Description: Ka'anapali Beach Club, Maui offers suggestions for Maui Activities that will save you money. They range from Under $25 to free. With options for the whole family from body surfing to free hula shows.
Keywords: Save money, embassy vacation resort, maui activities, Things to Do On Maui, Maui's beaches, Snorkeling, beach parks, whale watching, scuba dive, surf lesson, Kaanapali, Iao Park, Maui, Lahaina, Hula, free
Ka'anapali Beach Club Wants to Help you save money on Maui!
Try some of the following suggestions for a great and inexpensive time!
General: One great way to save money on Maui is to use the natural resources to your advantage!
Swimming - All 81 of Maui's beaches are free and open to the public and many have showers, restrooms.
Snorkeling - You can take a few hours or a whole day exploring Maui's sea life, up close and personal. Rent a set of gear from the Beach Shack and go on you own adventure!
Sunbathing - Maui is perfect for sun worshipers. You can sunbathe anywhere from sunrise to sunset. Don't forget the sunscreen, though!
Sunsets - There is nothing more spectacular than a Maui sunset. Sip in a tropical drink (virgin or alcoholic) and enjoy Mother Nature's finest work.
Reading - Bring your own reading material, or visit the historical public library.
Picnicking - There are many beach parks that have picnic tables and barbeque pits.
Stargazing - Hawaii's seclusion allows you to view the night sky unobstructed by big city lights and tall buildings. You can even go to the top of Haleakala Crater to view the stars. Join a group, with electronic telescopes, or do it on your own.
Whale Watching - Watch the 400 humpback Whales that winter in Maui from the beach or your lanai.
Try Beachcombing - Find seashells at Kanaha Beach Park or Waiehee Beach.
Surf Watch - Watch the surfers from any shore.
Scuba Dive - Introductory and experienced divers can take part in a myriad of dive locations from Kaanapali to Makena.
Body Surf - Let the cool blue water of the Pacific Ocean move you as you body surf in some of the most spectacular locations.
Go Surfing - You can take a two hour surf lesson from an experienced instructor, or if you would rather just rent a board and head out on your own, there are many locations throughout Maui that can accommodate your needs and abilities.
LOCAL EVENTS - Maui is famous for Halloween (also called Mardi Gras of the Pacific), The Taro Festival, The Makawao Rodeo, The Maui County Fair. There are way to many fun things happening year round to list. Check our Calendar of events to see if anything is going on during your stay.
Playgrounds - Kihei's Kamaole and Kalama Parks have free swings, slides, and jungle gyms.
Play Tennis - public courts in Wailuku, Kahului, Kihei, Lahaina, Makawao, Pukalani, Haliimaile, Hana.
Go Camping - Kanaha Beach, Hosmer's Grove, Waianapanapa Park, Oheo Gulch.
Go Hiking - Haleakala, West Maui Mountains, over fifty trails.
Attend a Golf Tournament - Mercedes Championship (January), Ka'anapali Classic.
Hawaii's largest collection of whaling artifacts from Lahaina's whaling era, Short films on whaling and whales, photomurals, graphics, a large scrimshaw collection and gift shop. Free tours by a certified marine naturalist may be arranged. Open daily from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM. Free.
TIP:
Ka'anapali Beach Club recommends that you whale watch for free from the shore, or get on a boat. You might be able to save money by combining 2 boat trips, like a Whale watch and a cocktail cruise.
Iao Valley & lao Needle
Iao Valley's sheer green walls are adorned with long, slender waterfalls. It is one of the most awe-inspiring sights on Maui.
On the road up to it from Wailuku is the Tropical Gardens of Maui, 808/244-3085 www.tropicalgardensofmaui.com; open weekdays), where for $3 you can explore four acres of tropical plants, koi ponds, streams, and taro patches.
Further into the valley, you will find the nonprofit Hawaii Nature Center 808/244-6500, www.hawaiinaturecenter.org
Rainforest Walks can be booked at 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Walkers must be five years old or older.
Please wear closed-toe shoes suitable for an uneven trail.
Cost for the Rainforest Walk is $24.95 for adults and $22.95 for children. The fee includes a visit to the museum.
You can visit the museum for just $6 for adults and $4 for children. The admission fee lets you delve into their interactive science museum, which explains how Hawaii's plants, animals, and birds made it to the islands.
