Maui: One Week in Paradise
Where to hit all the amazing attractions on the Island of Maui in one week.
Hawaii is a vacation destination that has always been at the top of my bucket list for years. In fact, twice now we had had definitive plans to go, but one year we last minute decided on a different destination and the second time I got pregnant with twins! Ha! So when the opportunity came up to go to Hawaii a couple of years later, I knew I had to jump at the chance.
Here are my Top Must-See Attractions in Maui:
Kahekili Highway
Punakea Palms Coconut Tour
Haleakala Sunrise or Sunset
Road to Hana
Iao Valley and Needle State Monument
An authentic luau
Take some, leave some, spread it out over more days, or look up other attractions that I may have missed! Either way, you’re guaranteed to have an amazing and adventurous vacation with your kids.
Photo owned by Kristel at On the Go with 4 Kids in Tow
First, Recommendations
Maui Revealed
There is so much to see and experience in Maui, it’s hard to know where to even start…. I guess technically that’s where I come in though, right? But even with all my great suggestions in this blog post, there is so much more to learn about the island of Maui.
I would highly recommend you start your planning by buying the Maui Revealed book [please note, this is an affiliate link]—it’s hands down the best guide book out there with so much explanation and descriptions about everything on Maui.
Staying in Two Main Regions
If you have the time and are wanting to see all of Maui, I would recommend splitting up your stay between 2 different locations: the first is the area around Lahaina / Kaanapali & the second is around Wailea / Kihei. If you only have time for 1 area, I really liked Lahaina / Kaanapali, but at the same time, there are some must-see places on the other side of the island closer to Wailea / Kihei.
Food Trucks
I don’t have any specific food recommendations [except for 1 which I will add below in my itinerary], but I would highly recommend that you take advantage of all the delicious food trucks around Maui! We ended up doing food trucks every day for either lunch or dinner. There are so many to choose from and in all different types of cuisines. It also makes it so much easier with young kids, because there would be open outdoor space for them to let out some energy, rather than being stuck inside sitting at a restaurant table.
One of our favorite places to eat was at Honoapiilani Food Truck Park in Kaanapali. It’s located in a very large lot / courtyard, with many different food trucks to choose from. But there are so many food truck parks around, so you’ll never be short of finding one near you!
Preparing for Road Trips
You may not be planning on taking any of the recommended road trips I list in my blog post, but even if you think you’ll be driving around for most of the day, it’s always good to be prepared. Always pack some snacks & drinks, bring lots of sunscreen, have cash on you, keep Dramamine in your back pocket and download your maps and any music you may want, in case you go somewhere where there’s no cell phone reception [we really only encountered this on the Road to Hana]. I also liked to have swimsuits, towels and dry clothes with us, just in case we snuck in a beach visit while we were out!
Beaches
You’ll notice that I don’t list too many beaches in this blog post. The ones I do write about are beaches we personally went to and where I felt would be a great place to stop at, based on where you will already be that day. But there are beaches all over Maui and it’s best to fit them in where you see fit in your own itinerary! For us, even though I don’t indicate it in my itinerary below, we found so much time in between activities on most days, to just stop at a beach for an hour or so, to let the kids dip their toes in the water and play in the sand, before we went onto our next adventure.
Snorkeling
My kids were only 7, 4.5 and almost 2yo when we vacationed in Maui, so we unfortunately did not get to do any snorkeling-type tours, and therefore, you won’t find any information in this blog post about it. But if you are able to go, definitely look into it! My friends enjoyed doing an excursion to Molokini Crater. There are also plenty of opportunities to go to a beach and just snorkel on your own along the shoreline, which is what I ended up doing once with my daughter.
Lahaina Disclaimer
It’s important [and devastating] for me to note that when we visited Maui, it was less than 2 weeks before the 2023 fires, so I am not 100% sure of what will have reopened at the time you are reading this blog post. I will indicate the places that would have been affected, in my itinerary below.
