Happy Monday, my friends!
While enjoying our blissful weekend in the middle of the jungle, my husband and I stopped by one of my favorite Maui beaches: Wai’anapanapa State Park. It’s not a trip to Maui without visiting this famous black sand beach (we fell in love with it on our first visit and didn’t want to leave on our second visit–looking back at those posts, it’s interesting to see how far my photography and editing skills have come!).
Luckily for us, our cottage was only 20 minutes away from the beach, so after sunrise we loaded up the jeep with our beach chairs, beach towels, and a cooler and hit the road. However, we didn’t head straight to the beach, instead we made a pitstop at Hana Farms, located on the Hana Highway just before mile marker 32. I mean it only makes sense to get a bunch of snacks when you’re headed to the beach, am I right, or am I right? 🙂
We picked up some of our favorite local fruits and then my husband saw the fresh banana bread and his eyes lit up (is it still considered healthy if the word banana is in the title?) 🙂 Hana Farms boasts six different flavors of banana bread, so take your time deciding and sampling, you’re sure to find something you like. Our purchase was complete after ordering some of their freshly squeezed lilikoi (passionfruit) lemonade and then we were back on the road.
Freshly baked banana bread and lemonades in hand we made our way down to Wai’anapanapa and found our perfect spot on the beach. The black sand felt warm against my hands, the sun beat down as I soaked up the Vitamin D, and the ocean breeze kept the temperature near perfect. As I laid on my back and watched the clouds go by, I thought to myself… “There is nowhere else I’d rather be.”
What’s your favorite beach on Maui?
Pictures and Plane Tickets 
I remember this black sand beach 🙂 We stopped there on out way to Hana 🙂 Your pictures are beautiful and capture all the beauty of this place 🙂
Thanks, Kristina. This is a MUST stop on the way to Hana, one of my favorite places on Maui. 🙂
Those are lovely photos! What a beautiful place! And of course snacks are necessary. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Snacks are a must! 🙂 Aloha!
Beautiful photos. We’re planning our trip to Maui in May. Do you have any recommendations for accommodations? You mentioned in your post you stayed at the cottage. Did you rent it out? Any information will be much appreciated.
Hi Anastassia,
I have many recommendations, I hope this isn’t overload. 🙂 Do you have an idea of where you want to stay? (South shore, East side/Hana, West side/Ka’anapali)
On the east side: We loved our cottage near Hana. It’s in Nahiku and is incredible. On my post (https://picturesandplanetickets.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/jungle-livin-on-maui/) there is a link to Maria’s VRBO listing. I could not recommend this cottage more highly. She’s very accurate in her descriptions of the condo and its amenities, so take a look and see if this place is for you.
On the West Side: We typically stay in condos (we like to cook our breakfasts in the condo and we always stay ocean-front). We like to stay in Kahana (ten minutes north of Ka’anapali) and I love Valley Isle Resort (almost all of the rooms are oceanfront). We’ve also stayed in Pohailani (just make sure you reserve a condo that’s on the ocean). We reserve most of our condos on VRBO.com, so take a look at that website as well, you may find something else that you love. I would also recommend the Sheraton or the Hyatt on Ka’anapali beach. Great location, great resorts! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Aloha!
wow, thanks so much. your suggestions will help me a lot with my planning for this trip.
Happy to help. Don’t hesitate to ask any more questions if you would like excursion or restaurant recommendations. Aloha!
One of my all-time fav places on earth. We had a blast there. Your absolutely right in saying your editing and photography skills have greatly improved. I was there and can’t believe how great these photos look. Great job.
Thank you! 🙂 Seriously, one of the best beaches we’ve ever been to!
Beautiful photos as always!
Thank you my friend!
Looks beautiful! Will have to go there the next time I’m there!
Hope you get to visit soon. It’s definitely worth a stop. Have a great day!
I would love to have gone to this beach when I visited Maui in November. My favorite beach was called Big Beach, and the road to Hana seemed to go on forever, Maybe I gave up too soon.
Next time, keep going until you get to Wai’anapanapa. It’s worth a visit! 🙂 Big Beach is one of my favorites as well! (I guess I have a lot of favorites). We saw a shark there the last time we visited, it was intense! Aloha!
Oh my beautiful
It’s an incredible beach! Thanks for commenting.
Was on Maui 8 years ago and absolutely loved it. Very much remember that winding road to Hana. I did love that black sand beach, but my favourite was the secluded Red Sand Beach at Hana.
Thanks for posting. Beautiful pictures brought back wonderful memories! 🙂
Ah, yes, the amazing and secluded Red Sand Beach… another favorite of mine… it is something you wouldn’t expect to see in Hawaii. 🙂 We visited Koki beach on this trip as well (near Red Sand Beach). Some of the sand has that same red hue, and its backed by a giant red hill.
Glad I brought back some wonderful memories for you, thanks for reading!
Wonderful blog and pictures…. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this
Thank you! 🙂
Wainapanapa is great. The name means “glistening fresh waters” in Hawaiian in reference to the anchialine pools (meaning they connect subterranean fresh water streams underground to the ocean via lava tubes). Lots of great legends and stories of the caves and blow holes in the area; hope you had a chance to check them all out!
Hey Maxwell,
That is such a beautiful translation. Yes, through our visits we have been able to explore the park and the different hikes. I can’t get enough of the area. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Aaah, Krystle, – do I envie you! Still young and have the time already to see all those beautiful places! Most of us have to be past midlife, raised our kids and saved some money to be able to travel. However, – I wanted to comment on your posts about the Black Sand Beach on Maui, – I was there a few years ago with my grandson and his Mom, – an absolutely spectacular spot. The blow hole, the huge crashing waves, the cave and a green turtle sitting on the warm black sand. It’s so funny when you
Hi Giselle,
We are trying to make traveling a priority in our life right now as tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone. 🙂 I have so many places that I would love the chance to explore, my biggest obstacle is finding a way to make it happen (too many places, too little time). 😉 But our motto is “exploring the world, one vacation at a time.”
I’m happy that you got the chance to visit with your family, it’s an incredible spot!! What a surprise to see the honu resting on the beach, they are marvelous creatures.
Thanks for commenting.
Lucky for you! What amazing place! And very beautiful photos 😉
Thank you!