3-Day Itinerary Maui

There are a lot of things to do in Maui. My husband and I are beach people and wanted to keep the trip relaxed hence our itinerary have a lot of relaxing beach time.

Day — 1: Snorkeling in Molokini

Link to the website I used to book a tour — here.

Breakfast and lunch are generally included in the tours. We picked a tour which is 5 hours long.

7:15 am — Check-in

8 am to 1 pm — The morning started with a beautiful boat ride. It was a big 2 deck boat with approximately 80 people on board, but still, it wasn’t crowded. Depending on the weather conditions tour guides will customize the tour to provide a good snorkelling experience.

You should book a tour ahead of time to ensure you have a guaranteed spot but if you haven’t booked it till the last day, I would recommend booking a tour on the day that has the least winds.

I booked mine 4 days ahead of the tour. Some of the tours were booked so to have multiple options, book it a few weeks in advance.

2 pm to 6 pm — Spent time on Kaanapali Beach and watched the sunset. There is nothing special about this beach. In fact, parking is a bit of a pain here. So pick any beach which is near your hotel or food joint.

7.30 pm to 9 pm — Dinner at Moose McGillycuddy’s — Kihei. The food is average but the Vibe is AMAZING and the servers are friendly and welcoming. Monday is a free Bingo night and it was a lot of fun. I drank so much that I don’t remember coming back to my hotel.

One other potential option is a tour of Lanai. We just picked the one that was of a little shorter duration.

Day — 2: Road to Hana

Download the gypsy app here for $9.99.

7 am — Left from keihi for Paia

8 am — Breakfast in Paia Bay Coffee Bar

8.30 am — Picked up lunch sandwich and smoothie from Hana Picnic Lunch Company Paia: Good Food To Go

Feel free to choose different places for breakfast. Only a few cafes were open in Paia at that time.

Fuel your cars here as there are a few options later.

8.45 am — Started the trip from Paia to Hana

As per the App, there are 5 must-stops. We took 7 stops (4 of the must-haves and 3 random ones).

1. Waikamoi Ridge Trail

We spent 15–20 minutes. Nothing much to do here. It is a lush green park and an easy trail to hike. Not many parking spots here. I would recommend skipping it if you want more time at the beach or must-have places

2. Kaumahina State Wayside Park

Spent 10 minutes. Pet a friendly feral cat. Don’t pick them up, they might scratch you. Took a few photographs and use the restrooms.

3. Ke’anae Peninsula [popular must-have and I recommend this too]

On the way had Anty Sandy banana bread.

Spent like 30 minutes. It is a beautiful spot to see waves crashing into lava rocks (a kind of natural water fountain dance).

3. Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside

I really liked this spot since I got a chance to take a dip in the waterfall pool and there weren’t many people.

I was very worried that I won’t get to take a dip in the pools that were on the trip later(which are listed as must-haves) since the weather is so uncertain and it can be very dangerous due to flash floods. I did not want to miss it. So I dipped in the pool when there was sunshine and everything was calm.

4. Koki Beach Park

Huli Huli Chicken with a beautiful view of the ocean. It is not a must-have but I recommend it if you want to try the chicken.

5. Hamoa Beach [popular must-have and I recommend this too]

If I ever do Road to Hana again I will come straight to this spot with a bodyboard. Airbnb should have a bodyboard you don’t have to carry one from your home state. If you don’t have one or don’t enjoy bodyboarding, there is nothing more special about the beach than the rest of the Maui Beaches, so you can spend some time here.

6. Wailua Falls [popular must-have]

We stopped for a while but we stayed in Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside so did not spend much time on this one. you can take a short hike to the base of the waterfall and enjoy a dip here too.

7. Pipiwai Trail/ Makahiku falls and Waimoku falls ( 4 miles round trip) — [popular must-have and I recommend this too]

Personally, this was the second-best spot on Road to Hana ( technically this is after Hana). We reached here around 4 pm and the sunset was at 5:45 pm, so we rushed to finish the trail and didn’t enjoy the lush green trail and bamboo-covered forest. In winter, I would recommend reaching here by 3ish so you have enough time to leisurely walk on the trail.

