Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A surfer tears apart a wave at Ho'okipa.
After parking the car you'll cross to
makai
(ocean side) of the highway, where you'll
notice a road leading either right or left. Go left. After a short section of asphalt the road
will turn to dirt. The walk downhill through the pineapple fields takes 20-30 minutes.
Often locals who are driving down in their trucks offer rides to visitors on foot. Once you
reach the bottom of the road, you'll find a bluff that overlooks the bay, offering an un-
obstructed view of the world-famous wave. The tow-surfers and paddle-surfers appear as
little more than specks on the face of the gargantuan wave. If you want to see people riding
waves, morning is best, since most surfers head back to shore once the wind picks up. If
you want to make sure that you get a ride down the hill or a good vantage place on the side
of the bluff, a six-pack of beer can be valuable bartering currency (and packing one for the
walk down isn't a bad idea). Although the viewing area at Jaws can be a zoo, it's still a
once-in-a-lifetime experience to watch surfers tackle nature's largest waves.
Surfboard Rentals
The surfboard rental scene is remarkably casual. Both
HI Tech Maui
(58 Baldwin Ave.,
808/579-9297,
www.surfmaui.com
,
9am-6pm daily) and
Sailboards Maui
(22 Baldwin
Ave., 808/579-8432,
www.sailboardsmaui.com
,
9:30am-7pm Mon.-Fri., 9:30am-6pm
Sun.) offer board rental for $20/day. Both shops have a full range of longboards, short-
boards, and fun boards. They are an affordable option for playing in the waves of Pa'ia
Bay or a multiday safari to Hana.
“SO WHEN CAN I SEE JAWS?”
On a sunny July afternoon, I once had a conversation with a visitor that went
something like this:
”So what do you have planned for the rest of your trip?”
“Well, tomorrow we're going to go and see the 70-foot waves at Jaws.”
I realized not everyone understands just how Maui's waves work.
Pe'ahi (aka Jaws) is the place on Maui that can
potentially
get 70-foot waves,
but this only happens a few days out of the year, if at all. The waves themselves are
created by massive storms in the North Pacific that churn between the Aleutian Is-
lands and Japan, and since the North Pacific is calm during summer, it's only Octo-
ber through April that you stand a chance of seeing the large surf at Jaws.
