Maui vacation mistakes can spoil a good trip and affect the people who live here. Yes, this is one of the most beautiful and welcoming places to visit, but that doesn’t mean you can be careless or disrespectful.
Our original post took a blunt look at behavior we kept seeing around the island. Its message applies to residents and visitors alike: bring your aloha, respect the land and think before you act. Here are 17 habits to leave out of your trip.
Ho‘okipa on an earlier visit. Check current ocean conditions before entering the water.
1. Treating Local People With Disrespect
Bring your aloha and be patient. Even in paradise, people have difficult days, jobs to finish and families to get home to. A smile, a thank-you and a little flexibility go a long way. You aren’t entitled to someone’s time, property or personal story.
2. Choosing Sunscreen by the Marketing Label
Check the active ingredients instead of trusting a “reef-safe” label. Maui County restricts non-mineral sunscreen sale, distribution and use, with an exception for prescriptions. Its mineral-only sunscreen guidance identifies zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as mineral ingredients.
Rash guards, hats and shade can also reduce how much exposed skin needs sunscreen. Follow the product’s application and reapplication directions. Don’t spray people sitting nearby or assume any sunscreen makes contact with coral harmless.
3. Driving Without Considering Other Road Users
Let people merge, follow posted limits and watch for pedestrians. Pull into a legal turnout when it’s safe to let traffic pass. Don’t stop in a travel lane to take a photo or block a driveway for a waterfall view.
Keep unnecessary honking out of the Pali tunnel, too. Noise can startle drivers; keep your attention on the road.
4. Letting Children Disrupt Everyone Around Them
Vacation doesn’t mean every shared space becomes a playground. Help children respect other diners, guests and beachgoers. Keep them close near traffic, water and wildlife, and choose activities that suit their ages and energy levels.
5. Leaving Valuables in a Parked Car
Don’t leave a visible bag in a rental car, even at a scenic stop or rainforest trailhead. Bring only what you need and plan where the rest will stay securely. Lock the vehicle and avoid leaving anything that looks worth stealing in view.
6. Taking the Beach Home
Take photos, not sand or coral. Removing a handful may feel small, but it isn’t a good souvenir habit to encourage. Hawaiʻi’s Division of Aquatic Resources explains why visitors should leave sand and coral behind.
Leave natural objects where you find them and follow the rules for the particular park or beach. A photograph lasts longer than a bag of sand, and it leaves the place intact for the next person.
7. Putting on a Pidgin Accent
Don’t imitate the way someone speaks as a vacation performance. Listen, be yourself and show respect. Learning a place name’s pronunciation is a more useful effort than putting on an accent.
8. Leaving Litter Behind
Clean up after yourself. Cigarette butts, food wrappers and drink containers don’t belong on the beach, roadside or trail. Secure loose rubbish before the wind takes it. If a bin is full, take your trash with you instead of piling it beside the bin.
9. Forgetting to Budget for Service
Plan for tips when you budget for restaurants, tours and other services where tipping is customary. Check whether a gratuity is already included. If you’re visiting from a place with different customs, ask about local expectations instead of leaving it until the bill arrives.
Makena Beach above Ho‘okipa and Waiheʻe Ridge, photographed on earlier visits.
10. Packing Too Much Into Your Maui Vacation
“Let’s do the Road to Hana, Haleakala and a dinner reservation on our first full day!” That’s a recipe for a rushed trip. Leave room for traffic, weather, meals and rest. Enjoy Maui at a pace that lets you pay attention to the place you came to see.
11. Drinking and Driving
If drinks are part of your evening, arrange a sober driver or a ride before you start. Don’t assume a short drive makes it fine. Decide how you’ll get home while you can still make a clear plan.
12. Expecting a Move to Solve Everything
Moving to Maui is a major decision, not an automatic reset. Arrange housing, income, transportation and any support you need before making a move. Plan realistically, and treat people facing hardship with dignity.
13. Crowding or Touching a Sea Turtle
Watch turtles calmly without touching, chasing, feeding or trying to ride them. NOAA’s Hawaiʻi wildlife-viewing guidelines recommend staying at least 10 feet away from sea turtles, on land and in the water.
Give an approaching turtle space and keep its route clear. Keep the recommended viewing distance in mind and follow any barriers or instructions at the site. Harassing protected wildlife is prohibited.
14. Renting a Scooter Beyond Your Experience
A rental counter handing you the keys doesn’t make an unfamiliar road easy. Choose transportation you can handle, wear appropriate protective gear and follow the rental company’s restrictions. Skip the ride if the route, weather or traffic feels beyond your ability.
15. Trespassing for a View
A guidebook, map pin or social-media video isn’t permission to enter private property. Use legal access, respect signs and closures, and choose somewhere else when access isn’t clear. There’s plenty to see without crossing someone’s land or blocking their home.
16. Treating the Ocean Like a Swimming Pool
Clear water doesn’t mean safe water. Shorebreak, currents and changing conditions can be dangerous, including at Makena’s Big Beach. Check with lifeguards before entering and choose a lifeguarded beach suited to your ability.
Hawaiʻi Ocean Safety provides safety information and links to beach conditions. If you’re unsure, stay out. A skipped swim is a much better outcome than a rescue.
17. Hiking Off the Marked Trail
Even in a public park, leaving an established trail can lead into unstable ground, steep drops or flood-prone streams. Follow signs and closures, check conditions before setting out and turn back when the route isn’t suitable.
A little preparation prevents many Maui vacation mistakes. Give yourself time, listen to local guidance and leave the island’s beaches, trails and communities better for your visit.
Some of Our Readers’ Thoughts
Selected comments from the original article. These reflect readers’ experiences at the time, rather than current offers or advice. Longer comments are excerpted below.
Just because some people think it is cool, jumping off BLACK ROCK in Ka’anapali isn’t a good idea. Even worse idea if it is a bride in full length wedding dress and train. Dangerous and not recommended by any of we wedding planners or wedding photographers who know better. Not worth it just to get a cool picture.
Vickie Jackson, 2017-12-06 (excerpt)
We love Maui. Return often .we tip well for good service and accordingly for crappy service. We respect the reefs and wildlife. We Always leave our beach cleaner than we found it. We drive safe as to enjoy what we see. We realize that not all, but the strong majority of locals are very warm and welcoming. This is good advise. See you again soon!
Mark H, 2017-12-09
What is helpful is to be reminded and educated in a friendly way and to then respond, not by taking offence but with increased awareness and knowledge.
Mac, 2017-12-17 (excerpt)
We’re a small group of full-time Maui residents that LOVE exploring and writing about what we think is the best place on Earth: The Island of Maui, Hawaii! Expect many more articles, reviews, photos and videos of Maui and all of the Hawaiian Islands. ALOHA!
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