Maui Family Vacation Travel Guide

We just got back from our family vacation to Maui and I couldn’t wait to share this Maui family vacation guide I put together during our time there! We had such a great time, and it’s definitely going to be a hard vacation to beat. I originally booked this trip for March of 2020, but that obviously didn’t happen. So, we went in late March this year to escape the cold and rainy PNW. I guess rainy season for Maui is November to March, but all the locals said they had an unusually rainy March this year. Luckily, Maui is made up of a bunch of microclimates, so it was fairly easy to “escape” the rain most days.

In this Maui family vacation guide, you’ll find all my kid-friendly tips and must see spots to see for your next Maui family vacation. For more inspiration, you can find my Maui story highlight over on my instagram to see a lot of these recommendations on there from our own trip.

Getting to/around Maui

We flew into Kahului Airport (OGG). There are 2 other airports on the island, but OGG is the only one that can accommodate direct flights from the mainland U.S. It was about a 6 hour flight from Seattle, which is a little long with kids, but it’s not much farther than our flights home to Florida to visit family. Depending on where you’re staying, it can take a good 45-60 minutes to get to the other popular areas, and longer if you want to go from one side of the island tot he other. I definitely recommend renting a car to get around in, unless you plan on only staying in the resort areas and relying on their transportation to get you around.

Where to Stay on Maui

The most popular locations to stay in Maui are the west side of the island (45min from OGG) and the south side (25-30min from OGG). On the west side, you’ll find the cute little town of Lahaina, that is full of great food and resorts. Lahaina has plenty of lodging options, as well as Whaler’s Village with some great shopping and restaurants right on Ka’anapali beach. Kapalua is another area just north of Lahaina that is more quiet and spread out. Kapalua is home to the Ritz Carlton and the Montage resorts. Both are beautiful options and just down the street from each other. Of course AirBnB is always a great option, we stayed at this one in Lahaina and loved having our own space and kitchen. It was nice “living like a local” for the first half of our trip before getting spoiled at the resorts the second half.

On the south end of the island, the main areas are Kihei and Wailea. Kehei is a casual little beach town with plenty of beach parks and shops and restaurants. While Wailea is a more high-end, less busy area just south of Kihei. We stayed at the Wailea Beach Resort and I’m convinced I will never need to stay at another hotel on Maui because this one was perfect for us. It is a large resort with stunning views everywhere, 3 big pools (a family pool, adult-only pool, and a little water park area), and great food on the property. The Shops at Wailea are within walking distance too for some shopping and other dining.

Where to eat on Maui

There are so many good food options on Maui that we absolutely loved. Some of the places we ate at that I would recommend checking out on your next trip:

• Leoda’s Pie Shop in Lahaina – Of course the pie is great, but we also loved the sandwiches!
• Joey’s Kitchen in Lahaina (we heard that this is a local spot that is much less busy than other restaurants in the area)
• MonkeyPod has locations in Wailea and Lahaina/Ka’anapali – they are a chain around Hawaii but I’ve loved everything I’ve had there in Oahu and Maui
• Cane and Canoe at the Montage in Kapalua
• Misophat Sushi in Kihei and near Kapalua/Lahaina
• Maui Brewing Co. in Kihei and Lahaina
• Kihei Caffe in Kihei – expect a line, as this place is very popular
• Humble Market Kitchin at the Wailea Beach Resort in Wailea – we ate here several times because it was so good and easy since we were staying at the hotel
• Maika’i Lani Malasadas in Lahaina – Malasadas are delicious filled Portuguese doughnuts
• Down the Hatch in Lahaina – dinner was so good that we came back for an equally tasty breakfast the next day
• Mama’s Fish House in Paia on the north shore – make reservations as far in advance as possible, as this is the most popular restaurant on Maui. If you’re family loves seafood, this is a must for you. The menu changes constantly and is probably 85+% seafood, so if you’re a picky eater or don’t like fish, you can skip this one.
• Like Poke Food Truck in Kahului near the airport
• Fat Daddy’s Smokehouse in Kihei
• Outriggers Pizza Food Truck in Kihei
• Hana Farms in Hana – we found this on our Road to Hana day trip and it was SO good!

