You know what they say… three’s a crowd, but ten’s a party! Well, something like that.
If you plan on traveling to Maui with a group, whether it’s your wedding party, fellow frat bros, or weekly bingo gang, organizing large group activities that everyone will enjoy can be stressful and time-consuming, especially when planning from thousands of miles away. But alas, as always, we are here to make that a much smoother, more manageable task.
Group Fun on Maui
Aloha Friday Sunset Sail
Although every day is Aloha Friday when you’re on vacation, no day is a bad day to get on a boat. True story. Trilogy Excursions offers one of the only boat tours departing directly from Ka’anapali Beach, where you’ll hop aboard to enjoy a two hour sunset sail around West Maui’s shoreline. The tour is for adults only and includes live music, views of Lana’i and Moloka’i, pupus, beverages, and three premium cocktails.
If you’re traveling with more than 20 people, you may even want to consider splurging for a private Maui charter on one of their sailing catamarans. This is especially nice for wedding parties, since they offer rehearsal dinner sunset sailing tours, wedding ceremonies on the ocean, private wedding ceremonies on the neighbor island of Lana’i, and full wedding receptions. Neat!
Call (808) 874-5649 to inquire about group rates and availability.
Island Art Party
Grab a paintbrush, grab a cocktail, and make your own Maui souvenir. Island Art Party, located in Kihei, is a great place to spend an evening with friends or family members. Even if you haven’t picked up a paintbrush since middle school, their resident ‘Partista’ gives you clear instructions about how to recreate that evening’s chosen painting, all while you sip cocktails and listen to music. It’s laid-back, creative fun, and even the guys will dig it.
You can even reserve the whole studio for a private event if you want a fun evening all to yourselves.
‘Seed to Cup’ Coffee & Breakfast Tour
Located near the lavender farm in Upcountry Maui, O’o Farm hosts a twice weekly coffee and farm tour on their beautiful, 8.5 acre property. The two hour tour includes an overview of the farm, information about the onsite roasting process, lessons in how to make the perfect cappuccino, and a freshly made breakfast to enjoy in their outside dining area. These guys really know their stuff, and the setting near the cloud forest of Kula is a magical setting to enjoy a morning outing on Maui.
Camp on Lana’i
While camping may not be everyone’s idea of a good time, rest assured that the campground on Maui’s neighbor island of Lana’i is absolutely painless and fancy. Take the ferry from Lahaina Harbor to Lanai’s Manele Bay, walk five minutes to Hulopoe Beach Park, and boom! You’ve arrived on one of Hawaii’s nicest, most beautiful beaches for an evening of scenic camping. And if you’re still not convinced, the Four Seasons Resort is at the far end of the beach park. Get a room and wave to your friends from your lanai.
Big Beach Picnic / Little Beach Party
Although known for its notoriously dangerous shorebreak, Big Beach is a favorite spot for beach lovers visiting Maui. Grab picnic essentials and to-go food from Kihei’s Taqueria Cruz and head to Makena for a lovely day of beach bliss.
For an extra special treat, go on a Sunday to hit the weekly Little Beach Sunday sunset party and see hippie goodness at its finest, including drum circles, fire dancers and plenty of beach nudity.
Stargazing on Haleakala
While watching sunrise from atop the 10,000 foot summit of Maui’s Haleakala Volcano is a wonderful experience, convincing a large group of people to wake up at 3am to drive up a volcano is quite the task. Instead, reserve an evening with Jan of Maui Stargazing, who leads guests to the summit of Haleakala National Park for an evening of stunning stargazing. She brings cold weather clothes for guests, including coats, hats, gloves and pants, and her astronomy knowledge will leave you in awe.
Mahalo for reading Maui’s Best Group Activities, and let us know what we missed in the comments below. Happy grouping, travelers.
