Things To Do In Kihei Maui, Hawaii

There is no shortage of fun things to do in Kihei, Maui in Hawaii. Earlier this year, my family and I took a vacation to this popular neighborhood on Maui. We found that this location was the most convenient location to explore from. Not only did a majority of our adventures happen in Kihei, but it was also just a short drive to all the other popular things to do on the island.

We did our best to try each of the top activities within or close to Kihei so we can pass along recommendations to you here.

Snorkel/SCUBA in Molokini Crater

First off, no trip to Kihei is complete without a snorkel (or scuba) trip to the Molokini Crater. Plus, the easiest way to get there is from a tour boat out of the Kihei Boat Ramp.

Getting out to the clear waters around the crater will give you a chance to see a huge array of sea life. We saw the most colorful and curious fish, eels and turtles. Snorkeling from the shore just didn’t compare to our boat tour, so I would definitely add it to your list of adventures to go on in Maui.

You will also want to book ahead of time to get the date/time you want, this is one of the most popular things to do in Kihei Maui and sells out quickly.

Visit Haleakala Crater

When you’re on your vacation in Kihei, you will have the Haleakala volcano towering over you. It is such a beautiful sight and has so much historical importance in Hawaiian culture. Making the trek to the very top can be tricky, but it definitely deserves to be on your itinerary.

Haleakala at Sunrise

Many will say that the trip to the summit is magical during sunrise. I can imagine that this is true, but there were just too many hoops to jump through to make this happen on our trip.

The drive will be about 1.5 hours from Kihei and is steep and windy. Most people will leave around 4am or earlier to account for traffic (since this is such a popular thing to do in Kihei Maui) and find a parking spot in the lot before sunrise. This was too early for us.

The temperature difference at the summit before dawn is also significant. If you go for the sunrise you will need to bundle up and prepare for temps 30*F (17*C) cooler than at the base.

Lastly, to visit Haleakala for sunrise you will need to make a reservation. Reservations open 60 days in advance at 7am HT and are required to enter the park between 3am and 7am any day.

Haleakala at Sunset

Due to all of these things, my family decided to visit Haleakala for sunset instead. Less traffic, warmer, and no reservations were needed. We were also able to keep this activity fairly flexible on our itinerary to make sure we went on a day when it wasn’t planning to rain.

The view at sunset as breathtaking, and trip from the lush-green base to the Mars-like crater was like nothing I have ever seen before. I would highly recommend this trek during your vacation in Maui.

However, if you want to be able to make the absolute most of the trip I would suggest signing up for a tour. We didn’t realize this was an option until we saw the tour groups at the summit. With a tour you don’t need to worry about reservations, or driving the crazy road, and can just fully enjoy the experience.

Learn to Surf at Kalama Beach

Kihei is one of the best spots on Maui, and Hawaii in general, to learn to surf. The waves are consistent and small, but powerful enough to carry you. Plus, the water is shallow enough to make it safer for younger surfers too.

Kalama Beach was our favorite surf spot for the family. Waves for everyone to catch, and a large grassy park along the beach the beach. It was easy to spend an entire day out there. We spent time perfecting our surf technique and then eating a picnic lunch under the shady trees. There are also a lot of surf shops within walking distance which made it convenient to rent and then return our boards.

If you, or anyone in your family, hasn’t surfed before, there is no better time or place to learn!

Get a Tattoo in Maui

On this trip our family decided to get matching tattoos to remind us of our adventures in Maui. I know this isn’t the most conventional activity for a “things to do in Kihei Maui” list, but I had to include it. It was such a fun experience, and connects me to all my memories in Maui.

There were surprisingly a lot of tattoo shops in Kihei, and we seemed to see one everywhere we went. It inspired us to think about our trip and design a unique tattoo together. Once we had an idea of what we wanted, we visited a few close by shops and decided on Paradise Tattoo.

We made a reservation to get the tattoos on our last day. This way we wouldn’t need to avoid the beach while on still on vacation. Then Matt took our strange doodle and worked his magic to come up with different designs for us to choose from. We all ended up with the same tattoo on different part of our body, and a fun and unique memory/souvenir to close out the trip.