Free Activities & Almost-Free Activities: All Over Maui!

Free activities abound on Maui. Moreover, there are also almost-free activities and not-at-all-free activities. Whatever your budget allows, you’ll have a great time!

The Honokeana Cove website gives you a taste of what’s available. In addition, we offer this page for vacationers who want to know everything. Well, almost everything…

We’ll show you the free activities first. In addition, we’ll offer tips about non-free activities that still provide good value for the visitor. Just remember, for outdoor activities be sure to prepare yourself: sunblock, bottled water, suitable clothing and appropriate footwear.

Free Activities and Almost-Free Activities

The following activities are all in West Maui, within a 20 minute drive from Honokeana Cove.

Sunset. Don’t miss one of Maui’s favorite activities, watching the beautiful sunset every evening – it’s free, and each one is different!
Honokeana Cove Walk. Walking is one of those activities that offers tropical scenery as well as mild exercise. There’s a comfortable walk north from Honokeana Cove through Kapalua Resort. It even has a sidewalk “most of the way.” When you reach Office Road, turn right to the Honolua Store, where you can grab lunch or a beverage. Then return along the road through the golf course. This walk is 3.2 miles round trip in gently rolling terrain. (It’s also possible to turn left instead of right and walk along the beach.)
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Kaanapali Walk. Another nice walk, about 1 mile each way, is along the oceanfront boardwalk next to Kaanapali Beach. The paved sidewalk extends from the Hyatt Hotel; past hotels and restaurants, including the Whalers Village shopping center; to Black Rock, near the Sheraton Hotel.
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– If you’re planning to walk most of the Kaanapali beachfront, the most convenient parking, which also happens to be free, is at the Hyatt Hotel. From Honapiilani Highway, turn into Kaanapali Parkway and turn left toward the Hyatt Hotel. At the Hyatt, don’t drive up to the lobby, but take the left fork, which may be marked Self Parking, Spa, Luau Parking or Beach Parking. When you reach the end of that road, before you enter the parking structure, there are several rows of parking spaces marked Shoreline Access or Beach Parking. Several other hotels have free beach parking lots, but this is the only lot where we have always been able to find a space.
– From the parking lot, you can take a walkway to the left around the building. However, it’s more fun if you take the stairs up into the hotel and visit the shops on your way to the hotel lobby. Once in the lobby, look around for the penguin exhibit and for colorful parrots, then find your way past the swimming pools down to the beachfront.
– If you mainly want to visit the Whalers Village shopping center, you might as well park there. When you enter on Kaanapali Parkway, turn right instead of left, and watch for Whalers Village on your left. You will have to pay for parking unless you make a purchase at the shops or eat lunch at one of the restaurants. Note that the Whalers Village parking spaces are rather narrow. Moreover, Whalers Village is a popular destination for activities, so you may have to drive up into the parking structure to find an empty parking space.
Gift & Craft Fair. Maui’s local arts and craft fairs are great weekend activities. The one closest to Honokeana Cove is conducted on Sundays in the Lahaina Gateway Shopping Center. Admission is inexpensive, with many booths selling local crafts and clothing.
Farmers Markets. Visit one of the local Maui Farmers Markets. Check the internet, because there’s often one in Napili or Honokowai. And an hour’s drive across the island, there’s a BIG Farmers Market and Swap Meet at the Maui Community College in Kahalui, on Saturday mornings.
Sandy Beaches. If your chosen activities involve sand and surf, you have many good choices. Napili Bay beach is a ¼ mile walk from Honokeana Cove. D. T. Fleming Beach is 2 miles north on Hwy 30 from Napilihau St., then turn toward the ocean and drive 0.3 miles. Many small county parks along Highway 30 have sandy beaches and free parking; some also have restroom facilities.
Water Sports. Paddleboard, longboard, boogie board and body surfing at Honokeana Cove or at public beaches.
Snorkeling. There’s good snorkeling at Honokeana Cove, D. T. Fleming Beach, or next to the Sheraton Hotel on Kaanapali beach.
Lipoa Point Lookout. 12 minutes north of Honokeana Cove, a dirt road takes you to the lookout at Lipoa Point on the north edge of Honolua Bay in West Maui. This is a good place to watch for whales in the winter, and to see great sunsets all year long.
Lobby Walks. Other pleasant free activities involve window shopping: walk through the lobbies, ground and shops of the big West Maui hotels (Hyatt, Westin, Sheraton, Ritz).
Shave Ice. Get shave ice at stands at the larger beaches and next to hotel swimming pools.
Free Hula. One of Hawaii’s most cherished activities is hula dancing, and you can enjoy it for free at shopping centers and hotels. Google ‘Maui free hula show’ for up-to-date references.
Live Music. Many bars have live music, both during Happy Hour and in the evening. Search online or see the Maui News website for schedules.
Green Flash. Watch for the famous “Green Flash” at sunset.
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– The Green Flash is not folklore, it’s an unusual and spectacular natural phenomenon, and Hawaii is one of the world’s best places to witness it.
– To watch for this special treat, choose a location along the West Maui coast where the sun is setting into the water, on a day when there are no clouds or haze on the horizon. Be warned, sometimes a horizon haze is not evident until the sun is about to set.
– “Flash” is a misnomer, since the sun doesn’t get brighter; what happens is that the last half-second of sunlight changes color to apple green, or medium green, or even turquoise-blue. The change is startling, and very evident to the human eye. However, if you want a photographic record, that is more difficult. The Green Flash is so brief that it’s best captured on video. Traditional photographic film does a better job of showing the color change than digital cameras – sorry, smartphone users. For more information, see the Green Flash blog on Art’s website.

