Maui Travel Guide | Know Before You Go to Hawaii [VIDEO]

I’m kim the abundant traveler and welcome to the stunning gorgeous island of maui hawaii this video is everything that you need to know before you come to the island it is absolutely spectacular here on the beach i’m in kihei at the beach in amongst lava rocks sitting in the sand listening to the waves go by it is absolute perfection to my subscribers thank you so much for stopping by i really appreciate your support and if you’re new here i share laid-back luxury travel videos that will make your travels easier and way more fun make sure to subscribe that’s the red button below ring that notification bell and give this video a thumbs up now let’s get started something that is unique about hawaii in general is did you know it’s only been a state since 1959 there is a very strong hawaiian culture here with its own language its own people and it is such a unique place to come visit it’s not all about big resorts and just gorgeous beaches and fancy sunsets there is a true culture here that is absolutely spectacular so there are two words that you really need to know when you come to maui or come to hawaii in general one is aloha which is hello it’s also goodbye but the true meaning of it is alo which is presence and ha which is the breath of life so they are actually giving you presence calm and the breath of life when they say aloha so the second word that you need to know when you’re in maui is mahalo which means thank you you can also say mahalo you’re welcome in in the hawaiian language it means take care of yourself it means compassion appreciation it’s sort of a similar feeling in my mind please excuse me if i’m wrong to namaste so remember aloha and mahalo not just hello goodbye thank you you’re welcome but the true meaning behind in the hawaiian language so the population of maui is about 200 000 right now that’s what google said don’t quote me so what makes maui so unique is its topography and its size it is the second largest island after the big island it is 48 miles across and 26 miles from north to south it has over 120 miles of shoreline and 48 of those miles are beautiful sand beaches like i am sitting on right now it is a gorgeous place to visit with such varied weather so on the road to hana don’t expect it being all sun over there and then on this side you have nothing but gorgeous days and beautiful sunsets then of course you can go up to haleakala which is over ten thousand feet make sure to bring a cap and a jacket with you because it is usually about freezing either at sunrise or just after sunset maui is so so so unique there are so many things to do beach volleyball snorkeling those types of things there’s plenty of hiking to be done you can cycle and cycle down haleakala you can go surfing you can go stand up paddle boarding i have spent the entire week doing this that and the other i have spent no time just lounging around on the beach i’ve been here a week and i swear it is not enough time to get everything done so let’s talk a little bit about arriving in maui first and foremost be careful because you’re not arriving at the maui airport i mean it is maui but then again it’s not maui it is called kahului airport and the airport code is ogg named after a famous pilot here in maui when you arrive at the airport it is more of a tropical style open air airport it’s relatively easy to get through the baggage claim is open air it’s very easy to get a taxi and my opinion is you definitely have to get a rental car it is such a big island and you definitely want to have your own car whether you’re going to the grocery store or driving up haleakala or driving the road to hana you definitely want to have your own car i definitely recommend you get a unfortunately a sensible car with a trunk you want to be able to hide your stuff just in case those you know robbers that are everywhere in the world see something valuable inside your car because you’re in a jeep and bust out your window it’s been known to happen so i always recommend getting a car with a trunk if you’re going to get a convertible but think about the road to hana and the fact that there’s i believe 12 feet of rain every year not so much fun at a convertible just saying if you would like to know the ultimate guide to what you need to bring when you come to maui definitely check out the video that i have done with all of my packing tips for everything that you need for every aspect of the island i also have a downloadable ultimate packing guide for maui make sure to go to the description below and click the link that says free packing guide now that you’ve picked up your luggage you’ve picked up your rental car the next thing is what do you do next super easy you’re gonna think i’m crazy but your first stop needs to be costco costco is right around the corner from the airport and you can pick up your water your snacks all kinds of things there you can pick up a cooler if you didn’t bring a collapsible cooler with you you should have snacks and drinks and wine and beer and anything for cocktails in your condo or in your hotel so definitely stop at costco also most of us have come from the mainland and we’re a little tired after six plus hours of flying so you’re gonna be hungry the next thing after costco that i recommend there is a delicious food trailer called tsunami burger i had a shrimp garlic sauteed shrimp salad there oh my goodness it’s been a long day i started at four o’clock this morning at my time which is five hours later than it is here and it is already five o’clock here i landed in maui and i didn’t have to do any of the testing or anything like that which was fantastic i got at my car got an upgrade in my car for free which was even better and then this is what you do when you land in maui you go first to costco and buy some