West Maui
We spent the first half of our vacation in the West region of Maui. The airbnb we stayed at was in Kaanapali, but there are so many lodging options to choose from along the coast. I would recommend you look at staying around Lahaina or Kaanapali, and as far north as Kapalua.
Day 1: Kahekili Highway
We’re going to just throw ourselves into the thick of adventure on the 1st day of vacation, by experiencing Kahekili Highway!
Kahekili Highway is a long stretch of road with lots of points of interests to stop at. However, I have to add a disclaimer that this highway can also be dangerous to drive—after a certain point [I will indicate below], the road gets very narrow and becomes a 1-way lane with very scary hairpin turns. So please use extreme caution! You will hear a lot about how the Road to Hana is a scary drive [spoiler alert: it wasn’t], but I believe hands down, Kahekili Highway is 100x scarier.
Dragon’s Teeth Access Trail
Start your journey at the start of the Dragon’s Teeth Access Trail that leads to Makaluapuna Point, where you can see Dragon’s Teeth and walk the Kapalua labyrinth. Parking is very easy at the start of the trail, and then it is a very quick and easy hike to Makaluapuna Point.
The area is referred to as Dragon’s Teeth, because there is a really cool rock formation from one of Maui’s last big lava flows. As the lava from the West Maui Volcano poured into the ocean, very strong wind and waves forced it back and it cooled into a formation that resembles great black teeth.
D.T. Fleming Beach Park
Now’s a good time as any to take a quick break at the beach! Not far from the Dragon’s Teeth Access Trail is D.T. Fleming Beach Park. You can actually take a trail from the Dragon’s Teeth Access Trail to this beach, which only takes about a 10 mins walk. But there is also plenty of parking right at the beach, so we ended up just taking the quick drive over.
The beach itself is fairly small, but it’s still a fun place to take a quick dip into the ocean and play in the sand. There is also a washing station right at the entrance, where you can clean all the sand off your body after you leave.
Burger Shack
Right next to D.T. Fleming Beach Park [they share a parking lot], is the entrance to get to the Burger Shack; it is actually a part of the Ritz Carlton hotel. Unfortunately, they were having an issue [can’t remember what it was] when we went there, so they had to close and we didn’t get a chance to try it. But this outdoor restaurant is right on the beach, so definitely check it out if you want to eat in a beautiful setting.
Nakalele Blowhole
About 15-20 minutes further down the highway, you will come across a place to pull over on the road and walk the short distance to see the Nakalele Blowhole. You can hike the small trail to get to the bottom, but I would highly recommend NOT doing so! Especially if you have young kids, it is much safer to just stay on the top of the cliff where you can easily still see the blowhole in action.
While you’re there, be sure to stop at MamaLei’s Homemade Goodness stand that’s located just on the other side of the parking lot of the blowhole, where you can grab some yummy baked goods!
At this point on the Kahekili Highway, the road does start to get much more narrow and scary to drive. It really isn’t for the faint of heart, so if you don’t feel comfortable going the rest of the drive, then it’s best to turn around now.
Lorraine Shave Ice
However, if you do want to continue to brave the drive, you’re going to definitely want to stop at Lorraine Shave Ice! This place has the freshest and yummiest shaved ice you will ever have! Actually, after having shaved ice in Hawaii in general, you will seriously question what it is they are selling here on the mainland.
Julia’s Best Banana Bread
Just a couple minutes further down the road is Julia’s Best Banana Bread. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was all sold out! I have heard that you do need to get here pretty early in the morning, so if you wanted to do the reverse drive of what I’ve written here, then you could hit this place first!
***
Now is the point where you are definitely going to want to turn around. At this part of the drive, the road was already getting pretty scary, and it only gets worse if you keep going. Additionally, although the road does continue on into a large loop that takes you back to Lahaina, it will take you well over an hour to head that way, so it will be quicker to just head back the same way you came from.
