Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
5
Maui
M
aui meets all the criteria for family
fun in tropical paradise: beautiful
scenery (swaying palm trees bordering
perfect white-sand coves), plenty to do
(from snorkeling in a sea of rainbow-
hued fish to hiking to viewing thun-
dering waterfalls), and a traditional
luau where you can chow down on an
earthen-baked pig.
And everybody, it seems, knows it.
Next to Waikiki, Maui is Hawaii's most
popular destination, welcoming 2.5
million people each year to its sunny
shores. As soon as you arrive at Kahului
Airport, a huge banner will tell you that
readers of
Condé Nast Traveler
voted
Maui the best island
in the world
—
and they've done so 10 years running.
On a map, Maui doesn't look like
much, but it's bigger than you might
think. The 727-square-mile island has
three peaks more than a mile high,
thousands of waterfalls, 120 miles of
shoreline, and more than 80 golden-
sand beaches (including two that are
more than a mile long). The island is
the result of a marriage of two shield
volcanoes, 10,023-foot-high Haleakala
and 5,788-foot-high Puu Kukui, that
spilled enough lava between them to
create a valley—and inspire the island's
nickname. Thanks to this unusual
makeup, Maui packs a lot of nature in
and around its landscape, and its
microclimates offer distinct variations
on the tropical-island theme: The
island's as lush as an equatorial rain-
forest in Hana, as dry as the Arizona
desert in Makena, as hot as Mexico in
Lahaina, and as cool and misty as Ore-
gon up in Kula.
Maui has become
the
Hawaiian des-
tination for families. Indeed, some-
times it feels a little too well-known—
especially when you're stuck in
bumper-to-bumper traffic or the wall-
to-wall boat jam at Maui's popular
snorkeling/diving atoll, Molokini
Crater. However, the congestion here
pales in comparison to big-city Hon-
olulu; Maui is really a casual collection
of small towns. Once you move beyond
the resort areas, you'll find a slower,
more peaceful way of life, where car
horns are used only to greet friends,
posted store hours mean nothing if
the surf 's up, and taking time to watch
the sunset is part of the daily routine.
Maui also has an underlying energy
that can nudge even your most slug-
gish child right off his or her beach
blanket. Kids (and even adults) get
inspired to do things they might not
do otherwise, like rise before dawn to
catch the sunrise over Haleakala
Crater, then mount a bicycle to coast
37 switchbacked miles down to sea
level; head out to sea to look for win-
tering humpback whales; swim in the
clear pool of a waterfall; or discover a
whole new world of exotic flowers and
tropical fish.
1 Orientation
ARRIVING
If you think of the island of Maui as the shape of a person's head and shoulders,
you'll probably arrive on its neck, at
Kahului Airport.
