Maui is full of surprises, beaches and lot more things to do. It is the best place for your travel vacations. But if you are travelling here for the first time then you need to know some things about Maui.
1. Micro-climate
Maui is full of different climates throughout the island. In Wailea, it gets very little rain, it’s sunny almost all the time, other parts of the island get 400 inches of rain, and at the top of the Haleakala crater, it is often below freezing many days out of the year. So, take a look at where you’re gonna go, and where you’re gonna visit on Maui. Make sure you are dressing appropriately because shorts and a tee-shirt are not just the appropriate attire for everything in Maui. Make sure you bring a jacket, ’cause it’ll be cold. Also, make sure to bring an umbrella and bring some sunscreen, because it is sunny, and you don’t wanna get burned. People particularly don’t appreciate how sunny it can be when you’re by the beach, and by the water, when everything reflects off that, you’ll get burned to a crisp quick without some sunscreen.
2. Maui is windy
Maui can be windy particularly in the afternoon. 3 o’clock, 4 o’clock, some of the windiest times, 30-40 mile per hour winds can be fairly common in Maui. So, if you wanna go to the beach, or you wanna do things like that, then definitely plan for those earlier in the morning, because you’ll find it a lot better, particularly snorkeling, it won’t be as choppy, and you’ll be able to see better in the water.
3. Expensive Food
Groceries are expensive. Food that you’re eating out’s expensive. Think about it, everything has to come here from a long way away to feed you, probably where you came from, and so it’s gonna cost you a little bit more. Groceries are expensive as well.
4. Slow Driving
If you’re looking at a map, and you see it’s 32 miles to Hana, well, don’t plan for that to be one mile per minute. It can take three hours to drive to Hana. It can take two hours to drive up to the big mountain summit to see the sunrise and sunset. So, make sure you use Google Maps, check out how long it says you’re gonna take because that’s often a lot longer than you may think. Things seem close, but the roads aren’t necessarily very good. Sometimes, they’re single lane roads, sometimes, they’re unimproved dirt roads. Don’t try to plan too much in one day. Maui does have a lot of single-lane roads, particularly if you’re going to Hana. Here single lane road doesn’t mean one lane in each direction. I mean one lane total, which means, you won’t be able to pass if you have two cars coming together. So, one of you may have to back up, to find a place to turn off. If there’s some local traffic, that’s going pretty fast, pull over, let them pass. The locals appreciate it if you let them pass while you’re just enjoying the scenery.
5. Hiking
Maui has lots of great hiking, but as part of lots of great hiking, the tip I’ll tell you is to bring mosquito repellent. The humidity brings a lot of mosquitoes here. You will thank me when you see other people full of mosquito bites, and you are mosquito-free because you brought your mosquito repellent.
6. Snorkeling
One of the best snorkeling is in Wailea, out front of the Andaz. There’s also a place in Kaanapali, called Black Rock, which has great snorkeling. The snorkeling a lot better close to shore. Some excursions take you out to this island off the coast, where you can see it, but often, it’s kind of out in the middle of the ocean. So, you don’t see as many fish. I would say, don’t waste your money. Find a place close to shore. It’s great, and if you do, for some reason, want to take an excursion, don’t do the afternoon ones. They may be cheaper because it’s windier, and you won’t be able to see much of anything in the afternoon. Other than snorkeling there are lots of things to do in Maui.
7. Clothing
Maui has a lot of lava rocks. It’s also hot, which means the sand can be hot, the lava rocks can be hot. And some of these things are hard to walk on, so I recommend, in addition to your sandals, you bring a pair of sneakers, because some of the beaches that you got to, you very well may need some pretty good sneakers to walk on some of the areas. Not a lot of traction and they can be kind of sharp.
8. Crime
There’s a lot of car theft, there’s a lot of car break-ins, ’cause they’re tourists, and tourists have fancy, expensive things in their cars. So, make sure you don’t show any valuables in your cars. Make sure you just don’t have any valuables in your car, not, so if somebody gets into it, they just won’t find anything in there. So, be careful with your belongings in your car.
9. Be Safe
The last thing you need to know when you come to Maui isn’t the safest place in the world. I don’t mean that by crime, but I mean that by activities. A lot of people go into the water, and they underestimate their abilities. The ocean can be a dangerous place, so make sure you swim in a lifeguarded area. Be careful, be safe. When you’re hiking, be careful, be safe, ’cause nothing will ruin your vacation more than getting hurt on your vacation. And also,
10. Protect the land
Just a public service announcement, when you come to Maui, please protect the land, because if you don’t protect the land, then it won’t be here for the rest of us. So, please don’t trespass, please don’t litter, please don’t go where you’re not supposed to go, but most of all, please enjoy your time when you come to Maui. To get more travel tips and guide visit exploretraveler.com
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