Puamana Resort

Puamana Park

by cfwestbe

Stop by Puamana Park and have a picnic on the beach. This is one of many state run parks with picnic facilities. Has a great view of Maui sunsets! Watch people surf and snorkel while relaxing in the water.

Marvelous Maui

by jessicadf

My husband, son and I visited Maui earlier this month and had a wonderful time. This was my first time on Maui and Mark and Davey's first time in Hawaii. We met up with my mother and step-father for a nice, family vacation. First we stayed at a condo at Puamana Estates, just a 10 minute walk South of Lahaina. Then we stayed at the Huelo Point Flower Farm, an organic flower and fruit farm on the North shore of the island. Both were wonderful places to stay for differing reasons.

Working full-time and having an eight month old are making it hard to spend much time on VT, but I'll try to get around to adding tips, photos and telling our stories sometime soon. Aloha!

Beach guide

by sjvessey

"Kahekili Beach"

"Ukumehame Beach"

"Olowalu Beach"

I came here a couple of times and really enjoyed it. Nowhere near as commercial as some of the other beaches on Maui, this is a great little beach for either snorkeling or swimming, about a 10 minute drive south of Lahaina along route 30. Generally not too crowded, with calm waters, little swell and only small waves. The water is shallow enough to stand in for quite some distance, and there's quite a lot of coral and other marine life to see.

The beach itself has good quality sand and is long and narrow - in some places there's only 10 feet or less of sand between the water and the treeline. The trees break the beach up into relatively secluded sandy areas which also cast plenty of shade. A nice place to come for a quiet morning or afternoon swim.

Note: there are no restrooms or other facilities, and you have to park on a wide dirt area by the roadside.

Maui Dive Guide magazine says: Probably Maui's number 1 snorkeling spot after Molokini Crater

Location: right at milepost 14 on route 30, a 10 minute drive south of Lahaina.

"Kapalua Beach"

"Kaanapali Beach"

Relatively commercial and crowded with tourists - unsurprising since most of the best hotels on Maui are on this beach.

Kaanapali is a long, wide sandy beach bordered by expensive resort hotels and the Whalers Village shopping area, where you can take a break from sunbathing by browsing through stores such as Gucci, Christian Dior, and Versace. If you're hungry, there are restaurants ranging from expensive to McDonalds.

In the distance you can see Black Rock, an old volcanic cinder cone which offers some pretty decent snorkeling. I went one morning to check it out and it wasn't bad at all. And if you buy an underwater from the ABC Store in Whalers Village for $13, they'll validate your parking for 3 hours!

Right by Black Rock the beach is known as the 'Dig Me' beach, because apparently this is where all the 'beautiful people' hang out. Don't let this reputation put you off - I think it's more wishful thinking than anything else, because when I went there were plenty of guys with beer guts and women with cellulite... just your average man (or woman) in the street, who happens to be staying at the nearby hotels!

Location: heading north along route 30 from Lahaina it's about a 10 minute drive. Take the first marked exit for Kaanapali and drive into the resort, following the signs for Whalers Village, which is the only place you can park unless you're staying in one of hotels here. Parking here is $2.50 an hour, or free if you buy something worth more than $10 and validate your parking ticket in the store.

"Big Beach"

"Honolua Bay"

"Molulea Bay"

"Launiupoko State Park"

"Puamana Park"