This is home to the annual Traditional Mochi Pounding for New Year - mochi being rice cakes - when hundreds of people gather to watch and join in. The quiet little plantation village comes to vivid life with mochi-tsuki making the traditional way, which involves pounding the sticky rice into submission. There's food available plus crafts, fortune telling, massages and I Ching readings, flowers, storytelling, Okinawan taiko drumming and Hawaiian entertainment. Visit late December to join the fun.
Want high-end shopping? Wailea has designer boutiques galore, luxuries from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta and more.
Makena Beach is one Maui's biggest beaches, only accessible by land since the early 1900s and remains remote-feeling now. Consisting of Big Beach and Little Beach, it's breathtaking as well as relatively untouched.
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Big Beach is the best for swimming, bodyboarding, skim boarding and snorkelling. Which to choose? It depends on what the sea is doing
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If you’re with small children, set yourself up in the tiny little cove at the southern end of Big Beach
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You'll find Little Beach at the far right of Big Beach, and it takes some hiking across a volcanic rock formation to get there
Makena’s Kiawe forests and Mango groves are completely amazing, nature at its most spectacular.
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Dolphins Galleries is your destination for a choice of fascinating local art including paintings and sculpture, woodwork and carvings, jewellery and art glass. If you want the best ice cream in Hawaii, go to Longhi's.
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The Borge family offer horseback experiences with plenty of aloha spirit. Head for the Makena stables at Ulupalukua Ranch
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Wailea Golf Club, like all the island's courses, has beautiful ocean views and offers expert tuition for players of every level
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Watch the spinner dolphins playing at La Perouse point
La Perouse Bay, called Keone’o’io by the ancient Hawaiians, sits at the end of Makena Alanui Road, a dramatic lava rock bay where the island's most recent volcanic activity took place. At one end you'll find Maui’s historic King’s Trail, a wonderful trail taking in wild goats, exotic wildlife, fauna and plenty of the old Hawaii, unspoiled and peaceful.
Wailea is lively day and night with oodles of island styles and fashions, quirky art galleries, excellent jewellery shops, friendly restaurants serving great food plus plenty of entertainment.
Mulligan's On The Blue is the perfect venue for live music, and the place goes beserk on St Patrick's Day. Loads of fun, ideal for a daily Happy Hour, dinner and a magic or comedy show. Chill out to the max at the incredible Mandara Spa In Wailea. Play a few games in glorious sunshine at the Wailea Tennis Club. Love sunsets? They're legendary at Keawakapu Beach, vivid and dramatic, colourful and dream-like, a real spiritual experience.
Don't leave without experiencing a traditional Hawaiian Lu'au. The Te Au Moana Luau takes place at Te Au Moana on Maui, where you'll experience the tribal sounds of ancient Hawaii, traditional cuisine and excellent service. Taste the unique flavours of the islands with delicious kalua pig, mouth-watering lomi lomi salmon, poi, fresh Hawaiian greens and more. Iao State Park is just 5km west of Wailuku, a stunning 4,000 acre valley with brilliant hiking and sightseeing, home to the spectacular Iao Needle outcrop and lookout point. You won't believe the lush emerald green of the towering peaks – wow.