Elevation: 5 feet

Current Real Estate Stats

Six miles out from Wailuku, bordering Kihei, is Maalaea, the preferred marina of Maui's flotilla of cruise and pleasure boats. Many of these are Molokini snorkel boats, but there are also a number of cruise boats and charter fishing boats as well.

There is a restaurant at the harbor as well as a fish market. The harbor village includes a small store, the Coast Guard station, and the Maui Ocean Center. Beyond the harbor, along Hau'oli Street, are a number of nondescript condo blocks. There are also a few beachfront homes.

The best thing about Maalaea are the views: broad sea views, with Haleakala in the foreground and the West Maui Mountains in the background. The trade winds blow constantly, a breezy blessing against the heat, although some might find the area a bit too windy. There is a long strip of white sand that curves around Maalaea, which is usually very windy in the afternoons. The beach is popular with joggers and walkers.

Across the highway from the beach is a salt-water marsh, Kealia Pond, that has been set aside as a nesting and breeding refuge for birds, most notably the indigenous Hawaiian stilts, black-crowned night herons and Hawaiian coots. There are signs along the highway warning drivers to watch for sea turtles who have a tendency to cross the road very slowly.

There were ancient villages in and around Maalaea, but most traces are gone now. One village of archeological importance was located near McGregor Point, just past Maalaea on the highway leading to Lahaina. It was destroyed by the contractor who built the Maalaea Harbor breakwater, who used the boulders from the village to build the breakwater, demolishing the site. It was a fishing village of 45 house sites as well as a well-preserved heiau (temple), a fishing shrine and several petroglyphs. All that is left of the village are two large boulders behind the restaurant at the harbor.

Maalaea Bay is a major wintering spot for humpback whales. After summering in Alaska, the gentle giants spend the winter in the waters between west Maui and Lanai. As they are sensitive to noise, they stay farther out to sea off Lahaina and Kaanapali.

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback National Marine Sanctuary expanded in 1998 to include waters around all the major islands and the sanctuary headquarters is located in Maalaea. It is one of only 12 national marine sanctuaries strewn across the Atlantic and Pacific, from Samoa to Cape Cod.