An Unorganized Guide of our Favorite Things on Maui
Hi friends 🙂 This is a very informal guide to some of our favorite things here on Maui. We grew up here and know this island like the back of our hands. The plan is to update this guide from time-to-time with our favorite things. Remember that this is informal and unorganized! My hope is that you look into these things and sprinkle some of them into your Maui trip.
Let’s start with coffee
Maui has a ton of amazing coffee shops but our favorite (as of March 2026) is First Wave Coffee. It’s a sweet little coffee trailer tucked into the Lowe’s parking lot in Kahului. The kind of place you’d drive right past if you didn’t know it was there. For a while, it was mostly locals in the know. Recently, more visitors have discovered it, and we love seeing such a good local spot get the appreciation it deserves. It would be a great stop on your way to start the Road to Hana.
Free things to do in nature
One of the best things about Maui is that there are so many free things to do in nature. Maui is full of amazing beaches and hikes. It’s honestly endless.
My favorite beaches are Keawakapu (great for long walks), any of the Kamaole Beaches, Baldwin Beach (great for walks), and Big Beach (if you drive all the way to the end you’ll see cars parked on the side of the road. Park there so you don’t have to pay for parking.) We grew up on the South Side of Maui so all of our favorite beaches are in that area.
Hikes! So many hikes. Waihe’e Ridge Trail is very popular, but for good reason! It’s gorgeous.
We love to go on walks on Thompson Road in Kula. This is definitely a local secret so keep it on the hush hush. You’ll feel like you’re going on a walk in Ireland. At the end of the walk, you’ll be in front of Oprah’s house. It’s a public road with very minimal cars driving by (mostly Oprah’s workers). Before or after the walk, you can stop at Grandma’s Coffee House for some food.
The Road to Hana is long but well worth it. Start EARLY in the morning so you can be in front of all the cars… I’m talking 6 am or so. My favorite stop is at Mile Marker 10. There’s a beautiful waterfall just off the road that you can swim at.
We love having picnics at sunset at Ho’okipa. There’s a grassy field up past the lifeguard stand. You’ll park here and walk to the grassy field above the stand. Grab dinner in Paia first and bring it with you. We love Flatbread Pizza and Paia Fish Market. Both can be super busy so it’s the perfect way to skip the line and get it to-go. Ho’okipa also has turtles on the beach that you can check out (to the far right!)
