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Guides

Guides to Maui

10 long-form guides to Maui, each one signed and dated so you can see how current it is. They answer the questions that do not fit on a listings page: how the place is laid out, what you will actually be charged for, and which trade-offs are worth making.

Guides

Plan

  • An empty two-lane road running toward a distant volcanic slope

    Guide

    Do You Need a Car on Maui?

    Almost everyone needs one. The island is 727 square miles with a volcano in the middle, and the public bus does not go to a single thing you flew here for.

    10 min readKealoha Nakamura

Guides

Explore

  • A long stretch of sand and surf with a green headland rising behind it

    Guide

    Seven Days on Maui: A Week That Actually Works

    Featured

    Water in the morning, land in the afternoon, and the three reservations booked before you fly. Order the week that way and Maui stops feeling like a driving holiday.

    11 min readMarcus Reyes

  • A two-lane road curving along a green coastal headland above open ocean

    Guide

    A First-Timer's Guide to Maui

    Featured

    Maui is bigger than the map suggests and three of its headline sites now need a reservation booked before you leave home. Get those two things right and the rest of the week arranges itself.

    10 min readKealoha Nakamura

  • A steep green valley wall under low cloud with a stream running through it

    Guide

    Visiting Maui Respectfully

    Featured

    Maui asks more of its visitors than most places, and it asks for specific things rather than good intentions. Here is what residents have actually said they want.

    12 min readMarcus Reyes

Guides

Outdoors

  • A bare ridgeline standing above a sea of cloud in early morning light

    Guide

    Haleakalā Sunrise: How the Reservation Actually Works

    Featured

    A timed reservation is required for every vehicle entering the summit between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m., and the good dates go in minutes. Here is how the system works, and when to skip it.

    9 min readDana Whitfield

  • Sunlight on the surface of clear ocean water above a shallow reef

    Guide

    Reef-Safe Sunscreen and Ocean Etiquette on Maui

    Maui County's rule is stricter than the state's: mineral only, no prescription, no exceptions. Most visitors arrive with a bag of sunscreen they should not be using here.

    9 min readDana Whitfield

Guides

Tours

Guides

Who it suits

  • Clear shallow water breaking gently onto pale sand under a bright sky

    Guide

    Maui with Kids: Which Beaches, Which Boats, Which Drives

    Featured

    On Maui the family variable is water. Some of these beaches are a bathtub and one of them has sent more people to hospital with spinal injuries than any beach in the state.

    10 min readKealoha Nakamura