Maui Sights You Can See For Free
By now you’ve paid for your flight, your accommodations, and a rental car. Your vacation dollars are becoming scarce and you’ve still got meals to consider. Fortunately, there are many fun things to do on Maui that won’t cost you a dime.
The Maui Tropical Plantation is a beautiful botanical garden displaying acres of tropical flowers and foliage. Visitors may stroll the plantation grounds and visit the gift shop for free. If you want a guided train tour the charge for that is $15. If you want to ship one of their delicious pineapples to the mainland, the gift shop provides this service—for a fee, of course.
Hawaii’s topography is quite stunning. Often as you are driving around Maui you’ll have the azure ocean on one side of the road and the majestic mountains on the other. It can be difficult to keep your eyes on the roadway! One of Maui’s more majestic sights is the 2,250 foot Iao Needle which reigns over the Iao Valley in Wailuku.
Another way to enjoy Maui’s natural beauty is to drive the perilous Hana Highway which begins in Kahului and winds its way through the mountains until is ends in tiny Hana town. Some of the stores in Lahaina sell t-shirts that say, “I survived the road to Hana”. The sheer drop into the ocean on one side of this mountain road, coupled with the myriad hairpin turns, make it something of a “white knuckle” drive. The locals barreling down on you at top speed in their pick-ups add to the excitement.
If you decide to go, be sure to get an early start. For some reason, everyone seems to set out for Hana in the middle of the afternoon. Unless you plan to spend the night in Hana town, this is far too late. You will be returning in the dark. Trust me, this is NOT something you want to do. To drive to Hana and back from any of the resort areas is an all day adventure. There are lots of places you will want to stop along the way. Places like the black sand beach (it’s really gravel, not sand, and please do not take any home with you or you might find yourself in trouble with the local gods), the breathtaking waterfalls, or the front yard of a local who is selling authentic island barbecue (it doesn’t get more authentic than this).
Gas up your rental before you set off. It also might be a good idea to carry water and snacks with you in the car. The Hana Highway is not like the interstate highways on the mainland where you can purchase food or fuel every few miles.
While you are upcountry, be sure not to miss the historic Paniolo (Hawaiian for cowboy) town of Makawao. Some of the first cattle ranches established in the United States were established in the Hawaiian Islands. Mexican vaqueros taught the Hawaiians how to herd cattle back in 1830. Full of old Hawaiian architecture, Makawao is just a few minutes drive from Kahului.
If you’re not up to the chills and thrills of the drive to Hana, you could spend a lazy day idling on one of Maui’s many beaches. Some are crowded, some are more hidden away and intimate, and all are public access.
Whaler’s Village, a picturesque shopping area in the old whaling town of Lahaina features a whaling museum. The museum is open from nine in the morning until ten at night and there is no admission fee.
You may be staying in a budget accommodation, but that is no reason for you not to enjoy the beautiful grounds of a five star resort. The Hyatt is the biggest (and maybe the best) resort on the island. There are koi ponds inside the open-air lobby and enough tropical flowers to fill a botanical garden. They don’t mind tourists who are staying elsewhere having a look around. I warn you though, the place is so stunning, I was seduced by its beauty into buying tickets to the “Drums of the Pacific” luau they host each night. It was a great luau—one of the locals told me it is the best on the island—but it isn’t free, or even cheap!
The sun rising behind the Maui mountains and setting over the pacific are spectacular sights you’ll want to capture and keep forever in photographs.
These are just a few of the sights you can see for free on Maui. You will certainly discover many others during your visit. |
