Don't Feed the Fish!

It's summer in Hawaii and unfortunately tourism is up almost double-digits in 2017, even at this time of the year. While I have nothing against tourists per se, the chances of a tourist doing something they shouldn't be doing are equally as likely as a tourist enjoying the Hawaiian islands responsibly. Sometime, though, the irresponsibility goes too far.

Poolenea Beach has long been one of my favorite beaches but it seems that within the past year there has been a great deal of trash and beach gear left behind by thoughtless people. Today, I found not one but TWO bags of 'fish food' floating in the waves...

STOPPP ITTT!

One, turtles find plastic alluring. They think it is a jellyfish and try to eat it which winds up choking them to death. Two, if you need 'fish food' to get sea life to come near you, maybe you're doing something that is making them stay away in the first place. Three, feeding the marine life upsets the natural balance of the ecosystem. Yes, many boating tour operators do it and they are wrong to do so, so please don't compound the problem. Four, DON'T LEAVE YOUR GARBAGE FLOATING IN THE OCEAN! I can only imagine how such people live. Oh, that's right, your maids clean up behind you! Disgusting behavior.

The second most horrible thing tourists do is use spray-on sunscreen and then jump right in the ocean. One, every study done has concluded that rub-on lotion is far more effective. It is especially more effective if you let it soak into the skin for a few minutes because if you get right in the ocean, the sunscreen comes off! Do people REALLY not realize this? Two, the sunscreen is hazardous to the marine life. I have personally witnessed the decline of Maui's reefs and sunscreen is one of the causes. It's really not hard to put a rash guard on, but I guess if you're using spray-on sunscreen, you are a really lazy SOB. Three, no one around you who cares a wit about their health wants to breath that aerosol garbage! I don't know how many times I've been involuntary misted. So IF you're going to put it on, do it away from other people 'cause I'm done being nice about it.

Okay, rant over. Enjoy your vacation.

ARRRRGGGHHH!

Wailea Beach; Wailea, Maui

[Note - I've reviewed this beach before and having visited again today, I feel my previous review was too kind. Read it here.]

Wailea Beach is something of an odd creature; a picture perfect tropical beach at first glance but hides something of a sinister underbelly. Okay, maybe not ‘sinister,’ but Wailea Beach isn’t everything the hotels that flank it – The Grand Wailea, the condos at Wailea Point and The Four Seasons  – would like you to believe it is.

Wailea Beach before 9am.

At first, Wailea Beach appears to be a beautiful quarter-mile stretch of smooth sand. This is true. However, if you think this is a great place to relax, then you must be a tourist: Wailea Beach is the most tourist-trafficked beach on Maui’s south side, which is okay if that’s your thing. Wailea Beach is a perfectly good spot to be crowded alongside other tourists and play in the typically soft waves that lap the shore here. It’s also a good place for novice snorkelers who are afraid of the water to practice, novice divers making their first dive, and novice stand-up paddleboarders eager to run over the former two groups of novices.

What ruins Wailea Beach besides the tourists, at least for me, is the ocean off of beach; it’s polluted, clear at shore but murky beyond 100 feet, has terrible coral growth and hardly any fish when compared to almost every other beach on Maui. Much of this has to do with the number of tourists spraying sunscreen on and then running right into the ocean, to say nothing of the run off from the development right on shore. With the ocean being no good here, is there really any reason to go to Wailea Beach?

The people watching can be good; it’s a little bit like watching zoo animals

Don't fall into the gorilla's cage!

who think they’ve been freed run amok. You can even people watch from afar as there is a nice grassy hill between the beach and its public beach parking access hardly anyone uses. Other than that, I don’t feel as though Wailea Beach has many redeeming qualities. You may have to travel further afield if you want to hit a better beach, though I will warn you that Polo Beach – a little further to the south along the Wailea beach path – is actually a worse beach than this one. Oh well, it’s the price you’ve paid too much for convenience. 

PS - Have you heard about the shark attacks here? No? Yeah, the hotels and tourist industry try to keep that kind of stuff under wraps...

Parking: Public Parking is the very next right after passing the Grand Wailea's parking area. There is limited spaces up front closer to the beach but there is overflow parking which will take you an extra -gasp!- minute or two to walk from. 

5 Caves / 5 Graves - Makena, Maui

The proper entrance to the 5 Caves area.