This is one of the prettiest and easiest hikes on the island. The paved walkway takes you to the incredible Iao Needle. For the more adventure some you can continue up the stream to some nice pools for a quick dip.
Visit Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens, Iao Valley - picnic and paddle in the stream
Visit Halekii & Pihana Heiau - An ancient Hawaiian sacred place.
Bailey House Museum: Discover a missionary home and its adjacent gardens and discover Hawaiian culture and crafts. This museum offers visitors an opportunity to examine and appreciate the authentic native Hawaiian artifacts as well as Hawaiian history and culture. Open Daily from 10 AM to 4 PM. Admission is $5.00 and children 12 thru 7 $1.00, kids under that are free.
Hana
Hana is much more than just a destination, rather what counts on this trip is the spectacular scenery. The east side of Maui is what you would picture Hawaii to be: lush, tropical beauty.
Pack a big lunch and stop at as many waterfalls freshwater pools as you can. There are many flower and fruit stands and if you have the opportunity, you must try the banana bread.
The many highlights include:
Ohe'o Gulch, also known as the "Seven Sacred Pools" are well known for the swimming (beware that flash flooding can make this area dangerous) also has marked hiking trails.
Wainapanapa State Park
Cloud's Rest Protea Farm
Hana Cultural Center-Entrance is free (they ask for a voluntary donation). This museum contains more than 560 artifacts, 600 books, 680 bottles and 5000 photographs from the Hana district over the years.
Kauhale O Hano is a complex of four authentic Hawaiian Hales for meeting, cooking, living and canoe storage and building. Open daily from 10 AM to 4 PM. Admission is $2.00 and children under 12 free.
There is a great deal of hiking in the Hana rainforest area. You can try on your own, or take a guided hike.
See Tropical Plants at the Keanae Arboretum.
Visit the mysterious caves at Waianapanapa Park.
Visit the grave of famous aviator, Charles Lindbergh.
Go to the Hasegawa General Store in downtown Hana (Hwy. 360, 808/248-7079), the town's social center since 1910 and managed by four generations of Hasegawas. Load up on local treats like Spam musubi, Hana-blend coffee, local organic dried fruits and macadamia nuts, and fresh mangoes and pineapples (in season), all for decent prices.
Check out Hana's Red Sand Beach, which is a small crescent of sand in a collapsed volcanic dome. The snorkeling is unparalleled and you'll often have the entire place to yourself.
Upcountry
Kula Botanical Gardens with more than 700 tropical plants on display with helpful tags explaining their types and uses.$4 adults, $1 kids 6-12 yrs.
A&B Sugar Museum: Learn about the sugar cane, its impact on Maui and the history of the industry. The museum is open daily from 9:00AM to 4:00 PM. Non-profit, $4.00 for adults, $2.00 for kids (17-6), under 6 free.
Fun for all ages, the Zoo Maui allows kids to get up close tours with a lot of hands on activities. The zoo even has a baby giraffe. This very popular one and a half hour tour requires reservations a week in advance. They even have a baby giraffe. Very popular tour. You'll need a reservation about a week in advance. Tours on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday (no reservation necessary for Saturday), $5.00 per person, Non profit, the admission goes to the animals. See the animals at www.zoomaui.com. Contact the Online Concierge For Reservations.
Take an Art Class at Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center, near Makawao. This is a shop that has been filled with one-of a kind art, crafts and sculptures made by local artists. (808) 572-6560
Watch a Polo Match, Pukalani - Sunday 1 pm, $3
Tedeschi Vineyards on 20,000 acres of Maui's Upcountry (near Ulupalakua) has been making their specialty Pineapple wine since 1974. The history of the winery goes back to the legendarily wild parties held here by King Kalakaua (aka the Merrie Monarch).
The winery offers free daily tastings of pineapple, passion fruit, and grape wines happen in the 1874 King's Cottage. Info: 808/878-6058, www.mauiwine.com.
7 days a week from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Tours start at 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM.
The historic Iao Theater (circa 1928), located in the old section of Wailuku, hosts theater events for enthusiastic local crowds, like splashy Broadway-style revues and musicals. Best of all are the non-Broadway prices: Tickets for most shows start at only $18 (68 N. Market St., Wailuku, 808/242-6969, www.mauionstage.com).
