Maui City Descriptions

I was born on Maui and grew up on the beach in Kahului Harbor with El Toros (sailing dinghys), motorboats, surfboards with five of us kids and all the beach time in the world until leaving for prep school in the island of Hawaii. There we swam in an anchored swimming pool in a harbor constructed of 60 gallon drums, telephone poles, plywood and 2 by 4s amongst the jellyfish and lobsters. I left my senior year and swam at both Santa Clara High School and Stanford University where I graduated with a BA in economics. I even lifeguarded at Carpenteria, CA in summer 69. I spent a good part of my early real estate years traveling the beaches of the world surfing and my windsurfing later took me world wide to sail competitively. I have swam, dived, surfed or windsurfed all the beaches on Maui and many more around the world. So I am more familiar with the beaches than most.

The northern windy side is great for windsurfing, kitesurfing and surfing and the hip, young, hardbody, and international town of Paia is a low key favorite with healthy folks and great schools nearby. It is fun to shop and eat in Paia and hang out and watch the movie spin with dreadlocks, surf dudes, hippies, and yogis sharing the former funky sugar cane town. It is more rainy on that side and I favor it as I am a surfer and windsurfer ( I show property with my equipment in my SUV )... There is also a very reasonable and private club, the Maui Country Club, which is open for membership and has tennis, golf, pool, dining and parties for many north shore families.

The Haiku community beyond Paia is a mix of Yoga folks and beach goers that live in tropical paradise on generally larger 2 acre plus lots. It is the wettest area to live in but anything you plant grows fast and you never water so it is a jungle romance. It has many hidden tropical homes sometimes featuring streams and flowers galore.

Makawao is a mix of cowboys and locals with funky town. Pukalani faces west and has older subdivisions but nice views and is ok with shopping, golf and pool. Both of these towns are at about 1,000 feet.

Forget central Maui...too commercial... and more for the nine to fivers but Wailuku is pretty cool with older town and blanketed with new subdivisions. It goes shady at 3:30 pm as the sun disappears behind the Mountain and your views are towards sunrise and beaches are further away.

The beaches on the South and West sides of the island are favored by the tourist due to their gentle wave action and sunset views.I love Lahaina on the West side as it has the old town on the water but is now full of tourists and timeshares. Kaanapali has best swimming beaches as trade winds blow offshore making smooth water all day predominantly. Kapalua is high class with very high end condos and homes with gorgeous golf but gets the wetter trade wind weather. A little to much plastic for me and visually awesome. There is basically one road, which connects this area to Lahaina. It is facing west with several island and sunset views.

Kihei on the SW coast is busy and had the biggest growth over the past 30 years. They have good beaches near the south side next to Wailea, which has taken the highest marks for a destination. The groomed drives, gorgeous beaches and nice developments are some of the nicest around. Wailea is a million and up generally. You face west along this shore and it has islands and sunset views.

The very East side of Maui may be some of the most gorgeous tropical splendor with waterfalls, tropical flowers, gorgeous ravines and waterfalls onto the narrow winding roads over one lane bridges. It is a one of a kind place for the reclusive, nature lovers and the most remote and quiet side of the island. It is a must to drive the 2 hour road and absorb this incredible beauty.

Kula is where I live sandwiched between a 5 acre organic farm and a regular 30 acre farm with surround sound views. It is about 10 degrees cooler than down country and doesn't get the bugs and the wind so much... No mosquitoes, no centipedes, and lots of farming. We feel much peace and quiet and we call it God's country. I am sure there may be a better day somewhere else, but Maui is still no ka oi on a year round comparison.