Best Things to Do in Lahaina HI 2023

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Greetings, Internet Stranger! I’m Stella Jane and welcome to a day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI! Lahaina is one of the most charming towns in Maui, and possibly in all of Hawaii.

It was a port city in the 19th century, and it still looks a little bit like something out of a Herman Melville novel, only with a lot more mai tais.

However, Lahaina is more than just a great place to sing sea shanties. If you want to go humpback whale watching, eat delicious chocolate, and relax in the sun, Lahaina is the place for you, the place for me, and the place for us all. Let’s enjoy a day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI together.

Best Things to Do in Lahaina HI

Where to Stay?

For your day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI, you’ll definitely want a hotel that’s right in the historic area. You’ll be within walking distance of the best restaurants, shops, activities, luaus, etc. And who wants to worry about transportation when we’ve come to Maui to chillax and forget our troubles!

That’s why I recommend staying at the Best Western Pioneer Inn. It’s actually in a historic building from the turn of the century, but it still has modern amenities like air conditioning and a coffee maker in the room. Plus, the location really couldn’t be better–right by the harbor.

If you want a great deal on this hotel, click here.

And if you’re looking for other hotel options in Lahaina, check out these fantastic prices on many other hotels in Lahaina here. This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay as the base for your day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI. With hundreds of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

Best Things to Do in Lahaina HI

Morning: Whale Watching!

Whale watching is definitely one of the best things to do in Lahaina HI. There’s a ton of humpback whales that sail around off the coast of the area, so you can get a chance to see these beautiful majestic creatures. as well as dolphins, in just a two-hour cruise from Lahaina Harbor.

You can go ahead and book this delightful cruise right here.

Then get ready to join me for

Three Fascinating Facts: Lahaina Whale Watching

1) How Do We Get To The Whales?

That’s a good question! I bought my ticket in advance, which you have to do, and then you’re supposed to go to a booth in Lahaina Harbor to pick up the voucher. The booth can be a little tricky to find, so don’t be afraid to ask people on line which cruise they are waiting for.

You definitely need to check in at the booth and get your voucher for the boat before you get on line for the boat. I saw a couple of people trying to get directly on the boat before getting their voucher first, and they were directed to the booth.

So be sure to show up for the booth at least fifteen minutes early, so you can be sure you know exactly what to do. If you are staying at the Best Western that I recommended, you’ll be just a short walk from the whale booth anyway.

2) Do you get to see a lot of whales?

That depends on when you take the whale watching tour. I went at the beginning of April, and our guide told us that it was the end of whale watching season in Hawaii, so we didn’t get to see as many humpback whales as they see during the high season.

Later in April, the whales migrate to Alaska, where they do a whole bunch of eating of salmon and get super fat and happy. Then they come back to Hawaii and relax on the beach with mai tais. Right there with you, fat and happy whales!

Yes, there’s a bar on the boat because this is Maui. They do charge for the drinks; it’s not an open bar, so make sure you bring cash.

As you can probably tell from my photo, one obstacle when it comes to whale spotting is that the other people on the boat can get in the way. Even though I took the cruise at the end of whale watching season, it was all sold out.

This is another reason that I recommend lining up for the boat early, so that you can get a seat on the edge of the boat, which will give you better views. To my misfortune, all the whales appeared on the other side of the boat, so I didn’t get a great view, but at least I had a 50-50 shot of spotting them.

3) What did you learn about whales?

Oh, so much! Our guide was full of whale knowledge, and he was not shy about sharing it. In fact, he didn’t even stop with the whales because we spotted a few groups of dolphins leaping in the air, and he taught us that a group of dolphins is called a pod, and a group of whales is…also called a pod.

I personally think a group of killer whales should be called a murder of whales, but the whale-naming commission didn’t ask me.

We also saw a mother whale traveling with her baby whale and an adult male whale, but that the male was probably not the father of the whale. Usually whale dads leave their families after the babies are born. Then another man-whale comes along and helps the mother whale raise her baby, which means she will let him father her future whale baby.

First of all, Future Whale Baby is a great band name. Second, I think these whales are deadbeat dads, and they should all have to go on Maury Povich’s show and get shamed.

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets of the whale watching tour I can share with you for now. You’ll have to go ahead and book the tour to find out the rest of them.

Check rates and availability by going here!

Best Things to Do in Lahaina HI

Afternoon: Chocolate Tour

We all know that the climate in Hawaii is great for growing coffee. But did you also know that it can be great for growing chocolate? That’s why we’re spending the afternoon of our day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI on a tour of a chocolate farm.

That means we’ll get to see exactly how and where they grow and make the chocolate. We’ll also get to snack on many squares of chocolate, and we’ll even get to buy some amazing chocolate to take home.

You can buy a ticket to this chocolate tour by clicking here.

But first, lunch!

24 Hour Treat: Paia Fish Market

We’ve been on a boat drinking mai tais with whales all morning, and we don’t want to pour chocolate on an otherwise empty stomach. So before you head to the chocolate tour, stop at Paia Fish Market, which is right by the harbor. It can look like there’s nowhere to sit, but people eat and leave quickly, so you’ll probably be able to find a seat.

I recommend the fish tacos, which are made with extremely fresh fish. You get to choose the side, and I suggest the Cajun rice, which is mildly spicy. (It can be hard to find very spicy food in Hawaii, and I know because I tried.)

And now that we’ve got lunch on our day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI, it’s time for the chocolate tour and…

Three Fascinating Facts: Hawaiian Chocolate

1) How did the chocolate farm get started?

That’s actually a lovely story! It was started by a scientist who had made a ton of money…doing…science. I’m an English major, not a science expert. But apparently it was so much money that he could live his dream of retiring young to Hawaii and starting a chocolate farm. That is an amazing dream. In fact, I must admit that it is my dream now and I hope it is your dream too.

