Which side of Maui should you stay on?

The leeward west or south — Wailea and Mākena in the south, Kāʻanapali and Kapalua in the west. Kihei and Wailea take only 10 to 15 inches of rain a year while the windward slopes take many times that. The south is the calmer, newer resort strip; the west is older and closer to the mountains and the ferry.

Is the Road to Hāna worth doing?

With a driver, yes; self-driving to tick it off, no. It runs roughly 64 miles with more than 600 curves and around 60 one-lane bridges, and the value is in the stops rather than the destination — which is where self-drivers run out of patience and parking.

Is Lahaina open to visitors in 2026?

Partly. Front Street reopened to vehicles between Pāpalaua and Shaw on 1 August 2026, and several restaurants are serving again, but the historic commercial core stays behind construction fencing and is not open to general visitor access. Kāʻanapali and Kapalua are operating normally.

Which island pairs best with Maui?

Lānaʻi, because it is the only island reachable from Maui by sea — the ferry runs Māʻalaea to Mānele in about an hour and fifteen minutes, three round trips a day. Kauai is the other pairing if you want landscape and silence against Maui's resorts and dining.

Maui, Hawaii

Maui

The leeward coasts where the resorts sit, a volcano you book like a restaurant, and the winter water three-quarters of the North Pacific humpbacks choose.

When to Go: April – May · September – October · February for whales

Scroll

Maui is the island most people mean when they say Hawaii: the polished resorts, the leeward beaches and the archipelago's strongest dining. What decides the trip is not the island but the coast, and after that the calendar.

Access · Not Itinerary

Signature Moments

What an advisor can open that an algorithm cannot. Each of these is staged on your terms — the access, the timing, the people.

The summit at sunset, not at 3am

Haleakalā without the reservation lottery and without the cold: the same 10,023-foot view, warmer air, and the crater going copper as the light leaves.

Hāna with a driver who knows the bridges

Sixty-four miles, six hundred curves and sixty one-lane bridges become the day rather than the ordeal — waterfalls before the vans, and the return timed to miss the queue.

February, in the middle of the basin

The sheltered water between Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi in the densest week of the season, on a boat that answers to you rather than to a departure board.

A Note From Forest Travel Forty years, one hundred and twenty countries,
and a single way of working.

Curated by Juan David Travel Agent, Forest Travel Updated August 2026

Which coast, and why it decides the trip

Maui's resorts sit on the leeward west and south for one reason: rain. Kihei and Wailea take between 10 and 15 inches a year while the windward slopes take many times that. Wailea and Mākena in the south, Kāʻanapali and Kapalua in the west — those are the dry addresses, and choosing between them is a question of whether you want the calmer, newer resort strip or the older one nearer the mountains and the ferry. The island decision comes first; the coast decision comes second and matters almost as much.

Do you actually want the Haleakalā sunrise?

Only if you are prepared to book it like a restaurant. Entering the summit between 3am and 7am requires a reservation — one dollar per vehicle, non-refundable — released on Recreation.gov exactly 60 days ahead at 7am Hawaiʻi time, with a smaller batch 48 hours out. Park entry is a separate $30 per vehicle for three days. The summit stands at 10,023 feet and is genuinely cold before dawn. Sunset needs no reservation at all, has the same view and warmer air, and is the version we book more often.

Is the Road to Hāna worth a day?

Yes with a driver, and no if you are driving it yourself to tick it off. It runs roughly 64 miles with more than 600 curves and around 60 one-lane bridges, and the point is the stops rather than the destination — which is exactly where self-drivers run out of patience and parking. With a private guide the drive becomes the day.

When do the whales come?

November to April, peaking January through March and densest in February. Maui is the middle of it: the Maui Nui basin between Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi draws roughly three-quarters of the North Pacific humpback population each winter. It is also peak resort season, so the whale month and the availability month are the same month. Which month, and which island works through the trade-off.

What should you know about Lahaina before you come?

That Kāʻanapali and Kapalua are operating normally and that Lahaina itself is still rebuilding. On 1 August 2026 Front Street reopened to vehicles between Pāpalaua and Shaw, a milestone after the 2023 fire, while the historic commercial core most visitors remember stays behind construction fencing. Several much-loved restaurants are serving again. We say it plainly because the expectation matters: Maui wants visitors and visitor spending underwrites the recovery, but Front Street today is not the Front Street of 2023.

What pairs with Maui?

Lānaʻi most often, because it is the only island you can reach from here by sea — the ferry runs Māʻalaea to Mānele in about an hour and a quarter, three round trips a day. Kauai is the other pairing: resorts and dining here, landscape and silence there. Two islands across seven to ten nights is the shape that works. For families see luxury family travel; for two, our journeys for couples.