Maui

Molokini Crater used to stand 500 feet above sea level. What snorkelers see today, that crescent-shaped rim barely breaking the surface three miles off Maui’s southern coast, is only the top sliver of a volcanic cone that formed roughly 230,000 years ago and has since eroded and partially submerged. It’s one of only three volcanic atolls on the planet, and the fast-cooling lava that built it trapped so much volcanic glass that the crater walls have weathered into a distinctive dark yellow clay you can spot from the boat before you’re even in the water. Access is commercial-tour-only now, no private boats, kayaks, or swim-out attempts from shore are legally permitted, and half-day catamaran trips running $130 to $180 a person typically add a second stop at Turtle Town or Coral Gardens. April through October gives the warmest water and calmest crossing, so book a week or two out if you’re going in peak summer.

Haleakala works on a reservation system that trips up a surprising number of visitors who assume they can just drive up before dawn. Any vehicle entering the summit district between 3 and 7 a.m. needs a separate sunrise reservation booked through Recreation.gov, on top of the standard park entrance fee, and those reservations release 60 days ahead at 7 a.m. Hawaii time, with a smaller batch of last-minute slots opening 48 hours before each date. Both windows go fast in high season. If you don’t manage to snag one, sunset at the summit requires no reservation at all and delivers a comparable view over the crater with a fraction of the competition, plus you skip the pre-dawn cold. Bring real layers regardless of which you choose; the summit sits above 10,000 feet and routinely drops into the 30s and 40s Fahrenheit before sunrise even in the middle of summer.

On the Road to Hana, Waianapanapa State Park’s black sand beach is the classic stop, but it now requires an advance reservation for non-Hawaii-resident vehicles, so check that before you build your whole day around it; showing up without one means you’ll be turned away at the gate rather than waved through. The drive itself is roughly 64 miles and 620 curves one way, and treating it as a there-and-back day trip rather than an overnight in Hana town is the single biggest mistake first-time visitors make, since it turns a scenic drive into an exhausting slog against the clock.

Star Noodle, the Lahaina restaurant known for its garlic noodles and steamed pork buns, survived the August 2023 wildfire that destroyed the historic Front Street commercial core and roughly 2,200 structures across the town, though many of its own staff lost their homes in the disaster. It has since reopened near Cannery Mall in Lahaina’s north end and is back to serving the same menu that made it a fixture before the fire. That reopening is part of a broader, still-fragile recovery: as of March 2026, Maui County had issued 552 rebuilding permits with only 159 completed, and Lahaina Harbor has only recently reopened to the ocean tour operators, submarine trips, and fishing charters that used to run out of it. If your itinerary includes Lahaina, spend money at the businesses that have reopened and skip photographing memorials, rebuilding sites, or damaged property; residents living through a slow recovery do not need to become a backdrop for vacation photos.

My own advice after sorting through what’s changed: build slack into any Maui itinerary in 2026 rather than a tightly scheduled checklist, because reservation systems for Haleakala and Waianapanapa can shift capacity with little notice, and Lahaina’s recovery timeline means restaurant hours and boat departure points are still settling. A rental car remains the right call for reaching most of this, but download your Recreation.gov confirmations and screenshot them before you lose signal on the Hana highway.