There are a lot of other roadside attractions that we also skipped prior to Lorraine’s, so feel free to look into the highway drive on your own to see if there are any other stops you might want to do! The Maui Revealed book is a great resource to reference for this.
Day 2: Lahaina
As a reminder, Day 2 and Day 3 now starts the part of the itinerary where I am unable to confirm if these places have been restored or not since the fires. I truly hope that by the time you go on your vacation, that all these places are back up and running. It it completely devastating to think about how all these businesses have suffered.
Punakea Palms Coconut Tour
I was completely blown away by how interesting this tour was! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but our tour guide was so knowledgable and passionate about the coconut farm, it just made the whole experience very enjoyable. We got to try so many different aged coconuts and different parts of the nut- it was so cool to taste the differences between all of them. The grounds themselves are also breathtaking and there is a small little store and cafe onsite as well.
Atlantis Adventures Submarines
I was very excited to go on the Atlantis Adventures Submarines because I knew it would be such a cool experience; but truth be told, once I actually got on, I had a little bit of a panic attack….! I will tell you a little bit about my experience below, so you can decide if this is the right thing for you.
I left my husband home with the twins and brought along my two older kids. Once you’re in the submarine, you realize how confined it actually is inside. I wouldn’t say you’re really crammed in, but all the seats are butted up next to each other and you’re sitting side-by-side in 2 rows and back to back from each other.
But the moment I really started to panic was once the submarine door closed. There was something about that closing that made me realize that I was going to be locked inside for the next 45 mins or so. Full disclosure, I do get claustrophobic, so honestly, I’m not even sure what I was thinking when I booked this tour lol! But anyway, as the submarine slowly started going down and I saw the monitor gradually dropping in how many feet we were submerging, the only thing that stopped me from jumping out of my seat and running to the captain to let us out, was not wanting to completely freak my kids out.
My savior ended up being my daughter who was talking SO much….. on a normal day, her constant jabbering would have annoyed me and I would have told her to be quiet, but at this time, her voice forced me to concentrate on my breathing, so I closed my eyes for a bit and got my heart to slow back down.
This was the first time I ever felt like this; it was a very scary feeling but I’m happy to say that the rest of our time submerged ended up going well and I was able to enjoy all the fun marine life we saw.
I hope that my story doesn’t scare too many of you away, but i do think it’s important to know what you may be getting into, before booking a submarine tour! Do i regret going? No… but I also don’t think I’d ever go back down in one!
Front Street and the Banyan Tree
When I saw the devastation the the fires caused on Front Street, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I really hope they are able to restore the town to its full glory and then some, because the main street in Lahaina is such a joy to walk up and down. We stopped at a couple of shops, but we just had a good time taking a stroll down the road. One of the places we did make a pit stop at was Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice. I will say, I do think Lorraine Shave Ice is better, but Ululani’s is the next best thing, and it is for sure better than any shaved ice you could get on the mainland! They also have tons of different and unique flavors to choose from. If Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice on Front Street has not yet reopened, there are actually a few other locations you can stop at on Maui, and they also have locations on other Hawaiian islands, as well as in California and Texas.
But the main attraction on Front Street is of course the famous Banyan Tree. This beautiful and largest Banyan tree in the United States was planted in 1873, and has stood majestic and proud in the middle of Lahaina Banyan Court Park for over 150 years. It has even already shown signs of recovery from the fires!
Photo of the Banyan Tree owned by Kristel at On the Go with 4 Kids in Tow
Day 3: Lahaina Continued…
Paradise Eco Adventures
I came across this company when I was looking for an alpaca tour and was surprised by how many other tours they do too! Check out their website, and you’ll see that they have lots of experiences in addition to the alpaca tour, like an herbal tea and tasting, and adventures such as a zipline and an aquaball. The tour we decided to do was the Tropical Fruit Tasting Tour. My kids LOVE fruit, so I knew this would be a fun one for them.
