Maui Travel Guide in 10 Minutes: What to Know Before You Book

236_Maui Travel Guide in 10 Minutes: What to Know Before You Book

[00:00:00] Maui Trip Essentials

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: Molly is one of those places that people dream about for years visiting the beaches, Rotana. Halala, the resorts, the food, the people, it’s all there. But before you book your Maui vacation, there are a few things you really need to understand about the island because Maui is easy to love, but it’s also easy to plan the wrong way.

[00:00:22] Bryan Murphy: You can stay in the wrong area. It’s been way more than expected. Pack your itinerary or plan the road ohana, like it’s just a normal drive in the park. It’s not. So today we’re gonna keep it simple. These are the M essentials to know. Or you book.

[00:00:42] Bryan Murphy: Loha and welcome to Hawaii’s Best. I’m Brian Murphy, Hawaii, destination expert and your personal guide to planning an unforgettable trip to Hawaii. This episode is sponsored by Shaka Guide. Later on, I’ll share how I’ve used their self-guided audio tours to explore Hawaii at my own pace.

[00:00:59] Is Maui Right For You

[00:00:59] Bryan Murphy: Maui is really one of the best all around islands in Hawaii, if you want beaches, scenery, food, adventure, and resort options without having to island hop all over the place.

[00:01:10] Bryan Murphy: Across the island, you’ve got South Maui Beaches, KA Nepali Resorts, Alaya Luxury. Upcountry, small towns, halala, and of course the famous road to Hana. So if you’re planning a honeymoon, anniversary trip, family vacation, or a first trip to Hawaii, Maui makes a lot of sense. But I wanna be honest a bit, because Mau isn’t cheap.

[00:01:35] Bryan Murphy: It’s actually the most expensive island in Hawaii to visit. It’s not the quietest island, and it’s not some untouched place with empty beaches everywhere. So if you’re picturing no traffic, low prices and a totally remote feel, Maui may not be your best fit if that is what you’re envisioning or that’s what you’re wanting for your Hawaii vacation.

[00:01:59] Bryan Murphy: But if you want one island that gives you a lot of options in one trip, Maui it, it’s really hard to beat.

[00:02:06] Choose Your Base Area

[00:02:06] Bryan Murphy: Here’s where I think the biggest mistakes happen when planning a Maui trip. A lot of people, especially first timers, or maybe a second time or third time to Hawaii, a lot of people pick a hotel before they understand the island.

[00:02:21] Bryan Murphy: So you don’t want to do that. You want to pick the area of the island first.

[00:02:25] South Maui Breakdown

[00:02:25] Bryan Murphy: So let’s go over a little bit of that with Maui South. Always that includes KeHE, Wale, and McKenna. KeHE is, it’s more casual. You’ll find condos, vacation rentals. Always vet those only episode below about how to make sure you vet a legal vacation rental in Hawaii because that is kind of a hot topic.

[00:02:45] Bryan Murphy: Also, KeHE has some great beaches, food trucks, and usually more space for the money. So for families, KeHE can make a lot of sense because you can often get a kitchen, do laundry, and keep things a little bit more flexible. Wai Leia is more polished. It’s the high-end resort. Some beautiful resorts there.

[00:03:05] Bryan Murphy: Palm beaches, great restaurants. Obviously you have higher prices with all that, so if you’re coming for a honeymoon anniversary or you just want the resort to be a big part of the trip. Wale is definitely a strong choice. So that’s South Maui.

[00:03:21] West And Central Maui

[00:03:21] Bryan Murphy: West Maui, which is the other resort area of the island that includes Laina, KA, Nepali n, and Kalu.

[00:03:30] Bryan Murphy: Ka Nepali is a classic Maui resort area. This is where we stay actually, some great beaches, hotels, great sunsets, restaurants, shops, all of that within walking distance, nappie feels a little bit more smaller, it’s more relaxed, and Kalua is quieter, more upscale and has some of the best coastline really on, on the island.

[00:03:52] Bryan Murphy: Going to Central Maui. That’s, so that’s around Kahu, Lui, Wailuku. It’s more practical than, you know, that resort kind of maybe. Picture that you’re, that you’re envisioning for your trip. So it’s, it’s not that postcard version of Maui, but it can save you some money and it puts you closer to the airport.

[00:04:11] Budgeting Maui Costs

[00:04:11] Bryan Murphy: The next thing to know really about booking any trip, but specifically Maui, is the cost, because Maui is expensive from food, rental cars, hotels, activities, parking, resort fees, groceries, it all adds up really fast. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do Maui on a more careful budget, but you need a plan for it, honestly.

[00:04:32] Bryan Murphy: And if you’re staying in like a condo. Maybe a timeshare or you know, a stop at Costco near the airport. Those things can help Grabbing lunches, eating breakfast in as much as you can, lunches in, we usually do that. We usually do our outs for dinner and try to eat in as much as we can. Some of the best local food spots are on Maui, so you don’t need to, you know, every meal doesn’t need to be a resort meal.

[00:04:58] Bryan Murphy: Grab some plate lunch, try food trucks. Uh, those are some, some of the best food trucks really out of, you know, any of the islands are on Maui. So as best you can eat at small local spots, this is where residents, a lot of people who live on Maui go.

[00:05:12] Plan For Drive Times

[00:05:12] Bryan Murphy: And if, when you look at a map, Maui, it looks pretty small, but the island does take.

