Perfect Days #20 — #22: Honokeana Bay - Napili Bay - Kapalua Bay

Vacation Rentals

Perfect Days based in Honokowai, Mahinahina, Kahana, Honokeana Bay and Napili Bay can take advantage of affordable lodgings and provide easy access to activities located from Lahaina to the northwest coast from Napili and Kapalua around Nakalele Point to Kahakuloa. Napili Bay and Honokeana Bay have exceptionally affordable vacation rentals.

For couples and families our favorite value lodgings around Napili Bay include Hale Napili, Mauian on Napili Bay, Napili Kai Beach Resort, and Napili Village. In addition, our next group of recommended vacation rentals include: Napili Bay Resort, Napili Shores Resort, Napili Shores Oceanfront, Napili Sunset, and Napili Surf Resort.  

The condos of Kahana are a little more upscale than Honokowai. The Kahana Reef, Oceanfront Kahana, and the Valley Isle Resort may not be the most appealing condos along the West Coast but they are among the most affordable.
For very good vacation rental values check out units in Kahana’s Hololani, Hoyochi Nikko, Lokelani, Noelani and Nohonani.

Honokeana Bay

A few minutes to the north of Honokowai and Ka’anapali, just before Napili Bay, the pretty, hidden gem Honokeana Bay is protected by an outer reef and offers excellent snorkeling, although not much of a beach. Honokeana Bay is only 10 miles from Lahaina. The West Maui Airport is only 5 minutes away. Take Hwy. 30 to Napili Plaza shopping center, that intersects with Napilihau St., turn left and then right at Honoapi`ilani Rd. and drive for a half-mile to the sign for the Napili Point Resort.

Just a few hundred yards north of Honokeana Bay is Napili Bay that leads to Kapalua Bay. The proximity of these bays gives people staying at vacation rentals in Honokeana Bay access to three beautiful and enjoyable swimming and snorkeling places. You’ll see many turtles in Honokeana Bay and whales visit in season. Compared to Napili and Kapalua, the best snorkeling is in Honokeana Bay. From Napili Bay you can walk or snorkel over to Honokeana Bay and the other way around.

A 1-bedroom + loft with 1 or 2 bathrooms for $107-$137 and a 2-bedroom, 2-bath at $149-$175 per night at Honokeana Cove Resort is a really good deal. These condos (38) in low-rise buildings sit in a cluster around a grassy courtyard fronting on the Cove. Honokeana Cove’s rack rateis much less expensive than Napili Point Resort. Napili Point Resort, however, does offer special package deals of $199/nt for an ocean view room and car. During certain months, owner’s Web specials at Napili Point go as low as $169.

Napili-Kapalua-Namalu-Oneloa Bays
Larger than Kapalua Bay, Napili Bay is a beautiful place to picnic, snorkel and spend a Perfect Day looking for eels, turtles and colorful fish. For beginning snorkelers and people who prefer to swim in calm waters, picture-perfect Kapalua Bay is better than Napili Bay. From Kapalua Bay, more advanced swimmers can snorkel northward around the point to pretty Namalu Bay with good snorkeling when the water is calm.

Turn left past Kapalua Hotel at Ironwood Lane to get to Oneloa Bay (Ironwoods) where you can walk along its curving white sand. Park at shoreline Access #30. Surfers gather at Oneloa during the winter when waves roll in. Around Oneloa Bay are 141 units of the Bay Villas at Kapalua, the first luxury condos built close to the water in the Kapalua Resort. Further up the hill are Ridge Villas and Golf Villas. Booked directly with owners, these Villas include some exceptionally good vacation rental values.

Golfers at Kapalua discover Oneloa Bay when they play 18-holes of the Bay Course (6,761 yards from the championship tees and 6,151 from the regular tees) that begin behind the Kapalua Hotel, meander uphill and then down to Oneloa Bay before heading up and down hill. The back nine holes run up Pineapple Hill, down toward the Bay and around a small lake before heading to the clubhouse. The picturesque par-3 5th hole wraps around Oneloa Bay, made especially memorably by three sand traps on the right and the ocean on the left.

