Kaanapali/Lahaina by Eve Andersson

Kaanapali The beach, the shopping, the entertainment, along with breathtaking views of Molokai and Lanai. Men wearing exciting clothing. Lahaina There is only one tree in the picture (and the picture doesn't even show all of the tree). Look at it closely. What looks like multiple tree trunks is instead roots of this one gigantic tree which have grown down.

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Some Lahaina and Ka'anapali Information

Lahaina is known as the "Meeting Place" being the area that ancient Hawaiian royalty would congregate and have large parties. Some of the luaus held in Lahaina served 10's of thousands of visitors from neighboring islands. Lahaina has a rich Hawaiian history as well as a more recent whaling history. Today, Lahaina is home to bustling tourism on it's famed Front Street. This fun, old street lines the ocean and has many different shops and restaurants with great views. The Tree you referred to is the Banyan Tree. It was planted in 1873. It was brought to Maui from India and planted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Christian missionary work in Lahaina Town. Whether the work done by the missionaries had a positive impact on the islanders is a much disputed topic (Read James A. Michener's Hawaii.) The Banyan Tree covers an entire block with a large colony of birds living in it. The tree drops vines from it's upper branches that slowly grow to the ground and plant themselves, eventually growing into their own trunks. Banyan Tree Park is really a sight to see!

One major event that it looks like you missed is Halloween in Lahaina. Out of all the islands, and much of the nation, Lahaina throws the biggest and wildest Halloween party. Front Street is shut down to vehicles, and a Mardi Gras atmosphere reigns. It seems that everyone gets into the spirit with elaborate costumes. Some Maui residents spend all year working on there costumes.

Thank you for sharing the pictures of Lahaina and Ka'anapali. Next time, you'll need to spend a little time at Kapalua too. Great golf and gorgeous beaches. It doesn't look as though there were any waves when you visited. Next time you come, check out Honolua Bay when it's big and see if you can catch a glimpse of some really big swell being ridden. You have to be there in the winter for a big North or Northwest swell. At the Bay, you can sit on a cliff right over the surfers as they take off. It's incredible.

Mahalo for sharing!

-- lindsay Comeau

Kaanapali Beach is my absolute favourite beach! It is just fabulous! We liked the part just north of Black Rock best though - it was less crowded than the more southern portion. That being said, if you like to people watch, the part south of Black Rock would be perfect!

And Lahaina - this was one place that we didn't intend to spend much time in - we normally like to do stuff like hiking, snorkeling etc. - but it's just such a cute little town with so much to see, that we ended up enjoying ourselves quite a bit in Lahaina! The shops of Front Street are so colourful, that it's hard to resist doing some browsing - and the art galleries were great too! We almost splurged on a beautiful piece in one of those galleries, but then we "came back down to earth" and passed since it was a bit out of our league budget-wise. The Courthouse Square Banyan Tree in Lahaina - now THAT is a huge tree! It's amazing to me that one single tree can cover an entire city block like that.

Next time we're in Maui, we'll be heading back to Lahaina for sure - now that we've been there, we know there is still so much more to see and do.

-- Sheralyn Guilleminot