Advice on must-do experiences for Maui and Big Island?

ClapYourHands

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 2, 2018
Aloha! DH and I are headed to Hawaii for the first time, and I am super excited! I have never been, and am a bit overwhelmed with the options out there. We love to hike and be out in nature. We will have a rental car. We are foodies, but don't really drink so bars hold little interest for us.

I realize this is an Aulani thread, but I'm hoping some of you veterans will have tips for out time on other islands, too.

Thanks in advance!
 
We are in love with the Big Island and are regular visitors so this post is Big Island answer heavy

I am not sure how much time you have on Big Island but if you are hiking and nature lovers be sure to spend some time in Volcanos National Park. If you are looking to do some lava viewing at dusk or in the dark keep in mind many people will overnight right in Volcano Village because it is a long roundtrip drive to the Kona side (if that is where your hotel is)
https://www.lovebigisland.com/hawaii-volcanoes-national-park/
In Waikoloa, just north from Kona about 20-25 mins, there are very cool petroglyph lava trails. Not really a hike but wear proper shoes and bring water, the sun can be brutal on these as there is little shade.
https://bigislandhikes.com/waikoloa-petroglyph-preserve
The black sand beaches are unique and fun to see. There are few but this one is pretty popular
https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island/regions/kau/punaluu-black-sand-beach
If you are into serious hiking, you might want to consider Waipi'o Valley. I have been down into in and played at the beach there, it is pretty incredible.
https://bigislandhikes.com/waipio-valley
Hapuna beach is one of our favourite beaches anywhere. It is well worth spending a full day or at least an afternoon. The sand is powdery soft, the water is clear and fairly warm because it is a long shallow entry into the ocean. If you turn around and face the island in the winter you can sometimes see the snow on top of Mauna Kea.
https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island/regions/kohala/hapuna-beach-state-park
Seeing that you are foodies, you should try to take the time to go to a Farmers Market on at least one of the islands you visit. The fresh fruits like papayas, pineapple and mango are so juicy and sweet. I bring a cutting board and a sharp knife in my carry on so we can eat fresh farmers market fruit in the condo or hotel room.

You could also try a coffee farm tour and one of my all time favourite Big Islands activities is the Hamakua Mac Nut tour. It actually isnt even a "tour" so much a sampling room and windows into the production area but there are so many different nut samples to try, plus incredible local farm kona small batch coffees to sample as well. The prices are really cheap and we bought some amazing coffee beans there that we could not buy anywhere else. I was reluctant to go the first time, I thought it was a tourist trap but we had been at Spencer Beach park, which is right around the corner.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attracti..._Nut_Co-Kawaihae_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html
https://www.hawaii-guide.com/big-island/beaches/spencer_beach_park
There is sooooo much to see and do in the Big Island, I could go on and on. Feel free to ask if you have specific questions

As far as Maui goes, I find it kind of busy and touristy but there are lots of great things to see and do.
Some highlights of our past trips have been:

Rainbow eucalyptus trees
https://www.tourmaui.com/rainbow-eucalyptus/
Lahaina town, especially strolling on art nights
https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/maui/regions/west-maui/Lahaina
Snorkelling in and around Kapalua/Napili
https://napilisurf.com/snorkeling-near-napili/
 
We are in love with the Big Island and are regular visitors so this post is Big Island answer heavy

I am not sure how much time you have on Big Island but if you are hiking and nature lovers be sure to spend some time in Volcanos National Park. If you are looking to do some lava viewing at dusk or in the dark keep in mind many people will overnight right in Volcano Village because it is a long roundtrip drive to the Kona side (if that is where your hotel is)
https://www.lovebigisland.com/hawaii-volcanoes-national-park/
In Waikoloa, just north from Kona about 20-25 mins, there are very cool petroglyph lava trails. Not really a hike but wear proper shoes and bring water, the sun can be brutal on these as there is little shade.
https://bigislandhikes.com/waikoloa-petroglyph-preserve
The black sand beaches are unique and fun to see. There are few but this one is pretty popular
https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island/regions/kau/punaluu-black-sand-beach
If you are into serious hiking, you might want to consider Waipi'o Valley. I have been down into in and played at the beach there, it is pretty incredible.
https://bigislandhikes.com/waipio-valley
Hapuna beach is one of our favourite beaches anywhere. It is well worth spending a full day or at least an afternoon. The sand is powdery soft, the water is clear and fairly warm because it is a long shallow entry into the ocean. If you turn around and face the island in the winter you can sometimes see the snow on top of Mauna Kea.
https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/hawaii-big-island/regions/kohala/hapuna-beach-state-park
Seeing that you are foodies, you should try to take the time to go to a Farmers Market on at least one of the islands you visit. The fresh fruits like papayas, pineapple and mango are so juicy and sweet. I bring a cutting board and a sharp knife in my carry on so we can eat fresh farmers market fruit in the condo or hotel room.

