Maui Vlog day 4: West side of Maui. We visited Baby Beach, Nakalele Point Blowhole, Polynesian Shores Condos, and ate breakfast in Maui! We captured a really cool sunset, too! Hope you enjoy!
Top 10 Things to Do with Kids on Maui
Are you bringing the whole family to Maui? If so, you’ll want to have some options for kids activities on Maui.
This guide may tend to favor younger children, since our kids are ages 1 and 4. However, there are lots of ideas here for all ages!
Top ten things to do in Maui with kids:
1. The Maui Ocean Center: Definitely one of the best aquarium’s in the islands, and the only aquarium on Maui. The Maui Ocean Center is a terrific place to go and see the variety of fish that swim in the waters of Hawaii. The Ocean Center features numerous indoor exhibits about whales, fish, and other marine life. There’s a tank full of Hammerhead sharks, and another tank with baby sea turtles. There’s a tank where you can touch sea sponges, stars, and other fish.
2. Baby Beach on the west side: This beach, as the name suggests, is perfect for babies… and kids who don’t like waves. It is by far the tamest beach on all of Maui. It features a large reef about 1,000 feet off shore which effectively prevents wave action. This makes for some great beaches for kids because the waves are so small. It’s seriously one of the best beaches in Lahaina, on the west shore of Maui. This beach doesn’t have any restrooms.
3. The Lavender Farm: If you’re tired of the beach, or just want an escape from the sunshine, I highly suggest the Lavender Farm. Beyond beautiful with excellent views of the island. This farm has lots of variety and lots of native Hawaiian flowering plants. There’s a sort of scavenger hunt, too! If you can find all of the stamp boxes, you can get a free lavender cookie from the bakery.
4. Baby Beach on the north shore: There’s a terrific beach for kids located on the north shore that features an offshore reef. This provides tremendous protection from waves and keeps the surf activity down. The beach is about 0.6 miles west of Baldwin Beach (and this also means the closest restroom is 0.6 miles away).
5. Iao Valley State Park: One of the highlights of the island and a terrific short-hike. The Iao Needle is often covered in clouds, and receives a terrific amount of rain each year. There’s a nice paved walkway with views of the needle. You can also walk down and see the creek which is often overflowing with water. Parking is usually less than $5 for the car. One of the best outdoor activities for kids.
6. Kalama Park on the south shore: There’s a terrific park located on the south shore called Kalama Park that has lots of swings, playground equipment, and picnic tables. They also have a roller skating arena, a football field, and basketball courts. Plenty of fun for the whole family, and it is located right on the beach across from popular restaurants and shops. Free public parking, too!
7. The Maui Mall in Kahului next door to Whole Foods and a Thai Restaurant has both a movie theater as well as a splash pad for kids. Our children, ages 4 and 1 absolutely love the splash pad, and spent close to an hour recently playing there. It’s perfect for a hot summer day! And, you can also stop and get groceries at Whole Foods!
8. Goat Farm: The Surfing Dairy Goat Farm is both an operating goat farm where they produce (among other things) delicious goat cheese. They offer tours and of course you can pet the goats. Lots of fun for the whole family. This is close to the Lavender Farm. There are also a few other places on the mountain worth seeing, such as a winery.
9. Maui Golf & Sports Park in Ma‘alaea, Mini-golf, bumper boats, rock climbing, trampolines, and much more!
10. Atlantis Adventures’ 1.5 hour submarine tours from Lahaina Pier include a visit to the Carthaginian (a sunken ship). The submarine is air-conditioned and goes about 130 feet underwater.
Enjoy your time in Maui! It’s a really great place to visit, especially with kids!
Maui Coffee Roasters
We visited Maui Coffee Roasters recently for the very first time. It’s a fantastic place to stop and get a cup of coffee and it is centrally located on the island.
Compared to many other coffee shops on the island, Maui Coffee Roasters has a nice air conditioned building located in a strip mall. On our recent visit they had plenty of available seating and so we stayed extra long for lunch and drinks.
Maui Coffee Company serves all of the traditional coffee drinks you’ve come to expect, plus Nitro and cold brew. I had the cold brew, since it was a warm September day.
The cold brew was excellent. Some places brew it and it’s too strong. This cold brew was great, and didn’t need any cream or sugar.
I should add that we were there a few hours camping in the corner by the front window. We had work to do, so we made use of the free wireless internet.
They serve up a teriyaki chicken wrap which I tried. Awesome! I highly recommend trying it!
If you’re looking for a great place for coffee on Maui, or just need a place to get a little work done, try Maui Coffee Roasters!
