Maui Travel Guide

The Glamorous Isle

Maui has glamour, in the old Sir Walter Scott sense of the word. It casts a kind of magic spell that draws people from all over the world. It's the only Hawaiian island that most people know by name. They don't dream of Hawaii, they dream, often in the dead of winter, of Maui. Rainbows arching over green volcanic valleys, blue skies and water, white-sand beaches.

So popular is Maui that you need to plan which part of Maui you most wish to visit. It's not that big an island, you can drive from one place to another without stocking up provisions. However, Maui's now filled with traffic, especially in the popular tourist areas, and the roads are often narrow and two-lane. It's much easier to spend most of your time on one side of the island or another.

The reason for this particular geography is the Maui is essentially two islands-one large, one small, connected by a curved, flat neck of land.

Although this neck of land contains both of Maui's main towns, Kahului and Wailuku, most visitors spend little time there, except to arrive and depart from the airport, or take in a show at the Maui Art and Cultural Center. Once on the ground, most visitors head for one side of the island or the other-to West or South Maui.

The smaller side, West Maui, is the most established tourist area. In the '60s one of the major landowners took some land at Kaanapali that was useless for sugar cultivation and had been used as a company picnic area-hot, dry and near a long stretch of white-sand beach-and slowly developed a resort, avoiding the excesses of Waikiki. Decades later, Kaanapali Beach boasts one immaculately landscaped resort after another. There's little traffic and you can wander along the beach for miles-although you may prefer to spend your time on its golf courses and tennis courts or in the shops and restaurants.

Stretching from Kaanapali along the coast to Napili and then the luxury resort at Kapalua are innumerable condominium complexes. The Kapalua resort with its championship golf courses, hotels, villas, shops and restaurants caters to a very upscale clientele.

The growth of Kaanapali and Kapalua has brought new life to the small town of Lahaina. Once the capital of Hawaii, Lahaina was an important trading port (both legal and illegal) in the mid-1800s-a wide-open town where stern, Bible-bearing missionaries and whalers looking for whiskey and women clashed openly in the streets.

Now the clash is between old and new. The whole town is a National Historic Landmark-but it may be the only National Historic Landmark that boasts both a Hard Rock CafÈ and a Bubba Gump's. In fact, the historic streets of Lahaina are now lined with art galleries, bars, T-shirt and trinket shops and restaurants. Although the missionaries won the upper hand in the 19th century, it's the whalers' spirit that seems to have ultimately prevailed.

Over Kaanapali and Lahaina rise the West Maui Mountains, filled with dramatic valleys. The mountains, however, pale beside the brooding volcanic presence that dominates the other side of Maui-10,000-foot-high Haleakala. The largest dormant volcano in the world, Haleakala draws the eye up and up the gently sloping sides that give Maui its upcountry agricultural district. At its top, Haleakala has a crater large enough to hold Manhattan-it's a favorite of hikers and sightseers.

Those staying on the Haleakala side of the island head to the south shore, where the island's newest, most glittering and most luxurious resorts can be found at Wailea and Makena-as well as some of the island's best-known beaches and some extraordinary whale watching in season. This part of Maui has grown up since the '80s and now boasts new retail stores and restaurants to service the new high-end resorts. Kihei is a booming little city now, with a Supercomputer center and a strip mall on every corner.

If Kihei is Anytown, U. S. A., with palm trees, the far side of Haleakala is entirely different. Here you will find Hana with its lush green rain forests and mountain pools. This side of the island is remote and as isolated a hideaway as contemporary Hawaii affords. You can fly into Hana by small plane, but most people simply drive, more for the sake of saying they have survived the 600 hair-pin turns and 56 narrow bridges than from any intention of staying in Hana for any length of time. There is, after all, so much to see and do in the rest of Maui, from watching the sunrise atop Haleakala Crater ("The House of the Sun") to snorkeling in the submarine intrigue of Molokini's back wall.

The locals say, "Maui no ka oi"-Maui is the best. Most of the world thinks so, too.

Airport

Kahului Airport is served by United Airlines, 800-241-6522, www.ual.com; American Airlines, 808-244-5522, 800-433-7300, www.aa.com; Delta Air Lines, 800-221-1212, www.delta.com; Aloha Airlines, 808-244-9071, 800-252-5642, www.alohaair.com; and Hawaiian Airlines, 800-367-5320 (mainland), 800-882-8811 (interisland), www.hawaiianair.com; plus a number of charter airlines. Upon arrival at the airport, if you have decided not to rent a car, taxis and shuttles are available at the Kahului Airport taxi stand, or you can contact hotels and resorts to arrange pick-ups.

Hana Airport and the Kapalua West Maui Airport are served by Hawaiian Airlines/Island Air, 800-652-6541, www.hawaiianair.com, and Pacific Wings, 808-873-0877, 888-575-4547, www.pacificwings.com. If you are staying at The Hotel Hana-Maui, a shuttle will pick you up at Hana Airport.

Cars

Rental cars are readily available at or near Kahului Airport from national and local agencies, and most do not charge for mileage. Several agencies operate out of hotels and resorts as well. Airport listings: Alamo, 808-871-6235, 800-462-5266, www.alamo.com; Andres Rent-a-Car, 808-877-5378; Avis, 800-321-1212, www.avis.com; Budget, 800-527-0700, www.drivebudget.com; Dollar Rent A Car (also at Hana Airport), 808-877-2731, 800-367-7006, www.dollar.com; Hertz, 808-877-5167, 800-654-2210, www.hertz.com; National Car Rental, 808-871-8851, 800-227-7368, www.nationalcar.com; and Thrifty Car Rental, 808-871-2860, 800-367-5238 (interisland), 800-367-2277 (mainland), www.thrifty.com.

Taxis

There are no public buses on Maui. Because of distances and traffic, taxis can be expensive. They are metered at $2 for the first mile and $1.75 for each additional mile, plus 30 cents for each bag handled by the driver and $3 per surfboard or bicycle. Be forewarned: the trip from the airport at Kahului to a Kaanapali hotel can easily run as high as $60. Speedi Airport Shuttle, 808-875-8070, has regular service but can be expensive. It's better to catch the Trans Hawaiian shuttle from Kahului, 808-877-7308, 800-231-6984. If you can time it right, a round-trip fare to and from most resorts is about $20. You'll need to go directly to the Trans Hawaiian desk near baggage claim. Many companies, including most taxis, offer sightseeing tours. The major taxi companies are AB Taxi in Lahaina, 808-667-7575, Alii Cab in Kaanapali, 808-661-3688, Classy Taxi, 808-661-3044, Kihei Taxi, 808-879-3000, and Yellow Cab in Kahului, 808-877-7000.