Cheap Car Rental Maui Kahului

Vacation like the stars? Maui can be something else!

Maui is also called the „magic island“, because it greets guests with an almost unnatural beauty that makes each and every visit enchanting.  The island can be roughly divided into two regions: the larger, southern part of Kahului can best be explored along the east coast and the best starting point for the smaller, northern area, also known as Maui West, is the capital city of Lahaina on the west coast (see also the special article on Maui West). While many luxury resorts with exclusive guests have settled mostly on the west coast, the eastern part of Maui is not as touristy and enchants visitors with its paradise-like natural settings. This contrast between the elegant and the simple is unique on the Hawaiian Islands.

Our starting point for the magical expedition is Kahului, which has grown to a city with about 15,000 residents with the Wailuku settlement. In 1948 Kahului was founded as a sugar cane city and is today, thanks to the airport, the economic center of Maui. In Wailuku you can listen to the Hawaiian church hymns during Sunday mass in the Kaahumanu Church which was built in 1876. There are many places to go shopping on the island– the largest selection of large and small stores can be found in Maui West, in Whaler’s Village. In the exclusive Wailea, on the larger part of Maui, there are many designer boutiques, jewelry stores, small restaurants and cafés for those with a larger budget.

The many tourist destinations in the area surrounding Kahului offer something for everyone. Sport fans can go to the world famous surfing areas, like Spreckelsville or Hookipa Beach, which are 3 and 6 miles away from Kahului. You can spend a day dreaming on the beach and admire the elite surfers and their stunts, while you are not on a surfboard yourself..

You can drive Highway 32 from Wailuku to the lush, green Iao Valley in just minutes. Here you can see the Iao Needle, a 1150 foot high lava remnant, rises up from the landscape. It is often mysteriously shrouded in fog and has jungle vegetation growing on it all the way up to the top. Those wanting to go for a hike can drive 1.5 hours to the 42.5 square mile large Haleakala National Park which surrounds the 9,842 foot high volcano. Here everyone can find a suitable challenge. First the trails go down steeply and then go back up just as steeply. On the Kalahaku and Leleiwi Overlook you will be rewarded with a stunning view of Maui and the colorful, shimmering, cooled lava of the largest inactive volcano in the world.

On the famous Road to Hana, the Highway 360, you will drive 49 miles and drive over 54 bridges and have to master many sharp curves. Once in Hana you will find a breathtaking rainforest landscape with hundreds of waterfalls, ponds and beautiful views. Three miles further on the Highway 360 will take you to Hamoa Beach. This beach is – next to another Hawaiian beach – on this year’s Top 10 list of American beach tester Stephen Leatherman, a.k.a. Dr. Beach. You will find that his rating is right on target.

If you have enough time to spare when visiting Maui, then you should not miss a chance to go for a day trip to the smaller islands of Lanai, Molokai or the tiny Molokini Island. On Lanai you can enjoy the feeling of being on vacation by going on snorkeling trips, sunbathing on magnificent white beaches and getting a lot of rest and relaxation. When Jim Dole purchased the island for 1.1 million dollars in 1922, it was considered to be the largest pineapple plantation on the world.  Today the little farm land is used for cattle breeding and the tourists, most of which are only there for the day, want to go for hikes or play golf. Molokai, on the other hand, is known as the „forgotten island“, because it is sparsely populated and hardly developed for tourism.  

On the isolated Kalaupapa Peninsula you can take in some of the sad parts of Hawaiian history.  A tour through the quarantine station for lepers founded in 1866 by the Belgian Father Damian de Veuster will give you and idea of the life and work of the missionary.

Besides a lot of untouched nature, you will also find the most beautiful beaches of the island on the west coast: Kawakiu Beach and Papohaku Beach. Molokini, however, is a protected area and a first stop for divers, because the island is a half-sunken volcano and there are thousands of coral and colorful fish living under the blue-green surface of the water.

Whether for culture, nature or relaxation – you will not forget Maui for a long time to come.