Heading to Maui? Check Out Our Family's List of Favorite Things to Do

Our family just returned from a week-long vacation in Maui and today I’m sharing our top 5 things we recommend you do while you are there. If you love beautiful scenery, waterfalls, hiking, snorkeling, great food, and more, then Maui will be a great destination for your family vacation.

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“There is something amazing for everyone to enjoy in Maui.”

— Lisa Andrews

5 of Our Favorite Things to Do in Maui

There are many great things to do in Maui, Hawaii. Here’s a look at five of our family’s favorites.

Biking down Haleakala Volcano

We did a self-guided tour through Bike Maui and had an excellent experience.
We met at their bike shop at 8 am and were fitted with a helmet and could grab a backpack and rain jacket to borrow. We boarded a bus and rode to the top of the Haleakala Volcano. This took at least an hour. Our driver was our guide and entertained us with stories and facts along the way.
After a little exploring at the Haleakala National Park, a trailer with bikes met us and we were on our way. We had the bikes for the day and could go at our own pace down the 23 miles of paved road back to the bike shop.
It was a beautiful day with fun riding and stopping for snacks along the way.
This is for ages 12+.

Snorkel @ Molokini Crater

We signed up for an afternoon snorkel tour through Maui Classic Charters.
When I’d signed up it was for snorkeling at the crater but the site did say that if the weather wasn’t permitting, we’d snorkel at Coral Gardens. While on the tour, we learned that the weather is only permitting on the afternoon tour 5% of the time, so if you want to snorkel at the crater, go in the morning.
We still had a great time snorkeling at Coral Gardens. We saw so many fish! After snorkeling, we had. grilled lunch back on the boat. Great excursion!
Next time, I’d check out one of the Airbnb Experiences where I noticed after we snorkeled that people were offering small group snorkel adventures to the crater.

Explore the Road to Hana

Last week I did an entire podcast episode about what to expect, see and explore while on the Road to Hana, so be sure to check out the show notes and take a listen for all of my best tips.

Go on a hike!

There are so many beautiful places to enjoy while in Hawaii. We have done the Makamakaole Stream Hike twice. The first time (last year) was terrible because a tree fell on two people in our group as they were crossing a stream.
We decided to try again on our most recent trip and we loved the hike. If you do it, watch for falling trees! We loved crossing the stream 13 times and being rewarded with a waterfall and swimming hole at the end of the hike. It’s just 1 mile each way.
Look on All Trails to discover hikes near you and find lots of reviews that will be helpful in figuring out if a hike is right for your group.

Eat good food!

We loved the Shave Ice at Peace, Love Shave Ice in Kihei. I loved their natural flavors!
Eat some fish. We loved the fish tacos at Coconuts and the blackened Mahi Mahi at Paia Fish Market.

Bonus! We had our family pictures taking while we were in Maui and loved how they turned out. We had Ciera Leavitt take the photos. Check out her work if you need family photos while in Maui!