The following activities are more distant: many of them are an hour or more drive from Honokeana Cove.

Hiking. There are great hikes all over Maui.
Iao Needle. Drive 50 minutes to the Iao (“EE-ow”) Valley State Monument in central Maui. There’s an easy 0.6-mile paved trail from which you can view the Iao Needle and walk through a botanical garden. (Heavy rains can flood this park – before you drive here from the Cove, you may wish to check the website or even phone the park to make sure all trails are open.) As you drive back on the park road, it’s also worth walking through the adjacent Heritage Gardens Park.
Wailea. Drive 50 minutes to the Grand Wailea Hotel in south Maui.
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– Stroll the lobbies, grounds, shops and beach boardwalk. Have lunch at the Tommy Bahama café or one of many other choices.
– If you tire of Wailea’s self-conscious glamour, drive an additional 10 minutes south to Makena Beach State Park. At Makena, Big Beach is a sandy beach 2/3 of a mile long and is pleasant for swimming and snorkeling.
– The north end of Big Beach ends in a rocky outcrop. There’s a trail leading over the outcrop; if you choose to take that trail, be warned that it leads to Little Beach, Maui’s best-known “clothing optional” beach.
Haleakala. Some activities are almost an expedition! Drive 90 minutes to the National Park at the top of Mount Haleakala in central Maui. You can take great photos and (if you wish) enjoy some of the 30 miles of hiking trails at the summit. Warning: it’s very chilly at the top, bring along your warmest clothing!
Camp in the Crater. Lovers of the outdoors can camp overnight in a National Park cabin inside the crater of Mount Haleakala. They charge only $75 per night to sleep up to 12 people in a very primitive cabin that is 4 to 9 miles from where you park your car.
Botanical Gardens. Maui has several botanical gardens that you can visit.
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Here are several gardens, along with their driving distance from Honokeana Cove:
– 40 minutes to Maui Tropical Plantation. It’s free if you don’t take their tram tour, which really isn’t needed.
– 45 minutes to Maui Nui Botanical Garden ($10.00 admission).
– 50 minutes to the garden at Iao Valley State Monument, as mentioned above.
– 80 minutes to Kula Botanical Garden ($10.00 admission).
Hana. A drive on the highway to Hana, in east Maui, is another of those “expedition” activities. This is a long all day trip. It involves hours of winding through repeated “S” turns at 15 miles per hour, your hands clenched on the steering wheel. You want to stop and take the lovely half hour walk to the waterfall and the swimming pool, but you’re worried about taking the time. What’s the answer to this dilemma?
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– Choice #1: Sign up for one of the minivan tours and “leave the driving to them.”
– Another choice: Resolve that you will drive first to Paia, watching the windsurfers off the coast. Walk around Paia and have lunch at the Paia Fish Market. (If your Uncle George left you a LOT of money, have lunch at Mama’s Fish House!) Then drive part of the Hana Highway, just to get the feeling of it, and when you get tired, turn around and head home.