I haven’t been posting much lately, probably because I have been snorkeling at 5 Caves / 5 Graves so often in recent months, ever since my buddy and I ran up on a mermaid here. (I’m not kidding, there was a young woman wearing a mermaid costume swimming here.) This is currently my favorite spot to snorkel – next to Maluaka Beach – and ever since pollution and warm seas have bleached the coral in Honolua Bay.

Featuring two long – one of them currently healthy – fringing reefs, this location is a hot spot for coral, turtles, eels and well-fed fish, the latter thanks to the tour boats which inundate this area. Manta and eagle rays have been spotted from time to time in this area, too. Harmless white-tip sharks can also be seen here on occasion as you snorkel. I’ve never seen one here myself, but many people have reported seeing them.

As these reefs also features caves – hence the name – it is popular with divers just as much as it is popular with snorkelers. As a mediocre free-diving snorkeler myself, there is only one cave I know the actual location of that is midway along the northern reef as it juts out to sea,

The 'beach' that front the house. Respect their privacy, please.

but can usually be found by the air bubbles emanating out of the coral as divers enter the cavern below. According to anecdotal evidence, though, the whole area around here is rife with caves and there is a sea arch or two along the southern reef. To find turtles, either skirt the rocky shoreline (carefully) or follow the northern reef straight out and go a bit to the left (towards the southern reef) between where some tour boats park; there is a turtle cleaning station there to enjoy if you don’t mind crowds. Keep in mind to watch out for kayaking tourists that pass through this area on your way out, since they are unlikely skilled enough to avoid running you over if you get too close to them.

If you don’t care to snorkel and just want a nice spot to sit and watch the water, the northern reef will provide you with a seat from which you will inevitably see a turtle or ten.

Entrance is from a small rocky cove or from Makena Landing further south, from which you will have to swim north along the shoreline to get to the 5 Caves area.

My video of this location is below at the very bottom.

Directions: Head south on Piilani Hwy to the very end. Turn Right onto Wailea Ike Rd. Turn left at Wailea Alanui, go 1 mile to its end. Continue left onto Wailea Alanui which becomes Makena Road. Continue on Makena Rd. Turn right about 1/2 mile to stay on Makena Road. Continue about a 2000 ft. til you spot cars on the left and park. Follow the path next to the house toward the water. You can also continue further down and park at Makena Landing Park, which has a sandy entrance and a bathroom. This will add 20 minutes to your swim, though.

Park on the left, follow trail where the rock wall is.

The Turtles of Five Caves (& A Mermaid)

Lanai Snorkeling

Once again the wife and I took the Pacific Whale Foundation's Lanai Wildside snorkel tour to the coast of Lanai. We were fortunate as the weather cooperated and the waters were clear. I absolutely love snorkeling Lanai since the water does tend to be clearer (thanks to less development), you get to see things like the Triangle Butterfly fish and pods of spinner dolphins you don't normally see off the waters of Maui, and the underwater topography can be very interesting. If you're a good free diver, there are plenty of caves and sea arches to challenge yourself. Below is my video of the trip, shot in Go Pro HD. Below that are other good videos that give you an idea of Lanai's great snorkeling. 

Snorkeling 101

You’re finally ready to go on your Maui vacation but you’ve never actually snorkeled before. Here’s a guide to help you prepare for your new favorite water activity.

Your Gear

This includes your mask, snorkel and flippers (and if you’re me, Speedo hand flippers which provide me with greater mobility in the water and allow me to swim faster). Your mask can be either be one large optical piece or the more common two eye piece divided by the nose cubby, which I think is more comfortable. At any rate, your mask should stick to your face when you breathe in gently through your nose and not cause pressure on the bridge of your nose or your forehead. Your snorkel should be attached to the head strap of your mask and can go on either side of your head (what side it is on only really matters for divers). When you put your mask on when you’re on dry land, the top opening of the snorkel should be behind your head. The bite guard goes fully in your mouth. It takes some getting used to the first time you try to breathe with this gear on since you cannot breathe through your nose, but most people adapt quite readily. If you get water in your snorkel while swimming, most snorkels have a purge valve that will clear the water if you forcefully breathe out. Next are you flippers which should be able to fit snuggly on your feet so that they feel like they will not fall off, but not so tight that they look like they are cutting off your circulation. If possible, it is best to get fins that have an adjustable heel strap to avoid sizing problems. You can snorkel without fins, but I don’t suggest this unless you are a naturally strong swimmer. You can go further, faster, with less fatigue wearing flippers than without. You may see some people with particularly large fins; these people are advanced snorkelers who are able to free dive; larger fins are not necessary for beginners. If you have any reservations about how well you’re going to float in the water, it is best to take a noodle, inner tube, boogie board, or some other floatation devise with you. These devises will also help keep you afloat if you have to make any adjustments to your gear while out in the water. Additional gear may include your mask de-fogger which prevents your mask from fogging up, especially when there is a significant difference between your body temperature and the water temperature. Spit is fine but needs to be re-applied often. I recommend a 10-1 solution of water to baby shampoo; the shampoo is bio-degradable and will not harm the coral or fish as much as other product such as sunscreen. I do not believe in wearing sunscreen into the water as this is very harmful to coral and other marine life. Instead, I prefer to wear a full length shirt and bike pants or a dive suit. I can only ask you do the same in order to protect Maui’s fragile ecosystem. When you finally do get in the water, keep your eyes faced down or just slightly ahead of you and try to keep your fins in the water while moving your legs. Keeping your flippers in the water minimizes slashing, which may potentially be misconstrued by a shark as a fish in distress. Last thing to know if you are a beginner, never go in the water alone. Hopefully, this is common sense.

