I used to live on Maui, and I visit often, but it never ceases to amaze me that I can always manage to find something I’ve never done before. 

On my last trip to Maui, I stayed in Kapalua and while I’ve frequented the beach at Kapalua Bay plenty, I don’t usually spend a ton of time in the area. So when I saw signs for the Kapalua Coastal Trail, I set aside a morning to check it out. 

I can’t believe I’d never done this before! While part of it was familiar to me, the whole trail took me through areas of Maui I’d never seen before. 

If you’re looking for a fairly easy and accessible hike, with INCREDIBLE views without having to go to the Hana side of the island, this is my number 1 recommendation. 

Here’s everything you need to know to make the most of your hike along the Kapalua Coastal Hike.

Kapalua Coastal Trail Hiking Tips

The Kapalua Coast Trail stretches for about 1.75 miles along West Maui’s coastline and offers beautiful beaches, sweeping ocean views, and dramatic lava landscapes all from a fairly easy walking trail. 

If you do this as an out and back hike…depending on your pace and how often you stop to take in the sights, the hike can take anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours. For casual hikers who like to take photos and enjoy the scenery, setting aside 2 hours is a pretty good estimate.

I was staying at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua (the northernmost part of the trail) when I did this hike so I came and went from the hotel grounds, but if you’re not staying in the Kapalua area and you’ll need to drive in and park, here are your options: 

The Kapalua Bay Beach Parking Lot has the most free parking spaces available. But it’s still limited and fills up, but if you’re doing this hike first thing in the morning, you shouldn’t have a problem getting a spot here. This is the south end of the trail. 

If you’re arriving later in the day, parking kind of spills out down the road and sometimes you can find something or you can pay to park in the lot of the Kapalua Tennis Garden (you pay via app and I’m not sure how closely they monitor this). Last time I was here I also noticed a sign that you could park in the Merriman’s parking lot until a certain time (4ish I think), but I didn’t stop to check out the details on that. 

There’s also a small parking lot (less than 15 spaces) on Lower Honoapiilani Road and Kapalua Pl which has the best access for Oneloa Beach (this lot puts you more towards the north end of the trail). DT Fleming Beach has more parking and that would put you at the far north end of the trail. 

***Want to save major $$$ on your trip to Hawaii? I get asked ALL the time how I’m able to travel so often to Hawaii and stay at really nice resorts. Well, my favorite travel hack is cashing in points to score free airfare and free nights at some of Hawaii’s most high end resorts. Read my full guide on the exact system I use to max out credit card rewards here. Seriously, it’s going to save you soooo much money.

The trail is easy to follow and part of it feels more like a rugged hiking trail, but some of it feels more like a pleasant stroll through a resort area. 

If you’re not staying in Kapalua and you’re looking to make a day of this, I would plan to arrive at the Kapalua Beach parking lot early enough to get a spot. Take all of your beach gear with you (chairs, umbrella, towels, snorkeling gear, cooler, etc.) but leave it in the car (don’t leave valuables in the car!).

Start your hike at Kapalua Beach and hike the Kapalua Coastal Trail all the way north to the Ritz Carlton at DT Fleming Beach. It’s about 1.75 miles there. You could stop in at Cafe Kai in the resort for coffee and breakfast. It’s a cute little shop and there’s plenty of seating around the cafe and lobby with great views out over the resort and ocean. 

If you’re doing this later in the day, you could do lunch at the Burger Shack on DT Fleming Beach. 

When you’re done, reverse your route and end with some beach time at Kapalua or Napili Beach. 

P.S. One of the reasons I’m able to travel to Hawaii so often is by using credit card points. And right now my go to travel card has a GREAT limited time sign up offer.

If you sign up for this Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll get 100K bonus points to use on travel. 

These are my favorite kind of travel points because they’re so flexible. You could…

Transfer them to Southwest or United to book round trip tickets to Hawaii.

Transfer them to Hyatt to book a stay at the Andaz Maui (such a great luxury resort!)

Transfer them to Marriott for a stay at one of my favorites like the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Royal Hawaiian, or Ritz Carlton Turtle Bay. 

Or book a hotel through the Chase travel portal with a cash value of $1250. 
The 100K bonus point offer is just for a limited time, so if you’re looking for the best travel card, sign up >> here.

P.P.S. Here’s one more really important thing you need to know before your Hawaii trip…

You’ve got your airfare, hotel, rental car and your big activities booked, so you should be good to go, right? Wrong!

Travel is BOOMING in Hawaii and a lot of state and national parks have instituted reservation systems at some of the island’s most popular spots to help manage the crowds and make things a little more sustainable. 

That means that there are now over half a dozen sites (beaches, trailheads, etc.) that require advance reservations. And some sell out well before you arrive on the island so you really need to have some sort of a plan. 

I recently saw somebody in a Hawaii travel group post in a panic that they didn’t know they had to make reservations for things in advance…they thought they could just show up and “go with the flow.” I was tempted to say, well, “as long as the flow doesn’t take you somewhere that requires reservations, you can!” ; )

But I don’t want YOU to be that person, so I’ve pulled together a list of all the places you need to reserve entry in advance (plus all the details on booking windows, price, links, etc.) and a handful of popular tourist hotspots that book out really far in advance too. 
Get that info >> HERE