– Yet another choice!: “I can do it myself and I’m gonna do it!” In this case you should prepare yourself with a guide: you may want to download the Hana Highway Mile By Mile digital guide.
– Get an early start, taking along walking shoes and bottled water, and plan to spend all day. You will be following the blue line on the Google map below. The truly ambitious or obsessive will want to go all the way to Hana and look at the Lindberg shrine, or at least get as far as Seven Pools.
Once you reach Hana, you may be tempted to keep on going and follow the gray line on the map to return. If Jon’s Maui doesn’t discourage you, you should at least ask at the National Park Ranger Station in Hana before you continue. The southern route includes 5 miles of unpaved road that is often washed out by thunderstorms, so you need to make sure that the road is intact before you proceed. Moreover, your rental car company probably made you sign an agreement not to drive on unpaved roads.
Drive Around the Top. One of Maui’s most challenging activities is to drive the Kahekili Highway around the northwest corner of Maui to Wailuku. Much of this is a one lane road, and when you meet a vehicle coming the other way, someone has to be pretty confident about backing up a long distance. Not for the faint of heart.
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Apart from the scary one lane parts, the reason this is a demanding drive is illustrated by the Google map. It’s 29 miles from Honokeana Cove to Wailuku “over the top” and Google says the drive takes 77 minutes. That’s a bit over 22 miles per hour. In contrast, if you go “around the bottom” to Wailuku, Google says 30.3 miles in 50 minutes, an average speed of 36 mph, almost twice as fast. Therefore, all those wiggles on the road map really slow you down!
Reviews of this adventure range from the neutral (“Kahekili Highway Photos”) to the terrifying (“Death Road of Maui”).
If none of this deters you, then leave your condo and get on the main highway (highway 30, aka Honoapiilani Highway). Head north until it peters out into a narrow but still paved two lane road. After 16 miles you may notice the Kaukini Gallery and you think “Aha! Civilization!” Alas, that’s not really the case. The Kaukini, when it’s open, is a nice enough art gallery. However its rest room, which you were really looking forward to visiting, often seems to be locked with an “out of order” sign. If you really want to visit this gallery, you’re advised to make an appointment with them in advance.
If you continue on the Kahekili Highway, it not only gets narrow but is almost unpaved in places, tucked into a hillside with no guard rails and no margin for error. Eventually you arrive at Wailuku, where you can check into a rehab center or drink a martini, as you choose. We advise you to return home by the main highway, not by the way you came!
Whale Lookout. If you visit during whale season (mid-November to mid-May), park at the Papawai Point whale lookout at mile 8.7 on Highway 30, south of Lahaina. Bring beach chairs, sodas and binoculars, then settle in to watch for the whales.

Activities That Cost Money

The following activities cost money and need to be reserved in advance.

