Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PARKING IN LAHAINA
If you're looking for a good way to get into a fight, try finding parking in Lahaina
while running late for an activity. A web of narrow streets and overpriced lots, La-
haina for most visitors is an expensive source of angst and confusion when it comes
to parking.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Here are a few tips to help cut through the confusion.
• Most street parking in Lahaina is good for three hours, and there is no such thing
as parking meters. If you know that you're only going to be a few hours, there is
no need to pay for a parking lot. Free street parking can be found on Dickenson
and Waine'e Streets, and there is a large, three-hour parking lot on the corner of
Prison and Front Streets. The three-hour lot is heavily patrolled, however, so if
you “chance it,” you'll most likely end up with a $60 ticket.
• While there is also free street parking on Front Street, attempting to parallel park
on Front Street is like singing a solo in front of your school: The whole street is
watching you, you are holding up traffic, and the space is most likely too small to
begin with. Save yourself the hassle and don't even try.
• If you're eating dinner in Lahaina, there is free parking at Lahaina Harbor
between the Courthouse and the harbor 7pm-7am, although you can't park in the
back lot by the fishing boats because it's by permit only. On weekends and pub-
lic holidays, there is free parking all day in the spaces in front of Kamehameha
School by the junction of Prison and Front Streets.
• There is also free all-day parking in the lot behind the Front Street tennis courts.
The spaces when you first pull in are reserved for the cultural center, but there
is a dirt parking lot in the back as well as a paved parking lot by the back tennis
courts. There is a sizable homeless population there; don't leave valuables in your
car.
• Parking in a paid parking lot doesn't make your car any more secure. Only a few
of them are monitored, but car break-ins happen at hiking trailheads and beaches
as opposed to downtown Lahaina in broad daylight. The only reason you would
ever need to pay for parking in Lahaina is for the convenience of being closer to
where you're trying to go. There is enough free parking in Lahaina for everyone,
although you might need to walk a few blocks to save a few bucks. Essentially,
paying for parking is a convenience, but not a necessity.
