Curved rows of luminous color trace the slope of Ali‘i Kula Lavender Farm in Upcountry , creating a haze of mauve, violet, deep blue and, of course, lavender. The fragrance wafts down the road. You may visit the farm on your own, but if you take a tour you’ll learn even more about the 45 varieties of lavender and their...

Yes, this is a tree, but it’s a banyan tree. It’s more than 100 years old, covers almost two acres,  and is supported by 16 trunks. It’s become a Lahaina icon. It may be the largest banyan tree in the world. It spreads right at the harbor and majestically shelters what is known as Banyan Tree Park. Towns people planted...

Bike It Maui offers one tour — summit to the sea — on four wheels and two. Pickup is in the very early hours at your lodging or cruise ship for the van trip to the Haleakala summit for sunrise. Dress warmly in layers for that experience. For the bike trip, you’ll be transported to the staging area just outside...

Blue Hawaiian is the largest of Hawaii’s tour helicopter companies. Its choppers have been showing visitors the island’s awesome landscape for more than a quarter century. It flies both Eco-Star helicopters with six individual passenger seats, and the A-Star with bench seating for six. There’s also Bose noise-canceling headsets for every passenger. The pilot will narrate the adventure and you...

Coffees of Hawaii is the place for a caffeine pit stop on Moloka‘i. The barista who serves up the Caramel Delite or the clerk who sells you a bag of Kini Kini beans will tell you the story of coffee from berry to mug. Out back, you’ll see rows of arrow-strait Arabica coffee trees. They thrive in the rich red...

Cruiser Phil’s gives you a choice. Pickup at about 2AM, depending on sunrise and location of your hotel, for those who want the spectacle of the sun rising over Haleakala Crater. Or for those who can’t bear to get up in the dark, at 9AM for the morning tour only. Both groups get to bike down the volcano from the...

It takes moxie to develop a drive-through garden along one of the world’s most beautiful jungle stretches, but folks here have done a fine job. They also provided a needed break from the one-way bridges and incessant curves on the Road to Hana. The garden has several parking spots, almost impossible to find on the road. Picnic tables and trails...

Halawa Park covers the flat area on East Moloka‘i, where the Halawa Valley opens to the ocean, and has two beaches of gray sand. The larger one is soft sand, and the smaller, bisected with Halawa Stream, is rockier. The shore slopes gently from the beach to deep water and makes for excellent swimming in the summer. Winter waves roll...

This company offers a different style for biking down Haleakala. Tours leave from the store in Haiku and now it’s offering pickup from hotels or cruise ships. You’re taken to the summit for sunrise,  and then down to the staging area at 6,500 feet just outside the park entrance. You’ll get your bike here, but instead of riding in a...

James Michener called this spot the “most beautiful beach in the Pacific.” Its gray sand sifts through fingers like the finest sugar. Palms fringe the perfectly curved shore like mother nature’s eyelashes. Winter and spring surf is often high, ripe for body surfing and  Boogie boarding, though use caution. Summer finds even the smallest youngsters dashing in and out of...

Almost every weekend, you’ll sniff the delicious aroma of barbecued chicken or guava-glazed ribs from family lu‘aus at this popular spot at the edge of Hana town. If you didn’t bring your lunch, Barefoot Cafe (formerly Tutu’s)  provides a decent hamburger. Water laps gently at the dark sand, making for safe swimming. Kayaking and other water activities are available. Walk...

Even if you don’t need a thing, drop in here. This Maui institution is made famous in an eponymous song by Paul Weston. The shelves hold life’s necessities from electric light switches, pipe joints and Hana-grown lettuce, to cold drink holders in the shape of aloha shirts and Hana Highway guidebooks. The folks who work here are super friendly and...

If you spend your vacation at Ka‘anapali Beach or in a Kihei condo you’ll never believe that Maui has hidden spots. It has many, and all you have to do is drive or hike a bit and you’ll find them. In some cases, they’re right in town, such as Baby Beach in Lahaina. Or in midst of resorts, like Sea...

Ka‘anapali Beach, Maui’s most accessible, stretches about three miles from the Hyatt Regency on the south almost to Honokowai at the north. Black Rock or Pu‘u Kea‘a, bisects the golden sand strip in front of the Sheraton Maui.  The paved beach walk stops here, but follow the signs to North Ka‘anapali or Kahekili Beach Park. Condos crowd North Ka‘anapali now,...

Sipping pina coladas at Ka‘anapali or Wailea, it’s hard to imagine the Maui of small houses, board Congregational churches and family luaus. But these things still exist in places like Kula, Hana and, especially, Kahakuloa. Kahakuloa may be the complete throwback – to maybe Maui circa 1930. It’s a village on a deep bay protected by spectacular headlands. The Congregational...

Kanaha Beach Park sits between the runways of Kahului Airport where jets scream in at a regular pace, and the ocean. But it’s a surprisingly tranquil oasis of green with trees shading grassy picnic areas, and a long beach curving on shallow bays. Kite boarders gravitate to this spot, known informally as kite park. Winds are steady but not as...

White-knuckle opportunities exist here aplenty at these three courses in the West Maui mountains above Kapalua Resort. In addition to zipline tour choices, a ropes challenge course takes you about 35 feet off the ground and a swinging bridge adds to the adventure. You’ll start with a ride up the mountain up to the Mountain Outpost observation deck at 1,400-foot...

You won’t find a gift shop, restrooms or a picnic table at Keanae Arboretum, but you will have the chance to walk through the nearly impenetrable subtropical forest on the Road to Hana. A well-developed path leads through a grove of non-native  trees and plants, which are labeled, and then to a section of Hawaiian plants. A taro patch highlights...

Lovely Keawakapu Beach has no restrooms, picnic tables or lifeguards, but it’s a beauty with incredibly fine sand and palms to frame the sunset. Photographers love it. At sunset, you’ll often find couples, especially honeymooners, cooing and posing for photos. Stretching for ½ mile, it’s well protected on either end. The water is often glassy in the morning — great...

For many people, Kipahulu is the end of the road on Maui. Certainly, car rental companies don’t want you to drive beyond Kipahulu on the island’s southeastern coast. And most people hesitate to take the cliff-hugging sometimes unpaved road that completes the drive around Haleakala. But press on a few miles beyond Hana on the famed drive.  Don’t expect to...