Ocean Safety

When it comes to the ocean, the first rule is to keep your eyes on her. If the wind is kicking up and you see white caps, it is not a good idea to go in the water. Although you are level with the waterline, high winds can make it tough to swim, even with flippers on. Three to four foot waves are larger than normal for Maui’s beaches (not included well known surf locales such as Jaws) and generally indicate that the water near shore will probably be murky due to churning sand. Sharks tend to hunt in murky conditions, so it is not wise to swim or snorkel near shore when the surf is “up.” (Note: sharks also tend to hunt during the dawn and dusk hours; another time it in not wise to snorkel.) Sometimes, waves come in that are larger than normal during times the surf is otherwise calm. These are simply wave sets that come three to five a set. So, if it looks too rough to get in, try waiting a few waves and see if the surf calms down. Many beginners put their gear on while on the beach and “duck walk” or “moon walk” into the water which is fine. I say it is easier to wade into the water waist deep and then put your gear on, but this is a personal preference. Try it both ways. Once in the water, the second most important rule of the ocean is not to panic. This is easier said than done and you might have to literally tell yourself to calm down if you get in trouble. Panicking only makes bad situations worse. Fortunately, serious situations are few and far in between. If the wave action kicks up while you are away from shore and this bothers you, try turning your body perpendicular to the waves. This will minimize how much you get bounced around.

Other Ocean Rules

Please don’t touch anything! This applies mostly to turtles and coral. Countless times I have seen people try to touch turtle. Getting too close to turtles on your terms disturbs a turtle’s behavior and causes them stress. Many turtles are used to humans, though, and do not have a problem with you getting close, but let them do so on their terms. As a general rule, give them at least 10 feet and let them approach you, not the other way around. I might also mention that it is technically illegal to touch a turtle here in Hawaii, just so you know. People standing on coral is another huge problem. Visitors do not seem to realize that coral consists of live creatures and cannot withstand the slightest force of someone standing on them. This is probably the number two reason why the coral around Maui has been looking worse and worse over the last few years (the other reason being snorkel and fishing boats that come too close to shore and waste run-off from construction and hotels). And while we don’t get many jellyfish around Maui, you’ll certainly want to stay away from any kind of black sea urchins, which you will see as either a small ball or a fist-sized series of spikes. Don’t touch these either; their spikes carry mild neuro-toxins which cause their flesh wounds to heal very slowly.

Best Beaches for Snorkeling

Finally, which Maui beaches are best for snorkeling? That depends upon who you ask and the weather conditions, but most locals would agree that Honolua Bay (which doesn’t have a beach per se), Black Rock (too crowded for my taste), Poolenalena Beach, Makena Beach (the one in front of Makena Beach and Golf Resort), and Ulua Beach are certainly among the top-ranked.

Last Words

That’s the basics of snorkeling. Have fun and enjoy your stay but always be safe. We look forward to seeing you year after year.

Wailea Beach, South Maui

Wailea Beach is a long and wide stretch of soft sand nestled between the Four Seasons and the Grande Wailea in Wailea, south Maui. Whether or not you think this is a good beach depends upon what activities you have in mind. This beach is a great location for sitting and soaking up the sun, playing in the waves thanks to the sandy bottom that extends yards into the water, playing with a ball in the waves, and people watching. If you so desired, there is even enough room in the early hours to set up a volleyball net between the resorts. If you like easily accessible beaches where you can sit or build sand castles in fine, velvety sand, Wailea Beach is a good choice. However, if you are looking for good snorkeling or diving, you may want to seek out another beach.