Maui has attracted artists for years, and a collection of local works can be found at Maui Crafts Guild in the town of Paia (sometimes referred to as Maui's Hippie town). You will find baskets, glass beads, kimonos, pottery, ceramics, wall hangings, jewelry, handmade paper, and more from this artists collective (housed in a plantation-style building), with many items going for less than $20 (43 Hana Hwy., 808/579-9697, www.mauicraftsguild.com).
If your timing is right you will get to see some the worlds top professional windsurfers in action. Considered to be the windsurfing capital of the world, Ho'okipa Beach Park attracts windsurfers from around the world to challenge the wind and waves. These guys, and girls fly at speeds up to 30mph and jump distances of over 30 feet.
Visit Maui's Cowboy Town, Makawao. See the real Hawaiian Paniolo, you might even be able to catch one of the rodeos.
Watch the Glass Blowers at Hot Island Glass, located in the historic town of Makawao. Watch the artists blow spectacular art glass pieces.
Baldwin Beach Park is a long stretch beach on Maui's North coast that has views of upcountry, Haleakala and Molokai. This is one of the locals' favorite beaches. There are tide pools, swimming and snorkeling. Baldwin beach is a 1/2 mile before Paia.
Keanae Peninsula has a Hawaiian village where the inhabitants grow their taro. There is also a missionary church here. From Lahaina it is about a two hour drive. Take route 30 southeast to route 380 heading towards the airport. Then take route 36 towards the town of Paia. Follow route 36 to Keanae village.
Central Maui
Swap Meet, Kahului - $1 per person (Saturdays) : The Maui Swap Meet blossoms every Saturday from seven in the morning until noon, with island items like aloha shirts, fresh taro, fruit breads, tropical flowers, and more-all for an entrance fee of only 50 cents. Located on South Pu'unene Avenue, next to the Kahului Post Office. For more fresh Maui produce, check out the free Ohana Farmers Market under the monkeypod trees at the Kahului Shopping Center every Wednesday morning.
The Maui Tropical Plantation, In Waikapu offers visitors an opportunity to learn about all of the plants that grow on Maui. The plantation offers free admission, but the tram tour is $8.50 adults and $3.50 children
Maui Raceway Park allows visitors to check out the local racing talent from numerous different race divisions. This can be fun night for the whole family. Races are every other weekend and the cost is $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for seniors and students, kids under 10 free, pit passes $2.00. 808-579-9493
The Paper Airplane Museum & Tin Can Man in Maui Mall is a Store and museum with collection of paper airplanes, planes and vehicles made out of pop cans.
Maui has a fantastic venue for plays and concerts at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The MACC is a favorite for many entertainers and has hosted concerts by performers like Sting, The Beach Boys and Natalie Merchant, as well as some of the Hawaiian Superstars.
Kahakuloa Village is a small community isolated from the rest of the island that can only be reached by traversing the northern-most portion of highway 30. We highly advise that, because this road is one lane in many sections, you start off from the Kapalua side of the island and end up in Wailuku. The drive is beautiful, but not for the feint of heart. Some of the sites that you might see on this 2-hour drive are the pristine natural pools near Maui's Nakalele Blowhole (be careful around the blowhole, though the rocks can be slippery). Further on you will see Kahekeli's Leap (sometimes referred to as Kahakulua Head), where the 18th Century, King Kehekili would sometimes stay and leap down to the water from a height of 200 feet, then climb back up the nearly sheer face for breakfast, according to legend. The car rental companies discourage people from this remote drive, but many locals will tell you it is worth the risk.
Lahaina
Sugar Cane Train: although this trip is admittedly very touristy, the Sugar Cane Train from Lahaina to Ka'anapali is a pretty fun outing, along six miles of incredible scenery at the foot of the West Maui Mountains. The conductor even sings! You must note that there is no longer any sugar cane being grown on the West Side of Maui, but the golf Course views are just as pretty. A round trip costs $15.95 Adults, $9.95 Kids (3-12 yrs).
Baldwin House is the two-story home of the Protestant medical Missionary Dwight D. Baldwin and his family from the mid 1830's to 1868. The house served as a medical office and a center for missionary activities. Behind the house was the seaman's chapel, which included Christian reading rooms to give the sailors something to do while on shore leave besides imbibe in alcohol and women. Also near the home, was a garden of native and introduced to Maui, including banana, kukui, guava, fig, and grapes. The home has been restored with Hawaiian quilts, paintings, and furnishings, as well as a "Hawaiian Room" filled with pre-European contact artifacts The house is open daily for tours.
