Ep. 213: Top 5 Maui Experiences You Won’t Forget! (Free and Paid Options)

213_Top Maui Experiences You Won’t Forget! Free and Paid Options

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: What if I told you that some of the best experiences on Maui costs absolutely nothing? While some of the most expensive activities aren’t worth half of what you’ll pay in this episode, you’ll discover which Maui experiences are worth every penny, and which incredible activities cost nothing at all.

[00:00:18] Bryan Murphy: Plus the reservation mistake that’s turning away visitors. In 2026,

[00:00:26] Bryan Murphy: aloha and welcome to Hawaii’s Best, the podcast helping you plan an unforgettable Hawaii vacation with clear, practical guidance. I’m Brian Murphy, a certified Hawaii destination expert, husband and dad of three, and each week I break down what actually matters for your Hawaii trip drawing from local insights and firsthand experience so you can plan with confidence and travel with.

[00:00:49] Bryan Murphy: Aloha. Today we’re talking all about the top Maui experiences. You won’t forget, you’re gonna be talking about some paid options, some free options, and I’m gonna be as transparent as I can with you on some of these and what’s worth it as, as you probably already know though, Maui can be expensive. It’s really expensive.

[00:01:09] Bryan Murphy: It’s honestly the most expensive island, but it doesn’t have to be if you know how to balance your spending and what to spend on.

[00:01:19] Bryan Murphy: So instead of just giving you another list of things to do, I’m gonna be categorizing these experiences into two groups. Call ’em like high impact investments. Those are the paid experiences that are absolutely worth.

[00:01:34] Bryan Murphy: Your time and money and then I’ll give you my top free experiences towards the end of this episode that deliver I think just as much value and, and one of them is the best experience I’ve ever had in all of Hawaii. So let’s go ahead and let’s start with the paid experiences, because I know a lot of you are maybe wondering.

[00:01:53] Bryan Murphy: What should I actually spend money on? ’cause you already got your flights, you got, uh, hotels booked. Hopefully you already got your rental car booked. Now it’s like, okay, I gotta make the list of what to do. And with the budget I have left over what is actually worth it. And. My answer is gonna be simple.

[00:02:11] Bryan Murphy: Spend money on experiences that give you access to, I’d say expertise, cultural education, or places you generally can’t reach or experience on your own, like where you’re from. So what are the places that are gonna be unique to Maui, to Hawaii? What are those unique experiences that are gonna leave lasting memories?

[00:02:33] Bryan Murphy: ’cause really that’s what. You can take from Hawaii, are those experiences, are those memories?

[00:02:39] Bryan Murphy: So number one, gonna just kick it right off with probably the most famous and widely asked about and kind of controversial now experiences on Maui, and that is the road to Hana. Now I did a whole episode about should you even drive the road to Hana?

[00:02:55] Bryan Murphy: Like should you drive it yourself or should you have a paid guide drive you? And this is that first paid experience I feel is definitely worth it, and that’s having a licensed tour group. Drive the road to Hana for you for one road to Hana is, it’s 620 some curves, 59 some bridges, lot of one lane roads and some of the most stunning coastline that you’ll ever see.

[00:03:22] Bryan Murphy: Most people do rent a car, a Jeep, and and do it themselves. You can do that. But there’s a lot that goes into that. And here’s what usually happens by the time you finish navigating those curves, those turns while your partner is trying to figure out where to stop spotty cell service out there. And there’s not a, you gotta be sure you park in designated areas.

[00:03:47] Bryan Murphy: A lot of it is full. There’s also tension. I talked a little bit about tension. There is tension with locals who live in HA trying to commute that road. It could be a hassle. Especially with visitors or those with like a tourist mindset who are just kind of clueless and just trying to like navigate this new environment when you know you got locals out there who are just trying to get to and from work or something like that.

[00:04:13] Bryan Murphy: So by the time you finish this, you’re exhausted. If you’re driving, you’ve probably missed half the waterfalls and you’re wondering if it really was worth all the stress, if it was really worth getting up early and making the trip all the way over, especially if you’re staying in Ka Nepali, which is on the other side of the island.