A view of the south end of the beach.

As Wailea Beach fronts two prominent hotels, the beach and surf can get crowded fast. The beach serves as a popular place for touring kayakers, canoers, and paddle-boarders (SUPs) to shove off. The waves here tend to be somewhat more prone to strong currents than other south Maui beaches. This appears to be the effect of each end of the beach's rocky points being more flat than pointy, as is the case at many other beaches where the arrangement of a beach’s rocky points serve to protect you from currents. This aside, another strike against Wailea Beach is that I have not found the variety of fish or as many turtles as other nearby beaches. The coral is terribly beat up here as well, which I suspect is due to waste run-off from the hotels. The south end of the beach (your left if looking out to sea) features an extensive field of this coral and the water tends to be calmer on this side. Problem is, you have to swim at least 100 yards away from shore to see any remotely colorful coral. The north end of the beach does not have as much coral, which will cause you to stay near the rocky shoreline where the surf is typically rougher. However, if you follow the right side north towards Ulua beach, the water may get rougher but you will be rewarded when you spot the Turtle Town amid the better coral hugging this edge. Overall, this makes the snorkeling better at the north side of the beach as long as you are comfortable snorkeling; if so, attempting to swim in this direction shouldn't be too challenging.

If you don’t mind crowds, I’d say Wailea Beach is a perfectly respectable beach if you don’t want to stray far from your nearby resort, though I contend that there are better beaches a five-to-ten minute car ride away. I would beware of reviews of Wailea Beach that say the snorkeling and diving are fantastic or that this beach is uncrowded; these observations have never been true in my experience. There is a hill behind the south end of the beach near the public parking area that is good spot for a picnic since you can easily spot whales during whale season, or you can just watch the strange characters that walk by on the beach path. If you want to take a walk, the Wailea Beach path is easily accessible from either end of the beach. There are no lifeguards here but the gentlemen staffing the cabanas and activities booth are surely able to help in an emergency. Finally, there is a bathroom facility and rinsing area at the south end of the beach by the public parking lot.

Looking north onto Wailea Beach from the beach path.

Directions

Drive south on Wailea Alanui until you pass the Grande Wailea. The first right past the Grand Wailea is the public access parking lot. If you don’t see any parking in the lower lot, there is a large parking lot hidden to the right after you've made your initial right turn and descended towards the parking lot. Conversely, if you find no parking in the lower lot, the hidden parking lot will be on your left as if you were going to leave the parking lot. If you're driving south and you see the Four Seasons, you've driven past the public parking lot.

Looking south onto Wailea Beach from the beach path.

Honolua Bay, Maui

When all things are considered, Honolua Bay (north of Kaanapali) is often ranked as the best snorkeling spot on Maui. Regardless of unpredictable weather in the winter months which can bring high surf, clouds and/or rain, the usually well-protected Honolua Bay is the top place when conditions are right. Though, if it has rained overnight at this location, the water will be murky due to run-off from the surrounding cliffs. Otherwise, the fun begins even before you get to the bay as you descend through the jungle paths that are teeming with fierce…roosters and chickens. Okay, maybe not so fierce but they can be loud, making the walk down to the bay amusing.

When you do reach the bay, you’ll notice there is a little bit of sandy beach to your left and the rest of the bay is lined with boulders. Since most people snatch up the sandy spot right away, prepare to boulder hop until you find your own little niche. (I hope you have good balance; I’ve twisted my ankle a few times here.) Personally, I always find a spot to camp on the boulders to the right of the bay (if you’re facing out to sea) since the middle of the bay is where the concrete ramp is and tends to crowd. Surely the concrete ramp makes it easy to get in and out of the water; getting in from either side of the bay off the boulders can be quite slippery, to say nothing of the sea urchins that like to hide between the rocks. At least you won’t have people sitting on top of you, though. Moreover, if you enter the water from either side of the bay, you will not have to go as far to get to the coral and you will see fish the second you put your head in the water. You can rest assured that the fish count at Honolua Bay is almost always high.

