Walk Maui | Historical and Cultural Tours of the Valley Isle

Walk Maui

Historical and Cultural Walking Tours of the Valley Isle

Tours and Reservations

We currently offer four walking tour itineraries: two walks in Lāhainā, the first capital of the Hawai‘ian kingdom and a National Historic Landmark; a walk in Wailuku, the county seat and once the island’s primary tourist destination; and the North Shore/Upcountry tour, which focuses on Pa‘ia and Makawao. Please scroll down for descriptions of each tour.

LAHAINA TOUR 1 | LAHAINA TOUR 2 | WAILUKU TOUR | NORTH SHORE/UPCOUNTRY TOUR

Tours cost a flat fee of $125 for groups of 1-5 people. If your party is larger than five, the cost is $25 per person. (We offer discounts for student groups and parties larger than 12; please inquire about our group rates.) To make a booking inquiry, email us at info@walkmaui.com.

PLEASE NOTE: No transportation is included in these itineraries. Participants must be able to get themselves to the start of the tour and, for the North Shore/Upcountry tour, must have a car in order to drive from one town to the other.

Lāhainā Tour 1

We begin our tour over 1.5 million years ago with the creation of the first of Maui Nui’s seven distinct volcanoes and interweave the stories of the legendary demigod Maui and the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers. This tour examines Lāhainā’s role as a royal city, as well as exploring the first western missionaries and the town’s prominence as a whaling port. The tour lasts approximately two hours.

Stops on the tour may include:*

· Hauola, the birthing stone

· The site of King Kamehameha I’s brick palace

· Kamehameha III’s taro patch

· The old fort, courthouse, and famous banyan tree

· The former canal and market

· Hale Piula, Kamehameha III’s palace

· The famed Lāhainā surf break, favored by ali‘i (chiefs)

· Moku‘ula, one of the most sacred places on Maui and once home to Kamehameha III, Princess Nahi‘ena‘ena, and Queen Keopuolani.

· Waiola Church and cemetery, final resting place of some of the royal family

· Hale Pa‘ahao, the old prison

· The Baldwin House and Master’s Reading Room**

* When necessary, stops may be altered by the guide at any time without notice.
** The Baldwin House will be talked about from the outside; however the tour will end near here for those who wish to pay admission and tour the house after our walk.

To reserve Lāhainā Tour 1, please send an email to info@walkmaui.com with the date and time you’d like to book and we’ll get right back to you with our availability. Tours cost a flat fee of $125 for groups of 1-5 people. If your party is larger than five, the cost is $25 per person. (We offer discounts for student groups and parties larger than 12; please inquire about our group rates.)

Lāhainā Tour 2

This tour takes you back to Lāhainā when it was not only the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i but also the largest whaling port in the Pacific. In 1846, approximately 600 whaling ships dropped anchor at the Lāhainā roadstead. We’ll walk the streets the thousands of sailors walked while also seeing sites associated with the missionary movement, the sugar plantation era, and ancient Maui. The tour lasts approximately 2 hours.

Stops on the tour may include:*

· Hauola, the birthing stone

· The site of King Kamehameha I’s brick palace

· Kamehameha III’s taro patch

· The old fort, courthouse, and famous banyan tree

· The Pioneer Inn

· The Richards House

· The Baldwin House and Master’s Reading Room**

· Japanese Shingon Buddhist temple

· Maria Lanikila Church

· Seamen’s Cemetery

· Historic Front Street

· Wo Hing Temple**

· Hale Kahiko

· Seamen’s Hospital

Please note that this is a “point to point” tour and you will end about a 10-to-15 minute walk from where the tour began.

* When necessary, stops may be altered by the guide at any time without notice.
** The Baldwin House and Wo Hing Temple will be talked about from the outside; however the tour will end near them for those who wish to pay admission and tour the house after our walk.

Wailuku Tour

kaahumanu church.jpg Wailuku (in Hawai‘ian, “water of destruction”) is an ancient Hawai‘ian settlement that grew into the political center of Maui in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In just a few short blocks of downtown Wailuku, we will revisit the town in its heyday, from the Historic ‘Iao Theater where Frank Sinatra sang to the historic architecture of Upper Main Street and High Street, including buildings by renowned Hawaiian architect C.W. Dickey. This tour lasts between 90 minutes and two hours.

Stops on the tour may include:*

· Historic Market Street

· ‘Iao Theater

· Ka‘ahumanu Church and graveyard

· Wailuku Library

· Old County Courthouse

· Wailuku School

· Architectural treasures on High and Upper Main streets

· The former site of the Chinese Tong

· Bailey House Museum**

For an additional fee, this tour can be extended beyond downtown Wailuku to include two very important ancient Hawaiian sites: the Haleki‘i-Pihana Heiau site and historic ‘Iao Valley, site of the battle of Kepaniwai. Please contact us for rates and information for this extended tour.

Please note that this is a “point to point” tour and you will end about a 10- minute walk from where the tour began.

* When necessary, stops may be altered by the guide at any time without notice.
** The Bailey House will be talked about from the outside; however the tour will end there for those who wish to pay admission and tour the house after our walk.

To reserve the Wailuku Tour, please send an email to info@walkmaui.com with the date and time you’d like to book and we’ll get right back to you with our availability. Tours cost a flat fee of $125 for groups of 1-5 people. If your party is larger than five, the cost is $25 per person. (We offer discounts for student groups and parties larger than 12; please inquire about our group rates.)

North Shore/Upcountry Tour

Please contact us at info@walkmaui.com for a customized itinerary that includes the old sugar town of Pa‘ia, stops along Baldwin Avenue, and Makawao, Maui’s upcountry paniolo (cowboy) town. Please note that you must provide your own transport for this tour. Tours cost a flat fee of $125 for groups of 1-5 people. If your party is larger than five, the cost is $25 per person. (We offer discounts for student groups and parties larger than 12; please inquire about our group rates.)