Getting there
Maui Coffee Roasters
444 Hana Hwy.
Kahului, HI 97669
Phone: (808) 877-2877
Maui Brewing Company
Maui Brewing Company is an island delight. Not only do they have fantastic craft beer options that they brew in-house, but they serve great food, too!
Really great food! I was so surprised to try their pork recently and find it is among the best on the island.
We visited the Maui Brewing Company location over on the west side of the island.
They have beer flights, and if you haven’t tried many of the beers on tap I suggest getting it! Ask the waiter for recommendations!
One of my favorites was the Oatmeal Porter. Absolutely smooth and delicious dark ale. Loved it!
If you’re looking for dining recommendations on the west side of Maui, and also love great beers, you’ll definitely want to try Maui Brewing Company. Oh, they also serve mixed-drinks. My wife had the Margarita and loved it.
Getting there
Maui Brewing Co.
Kahana Gateway Shopping Center
4405 Honoapiilani Hwy
#217
Lahaina, HI 96761
Phone: (808) 669-3474
Baldwin Beach near Paia on the north shore of Maui
We recently spent about a week on the north shore of Maui and stayed in Haiku. We ventured out to check out Baldwin Beach. This is the locals favorite beach and for good reason! It’s the biggest beach, it has facilities, and it has stunning views.
When you first arrive at Baldwin Beach you’ll need to find a parking spot. There are usually plenty of spaces, however, it can fill up on the weekends.
The parking lot is free and so are the bathrooms and showers. The bathrooms are kept very clean. If you’ve ever been to Oahu and looked at the condition of the bathrooms there, you’ll be so happy with the public bathrooms on Maui. They’re so much cleaner and have toilet paper.
The outdoor showers are just like any others you’ll see on the island.
The beach is really long, but not too deep. So, you won’t be walking across a mile of sand just to find water.
The eastern end of the beach has some interesting tree stumps in the sand. If you walk past those there’s a cool sandy place where the waves are smaller which is good for kids. If you see a bunch of hippies smoking, you’re close by.
We’ve seen sea turtles on this beach and in the water. So, keep an eye out!
Because this is the north shore, you’re less likely to want to snorkel here, but I’ve seen plenty of people try. The waves are larger (but not epic). It makes for some fun swimming if you’re an experienced swimmer.
The sand here is course and grainy, but still suitable for sandcastles.
Getting there
Baldwin Beach
Alawai Rd.
Paia, HI 96779
Koa’s Seaside Grill on Maui
Koa’s Seaside Grill in Lahaina might possibly be my favorite place to get fish and chips on the whole island. It’s definitely the best place on the west shore to enjoy fish and chips.
The amazing view of the ocean with a deck overlooking the sea is certainly an added bonus!
Oh, and they serve beer and margaritas. We certainly had a good time! We visited for lunch and while eating someone spotted a sea turtle. It swam around and under where we were seated.
The views from the dining area at Koa’s are worth every penny, and since the food is also amazing it makes our top recommended list.
Getting there
Located in the heart of Lahaina on Front Street. Parking is nearly impossible in the high season. So, good luck!
Koa’s Seaside Grill
839 Front St.
Lahaina, Hawaii 96761
Phone: 808.667.7737
Open Daily: 9am – 9pm
Baby Beach on Maui (Lahaina)
If you have small children you’ll be happy to know that Maui has lots of great beaches for kids. The one I’d like to tell you about today is called Baby Beach and it is located just south of Lahaina on the west shore.
This beach is officially titled Pu’unoa beach, but nobody calls it that.
Baby Beach is the most protected beach on the island. This is because the beach is protected by a huge reef about 1,000 feet offshore. This has created a protected pool with minimal waves and excellent conditions for kids.
It’s so calm here, that people often float from one end to another on rafts!
The sand is beautiful here, the view looks west onto the other islands. We’ve watched a lot of beautiful sunsets from this beach and it is one of the best places to watch the sunset on the west shore.
There are no facilities, which is the downside to this beach. However, there’s usually plenty of nearby parking on the street, and it is within driving or walking distance of several shops.
Baby Beach is a favorite for our 4 year-old daughter, Emily. She can go swimming here and isn’t intimidated by the waves.
Getting there
There’s usually plenty of street parking nearby.
Baby Beach
51 Puunoa Pl.
Lahaina, HI 96761
Kihei Rent A Car
We needed a rental car for our stay on Maui and the prices at the airport rental companies were unbelievably expensive. I started asking friends that had been to Maui and one friend told me about Kihei Rent a Car.
