We went on a weekday and it was just us and another party. Very informative and I enjoyed it a lot…read more You can feel and touch the plants. There's tea tasting at the end of the tour as well. Would recommend the tour for tea and plant lovers. It's very kid friendly. If you don't want to do the tour, there is a shop where you can just buy the tea or try the tea tasting flight. If you just want to check out the shop, I recommend calling ahead or go after the tour times. When we went, there was only one staff and she closed the shop for the tour.

A delightful "up country" experience! Highly recommended - even if you aren't a tea aficionado!…read more This was a fantastic experience! My wife loves tea, but I'm not a big tea drinker. Therefore, I figured this would be mostly of interest to her and I was kind of "along for the ride". However, I found the entire experience, absolutely fascinating and I am so glad that I didn't miss it. The grounds are stunningly beautiful. The land used to belong to a lavender farm and now has been converted to growing primarily tea. However, they have preserved myriad plantings from the lavender farm days, and there are beautiful specimens of all kinds of different plants scattered throughout the grounds. In addition to the beauty of the tea farm itself, it is situated high up on the slopes of Haleakala and has gorgeous views. Our guide, Mason, was fantastic. He is very friendly and amazingly knowledgeable about the various plants, the grounds, and tea. He related all kinds of interesting facts about growing and preparing tea, as well as about all of the plants and the horticulture. He's one of the best tour guides that we have had in our various explorations and excursions throughout the world. They include a tea tasting in which we got to sample a number of really interesting and different teas. As I mentioned, I'm not a big tea drinker, but it was interesting to sample them with a knowledgeable guide (Mason) guiding us through the tasting process. I would highly recommend this to anyone who's looking for a delightful "up country" excursion while staying on Maui.

I am an owner of a private tour company on Maui called The Magic of Maui Experience and Hana Mana…read moreFarms is hands down our most memorable stop on The Road to Hana! The place is a one stop shop farm stand that is like nothing I've ever experienced before. After the long and windy drive, you are pleasantly welcomed by the owner, Randy and his friendly staff. You can choose to relax, stretch, plug into their free wifi, fill up your water bottles, hula hoop, play on the gym equipment, and indulge in all the exotic fruits they offer. It's also an information station where your farmtender will answer questions you may have about Hana or if you just need a place to decompress. Kids love it here as they get to play and learn about new fruits and so many fun facts about the farm. There is something for everyone at Hana mana and we never leave without a fresh coconut (and a hug!) A playground fun stop for all ages! Don't leave Hana without stopping in! You will leave there smiling and an understanding of what true Aloha means.

It's a bit of a drive to reach Hashimoto's Farm, as it located on a hill side in the Kula area in…read moreupcountry Maui. However, the delicious persimmons made it all worth it. We came in mid October, and the crunchy persimmons were in season. I came from Asia and tasted many kind of persimmons, but never had this kind before. They were green and yellowish on the outside, and crunchy and sweet in the inside. The texture is very comparable to a softer apple so it had a very satisfying crunch. The fruits were hand picked at peak ripeness, needless to say they were very delicious. My husband pre-ordered a three-pound bag (8 persimmons), fearing we wouldn't be able to finish more than that while we were on Maui. Now we know that's it was not a problem, we will purchase double next time. The owners were very friendly and let us walk around the property after our purchase. The farm was well kept and organized, with many persimmons and avocado trees bearing countless amounts of fruit. It was quite a peaceful setting to be in. Overall, we really liked the farm and the persimmons. We will return when we are back in Maui!

Go there annually to grab a bag of fresh persimmons and other persimmon products. Look forward to…read moreeach season.

Happened to be in the area on the third Friday of the month while hungry & thinking about what we…read moreshould do for dinner that evening. Not one to turn down the chance to try something new, we headed to Makawao town to check out their town party. The main event happens on Baldwin Avenue where they close off a portion of the street from Komoda Bakery down the whole block. I was delighted to see a bunch of people line dancing, totally reminding me of my years living in Colorado. Where my country music loving people at?! Those were the days. Anywho, I was on a mission to find something to eat, so we didn't really peruse any of the stores, craft, art, clothing vendors etc., but they're there for those that are interested. Food. I just wanted food and that they had, but nothing that really tickled my fancy. If anything, I would've wanted to try Pele's Pizza, but my husband can't eat pizza anymore so I wasn't about to torture him, lol. I think another Friday town party features much much better food and A LOT more choices, but overall it's a-ok. I tried a food truck that I haven't tried previously and we were able to find some seats at the little table area they have set-up rather quickly. On a side note, I saw people walking around with beers so they must sell alcohol somewhere? Not sure where though. I also saw people with ice cream cones and have no clue where they got those either! One thing that did stand out to me at this town party though, which would make it worthy of a return visit, was the entertainment. They had fire dancers in the streets, line dancing, & live bands. Didn't get the name of the band we saw, but they were really good! Parking is a bit harder to find here compared to other town parties, but if you're lucky, you can find a spot in the public parking lot just down the block. Otherwise, I saw some places charging $5 for event parking.