Honokahua Bay & “Dragon’s Teeth”
Head for D.T. Fleming Park (Honokahua Bay), located behind the Ritz-Carlton, where the surf pounds the beach and its usually safer to picnic than to snorkel or surf, especially in winter when the break can be dangerous and there’s no protection from north swells. (Sorry to say, another hazard is car break-ins, especially in the back lot. Leave nothing of value in your car.)

Besides enjoying a picnic on beautiful D.T. Fleming Beach, a highlight of this Perfect Day is a short walk along the edge of the Bay Course to Makalua-puna Point. One of the last lava flows on Maui, these gray, black and reddish lava “Dragon’s Teeth” formations created by erosion from salt spray are as tall as a person. Great ocean views are a bonus. To get to this location, from Hwy. 30 just past MM30 turn left on Office Road to the parking lot.

Shopping & Dining
The Kapalua Resort and its beaches should be more than enough to bring visitors to Kapalua. For art lovers another incentive is the fabulous glass work of internationally renown Dale Chihuly, co-founder of Pilchuck Glass School, exhibited at theBella Vetri Gallery in Kapalua Shops. Another special shop attraction at Kapalua Shops is the South Seas Trading Post and its exotic artifacts such as New Guinea masks, Balinese beads, tribal jewelry, lizard-skin drums and many other such items. Stop by the Village Gallery at the Ritz Carlton to see an excellent sampling of the stellar Maui artists and works of art in the much larger Village Gallery in Lahaina.

A Perfect Day in the northern part of West Maui definitely should include a leisurely lunch or delicious dinner at one of a dozen outstanding choices at the Ritz Carlton, Kapalua Resort and Napili Bay such as: Ritz-Carlton - The Banyan Tree, Beach House Bar & Grill, Gardenia Court and Kai; Vino, Plantation House, Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar, Gazebo and Sea House.

Pick up a picniclunch at the Honolua Store to enjoy on a beach in Napili or Kapalua, Slaughterhouse Beach, Honolua, Honokohau, Lipoa Pt., Nakalele or on the rocky coastal area near MM16, perhaps en route to Kahakuloa Village.

Perfect Days # 23 - #24 -- Honolua Bay to Kahakuloa or Wailuku

Hwy. 30 and especially Hwy. 340 from Kapalua through Honokohau lead to several possible self-guided and guided trips. Exploring Slaughterhouse Beach, Honolua Bay, Punalau Beach, Honokohau and Nakalele Blowhole is a Perfect Day in itself, especially if you add a leisurely picnic to the day at any one of these scenic places.

Maunalei Arboretum
Maui Eco-Adventures Latatude offers a unique tour of Maunalei Arboretum just north of Kapalua, a nature reserve established over 70 years ago by D. T. Fleming. A 3½-hour rainforest hike in Maunalei Arboretum follows a streambed through an area that was farmed by ancient Hawaiians and ends at a waterfall pool. This trip includes transportation, breakfast and lunch. Tour vehicles will return participants to their lodgings. Otherwise stay in the vicinity for swimming and snorkeling at Honolua, Kapalua Bay or Napili Bay. (See http://tombarefoot.com/maui/maui_eco_advents.html)

Honokohau to Kahakuloa Coast
This Perfect Day can be enjoyed in several ways. Drive along Hwy. 30 and Hwy. 340 and simply savor the scenery and views through Honokohau to Nakalele Point. For great snorkeling in summer or huge waves in winter, start your Perfect Day at Honolua Bay. Honolua can be as smooth as a lake in calm weather with some of the best snorkeling on Maui. Mokule’ia next door offers a pleasant sandy beach, shade trees, good swimming and an excellent place for picnics. Snorkeling is better in Honolua Bay. More advanced snorkelers can swim between these two bays and check out little coves along the way.

Drive three miles from Honolua Bay to lush Honokohau Valley and Bay, just past MM36, to admire the beautiful view. Continue driving to MM38, park (ignore the “Keep Out” sign) and follow the path to dramatic views and rugged cliffs, arches, tidepools and the huge blowhole out on Nakalele Point. Plan to stay a while. This is one of the more spectacular sights on Maui.

