized beach, about 1/3 of a mile long, and is absolutely beautiful at night with a full moon. Beware of the surf as it can get very big (big as in BIG waves) here. But most days it is nice and pleasant with just a lapping of the waves on the shore. To the left is a huge natural lava rock jetty. Beware of traveling on this, especially when the surf is up. Obey all the posted signs for they know what they are talking about.

On the other side of the street is a small one room school house from ages ago. The area behind the school house is a arboretum that is run by the descendants of D.T. Fleming. They provide a haven for natural plant life.

#10 The access to D.T. Flemings is on the Lower Honoapiilani road. The road from here to the north actually goes all the way around to the other side of the island. You end up in Wailuku. But, I wouldn’t recommend taking this trip, especially when it is raining.

The road is narrow, winding with no guard rails. Many rocks fall onto the road when it is raining, and at other times. The road does get blocked and washed out at times. You will want to check your car rental policy; they may not allow you to take their cars on this section of the road.

If you run into a life guard there that looks like Robert Redford, then tell him Kimo from Kumulani said, “Hi”.

#2 Ironwood Beach: Ironwoods is a quarter of a mile south of Fleming’s Beach. This beach can be hard to find, and parking is limited. The beach is also a quarter of a mile long.

#2 Kapalua Bay: Kapalua Bay is an awesome beach. The bay is usually calm, being it is a very protected cove. The beach is about 1/8 of a mile long, or 700 feet or so. The snorkeling here is excellent. This is a beach to take the time to visit. A great “must see” on any trip to Maui.

Turtles can be found in the bay at times. The turtles all over Hawaii are protected, so please do not disturb or ride them. Be very careful with them as you actually can drown them.

Napili Bay: Napili Bay is a wonderful snorkeling beach. The sea is usually calm, the sun warm, and the breezes pleasant. Parking can be difficult to find some days, yet well worth it. There are outdoor showers to get the sand off you as you head back to your car. But, while you are there, there is a nice restaurant on the north side that servers lunch, dinner, and drinks.

The beach is about a thousand feet long. This is where my profile picture was taken at. My profile picture was taken on a more recent trip to Maui.

Kahana Beach: The beach is almost always calm. This is not a good snorkeling beach due to the fact that the reef is dead. The swimming is excellent with few coral outcroppings near shore. This beach is about a quarter of a mile long. I have watched many a beautiful sunsets from here.

S Turns: Is actually a continuation to the south of Kahana Beach just after a small rock outcropping. There is a small section of waves, when the waves are just right, that the surfers like to ride. There are a lot of reefs when getting into the water.

I actually had quite and experience here one night. The wind was calm with just a little mist from the clouds that were trying to release themselves from the Maui mountains grip. The moon was full and I looked and here was the most amazing thing in the atmosphere; a Moonbow. A Moonbow is a rainbow in the dark. I was absolutely amazed. I have actually seen it twice and both times it was at S turns.

Honokawaii Park: Honokawaii Park is situated along the ocean and is a great place to watch the sunset or have a picnic. The reef is not active, so it not a good place for snorkeling.

But, if the sun goes down on you too fast and you’re in the area, Honokawaii is a great place to view it from.

Honokawaii Beach: Honokawaii beach is just south of Honokawaii Park about ¾ of a mile and just north of Ka’anapali Beach. This beach is about a mile and a half long with great swimming.

#3 Ka’anapali: Ka’anapali Beach is the place to be seen. The waves are usually calm and the people plentiful. There is great shopping, beautiful restaurants on the ocean, and fun for all. Ka’anapali beach is about a mile and a half long. On north side of the beach is Black Rock. You will find people jumping of the rocks into the ocean and snorkelers feeding the fish. The Face at Black Rock is about a fifty foot cliff that they don’t like you jumping off. The ocean is about thirty five feet deep here. As an adult that survived this activity when I was young and careless, I don’t recommend jumping off it either; it is about three sweeping circles of the arms before you hit the water. Plus, it is a long swim back around the cliff.

There are bathrooms to be found in the plaza, which is located towards the middle of beach.

Canoe Beach: Canoe Beach is the south side of Ka’anapali Beach. There is parking, showers, and bathrooms. The swimming is nice and the waters usually calm. There is a life guard tower here, but you will want to check the times. A lot of locals like to have get-togethers here. Due to the easy access from Lahaina, the free parking, picnic tables, and the availability of the bathrooms, it is a favorite for all types of activities.