I can’t recommend this company enough! They have nice people, nice cars, and they don’t haggle with you. The prices are good, and we were extremely happy.
To give you an idea, we rented a 2009 Nissan Sentra for 21 days for a cost of about $530. Originally, I was going to rent a 2004 model, but for only $30 they upgraded me to the 2009 model. I figured, why not.
My car was a silver color and had about 65,000 miles on it. It ran great, and we didn’t have any problems with it.
They also have other car models for rent, including Jeeps.
During our visit to Maui we drove hundreds of miles! We visited nearly every part of the island.
We paid with our American Express, and waived the auto-insurance (since American Express provides that as long as you pay with the card).
As the name suggests, they are located in Kihei, and they rent cars. But, they’ll pick you up at the airport (and return you there) for free!
In case you didn’t know, Kihei Rent a Car is located about 25 minutes south of the airport. If you phone them and request a pick up as soon as you get off the airplane, they’ll have a car waiting for you by the time you pick up your bags.
So, if you’re looking to rent a car for your trip to Maui, give them a call! You can get an accurate quote on their web site. They have seasonal rates that adjust based on the time of year.
Maui Discount Car Rental – Kihei Rent A Car Company
96 Kio Loop
Kihei, HI 96753
Phone: (808) 879-7257
Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice
If there’s one thing about Hawaii that I love, it’s the shave ice!
I’ve tried shave ice all over the islands and can definitely say that Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice (all locations) is among the best.
You can’t go wrong at Ululani’s.
On Maui, you can pick from several locations. Today, I’ll simply review the location in Lahaina on the west shore of Maui. This location is busy year-round and is located in a bit of a tourist trap.
There’s a line almost all day long, but it’s always worth it!
Ululani’s has locations on all of the islands and is one of the best for shave ice in the area.
I’ll tell you what the big difference is between shave ice places: The amount of flavors, and the ice density. Some shave ice places don’t grind the ice shavings into fine particles, but Ululani’s does. And, they load up on the flavors! They won’t skimp and you’ll get your money’s worth at Ululani’s.
Now, a couple of tips: Try some of the unique flavors! Some of my favorites are mango, passion fruit, blood orange, lime, and grape. There’s so many cool combinations to choose from, that it never gets boring. It’s always best with ice cream on the bottom: and the best flavor is the macadamia nut.
Getting there
Ululuani’s has several locations on Maui, but this particular location is on Front Street in Lahaina.
819 Front St.
Lahaina, HI 96761
Phone: (360) 606-2745
Maui With Kids: The Lavender Farm
The lavender farm is everything you expect it to be, and more. Entrance to The Lavender Farm is only $3 per person (12 and under are free), and compared to everything else you can do on the island is dirt cheap.
We visited the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm in early September.
But, the experience is amazing! We arrived on a sunny September afternoon and enjoyed spectacular views of the entire island, and enjoyed a nice casual stroll through the gardens.
The Lavender Farm is home to the largest lavender farm on Maui, but they also have many other types of plants and flowers spread throughout the property.
There are a number of options once you arrive:
- Walk around the property by yourself
- Take a tour with a guide
- Check out the gift shops / coffee shop
We chose to walk around the property ourselves without the tour, and didn’t feel like we missed anything. The garden is well labeled and most plants have a sign that indicates what type of lavender you’re looking at. the garden is split into a few big areas, and there are ample photo spots.
For the kids: There’s a sort of scavenger hunt that begins at the gift shop. The goal is to collect a stamp from each of the spots on the map. If you do that, you’ll receive a free lavender cookie from the gift shop.
The gift shop has a small coffee offering as well as baked goods. They were all good, and had various lavender flavors.
The gift shop is home to everything purple and lavender scented. If you’re looking for new lavender candles, or lavender lotion, or lavender perfume, this is the place for you! The sales staff are very nice and will help answer any questions you may have.
Restrooms / port-o-potties are located right next to the gift shop.
It took us about 2 hours to fully explore the farm. We began with a tour of the primary lavender fields which are located above the gift shop. There are some nice ramads’s and walkways. This area offers the best views and the most lavender.
The self-guided tour continues with more exotic lavender fields below the gift shop. There are also lots of other flowering plants that are native to Hawaii that are fun to see.
Getting there
The Lavender Farm is located on the eastern side of the island on the mountain. From the north shore it will take 30 minutes. From the south shore it will take 60 minutes.
Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm
1100 Waipoli Road
Kula, HI. 96790
Phone: 808-878-3004