Mark Twain wrote, “The memory of it (Maui) will remain with me always.”
Brilliant sunrises and sweet symphony sounds. Idyllic rain forests and lavish wine festivals. Sun-kissed beaches and big-time sporting events. Maui offers visitors the ideal mix of nature and sophistication—the best of all worlds.
Shaped somewhat like the bust of a statue, Maui is the state’s second-largest island—727 square miles—and third most populated, with just under 120,000 residents. People on the Valley Isle like to say “Maui no ka oi—Maui is the best,” and visitors who come here year after year agree that the island is worthy of such a superlative.
Haleakala is Maui’s #1 natural attraction.
The most prominent natural attraction on the island is 10,023-foot Haleakala, the world’s largest dormant volcano crater. Standing 3,000-feet deep and 21 miles around, Haleakala (“House of the Sun”) is large enough to hold the city of Manhattan. Its crater so resembles the surface of the moon that NASA used Haleakala to train their Apollo astronauts in the 1960s.
Visitors who make the early-morning drive to Haleakala are rewarded with perhaps the world’s most dramatic and spectacular sunrise. The volcano is also the home of Haleakala National Park, a popular site for hiking, camping, biking and nature walks.
Things To Do on Maui
Wherever you go on Maui, there is beauty to be discovered.
Visit Iao Valley and see the Iao Needle rising more than 100 stories from the valley’s floor. Take the road to Hana and explore the scenic wonders of this world-famous rain forest. Head Upcountry and visit art galleries and color-splashed flower farms. Or visit the island’s principal resort areas—Wailea, Makena, Kihei, Kaanapali, and Kapalua, to name a few—and enjoy some of the world’s finest beaches.
Maui Destinations
The Valley Isle also offers an exciting menu of big-ticket events.
Of course, outdoor adventures represent only half the story on Maui. The Valley Isle also offers an exciting menu of big-ticket events, from the Hula Bowl in January to the Aloha Festivals in October. Held at the Maui Theatre in Lahaina, Ulalena is one of Hawaii’s hottest musical extravaganzas. And special concerts and dance presentations are held at the state-of-the-art Maui Arts & Cultural Center.
Maui Beaches
Maui no ka oi? No argument here.
As Mark Twain wrote, “I went to Maui to stay a week and remained five. I never spent so pleasant a month before, or bade any place goodbye so regretfully. I have not once thought of business, or care or human toil or trouble or sorrow or weariness, and the memory of it will remain with me always.”