Family-friendly activities in Maui

We spent 10 days on the island and still didn’t do everything we wanted. But that’s all the more reason to come back, right? I am definitely an over planner sometimes, but I tried to only plan activities and food reservations for every other day so we had some flexibility to do whatever we were feeling like that day. However, with how popular the Hawaiian islands can be, I highly recommend making reservations in advance for things you really want to do. Otherwise, there’s a good chance they’ll be booked up before you even arrive. Here are my top activities to do in Maui for families.

• Beaches: obviously first on the list is check out the beautiful beaches all around Maui. Our favorites were Ka’anapali and Napili on the West coast, and Wailea Beach at the resort in Wailea (but you really can’t go wrong with any of the beaches on the island, this IS Hawaii after all) My all time favorite beach though would be Honokalani/Black Sand Beach, located in Waianapanapa State Park on the Road to Hana. But you have to reserve a time slot in advance to visit Honokalani and it’s a good 2-2.5 hours from the main resort areas on Maui.
• Pineapple Farm tour: Take your family to a tour of a real pineapple farm and taste the freshest pineapple you’ve ever had.
• Whale watching tour: if you’re visiting from December to mid-April, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to see the Humpback whales that migrate down to Hawaii to give birth or mate. There are several tour companies, but we went with Makai Adventures out of Lahaina and we loved it, and it was great for small kids. If you have older kids, Maui Kayak Adventures would also be a great option for a unique experience.
• The road to Hana could be a single day trip or you could spread it out over 2 days and stay in Hana. There are so many places to stop along the way, but with small kids, we have to be picky about how often we get in and out of the car in a day. You can check out this post for our Road to Hana itinerary with small kids. We stopped almost everywhere we wanted to, and of course found some extra stops along the way.
• Attend a luau: We went to the Te Au Moana luau at the Wailea Beach Resort. After researching, it seems to be the most family-friendly luau on the island, although other luaus may be considered “more authentic.” The Te Au Moana luau stories and dancers captured the attention of our two little ones for most of the whole 3 hours (which is no easy task), and the food, drinks, and views were great as well.
• Souvenir shopping: there’s plenty of shops in the popular areas of the island. If you’re looking for some traditional souvenirs (i.e. macadamia nut chocolates, plumeria plants, etc.) find one of the dozen ABC Stores on the island.
• Surfing Goat Dairy Farm tour for a hands on experience with several tour options based on your time frame. The Daily Casual Tour is a 30 minute walk-through tour where you can pet the goats and get samples. And on the Evening Chore & Milking Tour, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the day-to-day workings of the farm and even learn how to milk a goat on your own!
• Halekeala National Park sunrise or sunset: This is a longer trip for the kids, about 2 hours each way from the popular resort areas on the island. You’ll need a reservation to view the sunrise from above the clouds, but I’ve heard sunset is just as beautiful and may have less of a crowd.
• Iao Valley State Monument hike: According to the website – “A paved 0.6 mile walk provides a scenic viewpoint of Kuka‘emoku (a.k.a. the ʻIao Needle), an erosional feature which abruptly rises 1200 feet from the valley floor.  This valley is rich in cultural and spiritual values and is the site of the battle of Kepaniwai where the forces of Kamehameha I conquered the Maui army in 1790.” We didn’t get to do this hike because it was closed due to flood warnings the day we had planned on going, but it would be a great little hike for small kids.
• Nakalele Blowhole on the northwest side of the island
• Last but not least, explore those resort pools! Even though we were on a beautiful island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, our kids just wanted to be kids and loved the pools at the hotels we stayed at. Our favorite was the NALU Adventure Pool at the Wailea Beach Resort.

This travel guide should get you through a solid 2+ weeks of your time on Maui, but if you have any other Maui family vacation tips, I’d love to hear them! If you’re looking for a different kind of beach experience, check out my Cannon Beach, OR Family Travel Guide.

xx

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