MAUI SURFING LESSONS KAANAPALI

Top three things to do in Maui?

What are your favorite things to do in Maui? Preferable near Kaanapali beach. My family and I are going to Maui this summer after school gets out, so we wanted some ideas. Preferably things that 13 and 10 year old girls can do. We are already for sure going to a luau and zip-lining.
I’m also extremely interested in surfing lessons. Is it worth it? Where is the best beach to learn?

Snorkeling:

If you go snorkeling from a beach, go to Black Rock at the Sheraton hotel in Kaanapali. There are also some good places down off the beaches of Kihei and Wailea (look for black volcanic rock outcroppings along the shore). Honolua Bay (about 10 miles north of Kaanapali) also has excellent snorkeling. Although it’s kind of hard to access the bay sometimes, especially after a recent rain (the water is extremely muddy and you have to swim about 100 yards to get to the good snorkel spots).

If you go on a snorkeling excursion by boat, the two best places are Molokini and Lanai. If you go to Molokini, which is a semi-submerged volcano, get the package with the side trip to Turtle Town. Turtle Town is a colony of sea turtles off of Wailea and it’s one of the few places where you’re guaranteed to see turtles. Lanai is an absolutely gorgeous place to snorkel. There are huge coral gardens off the east coast of Lanai that are fairly deep. But, the water is crystal clear there. It’s also kind of cold, so you sometimes see things like octopi there. They also stop just outside of Lanai harbor, where large coral and rock outcroppings make for some very good snorkeling.

Lahaina Town:

A trip to Maui has to include a day in Lahaina Town. There’s all kinds of cool shops and great restaurants throughout the town, especially right on the waterfront north of the harbor. My favorite place is Cheeseburger in Paradise. Get a second story table by the window if you can. It looks out right over the ocean.

Sunset cruise:

You can take a sunset cruise (some with cocktails and pupus, what they call appetizers) out of Maalaea Harbor, Lahaina Harbor, or right off the beach in Kaanapali. If you go off of Kaanapali, be warned that you leave your shoes in a locked box on the beach and enter the back of the catamaran by wading through the water between waves. So, wear shorts and expect to get a bit wet.

Haleakala sunrise:

This is an incredible experience, and it’s one of the few places on earth where you can actually see the green flash at sunrise and the planet Mercury right before. But, it’s cold up there. It’s about 40 degrees at most with at least 30 MPH winds. So, dress accordingly or don’t go. It also takes about 3 hours to drive there from Kaanapali. So, plan on getting started at about 2:30 AM.

Hana:

This takes a whole day, because it takes 4 to 5 hours to drive from Kaanapali down the narrow winding road to Hana. There are some interesting things to see, especially hiking trails that lead to waterfalls and pools big enough to swim in.

Surfing:

The big boys do their surfing at Paia Beach, about 10 miles southeast of the airport in Kahului. But, these swells can get up to 20 feet and are for experts only. There is a good break at Honolua Bay. And, if you go around an outcropping of rocks to the south, there is an area they call the Keiki Bowls (keiki means children) that has a much smaller break. I also saw a surf contest just north of Lahaina Harbor once. And, there’s a number of breaks along the western shores in various places south of Lahaina.

Be advised, though, that Hawaii’s surf beaches are usually rocky and the waves are very strong. If you’re going to learn to surf, I would recommend a sandy Southern California beach rather than Hawaii.

KAANAPALI SURF LESSON