[00:05:17] Bryan Murphy: Time to get to certain destination drive times take longer than you think. Parking can take longer than you think, and some of the best Maui moments happen when you’re not rushing. So before you book. Every morning, every afternoon, every evening, try to leave as much space as you can. This is where I think a lot of first timers, where they kind of miss the mark is trying to pack every, you know, I’m in a, I’ve said this before, but I’m in a lot of, you know, different Facebook groups and, and people will post their itinerary and it is just packed to the gill.

[00:05:50] Bryan Murphy: So. As best you can, try to make some space. And what I mean by that is maybe just do like one big thing a day.

[00:05:57] Haleakala Sunrise Tips

[00:05:57] Bryan Murphy: The two main activities I do wanna mention because they do take some extra planning, that would be Halakah and the Road to Hana. For Halakah Sunrise, you do need a reservation and you’ll be waking up early for that, like middle of the night early.

[00:06:13] Bryan Murphy: So I would recommend doing that maybe day one, day two, because you’re gonna be waking up early anyways. But if that sounds miserable to you, sunset is a great alternative. You actually don’t need reservations for sunset. You know, if you didn’t get the reservation for sunrise, sunset is a great, uh, consolation, but it’s, it’s really beautiful.

[00:06:36] Bryan Murphy: Either way, you wanna bring warm clothes. The summit, it’s high up. It gets cold, pretty cold, colder than you think, than it should be in Hawaii.

[00:06:44] Road To Hana Planning

[00:06:44] Bryan Murphy: Now, moving to Rhonda. Rhonda also needs planning. It’s about, you know, 64 miles. Doesn doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you got like 600 cars, 59 some bridges, a lot of them being in one lane, people live over there too.

[00:06:58] Bryan Murphy: So there’s commuters happening and I think here’s the part that a lot of people miss, is that it’s not just a scenic drive, it’s, it’s a road people use to get home, to get to work, to really just live their normal lives. But people do live there. It is part of their commute. So if you do drive it on your own without like going, doing a tour, you wanna go early, be patient, pull over safely for local traffic, please don’t park illegally.

[00:07:24] Bryan Murphy: It’s really obvious where you can and where you can’t park.

[00:07:27] Shaka Guide Sponsor

[00:07:27] Bryan Murphy: And this is where I think Shaka Guide makes a lot of sense. Our sponsor for this episode. I personally like to explore Hawaii on my own, at my own pace, at my family’s own pace. And I don’t always want to be on someone else’s schedule, like in a tour group.

[00:07:42] Bryan Murphy: And that’s where I view Shaka Guide myself. They’re classic Road to Hana tour. It’s a self-guided GPS audio tour and it has over 20 must see stops. So it gives you the freedom of driving yourself, but with turn by turn instructions, local stories along the way, and helpful tips. And here’s an important note.

[00:08:00] Bryan Murphy: It does work offline ’cause you’re not gonna get a. Lot of reception on your phone, which this is huge. Just make sure that you download the tour ahead of time. So go to Hawaii’s best travel.com/chaka summer. And enter the code. Hawaii’s best for 15% off tours or bundles. This excludes their collections.

[00:08:22] West Maui After Wildfires

[00:08:22] Bryan Murphy: So before you book West Maui, if you’re thinking about staying on that side of the island, just to understand where Lena is at, as you know, Lena was devastated, destroyed a lot of it from the 2023 wildfire and is still very much recovering.

[00:08:36] Bryan Murphy: However, some businesses have began to reopen. Other businesses are closed. It’s really obvious, which are open and which. Are closed. So if you’re staying in Ka, Nepali, Napoli, or Kalua, I would encourage you to support those open businesses. Tip as well as you can be kind, aloha, all that good stuff goes a long way.

[00:08:57] Volunteer And Travel With Aloha

[00:08:57] Bryan Murphy: You know, years ago, uh, my wife Ally and I, we went to Maui for one of our anniversaries, you know, and anytime I’m in Hawaii, it’s, you know, doing some work. We did some partnership content while we were there, and one of the most meaningful things that we did while on Island is volunteering in the Kova Valley, and that was with Maui Cultural Lands.

[00:09:19] Bryan Murphy: It’s on the west side right outside of Lana, and it’s like a half an. A, we remove some invasive species, planted native plants, and learn more about the land. And why caring for it actually matters. And not just if you live on Maui, but also if you’re visiting, if you uh, wanna do a volunteer day, highly would recommend Maui cultural land.

[00:09:39] Bryan Murphy: So all of this will be linked below in the show notes.

[00:09:41] Final Booking Checklist

[00:09:41] Bryan Murphy: So before you book Maui, just remember this, make sure Maui fits the trip you actually want. Pick your area before you pick your hotel budget. Honestly, plan Holly Aala and Rotana early. And if you visit West Maui, go with care for La Maui is be. But the best Maui trips happen when you understand the island before you arrive.

[00:10:05] Wrap Up And Credits

[00:10:05] Bryan Murphy: If this episode has been helpful for you, share this with whoever is planning a trip to Maui with you. And thanks for listen all the way to the end of this episode of Hawaii’s Best. So until next time, as always, live with Aloha.

[00:10:23] Bryan Murphy: Mahalo for listening to Hawaii’s Best. If you found today’s episode helpful, make sure to hit follow on your podcast app so you don’t miss future episodes. You can find all links and resources mentioned today in the show notes below. Hawaii’s Best is produced by Shore Break Media Group, edited by Easy podcast solutions and with music by our friends Stick figure.