Kaanapali, Hawaii - Maui Island, Hawaii - Western Maui Resort Town Focuses on Visitors

Kaanapali, Hawaii, is located 15 minutes from Lahaina in the western part of the Island of Maui. This resort area is located less than 15 minutes from the Kapalua West Maui Airport and one hour from the main airport on Maui which is found at Kahului.

In 1957 the owners of the Pioneer Sugar Mill located here chose to transform the seaside cane fields into a luxury tourist area. All that was here was a small wharf and short rail line from the mill in Lahaina. The old Sugar Cane Train still runs between Kaanapali, Hawaii and Lahaina as a tourist attraction.

This was one of the first places where locations were created out of the jungles or plantations with the explicit end of creating a hub of luxury tourism. Six years later the first hotel opened on the white, sand beaches, followed rapidly by others but it was not for decades that this became a popular destination.

Today, more than a half a million visitors come here every year. There are two large golf courses here; both are found at the Kaanapali Golf Resort.

A mall is found here as well, Whalers Village, which is home to over 90 shops and principally caters to the resort area guests and residents. Shops range from surf and beach accessories to jewelry to toys. Apparel stores include name brand fashion such as Luis Vuitton. A couple of restaurants and a food court can be found here and there are a few roadside eateries in Kaanapali as well.

However most of the restaurants here are found in the 9 hotels. There is a path along the beach that leads from one to the next for hotel guests investigating the cuisine or attending a luau or other event at a neighboring hotel.

A 300 ft. volcanic cinder cone splits the beach in two. The Pu'u Keka'a volcano is also known as Black Rock and its submerged lava coast makes for some of Maui's best snorkeling.

Both beaches drop quickly to a deep bottom but high surf is usually only a problem for swimmers in the winter months.

At Kaanapali, Hawaii, the main beach is open to the public as well as the public beach parks of Wahikuli and Hanaka'o'o. Both of these are located just off of Highway 30.

Nearby Lahaina is home to dozens of restaurants and other commercial establishments and a population center just up the road from this resort area.

Aside from the hotels and rental vacation villas there are various luxury homes in Kaanapali, some of which are rented by the owners to vacationers as well. In all, just over 1,500 people live here. The median age here is some 8 years older than the average for the state, while income levels are much higher than they are for most of Hawaii.