[00:04:30] Bryan Murphy: It’s, it’s a whole day thing doing the road to Hana, so there is a better option. I go into it more in depth on that episode. I’ll link below. But hire a guide. A guide like Valley Isle excursions. This is not sponsored by them or anything like that, but find a reputable company and they’re usually easy to spot.

[00:04:48] Bryan Murphy: Read reviews on some of these tour companies because it is, it’ll be worth your time and. And it’s not cheap, but you get a custom, usually like an elevated seating, massive windows, typically a continental breakfast. You get stops at all the best waterfalls. All the stops you’re gonna do anyways. And there is, uh, lunch provided and they drive you back.

[00:05:11] Bryan Murphy: You’re not just paying for the transportation to be, you know, driven around. You’re paying for storytelling. There’s guides, there’s local knowledge. You can have a q and a ask questions and someone who actually knows where to stop, where you can visit, where you can, because there are a lot of those areas on the road to Hana of those places that are important to not venture off.

[00:05:33] Bryan Murphy: And I, I didn’t wanna bring it up, but there was a big incident recently, I think in the last month with, uh, tourists and locals there on the road, ohana. So if you’re thinking about doing it, this is the longest tip. So the rest of ’em are gonna go quicker. If you’re thinking about doing it, I would. Highly encourage you actually just did a one-on-one consultation with someone who’s going, and I highly encourage them to look at doing a paid tour to the road on, and it doesn’t have to be a big bus.

[00:06:04] Bryan Murphy: You can do a smaller one, and the smaller size ones are gonna cost more, but in my opinion, it is definitely worth it. Okay.

[00:06:13] Bryan Murphy: Number two, luau. But you gotta choose the right one. Luaus are. The quintessential Hawaii experience, but not all luaus are created equal. Some are overcrowded tourist traps, honestly, with mediocre buffet foods.

[00:06:27] Bryan Murphy: I’ve been to some of those before. Others offer intimate, culturally rich and genuinely worth your time and money. But here’s how to choose. So if you’re on a budget, consider the Royal Lena Miss of Maui Luau and Ka Nepali. And if you’re staying in cotton, Nepali. This is a kind of a no brainer. It runs about $185 US per person.

[00:06:49] Bryan Murphy: You’ll get a buffet, fire, dancing, and a solid show. It’s good value if you’re staying in, uh, KeHE area. You look at the Grand Wale, a luau there, they got a great one. And also e either side of the island. I would highly recommend. Doing the old Lena Luau, they opened probably about, it’s been, I don’t know, four, six months now, they reopened.

[00:07:10] Bryan Murphy: Those are my top three that I would look at for luaus, and if you’ve done a luau before, maybe skip it. And I, I don’t always do a luau when I, when I visit Hawaii, but getting a solid one is good.

[00:07:25] Bryan Murphy: Number three, snorkeling. Snorkeling at Molokini Crater. So if you love being in the water molokini crater, it’s really a non-negotiable as far as snorkeling on the island of Maui.

[00:07:36] Bryan Murphy: It’s that crescent shaped volcanic crater setting about, it’s about three miles offshore, and it’s one of the top snorkeling spots really in, in all the world. The the water is crystal clear. The marine life is incredible, and you’re literally snorkeling inside a volcanic. Crater. Most tours leave from Alaya Harbor and cost between 100 and $150 per person.

[00:07:59] Bryan Murphy: A lot of them also include stops at Turtle Town, which you’re most likely gonna see some Hawaiian green sea turtles. So if you only do one paid water activity on Maui, this should definitely be the one.

[00:08:12] Bryan Murphy: Number four is gonna bridge between paid to our free experiences and that is Sunrise at Halakah National Park.

[00:08:21] Bryan Murphy: Watching Sunrise from the summit of Halala is really one of the most incredible experiences you can have on Maui. You’re standing at over 10,000 feet above the clouds watching the sky shift from black to purple, to orange to gold. It’s absolutely stunning. I would recommend doing this, uh, first, second, third day because you’re more than likely gonna be waking up early.