You could also try a coffee farm tour and one of my all time favourite Big Islands activities is the Hamakua Mac Nut tour. It actually isnt even a "tour" so much a sampling room and windows into the production area but there are so many different nut samples to try, plus incredible local farm kona small batch coffees to sample as well. The prices are really cheap and we bought some amazing coffee beans there that we could not buy anywhere else. I was reluctant to go the first time, I thought it was a tourist trap but we had been at Spencer Beach park, which is right around the corner.
https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attracti..._Nut_Co-Kawaihae_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html
https://www.hawaii-guide.com/big-island/beaches/spencer_beach_park
There is sooooo much to see and do in the Big Island, I could go on and on. Feel free to ask if you have specific questions

As far as Maui goes, I find it kind of busy and touristy but there are lots of great things to see and do.
Some highlights of our past trips have been:

Rainbow eucalyptus trees
https://www.tourmaui.com/rainbow-eucalyptus/
Lahaina town, especially strolling on art nights
https://www.gohawaii.com/islands/maui/regions/west-maui/Lahaina
Snorkelling in and around Kapalua/Napili
https://napilisurf.com/snorkeling-near-napili/
You have to do the Road to Hana in Maui at least once. You can make it a day trip, or turn it into a 3-day adventure. If you want to see all the beauty of Maui, this is the way to do it.
 


We didn't do the Big Island, but the must do for me there would be Volcano National Park.

In Maui, we took it easy, but knew we wanted to do a luau at some point in our trip. We chose to do it while on Maui because two of the highest rated luaus in Hawaii are on Maui - Old Lahaina Luau and Feast at Lele. Both are on Front St in Lahaina, which is close to the Kaanapali beach region. We loved this area. We did the Feast at Lele and loved it, but I don't think you can go wrong with either luau if that's something that interests you.

The other big things to do on Maui are Road to Hana and Haleakala. We passed on Haleakala because we had already done Diamond Head and we aren't big on outdoor adventure activities. We considered Road to Hana, but after researching, we learned its best done with a tour because the roads can be treacherous, tight, and dangerous in areas. A tour guide would have more familiarity so it would be more enjoyable for all people in the group, and you don't run the risk of breaking rental car restrictions (some restrict the Road to Hana). But most of the tours we found were a full day commitment because of the distance - it was a good 8+ hour day. We didn't want to devote that much time during our brief Maui stay. The other disadvantage of a tour is that you can't pick and choose where you get out for photos, and there's always the risk of car sickness from all the twists and turns if anyone in the group is prone to that.
 
Make sure to check out a lava tube when you're in Volcano National Park. It's a type of cave formed from the lava itself and it's just a very unique experience!
 
On the Big Island, we really enjoyed Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park. There was amazing tide pooling, and tons of sea turtles, both in the water and on the beach. Our kids like it so much that we went back for a second day. Another activity we really enjoyed was touring a coffee farm--we went to Mountain Thunder Kona Coffee. The tour was free, I believe.
 


On the Big Island, we really enjoyed Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park. There was amazing tide pooling, and tons of sea turtles, both in the water and on the beach. Our kids like it so much that we went back for a second day. Another activity we really enjoyed was touring a coffee farm--we went to Mountain Thunder Kona Coffee. The tour was free, I believe.
That's the farm we are planning to go to in January. I have been buying their espresso roast on Amazon - its so good. Cant wait to taste more of their coffees
 
That's the farm we are planning to go to in January. I have been buying their espresso roast on Amazon - its so good. Cant wait to taste more of their coffees

Their cold brew is amazing. They also had some really delicious teas made from the coffee cherries.
 
