On Monday took my wife to Iao Valley state Monument park. Luckily I did on an over cast day because…read morewe seen beautiful water falls . The river down below was very strong and rough I've been here while it was a sunny day and you can actually go down to the river bed . What a sacred place you just feel the power of ancient Hawaiian soldiers fighting in this Valley . When I was a kid that mountain peak called a Iao needle used to have a little hole on top of that peak . Just like a needle point where you thread it through the needle hole. Very relaxing Valley away from all the stress in life which I really need . Support local

Iao Valley sits in Central-West Maui and covers a large area as a state park. We drove here from…read moreHonokōwai Beach Park on the west side. The GPS routed us down and then back north. Although it looks like a detour, it makes sense. The northern road is extremely narrow (at points only one car can pass), winding, and very slow. If you can avoid that route, definitely do. **Reservations Required You need to book online in advance. **Admission: $5 per person + $10 parking. For 2 people we paid $21.53 total. **Earliest entry is 7am. Parking is limited, so reserve an early slot if possible. They ask you to arrive about 30 minutes before your scheduled entry. **No cellphone reception once you head up the mountain. Cell service and even car radio cut out completely. Best to download maps or take screenshots beforehand. **Bring a power bank; we eventually just switched cellphones to airplane mode to save battery. In early December, mornings are a little cool, but once the sun comes up it gets really hot. Bring sunscreen, a light jacket, water, and hiking shoes. The trail is short (about 0.6 miles), but the ground is muddy and rocky, with some narrow paths brushing up against plants. If you don't like contact with tall grass, long sleeves help. It feels a bit like walking through a botanical garden. The highlight is Kuka'emoku (the "Iao Needle"), a 1,200-foot natural rock formation rising from the valley floor. We took our time, stopping often for photos and to enjoy the scenery, so the whole walk ended up taking us around 3 hours. Iao Valley State Monument 54 S High St, Wailuku, HI 96793

** booked the trip through Cruiser Phil's but the storefront says Haleakala Bike Co,, the vans said…read moreBike Maui),This really should have been a fantastic time all around... that said, I did the full ride down years ago, my husband has never. First part was ok. Cory was very chatty and knowledgeable. We stopped to get helmets and jackets ( although the jackets were basically useless and not lined nor kept me warm). Arrived over an hour before sunrise... Cory's part ended and the bike portion started. To not rehash the entire thing, Russ was the leader and although he went over safety rules, he really didn't seem that concerned: big distances between riders, he mixed me up with another rider, chewed me out and told me I wasn't following directions and would not listen to me tell him otherwise;; later he said he couldn't tell us apart and I was the only one not in black/gray; it was a small group of 8 and there was a huge distance between the first two riders; he started off saying that the heaviest people would be the fastest-/ I was the lightest/ smallest and he told me I needed to go faster to catch up; he and the first rider who was a big girl and originally nervous and why she was in front were literally several hundred YARDS ahead of me ( and therefore everyone else); didn't go over speed bump navigation or hand signals until the last stop ( and there were multiple stops); I needed my bike adjusted bc the seat was too low and hurt my knees and he told me it was mostly cruising anyway and ignored my request after I told him I had had 2 knee surgeries.Appeared very condescending to me after the first incident. He also said if the directions aren't followed / he feels a rider is unsafe that he will have them sit in the van and that's the end of their ride---The sad thing was that one of the riders who went down literally less than a minute from the end and was taken away by ambulance..and she was the one he confused with me the very first part and obviously didn't follow his own safety instructions...but even their safety/ 911 protocol was unacceptable-- took them a while to call 911after she went down. Didn't seem like he knew how to handle the situation. Had two of the riders direct traffic using the companies walkie talkies and the batteries died ( aren't they supposed to be fully charged every ride???...)then Russ tells me after that he is certified as a first responder as he takes a 40 hour course yearly. Very pompous and showed no critical decision making skills the entire trip ( I am a physical therapist, 35+ years)....no tip for him. I highly recommend he be fired and welcome the owner to contact me through Yelp. Anthony, the assistant (driver) was very nice and helpful but the scary thing is he said that Russ is their best tour leader :0 Beautiful ride otherwise (5/5) DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY

This is an awesome organization. We did the Haleakala bike…read moretour and this group were awesome. They were organized, professional and very accommodating. Mike our driver very informative. Great guys overall. Our bike tour guide, I can't remember his name was also great. The whole groups are as awesome, I definitely recommend doing this excursion if your visiting Maui.