Friday Night is Art Night, Front Street. Lahaina Arts Society, Lahaina voluntary donation for exhibit gallery: The old whaling streets of Lahaina are now filled with outstanding art. The galleries open their doors Friday Nights so you can meet the artists. Many galleries offer appetizers and beverages.
There is a Complimentary Hawaiian Music and Hula Show, nightly held in the Tiki Courtyard of the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel. The show is open to the public the Hawaiian music is played from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and the hula show from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For Aloha Friday, there are local crafters making their products in the lobby and courtyard between 9 a.m. and noon, and at 11 a.m. on Fridays the staff gets involved by performing songs and hula, as well.
Since the 1912 Wo Hing Museum on Lahaina's Front Street is affiliated with the Chee Kung Tong, a Chinese fraternal society. This chapter dates back to the early 1900's, when the society had over a hundred local members. Some of these members lived across the street, where shops now stand. The museum inside this elegant Chinese temple displays memorabilia, photographs and documents which give a glimpse of the Maui's Chinese past. A special highlight is the Thomas Alva Edison Exhibit, which features restored silent films that the famous inventor recorded while in Hawaii, as well as those recorded by other directors of the time.
The three-acre Maui Ocean Center at Ma'alaea Harbor is more than just an aquarium, it is also a cultural experience, with an exhibit called "Hawaiians & the Sea," which features the bonds of the Polynesians with the Pacific. The exhibit displays authentic hooks, traps, and nets. The guides at the Maui Ocean Center even refer to the sea creatures by their Hawaiian names. The most talked-about feature is the 750,000 gallon salt water aquarium, with the 50 foot long acrylic tunnel, which transports visitors into the world of the nearly 2000 fishes, where the predators and prey co-exist. Tickets are $19 www.mauioceancenter.com. Contact the Online Concierge for tickets and more information.
Hale Pa'ahao is Lahaina's prison from the whaling days of the 1800's, literally translated "stuck-in-irons-house". It had wall shackles and restraints for difficult prisoners, you can still see them. Hale Pa'ahao was built from coral stone from a demolished waterfront fort. It was quite crowed in its time and still has the wall shackles and ball and chain restraints for you to see. This prison was used for minor offenses, including deserting a ship, drunkenness or dangerous horseback riding. Open from 10 AM to 4 PM Monday thru Friday.
Hale Pai'i was the printing house of Lahainaluna Seminary, founded in 1831, was restored in 1980. In its heyday, it printed hundreds of thousands of pages of material in the Hawaiian language. They Hale Pai'i also printed newspapers and books. This printing press was the first one west of the Rockies and brought the Hawaiian language to print for the first time, thus keeping the myths and legends of the people alive. It is located in Lahainaluna High School, the oldest high school west of the Rockies. A free exhibit features a replica of the original rampage press and facsimiles of early printings. Open Monday thru Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM.
Hula Shows
The Arts and Craft Fair at the Lahaina Civic Center is a great place to buy souvenirs to take home for your friends and family, or for yourself - Sunday $1 admission. A great place to save money on Hawaii - made products.
Take an Art Class at Kapalua Art School for adults and children, ages 4 ½ and up. Prices for classes range from $10 for ceramic painting to $110 for kids' all day programs. The Kapalua Art School also offers Yoga and dance classes. See www.kapaluaart.com for a complete listing and schedule of classes.
Cliff Diving Ceremony, Sheraton Maui. This dramatic sunset show features a lone male diver lighting torches atop Black Rock, then plunging 100 feet into surging Pacific waves.
South Maui
Makena Beach (Big beach) is one of the largest and prettiest beaches on the island. Makena is the last major undeveloped beaches on the south side of the island. This beach is now a state park. People enjoy the soft white sand and crystal blue waters. From the right side of the beach, you can take a short walk to an outcrop, on the other side of the outcrop is Little Beach, hidden from the road and often used by nudists (which is illegal in Hawaii, by the way).
Walk the shoreline nature path between the Outrigger Wailea and the Kea Lani it also makes a great place for jogging.
Tour the Art & Sculpture at the posh and exotic Grand Wailea Resort, a tourist attraction, all on it's own.
Go shopping at the Shops at Wailea (a shopper's paradise).
If you drive to the summit of Haleakala, make sure to put your car in low gear when you drive back down the volcano, so that you don't burn out the brakes on your vehicle