#4 Baby Beach: Baby Beach is a mile and three quarters as the dolphin swims. It is a little beach right in the Lahaina northern section. This beach is usually very calm, because of a reef that protects it about 200 yards out. It is called Baby Beach because a lot of the locals take their little ones there because it usually is so calm.

This was shot at Baby Beach. Please do not block people’s driveways.

#5 Olowalu Beach: Olowalu is a great place for snorkeling. Olowalu is located about 7 to 8 miles south of Lahaina. The water is usually calm, being protected by the Islands of Molokai, Lanai, and Kahoolawe. During storms, the sea can wash over the road, limiting the access to Lahaina from the other side of the island and vise versa. The center of this stretch of beach is a great place for snorkeling.
Shark Pit is located just to the north of it, which brings me to the point of when you are swimming in the ocean other things live in there, namely sharks. Not that I have ever seen one in all my years living there and with a lot of time spend free diving. The only thing you need to worry more about more than sharks, are the teenage boys; that is if you have teenage daughters. If you see a tanned boy hanging around your daughter, get her out of the water and as far away as possible. Make any excuse, and God forbid don’t let him show her around the island alone. Just take it from a once 16 year old emancipated minor (legal adult) on Maui.

#7 Kihei Beach: Kihei has 6 to 8 miles of beautiful long beaches. The wind tends to blow quite a bit, due to the trade winds funneling between the mountains. If it is raining on the Lahaina side of the island, then sometime you can head south to Kihei and find some beautiful sunshine.

#8 Makena: Makena beach is about ¾ of a mile long beach, which is very beautiful. If you’re staying in Wailea or Kihei this Makena is a great beach to visit and soak up some sun and sand.

#8 Little Makena: To the north just over the hill is little Makena. If you have children with you this may not be a good place to take them, due to the great probably of non-clothed people on that beach.

Activities: There are tons of activities to do on Maui. Anything from windsurfing, to horseback riding, to shopping. A plan of attack for visiting Hawaii is to have no specific outdoor plans. Why I say this is because the weather does change and there are the times when you have planned a whale watching trip and somebody in your family got very sunburned the day before. So, to be out on the ocean the next day may not be good for them. The general routine I found that works best is to go shopping in the evening after dinner, when it is cooler. Make reservations early, especially if you want that table next to the railing overlooking the ocean at sunset.

Rainy Days: The best days to do certain activities is on the days it rains. Though you might find that on certain days it is raining on one side of the island and not on the other. For days that it rains the aquarium is a great place to visit. I personally like going to Hana on days that it rains. The waterfalls are awesome.

They are very beautiful anyway, yet when it is pouring down rain they are spectacular and everywhere.

#12 Road to Hana: The road to Hana is quite a drive; fifty two miles of corners and one way bridges. I usually go until I find enough waterfalls to satisfy my thirst and then head back. If anyone in your group is prone to get car sick, then take whatever stuff you like to take for car sickness. The road is very narrow, very winding, and very long. If you’re on a blind one way bridge or corner, be cautious and listen for other cars and tour buses honking their horns as they come around the corners.

#12 If you do take the road to Hana, you will want to take the road through Paia. #13 The road to the south after it gets past Makena Beach can be very rough. And your car rental agency may not allow their car on that part of the road. Flash floods and washouts are prone to happen on this route. There is a little store and an espresso stand as you get close to Hana on this road, in the little town of Kuapo; which consists of that little store, the espresso stand (which serves awesome white chocolate mochas) and a very old church. The church is located off the main road by the ocean, but you can ask the friendly people at the store how to get there.

Waterfalls: Also if you are enjoying the waterfalls, be careful not to cut you trip short by getting swept into the water and out to sea. A lot of the trails that lead up to the waterfalls are nothing more that ancient trails that the Hawaiians made long ago, these can be very slippery, steep, and treacherous.

There is also the danger of flash floods sweeping you away to Davey Jones Locker. Not to mention the wild boars, the centipedes, and the wife telling you, “I told you so” (that is if you survive).

Waterfalls and Bridges: You may see people jumping off the waterfalls and bridges, DON’T DO IT , it is not worth it.

More that quite a few people have been rushed off to the emergency room and have not made it there alive.