[00:08:45] Bryan Murphy: And obviously to get the sunrise, you’re gonna need to wake up early. But because of the time change, you’re gonna be waking up early. So this one, technically it’s cheap. It’s $1 and 50 cents for the reservation. Yes, you do need a reservation. I’ll talk about that in a minute. Plus it’s a $30 park interest fee for a vehicle.

[00:09:02] Bryan Murphy: But the catch with the reservation is you’ve gotta book exactly 60 days in advance on recreation.gov. Don’t worry about it. I’ll drop the link below at 7:00 AM so 60 days in advance@recreation.gov at 7:00 AM Hawaii time. These slots fill up super fast. You need to be online ready to go. So if you miss the sunrise window, here’s a pro tip.

[00:09:25] Bryan Murphy: Go for sunset instead. It’s just as beautiful. No reservations needed actually for sunset, and you get to incredible star gazing afterwards. Going back to that $30 entry fee for vehicle. Now, don’t quote me on this. We’ve done this for state park passes. We’ve tried to do it for national parks before, but they’ve all been sold out.

[00:09:45] Bryan Murphy: Check your local library. They have vehicle. Passes. We do it all the time for California State Parks, but I’ve yet to be able to get a National Park Pass, so check that out before you go. Not sure if it lines up, but it’s, it’s a cheaper experience at $30, but hey, it’s $30.

[00:10:03] Bryan Murphy: So let’s go ahead and we’re gonna pivot to the free experiences.

[00:10:07] Bryan Murphy: These are where Maui, I think really shines because you generally don’t need to spend a ton of money to have an incredible time. On Maui. So the first one is actually a callback from a couple weeks ago when I did an episode all about whale watching, but I’m gonna talk about whale watching from the shore.

[00:10:23] Bryan Murphy: If you’re visiting Maui between December, April, uh, mid-April, that might be a little bit too late. But depending on the season, supposedly this season, 2026 is supposed to be pretty good. Here’s the thing. You don’t need to pay for a whole, uh, whale watching boat tour extravaganza, though. That could be really cool.

[00:10:42] Bryan Murphy: You can get a chance to see them from shore, see them breaching, tail slapping and doing all that whale stuff. Some of the best spots that I recommend would be McGregor Point Lookout, the Ola Wallo Shoreline, the Cotton Nepali Beach walking Path. That’s a great spot, especially if you’re staying there already, which we have.

[00:11:00] Bryan Murphy: We’ve seen. Dolphins all the time over there actually. And the, uh, Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale, national Marine Sanctuary, it’s a visitor center in KeHE, and the visitor center is especially great because they’ve got educational exhibits, telescopes for viewing. If you have binoculars, you might want to bring them if you’re staying in KA Nepal side.

[00:11:19] Bryan Murphy: If you’re visiting during this window, maybe save your money and watch from the shore, maybe watch at the visitor center. It’s free, it’s accessible, and it’s really one of the most incredible natural things that you can witness, I think in, in Hawaii. And it’s not something that you get to do every time year round because of the seasonality of it.

[00:11:38] Bryan Murphy: You know, as I’m going through my notes right now, I was gonna do the next one about. Speeches and hikes, and I’ll put that in the, the free PDF guide that you can grab after this episode. You can grab it first link in the show notes below, but I think Maui has the best speeches, has some of the best hikes.

[00:11:54] Bryan Murphy: So I’m gonna include some of my favorites in that. But I wanna give you, um, a couple more free activities that I think are. The time and, and exploring the, the next one is some free cultural experiences. The shops at Yle offer free hula lessons every Friday and the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale, national Marine Sanctuary in KeHE has free educational exhibits, as I mentioned, where you can learn more about whales, but also in addition to that.

[00:12:22] Bryan Murphy: Marine conservation and Hawaiian culture. Now, these experiences don’t cost anything, but they give you a deeper understanding and appreciation of Hawaiian culture. And honestly, that’s something you can’t really put a price tag on. It’s about connection, about learning, about respecting the place that you’re visiting.