Pretty place to visit if you're waiting to go to the lava tubes. Otherwise, you're not missing…read moremuch if you skip it.

Three stars only because there's not a whole lot to see monument wise but the experience including…read morethe panoramic view of both the city and harbor make it worth stopping by. The no trespassing signs refer to vehicular traffic it is okay to park on the street walk up the hill and through the gates. The lava rock structures are located at two levels although only the one at the lower level is viewed as a monument. The rest were built as heiau (Hawaiian temples).

I love this highway a lot in my time in Maui. It is called the Hana Highway. I was a tourist there…read moreand I played one of the guided tours while driving this highway. The guided tour was on point with where I was on the highway. It played melodies and instructed turns and upcoming paths. Driving this highway was pretty difficult because there were narrow turns and everything was just narrow. Any slight mishap can land you down the ocean. The breathtaking part about this highway were the trees! I love the trees so damn much that I had all windows rolling down. There were mango and eucalyptus trees everywhere. I smelled mangoes and eucalyptus the whole time. The eucalyptus trees were a good refresher and awakening call! They also purified my car and got rid of any food odors from meals I had in the car! Thankfully they acted as a perfume and air freshener! The whole car ended up smelling like eucalyptus! Luckily these eucalyptus trees were everywhere in Maui! The whole ocean was all around the highway! The ocean water skep sparkling from the sun! The highway was very flat and not much hills. There were some parts of the highway that felt like I was driving on the ocean. There were people surfing. There were some points on the highway that allow you to go into the ocean and just take a swim or dive. I did stop in the middle of the highway to snorkel. There were so many colorful fish as you go down and deeper into the ocean. Very beautiful fish. The beach was also save because I left my belongings on the branches of a nearby tree and nobody stole it even though there were people chilling on the beach.

Day 1 we had our reservations for Wainapnapa SP and Haleakalā for the pipiwai trail. We drove from…read moreKihei, leaving around 7am and did not have much traffic. We stopped at Aunt Sandy's banana bread in the morning and a food truck for lunch. We spent the night in Hana. Day 2 we did the various stops at botanical gardens, waterfalls, beaches. It was a great time.

Relaxed self paced viewing of bird reserve. Easy parking. Nice covered cabana…read more Great views.

When we have a few extra minutes in Kahului, we like to stop off at Kanaha Pond to enjoy the birds…read more There were mostly ducks and stilts today but we have seen Nenes, or Hawaiian Geese (the state bird). One time, there was a family with several little goslings. We stopped on the path to the shelter and let them decide if they wanted to pass us in the other direction. The male gave me a stink eye as they walked by and started hissing at me after they got a little ways past. It was funny that he became more macho after getting a little distance. Anyway, I always enjoy the Ae'o, or Hawaiian Stilt. They wade through the shallow water with such long legs, in search of food. Their chirps warn others of our presence. There are benches in the small shelter, where you can sit in the shade and watch the birds do their bird things. There also is a gate on the back side of the pond, near the water treatment plant, that lets you in to the dirt roads that were used to access a series of WW2 storage bunkers. There are other ponds back there, too. It's a nice area to walk through.

Malia was the best tour guide you could ask for! Her knowledge and passion of her home in Hana,…read morelove for the rainforest and its stories and history, and her fun inviting spirit made our road to hana adventure u forgettable. Wouldn't want to have that experience with any one else! Auntie Malia has given me a newfound love and appreciation for this island and it's many wailele!

