Sight · West Maui Scenic Drive
A working harbor for Maui’s snorkeling, fishing and sailing trips.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for West Maui Scenic Drive. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the West Maui Scenic Drive audio tourRecorded for this place
Māʻalaea: Aquarium and Harbor“You’re approaching Māʻalaea, home to Maui Ocean Center and the boat harbor. For a break from outdoor exploring, the aquarium gives you a close look at Hawaiian marine life.”
Plays as you drive up to Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor in the Parkwolf West Maui Scenic Drive Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Māʻalaea Small Boat Harbor is a public working marina on Maui’s west coast, about 16 miles southeast of Lahaina. It’s a launch point for snorkeling, fishing, sailing and other ocean trips, with seasonal whale-watching departures too. If you’ve booked a boat, this is a useful stop; without a trip, it’s more working waterfront than stand-alone attraction.
Different trips use different slips around the basin. Check your booking for its operator, check-in point and boarding time instead of heading to a generic dock. From Honoapiʻilani Highway (30), turn onto Māʻalaea Boat Harbor Road and follow your operator’s directions.
Long before today’s basin, Māʻalaea Bay served as a canoe landing and a route inland. Oral tradition places chiefs at Kapoli Spring near the bay’s western end in 1736, carrying Maui ruler Kekaulike’s remains overland to Wailuku. Construction of the present harbor began in 1952; it opened in 1953 after the first breakwater and dredging were complete, and the eastern breakwater followed in 1958.
Wildlife
152 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
71 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
23 sightingsSpinner DolphinMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
401 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
14 sightingsHawksbill Sea TurtleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
92 sightingsWedge-tailed ShearwaterMost seen around 6 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across West Maui Scenic Drive. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingEast Lāhainā Pali Trail3.8 mi · 3.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA sunbaked climb to wind turbines above Māʻalaea.
ChallengingLāhainā Pali Trail4.8 mi · 4 hr · 1.1 mi awayA tough, rocky ridge crossing with wide ocean and island views.
ChallengingWest Lāhainā Pali Trail4.6 mi · 3.5 hr · 3.4 mi awayOcean views reward the steep climb to turbine-lined Kealaloloa Ridge.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayMaui Ocean CenterSharks overhead, Hawaiian reefs, and a humpback show indoors.
Beach · 0.7 mi awayMāʻalaea Haycraft Beach ParkA simple shore walk with winter humpbacks sometimes offshore.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayPāpawai Scenic LookoutA quick bay overlook with a chance at winter humpbacks.
Picnic area · 3.9 mi awayPāpalaua Wayside ParkA shady beach picnic, with the highway just behind your towel.
Sight · 4 mi awayMaui Tropical PlantationA tram loops the lagoon with a live demonstration of coconut husking.
Beach · 4.5 mi awayUkumehame Beach ParkA roadside beach stop for surfing, sunsets, and a picnic.Parkwolf’s West Maui Scenic Drive ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
