Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guest House
B&B $$$
(
800-621-8942, 661-8085;
www.mauiguesthouse.com
; 1620 Aʻinakea Rd; s/d incl breakfast
$169/189;
) Fronted by a saltwater pool, the welcoming Guest House
provides amenities that put nearby resorts to shame. Every room has its own hot tub and
42in plasma TV. Stained-glass windows and rattan furnishings reflect a tropical motif.
Free perks include beach towels and snorkel gear, a stocked community kitchen and a
guest shower you can use before your midnight flight.
In 2012 this eco-minded B&B went 100% solar after installing a 113-panel photovol-
taic solar system. The B&B also switched to all LED lighting and is using biodegradable
detergents and cleaning products.
Hanakaʻoʻo Beach Park
This long
beach
, extending south from Kaʻanapali Beach Resort, has a sandy bottom
and water conditions that are usually safe for swimming. However, southerly swells,
which sometimes develop in summer, can create powerful waves and shorebreaks, while
the occasional
kona
(leeward side) storm can kick up rough water conditions in winter.
Snorkelers head down to the second clump of rocks on the south side of the park, but it
really doesn't compare with sites further north. The park has full facilities and is one of
only two beaches on the entire West Maui coast that has a lifeguard. Hanakaʻoʻo Beach
is also called ʻCanoe Beach,' because West Maui outrigger canoe clubs practice here in
the late afternoon. A small immigrant cemetery dating from the 1850s marks the en-
trance.
SPIRITS' LEAP
According to traditional Hawaiian beliefs, Puʻu Kekaʻa (Black Rock,
Click here
)
, the
westernmost point of Maui, is a place where the spirits of the dead leap into the un-
known to be carried to their ancestral homeland. The rock is said to have been cre-
ated during a scuffle between the demigod Maui and a commoner who questioned
Maui's superiority. Maui chased the man to this point, froze his body into stone
then cast his soul out to sea. Today, daring teens wait their turn to leap off the rock
for a resounding splash into the cove below.
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