While the fish count is high, you’ll see a better variety of fish to the right side of the bay where there is also more colorful coral (although the coral has been taking a beating in the past few years due to the snorkel cruises using this spot more often). The coral to the left of the bay is not quite as good but the fish tend to be much bigger on the left side of the bay. There’s really nothing quite like being surrounded by a school of fish half your size; it’s pretty amazing. You will also see larger turtles on the left side of the bay as they eat algae off the rocks. The middle of the bay is sandy and there’s usually not much to see unless you run into the large school of small silver and green fish that are being corralled by some larger blue fish. But in addition to the fish and turtles, eels and octopi are also common here. (Octopi can be hard to spot as the blend in with the rocks.) I have also seen squid and “crown-of-thorn” starfish (rare) here. Yes, further out in the bay are white tip reef sharks but they are docile unless you actively bother them. Even then, they are more likely to run away than fight. I have even seen pods of dolphins come into the bay in the afternoons, but not while people are in the water. Note that it is also possible to swim around the left side of the bay to Slaughterhouse Beach, but keep in mind that the currents can be unpredictable, especially in the winter.

Honolua Bay is also good for beginning divers and even surfers when the waves kick up near the outer edge of the bay’s right side. Mind where you are; the surfers will run you down if you get careless and stray into their territory. There is no lifeguard but there are portable potties at the parking area. The parking spaces fill up quickly during most of the year so it is best to get to the bay before nine in the morning. If the weather is good, people always snatch up the best parking spots so you may have to park on the side of the road. I personally hate doing that since I don’t want to entice any of the smash-and-grabbers common to the area. This is to say, please don’t leave anything remotely valuable in sight when you leave your car.

Directions

Honolua Bay is in Kapalua, northwest Maui, on Honoapiilani Hwy between the 32 and 33 mile marker. There are two main parking areas, one right past Slaughterhouse Beach (this is the beach with a staircase down to it) and one right past the one lane bridge which is the bigger of the two parking areas. Otherwise, parking is on the road. From there, take whatever obvious trail leads towards the water. When you reach the water, a gentleman sitting at a table will ask to talk to you and ask you not to wear sunscreen in the water since Honolua Bay is a fragile marine preserve.

Chutes and Ladders, Maui

Nice.

I’m going to begin with what I am not going to tell you. I am not going to tell you where Chutes and Ladders is. I certainly could tell you and would have liked someone to have posted the location so that my crew didn’t spend literally half a day looking for it, but there are reasons why no one is giving up this location easily (don't even bother asking a local in the area). The first reason is that Chutes and Ladders is on private land, though anyone determined to find this place isn't going to care about that since the land is supposedly owned by the Maui Pineapple Company; at least that’s what I remember the “No Trespassing” signs saying. Those “No Trespassing” signs may be there to protect the land owner for the second reason no one says where this little adventure is, that being the high risk of injury. I will say that the ‘trail head’ is about .4 miles past mile marker 37 (long before mile marker 38) on the eastern side of Honokohau Bay. If and when you find the trail, proceed at your own risk, following the trail towards the water and then to the left where the trail turns into grass. That’s where you will find the ropes.

Arial view of the location.

When you find the ropes, you’re going to say one of two things, either “It doesn’t look that bad” or “I’m not doing that.” The cliff face you need to climb down is about 40 feet high; certainly not 60 feet high as other blog posters have written. The incline is about an 80 percent slope, meaning that unless you rock climb regularly, you’re going to need the ropes to get safely down to the bottom. There are plenty of toe holds and crevices to get your fingers on, though having long legs is certainly to someone’s advantage here. If you arrive and find the rocks wet from a recent passing rain cloud, I would advise against attempting this descent. In fact, if you do not do this kind of thing regularly or if you do not consider yourself fit or if you mind getting a little scraped up, I would not attempt to climb down. I was quite nervous going down, probably due to an old repelling accident when I was in the Army years ago. Has anyone died here? Yes, at least one person has died here, though probably more. The media in Hawaii tends to gloss over or ignore these kinds of things for fear of hurting tourism. On the other hand, if you’re young and somehow have it in your head that you are immortal, then by all means, proceed without caution. (There is, by the way, another eight foot wall of lava rock to scoot down right next to the pool. Though it’s a 90 percent slope, it’s not that big a deal after the rope climb.)

The rope climb down. The pool is hidden to the right.

The pool itself is quite inviting, though no more interesting than the more well-known Olivine Pools a few more miles to the east. That is to say, no one comes here for the pool itself, rather they come because there is a potential for death and danger. At about five feet deep, the pool is deep enough to cannonball into from a modest height and there are fish in the pool but thankfully, no sea urchins, at least not that I saw. I would recommend bringing reef shoes / tabis since walking around on the volcanic rock is a bit much on tender feet, plus the algae in the pool makes climbing out with bare feet slippery. As a general precaution, if the ocean is pounding the shore and waves are splashing over the rocks into the pool, don’t go in the pool. One rouge wave is all it takes to wash a person out to sea.