Shopping: Shopping is great to do on rainy days or in the evenings. I like to explore all the shops in Lahaina and find what I like, and then go to some small tourist town like Paia or Makawao and buy it there. You can usually find the same items at lesser prices; especially the nick-knacks that you bring home to everyone who is suddenly your best friend or hates you because you get to go to Maui and they don’t. The shops in Lahaina pay thousands and tens of thousands in rent. They have to raise their prices accordingly. One day I wanted to buy a conch shell, you know the kind you blow and it sounds. Well, I found one in Lahaina for $200 and then went into this little store in Paia and I bought the same type shell for $65.

Restaurants: The restaurants in Hawaii are some of the best in the world, but if you are there for any length of time, that can get expensive.

This is a great place to eat in Ka’anapali. Tell Haywood, “Diana’s little brother said hi.” I used to work there when I was 16.

One trick is to ask around for the local restaurants where the prices are much cheaper. Talk to the surfers, they know where to eat. Also another way to help your food budget is to stop in the bigger grocery stores in Kahalui as soon as you arrive to the island. This is a great time to buy any sun screen lotions, a cooler, drinks in plastic bottles (no glass on the beach please), those key chains everyone wants you to bring back, food, snacks, and whatever else you may need.

#6 The Aquarium: The aquarium is another great activity to do on a rainy day. Get there early because on the weekends and rainy days it can get quite full. This is an awesome place to take those young snorkelers so they can uhhh and ahhh about all the fish they have actually seen in the ocean. They get to learn the names of the fish, like the Humuhumunukanukaapuaa; the Hawaiian state fish. It is pronounced something like humu-humu-nuka-nuka-a-pua-a. The Aquarium is a very enjoyable experience.

#6 The aquarium is located in Ma'alaea at the end of Kihei, just before you go over the pali (mountain) to Lahaina; just follow the signs.

Snorkeling: Snorkeling is an extremely fun time, though there are dangers. You are in the ocean, and bigger things than you live there. Obey all signs. The most common danger is the black sea urchins. The urchins spines protrude all around them. If you get poked by one of these it can be quiet painful and lead to staph infections. If you want to know a home remedy, just ask one of the locals and they will tell you. Also you want to be aware of the dangers of the moray eels. They are usually not aggressive unless you corner them in their holes. But, they always looked much uglier than I am so I stay away from them.

#1 One day I was at Honolua Bay snorkeling. I looked back-left and down a little bit and there was this moray swimming about 15 feet behind me. He was about eight feet long. I let him have the right of way. He went straight ahead and I went right.

There are a lot of dangerous things in the ocean, and the ocean itself can be very dangerous, so be careful. This article in no way begins to describe all the dangers of the ocean. So, swim at your own risk (disclaimer). Also, one thing to remember – Sharks are attracted to blood, so for all you women, that are not familiar with the sea, if it is that time of the month, stay out of the water.

Surfing: If you don’t know how to surf, there are a lot of places that will give you lessons on surfing, windsurfing, and scuba diving. If you don't like to surf, but like to watch the surefers there are some great places to do so. The best way to find out is to flip on the radio and find the local surf report and follow the waves.

This was taken at Jaws. You don’t want to end up in these kinds of waves. Always check with the lifeguards. Like I said, when the waves are up, Honolua Bay is an awesome place to watch the surfers. But Paia is the place to watch the windsurfer. I have spent days and days just watching the surfers at Ho’okipa in Paia. Plus there is some great food in Paia. At the end of Ho’okipa there is a fish house that is just the best.

#4 Lahaina: This is a video down Lahaina’s front street.

Nightlife: There is great nightlife to be found in Lahaina, just follow the music. A lot of places have upstairs balconies, with live music drifting down to the streets. In a lot of these you can also find great dining, dancing, and drinks.

One icon that you will never be able to see again in Lahaina is Brother Phillip. Brother Phillip was a street preacher for at least two, or maybe three decades. He was always at the same place, the “Banyan Tree”. He has since passed away and went to be with his Lord that he preached about day after day. I spent some time with him and actually stayed with him a bit as that teenage vagabond. He shared his place and his food with me. A lot of great memories stay with me.

Rest well Brother Phillip.

Below is another of Hawaii’s own that has gone on. His name was “Israel Kamakawiwo'ole”. Though he was not a native of Maui, I wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to him here also as he was part of the splendor of the Islands. Enjoy.

I hope this short tour of Maui from the memories of a very happy young man will give you some insights and ideas for your next trip to Maui. Maui is truly one of those places you want to visit during your travels. I’ve enjoyed going back to the Island in my mind through the pictures stored there as I shared this with you.

Aloha!

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