Reply #16: Pa'ia is a great place to be. [View All]

[swimboy]

It is much more genuine than the resort coasts and is central enough you can make radial trips from there to Haleakala, the Winery, Hana, etc. There is a hippie kind of vibe to it and lots of very friendly nice young stoners about. The Hana Road is great, but the coastal road around the other side of the island (past Lahaina) is astounding as well--probably what the Hana road was like when it got its reputation, it is dangerously narrow with cliff-side blind curves, but it leads to incredible pools and blowholes you can hike to before you come round to the resort strip.

There are beautiful beaches at Makena State Park (Little Makena Beach is a great naturist beach) and a tricky to find Red Sand Beach inside a cinder cone at Hana where a reef makes for great sheltered snorkeling.

I think Maui is tops.