A week before our trip to Maui I had a question about changing into swimsuits for our scheduled…read moreRoad to Hana tour and sent an email to the company. I received a reply within 30 minutes. The answer was Yes, one can change into swimsuits during lunch before the black sand beach visit and then change out of them at a stop after the waterfall stop to be dry for the ride back to the hotels. A few days before our tour I received an email confirmation that included other useful information, such as bring along swimwear, towels, water shoes and a light jacket for the air conditioned van. I had not considered the A/C and I'm always cold, so that is a very welcome heads-up. On the day of our tour we received texts that the driver was on his way. Pretty close to the scheduled meeting time the van pulled up to our resort. The van was spacious with huge windows. Our tour was full with all 12 passenger seats occupied. Our driver/guide was Travis. He was born and raised in Hana and was a wealth of knowledge about Hana, Maui, and Hawaii. He seemed to be related to all the locals he passed on the road. There was not dull moment. Among the stops along the way were Maui Tropical Plantation for breakfast, Auntie Sandy's Banana Bread stand for those that wished to purchase, Wai'anapanapa State Park (black sand beach, also with a lava tube and a blow hole), Pua'a Ka'a State Wayside Park (usually calm enough to swim but the falls were roaring due to rain earlier in the day), and Ho'okipa Beach with turtles on the beach. Travis was an excellent driver and guide. We got great value from the cost of the excursion. One minor thing did bother us. We are Jewish and were uncomfortable during the praising Jesus sing-along. Regardless, we recommend this tour and especially Travis as a guide.

Ordered the flight of cheese, which came with a refillable basket of crackers and four cheese…read moresamples. All four flavors were good, but my favorites were the rolling green and O sole Mio. The refillable basket was a great idea as we had enough cheese for almost two baskets of crackers. Lots of tourist come were there for the tour and cheese. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Lots of free parking. Great way to enjoy a relaxing day upcountry.

Our party of 14 prepaid weeks ahead to lock in a time slot. My family loved this place last year…read moreand talked everyone into making the 40-minute drive back. Big mistake. Two days before our tour, half our group had to fly to Oahu for emergency care. I called the farm right away. The phone rang and rang, with no voicemail option. I called over and over again on the day of the tour and still got nothing. When I finally explained things to the manager/owner in person, the response was ice cold. They showed no sympathy and offered no refund, credit or reschedule for 7 tickets we paid for and never used. All we got were excuses: "You should have called 24 hours in advance." We did. You didn't pick up. "We're having phone problems." So your phone problem is somehow our fault? "You should have messaged us on Instagram." Seriously? In a family emergency, nobody's first thought is to DM a goat farm. It somehow got worse. My 3-year-old dropped the truffle they hand out at the end of the tour, right in front of our guide. The guide asked what happened, I told her, and she just stared at me in silence. When I asked if my daughter could have another one, she hesitated and said, "We're not supposed to." Keep in mind this farm was holding onto money for 7 tickets we never used, and it still wouldn't spare a toddler one truffle. Another staff member finally stepped in and gave her one, which proves it was never a rule. It was just penny-pinching. Then there was the cheese. We bought 4 cheese flights and asked to take 2 home. One of the to-go boxes was so carelessly packed it looked like someone gave up halfway (photo attached). The cheese tastes good. Too bad the people selling it don't care about their customers. We had planned to place a large online cheese order. Not anymore. We won't be back, and I'll make a point of telling anyone heading to Maui to spend their time and money somewhere that treats families like people instead of transactions.

This was such a great experience! It's so peaceful and calm. Definitely an amazing place to reset…read moreand get in touch with nature. They have lavender products. Our favorite was the lavender honey as well as the lavender coffee!

We love lavender and being able to visit a lavender farm sounded like a great idea! So glad we did…read more Upon arrival we were greeted by the very nice person in the booth. We paid and drove in and parked. There was no problem finding a spot. There wasn't a whole lot to see as far as the lavender growing or blooming, but we enjoyed what was available. We stopped in the market store and bought some organic lavender tea, brownies, and candy. I bought a sticker and my DIL also bought a couple of things to bring home for friends. There is seating with umbrellas which we enjoyed. It was another beautiful day in Maui. After the grandkids were finished, we went out to the large field. The adults enjoyed sitting in the grass and kiddos enjoyed rolling around in the soft grass.

Picturesque and quaint MUST VISIT bohemian town between Kahului Airport (less than 15 minutes away)…read moreand the beginning of the infamous Road to Hana. We happily spent about 2 hours to strolling through the pretty streets, enjoying the mountain views and the variety of stores largely presenting hand crafted local goods. Cute clothing stores, coffee shops, dessert shops and food haunts abound. The handmade ukelele shop is definitely a must stop because it is Hawaii afterall. Just lovely.

Small little town with some shopping and restaurants. We ended up parking in a free public lot that…read moreapparently gets filled up fast. There are plenty of paid lots however. Ended up buying some shirts at a discount and eating at Paia fish market.