Made the trek up the hill to check it out, only because they recently started to close off a…read moreportion of Baldwin Ave (from Makawao Ave to just past Makawao Steakhouse which is Brewer Rd) to vehicular traffic. I've driven down this road many times but never walked on it and never at night. The atmosphere is very charming. I love the architecture of the buildings and how they light up at night with their quaintness. It reminds me of Main Street USA in Disneyland. FOOD: Not the greatest in terms of quantity. There were 2 food trucks - Kinaole Grill, and Iron Imu BBQ, and a few booths like Badua's crepes, Wow Wow Waffles, Monsoon (Indian), and Al's BBQ Pit. The majority of the vendors can be found at the other Friday events. I was full off of our food from Polli's so I didn't purchase anything on the street. VENDORS: There were a few people selling jewelry and trinkets and majority of the shops were open. ENTERTAINMENT: The band changes monthly - one main stage in middle of the event. BEER GARDEN: Non-existent unfortunately. There is a nice and protected gravel lot that'd be perfect for one! OVERALL: I haven't been to Second Friday Lahaina yet but Third Friday Makawao is definitely in third place behind First Friday Wailuku and Fourth Friday Kihei (confused yet?) in terms of the fun-factor. This place has so much potential and has too many empty spaces. Add a beer garden and more food booths and we'll be long-time friends!

My first taro fest in many years. This weekend we were in here for a wedding so we headed to the…read moretaro fest the next day. It was a hot and muggy morning. We got here at 9 when it first started and this place was packed. We couldn't even find parking nearby, so we parked up the street and took a walk down to the back park. Started if with the vendors they're selling arts and crafts, so many to choose from. They had a lot of food to to choose from something different at the tents. Then we sat under the tent and enjoyed the entertainment. Then the rain came it poured for a bit so many people came under the tent. It was a fun and exciting day. People are very friendly here. I needed a bowl for my dog to drink water and a nice guy gave me a bowl from his booth. I was very grateful

This was my first visit to the Taro Fest but definitely not my last…read more It takes place at Hana Ball Park. Parking is challenging but not impossible. The event runs from 9a-5p. There's entertainment, arts & crafts, a sort of mini-trade show, and of course food! The main star of the show is the taro. They have demonstrations on how the plant is prepared in many ways for food. FOOD: Taro Seafood Chowder Similar to a squid luau dish. Lightly flavored with a coconut-based soup, luau leaves, chunks of taro, shredded chicken, potatoes and carrots. Needed more salt IMO. Pokē Balls Chunks of unsalted ahi pokē wrapped in a cake noodle and deep fried. Drizzled with a mild wasabi cream sauce (even I could handle it being a wasabi hater) and orange-colored cream sauce. Had it not been for the cream drizzles, it would've been flavorless. Maybe if the ahi was seasoned it would've tasted better. Or even use tako instead of ahi. A bit pricey at $10 for 2 balls. Apple Snails Similar to escargots, they're farmed from the taro patch. I was so excited to eat this again as I haven't eaten them in years. Again, the preparation was very light on flavor. I believe they sautéed them just in its natural broth because there was no flavor other than the snail and earthy taro patch flavor. It was delish but wish I had some garlic-shoyu mixture to dip them in. There are tons of other foods to try, but I like to try things I can't get everywhere. TIP: Bring an umbrella because Hana can bake you during the day, as well as some salt and shoyu as the sodium content at most food booths are very, very low.

We had a delicious dinner for an event and went back to use the pool and enjoyed lunch at another…read moretime. Beautiful!

I was invited to play yesterday, what a treat. Fairways and tees were even and lush. Greens were…read morereasonably fast, smooth and consistent. Kudos to Alex, the superintendent, and his maintenance crew. Pro shop staff were friendly and and informative. A great experience

We experienced the amazing Hawaiian culture show tonight. Thank you so much to our gracious hosts…read morefor teaching us so much about their culture and traditions. Highly recommend on your trip to Hana! This was the highlight of our trip! The food was authentic and delicious. The stories, singing and dancing are not to be missed. We thought we were looking for a luau, but the cultural show is so much more. Do not miss this!

While staying in Hana in March we were lucky enough to attend the show and dinner and extra lucky…read morefor to be the only ones there because a large party had to cancel last minute. It's very unfortunate for that party, but we were really lucky. They could have easily canceled the show but instead my family and I had a really lovely, special experience. The food was ready good and the outdoor space is beautiful. What I enjoyed most though was the learning about Polynesian culture without the Colonial Lens or corporate feel that hotel " luau's" often have. I feel really lucky that my young child got a chance to learn from Poerava, who was so kind and wonderful. She gifted them a beautiful necklace that they will cherish forever.

Very beautiful location, please be respectful and keep it that way. This is a National Park and…read moreCultural Site. Things to know: - The gift shop is the very small structure when you come in. Please support. - There are restrooms in the front. Yes they are handicap accessible. - Bring mosquito repellent!! Bring mosquito repellent!! Bring mosquito repellent!! - Check out their website and social media for upcoming events and more information: https://ntbg.org/gardens/kahanu While in addition to the heiau be sure to check out the HALE aka HAWAIIAN THATCH STRUCTURE. It's 100% legit no Hollywood here.

Better call ahead to make sure they are open. Drove all the way there on Saturday when they are…read moresupposed to be open until 2. Arrived and noon and found the place closed. Very disappointing.