The complete Maui guide
from Napili Point
Napili Point sits on a lava headland on Maui’s sunny northwest shore, between golden Napili Bay and Honokeana Cove, with the islands of Molokai and Lanai across the channel. It is the quiet side of West Maui: crescent beaches with calm summer water, reefs full of fish and green sea turtles, and some of the best sunsets in Hawaiʻi.
Within a few minutes you can be snorkelling Kapalua Bay or the marine reserve at Honolua Bay, walking the Kapalua Coastal Trail past Dragon’s Teeth, or watching the cliff dive at Black Rock on Kāʻanapali Beach. From December to April, humpback whales pass right in front of the condos.
Below — our guide to the island’s icons, the beaches on our doorstep, the quiet local favourites, the day trips worth the drive, and the festivals worth timing your visit for.
The island’s postcards brought to life.
Sunrise above the clouds on a volcano, the most famous road in Hawaiʻi, a torch-lit cliff dive at sunset and the whales of winter — the experiences every visitor to Maui should have at least once.
Haleakalā at Sunrise
Watch the sun come up from the summit of the dormant volcano that makes up most of Maui, above a sea of clouds. It is cold up there before dawn, so bring a warm jacket. A sunrise reservation is required to drive in between 3 and 7 a.m.; book it ahead on recreation.gov, or go up later in the day without one.
The Road to Hāna
More than six hundred curves and dozens of one-lane bridges along Maui’s rainforest coast, with waterfalls, bamboo forest and black-sand beaches on the way. Start at dawn, let faster cars pass, and book ahead for Waiʻānapanapa State Park, which needs a reservation for visitors.
Black Rock Cliff Dive
At the north end of Kāʻanapali Beach, Puʻu Kekaʻa (Black Rock) is where, every evening at sunset, a diver lights the torches along the cliff and leaps into the sea — a ceremony honouring the Maui chief Kahekili. By day it is one of the easiest snorkels on the island.
Dragon’s Teeth
At Makaluapuna Point, wind and surf have carved the lava into rows of sharp spires that really do look like teeth, with Molokai across the channel. Stay on the path: the land beside it is the Honokahua burial ground, a sacred Hawaiian site, and the rocks are slippery when the waves come in.
Kapalua Coastal Trail
West Maui’s favourite morning walk: about a mile and three-quarters along the shore from Kapalua Bay past Oneloa Beach and Dragon’s Teeth to D.T. Fleming Beach, part paved, part boardwalk, part lava. Go early for the soft light, and look out for whales in winter.
Humpback Whale Season
Every winter, thousands of humpback whales travel from Alaska to the warm, shallow waters around Maui to mate and give birth, and the channel in front of Napili Point is one of their roads. Watch for breaches and blows from the lanai, or join a whale-watch cruise for a closer look.
Golden coves on our doorstep.
West Maui’s best beaches are all within fifteen minutes of Napili Point: calm crescent bays for swimming, reefs full of fish and turtles, and a protected marine reserve. In winter the north-facing bays get big surf, so check the conditions and swim where it is calm.
Honokeana Cove
The small cove right below Napili Point, where green sea turtles come in to feed and rest along the rocks. Watch them from the lawn or the lanai. The entry is rocky with no sand, so it is best for experienced snorkelers on calm days, and always keep your distance from the turtles.
Napili Bay
A crescent of soft golden sand between two lava points, with calm water most of the year — swimming, snorkelling along the rocks at either end, and one of the prettiest sunsets on the island. Breakfast at The Gazebo, right on the bay, is a West Maui tradition.
Kapalua Bay
A sheltered bay of soft white sand framed by lava points, named America’s best beach in 1991. The reef along the right-hand point is a gentle snorkel for the whole family, and the Kapalua Coastal Trail starts right here.
Honolua Bay
A protected Marine Life Conservation District down a short path through the forest. On calm summer days the coral and fish here make it one of the best snorkels on Maui; in winter big swells roll in and the surfers take over. Look, do not touch, and wear reef-safe sunscreen.
Kāʻanapali Beach
Three miles of golden sand in front of the resorts, with the Kāʻanapali Beachwalk running its whole length, Whalers Village for lunch and shopping, and the Black Rock snorkel at the north end. Come back for the cliff dive at sunset.
Slaughterhouse Beach
Next door to Honolua and part of the same marine reserve, down a long flight of stairs from the road. A beautiful, quiet cove for summer snorkelling; in winter the shorebreak is powerful and best watched from the cliff above.
