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

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.

Did the sunrise tour and it was great! Everything ran on time, bus held up to 22 people, the fleece…read morelined ponchos they handed out help with the wind and cold and the views were breathtaking! I would highly recommend this tour company and the sunrise tour. Breakfast food at the end was good too! There were three options but I only got a picture of 2. The 3rd was a fruit plate with yogurt.

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).

This is a museum of Hawaiian history & art- admission for adults is $10. It is the oldest history…read moremuseum with antiques & artifacts. You can easily spend an hour or two walking around looking at items or get a guided tour by a docent who will give a better in depth tour. Parking- they have their own parking

Very sweet little museum! Was a great place to spend an hour exploring artifacts and other neat…read morehistorical items. The staff is super friendly and informative.

Gorgeous property in the country side of Maui. My family and I enjoyed the various flowers and…read morescenery. We purchased lots of lavender gifts to bring home, and ate the delicious lavender scones with spreads.

After checking out of our hotel, we needed to kill some time before our red-eye flight out of Maui,…read moreso we decided to stop by Aliʻi Kula Lavender Farm. We had visited before in 2012 during lavender season, which was lovely, but coming in mid-January there really wasn't much to see. Admission is $5 per person, and there's a café and gift shop on-site for souvenirs. During our previous visit, we really enjoyed the lavender scone and iced tea from the café. The views at the top are still beautiful, but I'd honestly recommend visiting only when lavender is in season to make it worthwhile. Also worth noting: it's quite windy in this part of Maui, and the terrain is very steep, so walking around can be a bit challenging.

** 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.

What a treasure this coastal reserve on Maui is. For my first time here I was part of a volunteer…read moregroup where we got to learn some of the history and some of the current activities. My group got to learn the cultural practice of cordage making with the native sedge species. Other groups participated in moving rocks for the fish pond, or hiking along the coastal trail. I definitely need another trip back here to do some more exploring. It's open to the public for no charge, and they encourage volunteers on Fridays and Saturdays I believe. Check their website for more information. This is a historically significant part of Maui and Hawaii, and therefore it's being preserved and somewhat restored. They can use more help because funding is getting harder due to... you know what.

Somewhat off the radar refuge owned and managed by the Hawai'i Land Trust, with a 3-mile loop trail…read morethat's mostly wide and flat, good for those looking for a relaxing , non-strenuous hike. There's a beautiful shoreline with some sand and abundant rocks and driftwood, and a few picnic tables in an adjacent grassy area. Not really a place for swimming. It's free, including parking, and easy to get to but the (short) access road off the street is gravel and the parking area is unpaved. Be sure not to leave valuables in your vehicle--always good practice on Maui. The trail is mostly open, so a hat and sunscreen are strongly advised. Bugs (sand flies and gnats mostly) can be an issue on parts of the trail and bug spray or a headnet would be helpful. There are a few cultural sites along the trail, with informative signs. In addition, there are several abandoned old houses and a former dairy....a few cows are still around. The Land Trust runs a volunteer program for cleanup and native plant restoration, and has a few videos on their site that are worth checking out: https://www.hilt.org/waihee

I'm a confirmed, lifelong book lover (my mom was a librarian, so that tracks lol), so I was super…read morehappy to discover the Wailuku library. It's an historic building, designed by Maui-born architect CW Dickey, and opened in August 1929. It was the first public library in Maui County, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Inside you'll find a great selection of books in all genres, with varying displays of selected works that relate to current events or celebrations, and a staff of friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful librarians eager to help you get the most out of your library experience. There are adult and keiki reading rooms, a rack of books for sale (proceeds benefit the library), magazines, and much more. New automated checkout stations are super convenient and easy to use and offer you the choice of printed or emailed receipt for checked out items. As with all branches of the state library system, you can use their app to request and place holds on items and pick them up here (or any other location). The app also lets you see your due dates for checked out items, renew any if needed, and see where you are in line for items you've requested. The Wailuku library may not be physically huge, but it's definitely punching above its weight and providing great service to the community.

Seriously one of the cutest libraries I've ever been to. I can't believe I've never been to this…read morelibrary. I've driven by a million gazillion times and today was the first time I've ever been inside. It clearly is historic and what a gem. Parking is on the street or in the County parking lot across the street. There is a crosswalk and a ramp in the back for handicapped and strollers. I have fond memories of going to my local hometown library as a child so I hope to do the same for my little blessing. The librarians and everyone were so nice. There is also a little one floor elevator to get down to the keiki area. I love that they have their own space. It is super cute. I can see so many more trips in the future with my little one. Not the fanciest library but still wonderful and for someone who loves books like me, it is one of my happy places.

This was a pleasant park to walk around since we did not have reservations at another nearby state…read moremonument. Picnic facilities, well tended gardens, notable statues and structures honoring Asian groups that reside on Maui, and koi ponds. We also saw chickens, a turtle, and a pig. Beautiful views available free of charge.

Right along Wailuku Stream, this park was created to honor Maui's multicultural immigrant history…read more Inside you'll find architecture inspired by early Hawaiian homes, a New England saltbox, a Portuguese villa with gardens, plus courtyards reflecting Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditions. The park's name dates back to the 1790 Battle of Kepaniwai, when Kamehameha I fought against Maui's King Kahekili. Though the site was once left in ruins, today it's a peaceful park. Locals come here to grill (you can bring your own meat and charcoal) and cool off in the stream. The park itself isn't very large. At the entrance you'll spot the "天下為公" arch, and inside the Chinese garden there's a bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Displays highlight his connections to Honolulu and Maui, as well as the early Chinese immigrants who came to Hawaii in the 18th century. (Some of the info boards even gave me a little more perspective on how Sun Yat-sen was able to fund and recover from his failed revolutions.) It's only a few minutes from Iao Valley State Monument, so it makes a nice quick stop for photos and a walk. But if you're coming just for this park, it might feel a bit underwhelming. Kepaniwai Park & Heritage Gardens 870 Iao Valley Rd, Wailuku, HI 96793 Open 7am-5:30pm