Blackbeard the Goat.

When my crew was done, the climb back out was infinitely easier, at least for me. The black goat awaiting us at the top didn’t seem too pleased with us, though. Either we were on his land or he was angry we weren’t going to feed him. We were hungry, too, and needed to get ourselves over to the Maui Brewing Company so we beat a hasty retreat to avoid getting head-butted by this guy. Remember, when you’re done, please pack everything you brought in back out, unless you brought rope. You can never have enough rope if you ask me. Future ‘adventurers’ will thank you.

Video taken with my beat up Cannon Powershot.

Kaanapali Beach, Maui

Kaanapali Beach, a few minutes north of Lahaina Town and about 40 minutes from Kahului, is the collective term for the strip of sand that runs along much of the western shore of Maui. Many people estimate the beach to be at least one mile long and as much as three miles long. My own estimate puts the beach’s total length at about two miles from the southernmost end at Canoe Beach (or Hanakao’o Beach if you’re Hawaiian and can pronounce Hawaiian words) to Black Rock (or Pu’u Keka’a).

Black Rock in the center, Kaanapali to the right.

Serving as a backdrop, there are no less than nine hotels and rental condominiums right off the beach. That being the case, Kaanapali Beach if far more crowded than any other single beach on Maui. If you don’t mind crowds, this fact provides ample opportunities for people watching. For example, if you want to see how the locals live on the weekends, go to Canoe Beach where they gather en masse during the weekends to celebrate birthdays. (Mind you, Canoe Beach is the least beautiful section of Kaanapali Beach.) Near the middle of Kaanapali Beach on the sea side of the Whaler’s Village shopping Plaza is “Dig Me” Beach where allegedly beautiful people gather to flaunt their feathers. Frankly, the only high marks this area of the beach gets is for its preponderance of inflated egos. At the northernmost end of the beach is Black Rock where snorkelers and cliff jumpers gather. The snorkeling if decent if you swim around the rocks towards the north but the afternoon currents can be a bit tricky. Turtles are as common here as anywhere else and people seem to see eagle rays here a lot, though I’ve never seen one here. You do have to watch yourself snorkeling, though, as kids and teenagers jumping off Black Rock into the water generally have no qualms about cannonballing you. At sunset, there is a traditional Hawaiian prayer said on Black Rock after nearby torches are lit, capped by a dive into the water meant to evoke the spirit of Hawaiian royalty.

As I said, the beach is long but it is also wide with a fairly steep drop-off at times which often makes for good body- or boogie-boarding. The sand here is fine and powdery for the most part, which no doubt once earned Kaanapali Beach the distinction of being voted the best beach in the world a few years ago. (By whom, is another question, since everything in Maui appears to be voted “the best.”) Yet, the best snorkeling is off of Black Rock since there is hardly any coral or underwater topography for the remainder of the beach’s length. The rest of the beach is still good for swimming, though, provided one stays out of the way of Stand-Up Paddleboarders (SUPs), kayaks, para-sailing tourists, and now, sadly, jet skis. This beach that was once content with sunbathers, swimmers, and snorkelers has now been turned into a circus. If you’d some exercise while watching the circus, you can walk the narrow beach path that runs along the beach from one end of Kaanapail to the other, only, don’t be surprised if you are offered some illicit drugs by locals, usually in front of condo rentals (maybe because the hotels run tighter security?). If you want shop or grab some grinds (food), Whaler’s Village is between the Westin Resort and the Aaston condo rentals. Naturally, all the shops and restaurants are overpriced, but as far as food goes, I have found Hula Grill to be the most consistent in terms of quality and value for your dollar. There is a McDonalds in Whalers Village if you want to save money, but I don’t think it’s worth your health.

Finally, if there’s one big problem with Kaanapali Beach, it’s the lack of public parking. Yes, there are two covered parking lot where you can pay to park, one just past Kaanapali Beach Hotel and the other next to Whaler’s Village; that’s your best bet if you don’t want to spend a lot of time looking for the other mythical public parking lots. (I believe the current per hour price for parking there is about $5 an hour. If you buy $15 worth of goodies in Whaler’s Village or eat at any restaurant, they can validate your parking ticket; another option.) For a complete rundown of all your parking options, please visit the Trip Advisor link below. Mind you, the review is from 2009…

Parking in Kaanapali

Overall, Kaanapali Beach gets 3.5 out of 5 stars from me, losing points for becoming too overrun in the past few years. Otherwise, there are far worse places to be. Enjoy your stay!