The tour takes you around their 27 acre USDA certified organic farm. The fruit they are most known for growing is the dragon fruit, and they cultivate multiple varieties which we were able to see and taste. They also grow many other tropical fruits like pineapple, lychee, jack fruits, mango, papaya and so much more! In addition to tasting all these yummy fruits, we also got to feed their alpacas.
Feast of Lele
You can’t have a vacation in Hawaii and not go to a luau. Is it expensive? Hell yes. But if you’ve never been to one, you really need to experience it at least once in your life. They are such a beautiful celebration of Hawaiian culture, and you get to try authentic Hawaiian cuisine. Plus, your kids will love dressing up for the occasion!
There are so many luaus to choose from on the island of Maui. We decided to go to Feast of Lele, which unfortunately was demolished during the fires. I really hope they are back up and running by the time you plan your trip.
Other popular luaus in West Maui:
South Maui & Upcountry
As hard as it was to leave, it was time to head to the other side of the island, where we stayed in South Maui in the town of Wailea. Wailea is a wonderful area to stay in, and it was easy to get to other parts of the island from where we were. Kihei, just north of Wailea, is another great option to find lodging.
Day 4: Upcountry
Maui Animal Farm
Before we left the Lahaina / Kaanapali area, we made a visit to Maui Animal Farm. If you have any animal lovers in the family, this farm is a must-stop! The Petting Zoo Tour is such a great opportunity to see, pet and hold both their common and rare animals that live on the farm. You will get to feed bunnies and guinea pigs, horses & donkeys, rams, sheep & goats, and so much more! There are also chickens, ducks, pigs, and huge tortoises. You will also learn so much about the farm and its history, and fun facts about their animals!
Historic Makawao Town
Most likely it is too early to check-in to your lodging in South Maui, so now’s a great time to drive directly to Upcountry and visit some of the great attractions they have to offer. First stop is the historic town of Makawao. Famous for its “Hawaiian Cowboys”, Makawao is filled with local shops and boutiques, selling artisan crafts, art and accessories, jewelry and so much more.
A famous must-stop shop on Baldwin Ave is The Maui Cookie Lady. MCL has freshly-baked gourmet cookies in unique flavor combinations, that uses locally sourced ingredients. Some of their flavorful cookies include a passionfruit white chocolate cookie, one of their best sellers: a Reese’s, Snickers and Oreo cookie, and another best seller: a cookie made with macadamia, Bavarian cream, white chocolate and Hawaiian sea salt.
Up the road from the Historic Makawao Town, is the Kulamalu Town Center. We made a quick stop here at Mahalo Aleworks to enjoy a locally brewed beer. They do not have a kitchen, but there is the Upcountry Sausage Co. cart in the brewery that you can order gourmet sausages and bratwursts from, or you can eat wood-fired sourdough pizzas next door at Restaurant Marlow.
Ali’i Kula Lavender
A popular destination amongst both locals and tourists, the Ali’i Kula Lavender farm boasts 13.5 acres of approximately 55,000 lavender plants and 45 different varieties of lavender. It’s a beautiful and serene location to walk around and to catch some peace and quiet. We didn’t spend more than an hour here, but I can definitely see how one could get lost for longer in the beauty of the fields.
Surfing Goat Dairy
If you still have the time to explore Upcountry, Surfing Goat Dairy is worth the stop. As Maui’s largest commercial dairy farm, you can shop for their award-winning gourmet goat cheese that have unique and rare flavors, as well as gourmet truffles made from their goat milk. The kids will love the different interactive tours and experiences they have to offer, such as the goat interaction or feeding experiences, or a casual tour of the whole farm. We did the Evening Chore and Milking Tour, where we got to feed the goats in the pasture and milked goats by hand! My daughter loved that!
Day 5: Road to Hana
This famous and amazing road trip to Hana in East Maui, deserves its own blog post! Fortunately, I already have one :)
Blog Post: Road to Hana
Day 6: South Maui and more of Upcountry
Maui Ocean Center
Photo of Maui Ocean Center owned by Kristel at On the Go with 4 Kids in Tow
At the North end of South Maui, there is a great aquarium with lots of exhibits and educational programs. The Maui Ocean Center opened in 1998, and it is their mission to protect and be a strong advocate for marine ecosystems. Some of the interactive encounters they offer include a shark dive, snorkeling and a Hawaiian culture & botanical plant tour.
Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery
Photo of Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery owned by Kristel at On the Go with 4 Kids in Tow
We randomly came across this distillery just trying to find a place to eat back in Upcountry. The menu looked delicious and kid-friendly, so we headed over for a quick dinner. As soon as we walked onto the grounds of the Ocean Organic Farm & Distillery, I was taken aback by how breathtaking the views are! The outside is massive and absolutely beautiful. Lots of places to sit and for the kids to explore, and they also have live music.
The food at the farm cafe was every bit as it sounds: Ocean Poke Bowl, Ahi Tartare on a Kula Krisp, macadamia nut and pesto farmbread, and so much more. They also have sandwiches, desserts and of course vodka and other spirits and cocktails. We bought a bottle of their vodka to take home with us and I just had some the other day; it’s no joke, some of the smoothest vodka I’ve ever had.
Haleakalā National Sunset
Photo of the Haleakala Sunset owned by Kristel at On the Go with 4 Kids in Tow
The Haleakala sunrise or sunset is an absolute must!! You drive up this beautiful volcanic mountain and are quite literally above the clouds, where you take in the breathtaking view of the sunrise or sunset!
The sunrise is highly recommended, but you do have to wake up at like 3 in the morning to start your journey there. Since we had little kids with us, we opted to do the sunset instead, and not having anything to compare it to, the sunset was perfect and I have no regrets! If you do decide to do the sunrise, just know that you need reservations. My friends opted to do the sunrise the day after they flew in from Chicago, so that it coincided with the time difference— so that might be a smart option to explore!
Here are my tips & info on seeing the Haleakala Sunset:
Start your drive up the mountain no later than 1.5hrs before sunset. For us, that was around 6p, for a 715p / 730p sunset in July. From the Haleakala National Park entrance to the summit, it takes 30 mins to drive up the mountain, with no stops. If you want to make some stops at a couple of overlooks, than plan to leave even earlier. You should be sure to arrive at the top at least 45 mins before the actual sunset.
You will drive all the way to the top of the summit and then it’s a short walk to get to the very top of Haleakala. It’s important to note here that we actually made the drive to the top, we were a few cars behind the entrance, but then they had reached max capacity! So we unfortunately didn’t make it all the way, but we did pull over at one of the last lookouts before the entrance, and were still able to have a wonderful view of the sunset above the clouds!
A couple of the scenic overlooks you can stop at on your drive up the mountain are Leleiwi Overlook & Kalakahu Overlook. There is also a Vistior’s center you can stop at for another overlook.
This is very important: bring jackets, blankets and wear long pants!!! It sucks, because you really don’t want to have to travel with all that gear when you will only use it for about 30 minutes on your entire vacation, but it gets VERY cold at the top!! Temperatures can range anywhere between 20-50° F, depending what time of year it is, and that’s on top of the windchill.
This mountain has a lot of hairpin turns. If you get car sick easily, bring Dramamine or another motion sickness medicine. If you don’t want to drive up the mountain yourself, there are tours available.
If you’re REALLY feeling adventurous, you can BIKE up and down the mountain! I actually know a few people that have done this, and they were not well-equipped for this journey! It is very scary and I would highly recommend NOT doing it if you have your kids with you!
The Haleakala sunset [or sunrise] is easily in my Top 3 of must-do attractions on Maui. It makes for a late night and a lot of pre-planning, but it also can be a once in a life time experience that you really don’t want to miss.