Point to be noted: This trail is part of Haleakala National Park but people cover this with Road to Hana. Your ticket for the national park is valid for 3 days so hold on to the ticket.

Some people stay in Hana as well, we didn’t explore this option but must be good since it will give you enough time for all the spots.

9 pm: Dinner at Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman

Note: We didn’t go to Waiʻānapanapa State Park [popular must-have]. You need to reserve admission for this one at least a day in advance. Honestly, I didn’t fret about this at all since it gave us more time for the last stop.

Day — 3: Relax at the beach and watched the sunset at Haleakala National Park

10 am — Breakfast at Kihei Cafe

11 am to 3 pm— Spent time at the beach. Pick any beach. We sat on Kamaole Beach Park III. Sipping the sun and taking dips in water whenever the sun got too much. This beach has showers, lifeguards and restrooms. Also, you can snorkel if you have your own gear but skip it if you want to keep it simple.

3 pm to 4 pm — Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice. There are multiple locations and you should try this. The queue is long but it is worth it.

4 pm to 5:30 pm — Drove to Haleakala

5.45 pm — Spent 30 minutes watching the sunset and clicking photos.

8 pm — Dinner at My Thai (highly recommend)

Travel Tips:

1. Always carry hiking shoes along with beach slippers. You are going to switch back and forth
2. Wear swimwear all the time and keep 3–4 towels in the car. Don’t carry it on the flight, Airbnb and hotels should have those
3. Carry a change of clothes with you all the time so you don’t have to go back to the hotel if you get drenched in rain
4. Make dinner reservations at Monkeypod Kitchen by Merriman (multiple locations). There are some other popular restaurants too, make reservations a few days in advance
5. Get a convertible car

Packing tips:

1. No need to carry sunscreen from home you should buy one that is reef friendly from Maui. “Reef friendly” is not a standardized term. Some sunscreens say they are reef friendly but in reality, they are still not fit to wear in Maui. To save yourself from confusing articles just buy one from there. Spray sunscreen is generally NOT reef friendly so you will get mineral sunscreen, a thick, whitening liquid tube which will keep you busy.

2. Call your Airbnb to double-check if they have beach stuff. Also, ask them to confirm if they are in working condition (Airbnb owners hide this info and pretend they didn’t know the condition). My Airbnb owner said they have beach chairs and umbrellas but both were in pretty bad shape. The Airbnb gave us plenty of beach towels, snorkel gear (you don’t need it on a snorkel tour only if you want to do it by yourself) and a bodyboard so we didn’t mind the missing chairs.

3. Girls don’t need to carry a lot of makeup because it will likely wash off with rain and beach. Carry the long-stay lipsticks. Hair buns and braids are your best friends (a lot of hairpins). There is so much wind and sand that you will have dry/rough hair all the time (so does everyone else).

I used JVN hair mist to detangle my hair. Get something similar to get the comb through your hair.

4. Weather is amazing and I did not need a jacket at the night ( I am from Bay Area and I am always cold). For the Haleakala sunrise/sunset, you will need a puffer jacket and full pants. You can carry a puffer to the Molokini tour as well just in case the wind gets too strong.

This was our 3-day itinerary. Maui has a lot to offer and I am sure you can optimize the itinerary based on your needs and your personality.

If I had more time, I would have hiked in Haleakala National park. If you are an early riser I would recommend sunrise at Haleakala National park.

I am vegetarian so we limit ourselves to places which has decent veg options. I am sure you will find a lot better food joints than what we shared.

I feel we did a very touristy trip, I am sure there are some local places and hidden gems that we missed. Please share your experience so we can take those tips for our second trip to Maui (Yes!! It is worth multiple trips)

Hopefully, our experience helps you plan your trip.