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Lahaina

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Day or Night there is always something happening in and around Lahaina.  The front street is a bustling place of action.  During the day most of the museums, art galleries, shops, cafes and restaurants are open early.

You can enjoy your day under the banyan tree in the center of town where there is plenty of people watching to be had.  Each day there is something different going on from markets, to events, to presentations, tournament related events and even festivals.

Throughout Lahaina there are plenty of cafes and bars that are open late.  There is something for everyone in your group, from country to hip-hop dance.  Check out the hotel concierge often to see what’s going hot on what days.  There is no club that is going off every night so plan your days and check out things ahead of time to be sure you have a great night out.  Since most people are on vacation, waiting to the weekend to have a great time is not always necessary like in the cities.  Every day can be a party night in Lahaina.

This is the historic capital of the Hawaiian Islands so it has a lot more history. The old buildings, canal setup and unique architecture is a wonderful place to hang out for a day. This is much more of a tourist town then Kihei. There are little museums, galleries and many shops, cafes and restaurants.

The large banyan tree in the centre of town at the waterfront is a great meeting place and a perfect place to do some people watching.

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Kahului

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Maui Arts & Cultural Center is one of the top attractions and fun things to do in Kahului.  There is always some sort of event happening either out on the courtyard or in the theatre.  You can spend many a night enjoying displays of Hawaiian or modern culture.  From comedians, plays, films to orchestras, solo artists and rock bands, there is something on the schedule that you don’t want to miss.

Other things during the day in Kahului to do can range from the farmers markets held at the local malls, the weekend events that include festivals, swaps or street parties.

There are plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants doing something, day or night in Kahului.  Most of these events are tailored to the locals so in most cases they will be similar to what you got back at home.  If you want Hawaiian themed partying this is not going to be the city.

The movie theaters are about the only late night thing going on for the family.  Most of the arcades, mall galleries and box stores close at no later then 10pm.

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Wailuku

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Wailuku is the capital of the county of Maui.  It has all the government offices, it’s the administration center for Maui county.   Wailuku has a long history and it can be seen at the Bailey House Museum during the day.  That building is also home to the Maui Historical Society.  You can learn all about Maui’s past and future here in Wailuku.

Up above Wailuku is a number of great parks to visit during the day.  The Cultural Heritage park that shows different building styles of the cultures that call Maui their home.  The Portuguese, New Englanders, Philippinos, Hawaiian, Japanese and Chinese all have a demonstration building that their community upkeeps.

Further up the valley is Iao State Park and the Iao Needle.  This park deserves a few hours to explore especially if you head upstream for a swim in the pools.  On most days you can watch some of the local kids jump off the bridge into a small pool, a fall of about 20 feet or so.

At night Market Street and the surrounding area has the concentration of restaurants, cafes and bars.  Market street is lined with little cafes and shops but it’s definitely not a touristy place.   The best spot to listen to new local talent is Marc Aurel cafe.  They have open mic nights and also some live music playing on the weekend.  Their menu is tasty and innovative.

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Museums, Cultural & Historical Places

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Compared to New York City or many of the other cities in the world, the number of museums here on Maui is pretty small.  What is located here on Maui is focused on items and topics directly relating to Maui or Hawaiian culture.

The Alexander and Baldwin Sugar Museum focuses on the islands link with these families and what their sugar plantations have done to change the face of the islands.  ,

The Baldwin House and Lahaina Restoration Foundation in Lahaina has a lot of great pieces and presentations.  They take you back to the time when Hawaii was ruled from Lahaina, the missionaries did their work and the whalers ruled the seas.

Whalers Village Museum gives a full account of the dramatic effect the whaling industry had on the Hawaiian culture in the past few centuries.  Being one of the most isolated island chains in the world in terms of distance it is a winter home to thousands of humpback whales.  This was and still is their breeding grounds.  Their numbers are greatly reduced since that time but they are slowly improving again.

The Maui Arts and Cultural Center in Kahului is full of Maui and Hawaii art history.  The best part of this is the shows on Hawaiian culture that is constantly happening here.  They also have a wide variety of benefits and shows for the entire family.

These are not huge museums and nothing there is incredibly dramatic when compared to some of the museums in cities around the world but if you are looking to learn more about Maui, Hawaii or experience Hawaiian culture at it’s finest then our Museums are the place to go.

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Watching Movies

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Going to the movies is easy on Maui.  A cinema is never far away.   There are three in Kahului including the one at the Castle Theatre at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.  The movies played at the MACC are not the mainstream ones you find elsewhere and usually have won awards at international festivals.  These movies focus on culture, arts, environment or social issues.  This theatre is also the center of Maui’s international Film Festival that takes place each year.

The other Kahului theaters are located at the Malls, Maui mall and Queen Ka’ahumanu Center.   There are two cinemas in Lahaina on Front street and one in Kihei that play the mainstream, big release Hollywood generated movies.

Everyone enjoys movies and a vacation is not complete without going out to see at least one or watching them in your hotel or condo in the evenings.   There are many places to rent movies all over the towns, pick up cheap ones with your Costco membership or because most places have a good internet connection, hook up your laptop and watch them thru Hulu or netflix.

There is definitely not a shortage of good movie watching while on Maui.

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Makawao

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Located up on the mountain at 1600′ above sea level.  Makawao is an old cowboy town or what we here in Hawaii like to call Paniolos.   These cowboys of spanish descent came to Makawao to hunt the wild cattle that was brought and let loose on Maui in 1793.  The Paniolos of Spanish / Mexican heritage then began to setup ranches high up on the slopes of Haleakala.  Much of that land is still being grazed today.  You can see a lot of it as you travel up through Upcountry Maui on your way to the summit of Haleakala.

In town Makawao has many little galleries, stores, cafes and restaurants.  They are packed into an area about 1/2 sq mile so it’s easy to wander through all of them within a couple hours.   During the day many of the art galleries and jewelry shops are open.  In the evening the two restaurants at the crossroads of town and a local pub just up the street are open late.  It is definitely much more of a sleepier town then Paia which is 15 minutes down the mountain to the Northeast.

Some of the things to do in Makawao include hitting Cassanovas in the evening for some dancing and drinking.  Playing some sports at the ball park, as pickup soccer is played Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  Stopping in a Polly’s mexican for a drink and a burrito is always a nice way to end the day.  The sports bar always has something going on with some live rock music on most weekend nights.

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