Because of all the science money, the profits from the chocolate go to charity. So when you eat the chocolate from this farm, you’re not just doing it for physical pleasure. You’re also doing it for humanity.

2) How do they make the process?

Glad you asked! I can’t be sure that knowing how the chocolate gets made will make it more delicious, but it can’t hurt. First they grow the cacao beans. They come in these pretty pods, which you can see in my photo above and also on the trees.

Actually, the shop on the chocolate farm even sells earrings made out of cacao pods, and I definitely bought a pair. (I buy a pair of earrings in every city I visit.)

Then they dry and roast the cacao beans and take off the shells of the seeds to get the cacao nibs, which are ground down into powder.

Cheap chocolate bars–naming no names here, but you know the kind I am talking about–use lots of additives and fillers so that they don’t need to use as much of the expensive ground chocolate. But at this chocolate farm, they use as much pure chocolate as possible.

3) When do we get to eat the chocolate?

Right now! I know that just looks like an odd paper chart in my photo above, but each square stands for one piece of chocolate that we got to eat. That means nine squares of delicious chocolate altogether. (That’s why I didn’t have us get dessert after our fish tacos. I’m always thinking ahead like that.)

They mix up the chocolates that they offer on the tour, so I can’t guarantee that you’ll get the same chocolates that I did. Some of the beans used for the chocolate come from the Maui estate, which we’ve been touring, and some come from Ecuador.

I recommend the cappuccino chocolate, which is great for fans of mocha, and the tropical fruit chocolates, which are decadent without being too sweet. My personal favorite was the Kalamansi lime because it was such an unusual flavor.

24 Hour Tip

Sadly I cannot feed you this chocolate through the magic of the Internet. But if you want to try it for yourself, just reserve your spot on the tour.

Check rates and availability right here!

Best Things to Do in Lahaina HI

Evening: Dine Out

It’s that time on our day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI for dinner. There’s truly a plethora of amazing restaurants in Lahaina, so I’ve decided to share my two favorites with you, and then you can pick the one you want. (Or you can pick neither and go somewhere else. I’m not your mother.)

Up first is Mala Tavern, which has excellent seafood and excellent views of the water, like pretty much every good restaurant in Lahaina.

For the appetizer, I selected the poisson cru, served with yummy local sweet potato chips. The poisson cru is made with the fish of the day, so I can’t exactly predict which fish you’ll get. But I can predict that it will be mixed with coconut, avocado, and chili, and that it will taste amazing on the chips. This is basically Hawaii’s answer to Maryland crab dip.

For the main course, more fish! That’s not a criticism because in Hawaii, you should absolutely eat as much fish as you possibly can.

This fish course was the Mala Signature Grilled Ahi served with Yukon mashed potatoes, green beans, and shiitake ginger sauce. It’s not cheap, but the quality of the ingredients is so high that I couldn’t really complain.

And I suppose if the poisson cru is like crab dip, then this dish is the Hawaiian equivalent of steak and potatoes. I’d almost rather have ahi than a steak, at least when the fish is this fresh.

For dessert, I chose the Taste of Hawaii, which is a kind of tart made with haupia, which is a local coconut pudding, banana bread, lilikoi curd, and ube gelato. That might sound like a lot of look, but somehow all the flavors come together well.

If you like lemon meringue pie, but felt like it was missing some ice cream made from a purple yam, this is definitely the dessert for you. (I have long felt that way, so this is the dessert for me.)

My other restaurant recommendation in Lahaina is Honu, which is right down the street from Mala Tavern. I do not recommend dining at both of these restaurants in the same night, unless your stomach is made of steel.

Honu also has amazing views. I mean, this was literally the view from my table:

It doesn’t get any better than that, Internet Strangers.

The appetizer specialty here is the ahi bruschetta. In my photo it looks like it might be made with avocado, but that’s actually edamame puree. This appetizer manages to taste healthy and decadent because the ahi is so fresh in this dish. I need to come up with new ways of saying fresh ahi, but honestly if you’re not having as much fresh ahi in Hawaii as you can, what are you even doing?

For the main course, we’ve got more fish! Fish-apalooza! I ordered the catch of the day served with quinoa, mixed vegetables, and beurre blanc. However, you might notice that my photo above doesn’t contain even a little bit of quinoa.

That’s because my waitress suggested that I replace the quinoa with mashed potatoes because she felt it tasted better. She was correct. Mashed potatoes are more indulgent than quinoa. That’s just science.

For the dessert, I chose the waitress recommended butterscotch pot de creme. She was correct again because nothing says beach day like a dessert topped with caramel and sea salt. The perfect way to end our day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI

Best Things to Do in Lahaina HI

Tools For Travel

• A cell phone charger so you can take photos throughout your day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI
• My favorite guidebook to Maui
• My book Get Lost, that I wrote myself with all my best travel tips. This book will show you exactly how solo travel can take your life from BLAH to amazing!
• The most reliable travel umbrella that is small enough to fit in my purse, but strong enough to stand up to powerful winds during our day of the best things to do in Lahaina HI
• These great TSA approved clear toiletries bags, so I can always keep spare toothpaste and travel sized toiletries in any carry-on.

That’s the Best Things to Do in Lahaina HI!

What do you think are the best things to do in Lahaina HI? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in Lahaina now? Please email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know.

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should ONLY spend 24 hours with the best things to do in Lahaina HI

You can also add 24 hours in Honolulu. You can go on a circle tour of Oahu. Why not add a Big Island Kona things to do tour? You can then try what to do in Kona HI. There’s what to see on Kauai. You can experience a snorkel tour in Maui. Check out what to do in Wailea Maui. Finally, try the best things to do at Hilo Hawaii.