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UNITED STATES | Maui, Hawaii Travel Guide
Friday, May 16, 2025
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Maui's Southwest Coast
Kihei
Kihei lies roughly 19 miles southeast of Lahaina, and is historically significant as a landing for Hawaiian war canoes. It also has its associations with British explorer Captain George Vancouver who landed here in 1792. The present-day town, however, has developed in a rather haphazard fashion: there is no real town center here, with South Kihei Road running north-south through it, and with hotels and a jumble of condominiums along the ocean side of it and shops, shopping centers, restaurants and cafes on the other side. It is nevertheless a lively and affordable place, as Maui goes, and there is compensation in Kihei’s excellent beaches, among them Kama’ole I, II and III, all with good swimming.
Wailea
Wailea, which lies 2 miles south of Kihei, is an exclusive beach community and the premier resort area on Maui’s southwest coast. It has a lovely, 2-mile-long white-sand beach, five world-class, luxury hotels - Marriott, Renaissance, Four Seasons, Fairmont and the Grand Wailea Resort - several plush condominiums, and an excellent shopping center. It also has three championship, 18-hole golf courses and scores of tennis courts. Virtually all the resort hotels here also offer nightly luaus with traditional hula shows.
Makena
Makena, situated a little over 2 miles south of Wailea, is less developed than either Wailea or Kihei, sporting brush and trees along its beaches rather than resort developments. But it does have one or two good hotels and condominiums, including the oceanfront Maui Prince Hotel, and a few good, secluded beaches.
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