Restaurants. Guests to Honokeana Cove enjoy using our oceanside barbeque grills to cook steaks, fish and vegies. However, they also enjoy eating out. Maui has many excellent restaurants, many reasonably priced restaurants, and some that are both excellent and reasonably priced. In addition, there are Early Bird and Happy Hour specials that can save you a peck of money.
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Reports from other vacation visitors are your best guide:
– Talk to your fellow guests around the swimming pool, and the staff in the Rental Office
– For casual eats, look at reviews on social websites (for example, Yelp.com)
– If you’re in the mood for fine dining, consult opentable.com
– We also recommend checking the website Jon’s Maui restaurant recommendations
Do you want to jump to the bottom line? OK, here are Art and Nola’s most favorite restaurants on Maui, among all the fabulous restaurants that we love:
– For lunch: Star Noodle, on the ocean next to Lahaina Cannery Mall. Mala Ocean Tavern, also on the ocean and just north of Star Noodle.
– At dinner time: Mama’s Fish House in Paia (expensive and far away). Sansei (Japanese) in Kapalua, less than 2 miles from Honokeana Cove.
Luau. A luau show and feast combines many activities in a single evening. Our favorite is Old Lahaina Luau, but there are many other choices. The farther ahead you reserve, the closer they will seat you to the stage. Make your reservation as soon as you know your travel dates.
Whale Watching. If you visit from mid-November to mid-May, take a Whale Watch trip, preferably with the nonprofit Pacific Whale Foundation. Reserve online a week ahead for best choices of date and time. Better yet, become a member for a tax-deductible contribution, and you not only get the best price for the whale watch trip, but you get to board the boat and choose your seat ahead of all the non-members.
Bicycle Down the Mountain. Some intrepid bicycle riders take a 3:00 a.m. bus to see the top of Mount Haleakala, enjoy the sunrise and a tour of the volcano’s crater, then ride their bike down the mountain. The cost is anywhere from $24 to more than you want to pay. Barefoot Tours gives a summary, but you will want to check a number of providers and reviews if you’re considering this adventure. In addition, make sure your bike has good brakes! (You will not find Art and Nola on this trip.)
Horseback riding at Ironwood Ranch or another – daytime or moonlight. They typically charge $80 to $140 per person for a 1.5 to 2.5 hour ride.
Spa & Fitness: visit the Spa, at the Montage Hotel in Kapalua, just three-quarters of a mile to the north of Honokeana Cove. Check out their yoga, Pilates and stretch specials.
Golf: Maui has many spectacular championship golf courses at the major resorts: Kapalua, Kaanapali and Wailea. If you’ve got the money, honey, they’ve got the (tee) time.
– If you don’t want to spend the big bucks, the best public course is Waiehu Park, a lovely site next to the ocean near Kahului. You would need to call them to find out the greens fees, see whether you can reserve a starting time, whether you have to reserve to rent clubs, and all that stuff.
Tennis: Maui has many excellent tennis courts. The Kapalua tennis center, with ten plexipave courts, is three-quarters of a mile north of Honokeana Cove. There are also some free tennis courts on Maui.
Fishing Charters. Typical trips cost $150 to $200 for 4 to 8 hours on a shared boat, or you may rent your own boat.
Helicopter Tours. Helicopter tours are chosen activities for visitors who want to see as much as possible and don’t care what it costs. A helicopter is a spectacular way to see the beauty of Maui, since many of its verdant canyons and waterfalls are all but inaccessible to the visitor.
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First of all, decide how deeply you want to dig into your pockets. You can take short helicopter rides for under $200 per person, but if you’re going to dig that deep in your pocket, we recommend stretching even more and getting a first-class experience. After all, you’re probably only going to do it once.
For example, the 60-minute Circle Island Deluxe Tour by Sunshine Helicopters, complete with pilot narration, shows you everything; it costs between $400 and $550 per person. Higher prices get you a better seat, from which you can see more, and/or a quieter helicopter. In addition, we recommend that you purchase the DVD record of your flight for an additional charge.
Submarines. Atlantis Submarines charge you around $150 per person to go 100 feet deep and see wrecks and fish. These are the same fish you see snorkeling in the Cove, but we don’t have wrecks in the Cove.
Much Much More. Also, for lots more ideas of activities you can enjoy during a visit to Maui, we recommend the Jon’s Maui and Barefoot Tours websites.

Art and Nola encourage you to come visit Honokeana Cove Unit 114. We promise that you won’t run out of things to do during your Maui vacation!

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Oceanfront Vacation Rental in West Maui