The Road to Hana was my favorite thing we did-- so incredibly beautiful. There are plenty of places to get out and hike some and plenty of places to see. The road to Hana itself (which starts around Paia) does not void insurance coverage-- where some coverage can be voided is if you do what they call the "full loop" or the "back side" which means that instead of turning around and going back the way you came you try to just keep going and go through the Kaupo area. You can go past Hana some-- we went to the Pools of Oheo, in Haleakala National Park and then turned back there as it was starting to get late and we didn't want to drive the whole road in the dark.

All in all, we did not think the road was scary at all. There are some spots where the road is briefly one lane (really I think it is more like one lane bridges)-- and you have to stop for oncoming traffic (or they have to stop for you), to let one car through at a time. Those were the only points that were an issue, and we did not find them that stressful. There are roads in Arkansas through the Ozarks that are a lot scarier than the Road to Hana.

It has been a couple of years since we went, but back then, the cars still had CD players and you could buy a CD tour guide just about anywhere. There is also an app-- but we found that there were a few spots we did not have cell service. I would bet by now there are guides you can download onto your phone that work when you are offline. You absolutely want one of those guides. They tell you by mile marker what to look for and where to stop. There are so many places and trials we would have driven right by not knowing they are there without it. For example something like - at mile marker 16 (I made up that number for the post) pull over and park on the side of the road--look for the brown gate-- when you see the gate look for the small hiking trial to the right of the gate-- take that trail and you will see..." There are several things that are off the main road where the guide tells you how to get to them. We probably would not have found the Keanae Penninsula just driving down the road-- as you have to make a left turn off the main road to get down to that area. It was probably my favorite stop- just beautiful watching the waves crashing over the rocks.

If you want to hike and be out in nature-- the Road to Hana is a great place to do that. I think I much preferred doing it on our own in a rental car, because I liked being on our own schedule and being able to stop and explore where we wanted for as long as we wanted- instead of being tied to a group. I would recommend starting out really early- there are places that we did not stay as long as we would have liked because we wanted to try to be back in Paia not too long after dark (we did wind up driving a ways on the way back after dark and it wasn't that bad). There are places in Paia that you can buy a sack or box lunch to take with you--- there is not a whole lot on the road, so I would recommend doing that, or bringing your own food in the car. There are some roadside food stands-- but the problem is whether you will be around those at the time you are actually hungry- we weren't so we were glad we had brought lunch.
 
On Maui, we did the Pipiwai hike to Waimoku Falls in the Kipahulu section of Haleakala National Park. Walking through the bamboo forest was incredible. Very different from the hikes we have done here. We skipped most of the stops during the first half, on the Road to Hana, so we would have time to hike. We stayed ahead of the traffic this way. I am a slow hiker, so by the time we got back, most of the traffic was gone, so we were able to fly back up to Paia, driving like the locals. I'm sure people would think we were crazy, but we grew up with a road similar to the Road to Hana (minus all the one lane bridges). But the narrowish road, hanging on the side of a cliff, twisting and turning... that we had some experience with. Chuckanut Drive in Washington State, if anyone cares.

On the Big Island, we did the Kilauea Iki hike in Volcanoes National Park. It is my favorite hike ever. It started off raining, and my DH was miserable, but when we got to the floor, the sun came out and it was also very different than other hikes we have done.

We also drove to the lookout at Pololu Valley. Way up north in the Kohala area. For once, my research failed me, and I didn't realize that there was a short hike down to the shoreline. If we go back, we are planning on doing that.
 
I am planning on going to the BI before Aulani, staying at Hilton Waikoloa Village. We are seeing Rainbow and Akaka Falls, going to a chocolate farm for a tour and tasting, a coffee farm as stated above and we are going to a Seahorse farm to hold seahorses - that's the one I am most excited about. We were going to take a whale watch tour but decided to do that on Oahu instead. Another thing is the Manta Ray night dive.
 

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