Another kind of Perfect Day is to take even more time to drive and trek around the beautiful, photogenic beaches and coastline hidden below Hwy. 340. Then continue on to the hamlet of Kahakuloa, a journey that soon becomes “adventure travel.” From Kahakuloa either return to Kapalua or continue on Hwy. 340 and then Hwy. 330 around Northwest Maui to the city of Wailuku for dinner. Refreshed and rested, from Wailuku return to your lodgings.

Kahakuloa Trail
An alternative way to delve more deeply into the Honokohau-Kahakuloa area includes a self-guided hike up the Honokohau Stream. Drive Hwy. 340 to MM 40 and proceed a little further to the Kahakuloa Game Management Area access sign. This is a hunting area so stay on the main road past the Po’elua hunters check-in station until you get to a second gate less than two miles away. Along the trail views into the West Maui Mountains and over the Pailolol Channel to Moloka’i are terrific. Honokohau Stream flows down through a gulch from Pu’u Kukui, the highest point in the West Maui Mountains (5,788 feet). Continue hiking to the border of this Natural Area Reserve and then turn around and return. Hardy mountain bikers also can bike along this beautiful route.

Kahakuloa
Continue on Hwy. 340 toward Kahakuloa Head, already in view. Park at MM16 and walk out to see large tide pools along the rugged shoreline and perhaps take a dip in these natural swimming pools. Continue along the very narrow road to Kahakuloa Village. The last leg of this trip on Hwy. 340 to Kahakuloa is the most stunning and daunting drive on Maui. No longer is the road to Kahakuloa impassable and impossible.

A couple of miles before and after Kahakuloa the road is simply white-knuckle narrow and high up the cliffside. Fortunately there’s very little traffic, but any traffic on this one-lane stretch is enough to make you sweat and rub rosaries since you may have to back up around blind curves with no guardrail. Drive west to east for scenery and less traffic, but do drive this incredible road, on your own or on a guided tour with someone else driving.

Take some time to walk around Kahakuloa village from Ululani’s by the Bay Shave Ice up the main road to the driveway on your right of tiny, picturesque Francis Xavier Mission. The church should be open and you can enter and light a candle. From the bridge a trail borders the stream for about two miles, passing the homes of local residents. Hike upstream but, as a courtesy, ask people along the way if it’s OK to walk up the trail.

Guided Kahakuloa Tour
Guided Kahakuloa tours usually include a hike along the stream that flows through Kahakuloa Valley. Explore all of the best sights between Honolua and Kahakuloa with Maui Eco-AdventuresLatatude as part of their “Kahakuloa Cultural Tour.” Maui Eco-Adventures starts the day with a continental breakfast at Honolua Bay followed by a stop at the Nakalele Blowhole. One of the main advantages of this excursion is that you don’t have to drive the narrow road into and out of Kahakuloa. (See http://www.tombarefoot.com/maui/maui_eco_advents.html)

Kahakuloa to Wailuku
After strolling around Kahakuloa drive up the incredibly narrow road along the cliff (praying for no oncoming traffic) to the saddle between Kahakuloa Head and Pu’u Kahuli’anapa for a photogenic view of the village, its bay and the north side of Kahakuloa Head. At a turnout between the two hills, park and walk on a short trail to see views north and south along the coast. Afterwards, either return to Kapalua, Ka’anapali or Lahaina for sunset activities and dinner or continue driving on Hwy. 340 to Wailuku (see Perfect Days #25-#27).

Continue driving toward Wailuku to Kaukini Gallery, with a surprisingly good collection of island art and crafts, and a couple of tortuous miles further on to Bruce Turnbull Studio and Sculpture Garden. Turnbull is a well-known wood artist and his studio is the only place on Maui that sells his work. Both of these art galleries are worth a visit. Look for pretty Makamaka’ole Falls below Hwy. 30 as you drive toward Wailuku.

Descending on Hwy. 33 into the little town of Waihe’e, past Waihe’e Beach Park, Waiehu Beach Park and the Waiehu Municipal Golf Course, the northern edge of Wailuku is minutes away. Hwy. 33 connects with N. Market Street, Antique Row, and many local, ethnic eateries in the near vicinity for delicious, inexpensive dinners.