[00:12:38] Bryan Murphy: Many other resorts do have some form of Hawaiian culture experience, so definitely look into that as you’re checking in getting that activity guide the next one.

[00:12:48] Bryan Murphy: Now this is. My favorite by far, as I mentioned at the top of this episode, and that’s volunteering with Maui Culture Lands. Maui Culture Lands is led by Elu Lindsay and his mom, auntie Punani, and this is really one of the best experience, free experience, but I think one of the best experiences on Maui that most visitors don’t know about.

[00:13:11] Bryan Murphy: There’s been people who have listened to this podcast. And I, I, I’ve recommended Maui Culture lands for, for years now, probably about six, seven years. And there’s been listeners who have gone to and volunteered with Maui Culture Lands. It’s, it’s a grassroots organization and it’s all about restoring Hawaiian cultural sites in the Kova Valley, and they welcome volunteers every Saturday at 9:00 AM They host, volunteer workdays.

[00:13:37] Bryan Murphy: You’ll work alongside of locals removing invasive species. This is what we did, planting native plants and restoring ancient tarot patches called loi. This isn’t just volunteering and not about just feeling good about yourself. It’s, it’s a cultural exchange. You’re, you’re learning traditional Hawaiian land management practices that go back.

[00:13:56] Bryan Murphy: Centuries And the experience alone though, it’s free. They’ll provide gloves, tools, you bring water, a lunch, sunscreen. I would just recommend just, just bringing something like you wouldn’t mind going out and doing yard work. ’cause basically you’re gonna be going doing yard work. So maybe a long sleeve shirt, something like that.

[00:14:14] Bryan Murphy: Long sleeve sun shirt. That’s actually what Elu always wears and close those shoes. But just a fair warning, it’s gonna be physical work. You’re gonna need to. Be able to be mobile and, uh, hike down into the valley. You’ll get dirty, you’ll sweat, but you’ll leave. I, I, I hope I know you’ll leave with a better understanding of Maui and a genuine sense of contribution giving back, so you can check them out.

[00:14:41] Bryan Murphy: I’m gonna link my episode that I did with E ELO Lindsay below, but you can also check them out at Maui Cultural Lands. Dot org for volunteer, uh, calendar and meeting location and groups and families who are able are definitely welcome to be able to experience this. So I’m gonna have this all in a free PDF like you usually do, and I’m gonna expand upon, uh, some other ones that we didn’t have time for today.

[00:15:07] Bryan Murphy: So you can grab that in the first link below, completely free.

[00:15:09] Bryan Murphy: I do want to reiterate the. Importance of reservations. If you want to do Akala Sunrise, that opens 60 days in advance and sells out within minutes. So be on top of that. Why an APA State Park is famous for its black sand beach that requires a time entry reservation that’s 30 days in advance.

[00:15:30] Bryan Murphy: And popular lu owls snorkeling tours, those sell out. So you want to do that and, and while I’m talking about stuff that sells out, I just saw a post that. Rental cars were sold out on the island of Hawaii, I believe. So always, you know, book your rental car as soon as you can. That’s super important, especially on the neighboring islands.

[00:15:49] Bryan Murphy: If you’re staying in Waikiki, you necessarily necessarily don’t need a rental car, but you, if you are staying. Kauai, Maui, big island. You definitely do need to rental a car on those neighboring islands. So that brings us, um, to the end, Maui. It’s about balance, you know, balancing your budget and mixing in those high impact investment, um, experiences with those free ones.

[00:16:11] Bryan Murphy: But balance your itinerary. Don’t try to do everything in like one day, two days. Pick maybe one big thing a day. That’s usually what we try to do. And then we have a, a day or two downtime. But balance your itinerary, you know, plan ahead, book those reservations early, and you’re gonna have a great time on the Island of Maui and I can’t wait to hear about it.

[00:16:30] Bryan Murphy: All right, so you can grab that first link and the show notes below to get that free PDF guide on this episode. And everything else I mentioned will be in the show notes below. So until next time, my friend as always live with. Aloha

[00:16:48] 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.