Additional Recommendations in Upcountry
There are quite a few more attractions to visit in Upcountry that we unfortunately did not get around to visiting. Here are other places that have been recommended by others:
Maui Pineapple Tour
883 Haliimaile Rd, Makawao HI 96768
Maui Chocolate and Coffee Tours
1886 Naalae Rd, Kula HI 96790
Maui Alpaca
505 Aulii Dr, Makawao HI 96768
Haleakala Creamery
170 Hoomaikai Pl, Kula HI 96790
Day 7: Central Maui & North Shore
Iao Valley and Needle State Monument
A trip to Iao Valley to see the Needle is another must-do on your vacation to Maui. The beautiful 4,000-acre valley has hiking, sightseeing, a nature center and of course the Iao Needle. The trail is fairly easy-going and leads you to some nice areas to walk around and look at the lush valley. However, to hike to the top to see the Iao Needle, you will need to walk up 136 steps. The views at the top are worth it though! Please note: reservations are required.
Paia Town
Paia is one of the last popular towns that you need to visit before leaving Maui! It’s located on the North Shore of the island, near the airport. It’s not necessarily near Iao Valley, but it’s only about a half hour away and it’s a quick and easy drive.
Mama’s Fish House
Mama’s Fish House is the ONE restaurant I recommend you go to when you’re in Maui. The problem is….. reservations can book up to 18 months in advance. YUP.
Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t try to book later than that; in fact, I believe I was able to get our reservations about 4 months ahead of time. I would say, even if you *think* you are going to be heading to Maui, just go ahead and book a table at the restaurant and plan your dates around it!
However, you should also be aware that it is VERY expensive. Dishes average around $50-$75 per plate. Knowing that now, could Mama’s Fish House be overpriced and overrated? Absolutely! So don’t kill yourself or go broke trying to get in.
If you are able to get reservations and you can afford to go though, then do it. I will leave it at that.
Paia Town
Even if you can’t get reservations or you decide you don’t want to go to Mama’s Fish House, Paia Town is definitely still worth going to. The main street of Paia has a lot of cute restaurants, eclectic shops, coffee shops, galleries and of course shaved ice!
Paia Beaches
Paia also has a lot of beaches to explore. Mama’s Fish House has one right on their property that is open to the public, but parking is difficult to find, since their parking lot is filled with restaurant patrons.
Other popular beaches in Paia are Ho’okipa Beach, Kaulahao Beach and Baldwin Beach Park. We ended up going to Baby Beach. We really liked it there, but OH WOW, the WIND is BRUTAL! When I was researching for Paia beaches, there were actually a lot of sites that warned me about the wind, but I didn’t think it was going to be as bad as it was! The main issue with it isn’t the wind itself, it’s the blowing sand! The sand hurts SO MUCH when you’re on the beach, it feels like it’s PIERCING you! My husband ended up taking the babies back to the car, while I stayed on the beach with the big kids for a little while longer.
The good news is, once you do get into the actual ocean, you no longer feel the blowing sand and it is ends up being quite wonderful just sitting along the shoreline. It has really nice offshore snorkeling as well, that’s perfect for younger kids. I taught my daughter how to snorkel around the reef that was there, and we saw SO many beautiful fish!
Last thoughts…
We’ve been on a lot of different vacations and to many different countries, but Maui is definitely in our top 3 of best family destinations. Having never been to Hawaii before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect, and I wasn’t sure how our kids would take all the traveling we did on the island, but wow, all 4 of them were such troopers, and there were just SO many amazing adventures that we did together, and I feel so blessed that we got to experience it as a family.
If you are able to take your family on a vacation like this, please do it. The memories will always be worth it. I cannot wait to go back to Hawaii and discover another beautiful island.
For more vacation itineraries or travel tips, be sure to check out my travel page.
All photos in this post are owned by Kristel at On the Go with 4 Kids in Tow.
*All opinions in this blog post are my own and I’ve received no incentives*
It’s so easy to plan a staycation when you live in or so close to such an amazing city as Chicago. Between the world-class museums, popular tourist attractions, outdoor parks and beaches, broadway theater and so much more, you will never come up short of ideas for the perfect staycation!