snacks and some wine and some stuff to eat on the road for all of your day trips and then you come to these food trucks and hang out and get your first meal in maui either some shrimp or some poke ahi or anything like that so check it out upon all my research now that i have been here i’ll share a little bit about the different areas you can stay in paella except that is going to be windy possibly rainy you always want to stay on this side of the island first you have wailea wailea is a little bit down the road it’s about 10 minutes from us because i’m in kihei and wailea is sort of the beverly hills of maui you find the the gran walea that’s where the fairmont is that’s where the four seasons is it is gorgeous lots of golf courses big lush trees it really feels sort of like the beverly hills of maui then where i am i’m in kihei kihei is pretty low-key seems kind of a beach vibe there are a lot of condos here not a lot of fancy hotels there’s some great little restaurants and some great food trucks i have to say eat in as many food trucks as you can find search for the best food trucks wherever you are the food truck food is absolutely delicious so in kihei it’s a laid-back low-key vibe i really like the beach here called kamaole there are actually three beaches i believe along the way and my condo is located between two of them it’s a perfect location it’s called the royal mauian it’s not the fanciest condo but it has worked out perfectly in my sunsets have been stunning so moving up you can stay in lahaina lahaina is lots of activity lots of shopping lots going on a lot of history in the quote-unquote whalers village that was sort of the capital and there’s a lot going on there it feels more like key west and there’s a big port there as well if you go a little bit further you have ka’anapali ka’anapali is again big resorts except it’s the westin it’s the sheridan it’s the marriott they have these beautiful groomed walking paths along the beach and big beautiful beaches as well it is a great place to stay again on the other side of the road lots of golf courses it is fantastic if you want more of a i would say a cancun style big resort vibe so the next area up is kapalua and i actually didn’t go there so i can’t speak of it but what i hear is it’s a great place for families it’s also lots of golf resorts as well so me i chose kihei by accident i was hoping to stay in another area but things didn’t work out i stayed i stayed in kihei and i promise you every single time i come back to maui i’m going to be staying in this area i absolutely love the low-key vibe here it’s my favorite are you kidding me look where i am what i get to do let’s talk about distances and getting around the island first of all driving around is further than you think it is from kihei to lahaina is about a 40-minute drive going up to haleakala to watch the sunrise or the sunset will take you an hour to an hour and a half to go up there driving the up country will take you all day to do doing the road to hana it’s going to take you 40 minutes to cross the island and then it’s going to take you all day to wind around to hana and i definitely recommend you spending the night in hana if you would like to know tips about going to hana then you can watch my tips of know before you go or you can watch my entire documentary style video that shares my entire experience with all of my tips and tricks and hacks for the road to hana one tip that i have for you is things are busy even in the off season in maui so i definitely recommend that you make your reservations as early as possible as soon as you know you’re coming to maui start booking the things that you want to do especially if you want to eat at mama’s fish house yes the famous mama’s fish house in paiia i called them about booking about two weeks out and they said oh that’s very nice of you thank you so much but we book out dinner five months in advance and lunch four months in advance but i have a super good tip about mama’s fish house the key is to go for lunch and go and put your name on the list about 10 40 in the morning 10 40 they open at 11 and you can pretty much guarantee you’re gonna get a table at 11 am let’s talk about the beaches for just a moment please be careful when you are swimming in maui or anywhere in hawaii we’re in the middle of the pacific ocean the currents and the undertows are very very strong they say on that side of the island in the middle of winter at the beach called jaws they have 70 foot waves are you kidding me are you kidding me i can’t imagine even watching those guys surfing it would be so scary in addition to the currents and the undertows all of the beaches are public which is fantastic and there’s typically parking near all of the beaches the beaches are very accessible even at the fancy resorts like the grand wailea or at the westin in canapali all of those the beaches are public so if you can find parking outside then you can go to their beach maybe they’ll serve you one of their famous mai tais there is so much to see and do in maui if you have two weeks i definitely recommend spending both weeks here instead of trying to island hop between the islands on hawaiian air spend the time here do everything there is to do from the up country to the lowland to the road to hana and everything else and take the time to enjoy the beach hang out relax read a book and have a cocktail i cannot believe i’ve been to 60 something countries and i’ve never been to hawaii so mahalo thank you aloha goodbye i appreciate everything thanks so much for watching please like the video subscribe give me a comment about your tips about coming to maui and i am kim the abundant traveler and i can’t wait to see you in maui take care mahalo aloha the next area up is i forgot is it i don’t know i can’t remember kapalua learn a little bit.