Notes from the north end

What each post covers

• Kihei vs Wailea: Where Should You Stay on Maui's South Shore? Trip Planning, July 2026
  We host in Kihei, so discount us accordingly — but here is the honest version of the Kihei-or-Wailea question we get asked most.
• What a Week on Maui Costs Trip Planning, June 2026
  Guests ask us constantly what to budget. Here is the honest range math — and the five places a Maui budget springs leaks.
• The Best Shave Ice on Maui (And the Rules That Make It So) Food, June 2026
  There are rules. Snow-fine ice, real-fruit syrup, snow cap on top. Here is the whole religion, and where we practice it.
• What to Pack for Maui (And What Everyone Overpacks) Trip Planning, May 2026
  After years of watching guests unpack, we know exactly what gets used and what flies home untouched. The list, honestly.
• Your First Day on Maui: A Host's Playbook Against Jet Lag Trip Planning, May 2026
  Land, groceries, one easy beach, one easy dinner. How we tell guests to spend day one.
• Kihei Farmers Markets & Farm Stands: A Host's Shopping Route Food, April 2026
  Apple bananas, lilikoi, Kula strawberries and the morning market walk — how to stock a Maui kitchen the island's way.
• The Maui Rainy Day Playbook (From Hosts Who Rarely Need One) Trip Planning, March 2026
  First, the good news: you booked the dry side. Here is how rain actually works on Maui — and the playbook for the rare day it means it.
• Whale Season From the Lanai: A Maui Winter Diary Island Life, January 2026
  From November's first spouts to the April goodbyes — a season of humpbacks, watched from two chairs on a North Kihei lanai.

The blog is where we write about the island as it changes through the year: what we are eating, which beach we walked that week, and what a season looks like from the lanai. The longer planning pages live in the Maui guide, which covers whale watching from Kihei, the best time to visit, Haleakala sunrise and the Road to Hana.

If you are building a trip, start with one of the day-by-day itineraries, then use the beach, restaurant, park and trail guides to fill in the days. Every one of them is written from a Kihei base, with the drive time from the bungalows on each page.