The rest of Maui, one drive away.
A snorkel cruise to a sunken crater, a green valley with a 1,200-foot needle of rock, the surf towns of the North Shore and the cowboy country Upcountry — each an easy day out from West Maui.
Molokini Crater
A crescent-shaped volcanic crater half sunk in the sea off South Maui and a protected marine reserve, with famously clear water and hundreds of kinds of fish. Morning snorkel cruises leave from Māʻalaea Harbor and many stop at Turtle Town on the way back.
Māʻalaea & Maui Ocean Center
Hawaiʻi’s aquarium of the reef and open ocean, where a walk-through tunnel puts sharks and rays over your head. A wonderful half day with children, or a plan for a rainy morning, next to the harbor where the snorkel and whale-watch boats leave.
ʻĪao Valley State Monument
A lush green valley in the West Maui Mountains, where the ʻĪao Needle rises about 1,200 feet from the valley floor — and where Kamehameha fought the battle of Kepaniwai in 1790. Visitors need an advance reservation; open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Kīhei & Wailea
The sunny south shore: Kīhei’s long run of beach parks, and Wailea’s crescent beaches linked by the Wailea Beach Path, a paved walk along the shore past the resorts. An easy day of beaches, shops and lunch with a view.
Pāʻia & Hoʻokipa
Pāʻia is a colourful old plantation town of surf shops, galleries and good food. Just past it, Hoʻokipa Beach Park is famous for windsurfers and big-wave surfers, and in the late afternoon green sea turtles haul out to sleep on the sand — watch from behind the rope line.
Upcountry Makawao & Kula
Up on the slopes of Haleakalā, the cool green Upcountry: Makawao, a cowboy (paniolo) town of galleries and a famous bakery, and Kula, with its farms, lavender fields and views down over the whole island. Pair it with Haleakalā for a full day.
Time your visit to a celebration.
Whales in February, wine and slack key guitar in June, cowboys on the Fourth of July and weeks of Hawaiian music and hula in the fall — Maui’s calendar is worth planning a trip around.
World Whale Day Parade
Pacific Whale Foundation’s celebration of the humpbacks, with a free parade down South Kīhei Road, music, food and conservation booths, in the middle of whale season. A happy, family day in South Maui.
Kapalua Wine & Food Festival
One of Hawaiʻi’s oldest wine and food festivals, celebrating its 45th year in 2026, at The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua: winemaker dinners, celebrity chefs, tastings and a grand tasting gala, ten minutes from your door.
Kī Hōʻalu Slack Key Festival
An afternoon of Hawaiian slack key guitar by the island’s best players, free and outdoors at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. Bring a beach mat and settle in for the music of the islands.
Makawao Rodeo & Paniolo Parade
Hawaiʻi has had cowboys since the 1800s, and Upcountry still celebrates them: a rodeo at Oskie Rice Arena and a paniolo parade through Makawao town. Real ranch life, Maui style.
Festivals of Aloha
Weeks of Hawaiian music, hula, falsetto contests, parades and food across Maui County, with most events free — from Wailuku and Kahului to Wailea, Makawao and a week of celebrations in Hāna.
Maui County Fair
A Maui tradition for almost a hundred years: rides, food booths, flower and orchid shows, livestock and local entertainment in Kahului, with Maui’s families out in force.
Distances at a glance.
Honokeana Cove: Below the lanai · Napili Bay & The Gazebo: 5 min walk · Kapalua Bay: 5 min · Oneloa Beach: 6 min · Dragon’s Teeth: 7 min · D.T. Fleming Beach: 8 min · The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua: 10 min · Honolua Bay & Slaughterhouse Beach: 10 min · Kahekili Beach Park: 12 min · Kāʻanapali Beach & Black Rock: 15 min · Māʻalaea Harbor & Maui Ocean Center: 45 min · Kahului Airport (OGG): about 1 hr · ʻĪao Valley: about 1 hr · Kīhei: about 1 hr · Wailea: 1 hr 10 min · Pāʻia: 1 hr 15 min · Makawao: 1 hr 20 min · Haleakalā summit: about 3 hr · Hāna: 4–5 hr
Your Maui story starts at Napili Point.
Two oceanfront condos above Honokeana Cove, booked direct with Bob & Tracy, the owners who know every beach on this guide. Drive times are approximate; traffic on the Honoapiʻilani Highway can add more.
See Our Two Condos