Where to Stay in Kihei: North Kihei vs South Kihei + Condo Recommendations
This post was written before devastating wildfires swept through the historic town of Lahaina in early August 2023.
Here’s what you need to know: 1) Lahaina is almost completely gone and the area is 100% off limits to visitors. 2) The resort areas of West Maui north of Lahaina (Ka’anapali, Napili & Kapalua) are undamaged from the fires and are scheduled to fully reopen to tourism on October 8, 2023. 3) The rest (majority) of the island is unaffected and open to visitors. 4) Locals on the island (both those personally affected and not) are grieving this tragedy and likely will be for a long time to come. Even though the return of tourism for the economy is largely necessary, your compassion and kindness during your interactions go a long way.
I’ll keep this updated as the situation progresses. As of now, all of the info in this post should be unaffected.
So many visitors to Maui are attracted to the Kihei area because of its central location, sunny weather, beautiful beaches, large number of restaurants, and bargain priced accommodations. It feels more like a “town” than a lot of Maui’s resort areas even though it primarily caters to tourists and there is no end of things to do.
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The first decision most visitors to Maui make is between staying on the south side or the west side (read more about that on this post), but once they decide on the south side, budget travelers usually flock to Kihei.
Here’s everything you need to know about where to stay in Kihei:
Pros and Cons of Staying in Kihei
Pros
Kihei is a sizable beach town with plenty of places to eat and things to do (this is the hub of south Maui activities) and it’s not very expensive. The beaches are beautiful, and the weather is almost always sunny. There are quite a few grocery stores as it’s more of a town than a resort area.
There are a TON of condos so it’s the easiest place to find budget accommodations on the island. Kihei is also a good central location to explore the island from. It’s much closer to sites like Haleakala, the road to Hana, the north shore, and the upcountry than the west side.
Cons
If all of that sounds great to you…you can bet it sounds good to other people as well. So Kihei can get pretty crowded. Crowded beaches, crowded sidewalks, crowded restaurants, crowded streets. Also, since Kihei is not a resort area, but more of a town, there’s no central planning or organization like you see in a lot of more manicured areas.
Basically, Kihei is one big strip mall. Literally, from one end of Kihei to the other (10 miles!) it’s one endless strip mall/shopping center after another. There are good things about this (the large number of restaurants, shops, etc.), but it also creates a certain vibe. Another drawback would be that a number of the condo complexes are a bit outdated so if you find a super steal, it’s probably for a reason.
Where to Stay in Kihei
Most of your accommodation options in Kihei are condos (some not super new). There are quite a few complexes that are beachfront, but the majority are not. However, the steep price break might be worth the quick walk across the street to get to the beach. The beaches in Kihei are beautiful, but they can get crowded given how many condos are in the area. If you’re on a budget, and you’re looking for a good home base to explore the island from, Kihei is hard to beat.
Kihei breaks down into roughly three areas: North Kihei, Central Kihei, and South Kihei. Central Kihei is the hub of all activity and so it tends to be the most crowded, but also has the highest concentration of shops and restaurants. North Kihei is more isolated, it is almost all the way to Ma’alaea and I find the beaches to be pretty windy (it’s a popular windsurfing spot). South Kihei is my favorite part of Kihei. It’s where the best beaches are, it’s a little more quiet, there’s several nice beachfront places, and it’s close to Wailea.
I’ve rounded up some recommendations for condo complexes in each area. If you click the links it will show you options available for individual units during your travel dates.
Side Note: If you’re looking for a rental car for your trip, I LOVE Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. They’re seriously the only company I ever use. They’ll give you the very best prices, you don’t have to reserve with a credit card or pay until you show up, you can cancel and re-book anytime if you find a better rate, and they usually have a special that adds additional drivers for no fee. It’s a no brainer. Click here to check rates for your trip.
North Kihei
North Kihei can be windier and it’s a bit further from the majority of restaurants and shopping in Kihei, but the beaches are less crowded.
Ma’alaea Surf Resort: Beachfront with good amenities including a pool. Find specific condo units here.
Sugar Beach Resort: This is the nicest property in this little cluster. The pool area is pretty big and nice. Find specific condo units here.
Kealia Resort: Beachfront with a beautiful lawn and pool. Find specific condo units here.
Kihei Beach Resort: A newer beachfront complex with a nice pool and lawn. Find specific condo units here.
Central Kihei
The most populated part of Kihei, this is where the bulk of the condos, restaurants, and shops are. Kalama Beach, and Kamaole (Kam) I, II, and III are in this stretch.
Menehune Shores Condo: This beachfront property is more isolated, which means fewer people. Find specific condo units here.
The three complexes below are situated on the water in between Kam I and Kam II (two of the most popular beaches in Kihei) and all have nice grounds and pools.
Royal Mauian: Find specific condo units here.
Kamaole Nalu Oceanfront: Find specific condo units here.
Hale Pau Hana: Find specific condo units here.
The three condos below are located in the same area, but across the street from the beach. All three have nice grounds and nice pools, but Kamaole Sands has the biggest grounds.
Aston at the Maui Banyan: Find specific condo units here.
Maui Parkshore: Find specific condo units here.
Kamaole Sands: Find specific condo units here.
South Kihei
The southside of Kihei where it starts to run into Wailea is one of the best places to stay if you’re looking for uncrowded, beautiful beaches.
Kihei Surfside Resort: One of the nicest complexes in Kihei, it’s not cramped, but it has a spacious oceanfront lawn and beautiful pool area. Find specific condo units here.
Mana Kai Maui: Another sprawling beachfront complex with a gorgeous pool. Find specific condo units here.
Hale Hui Kai: A nice complex situated on one of the best beaches on Maui. Find specific condo units here.
Still Looking for a Place to Stay?
Here’s one more really important thing you need to know before your Hawaii trip…
Reservations You Need to Make 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 so a lot of state and national parks used the closure and reopening to institute reservation systems at some of the island’s most popular spots to 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.
Want to read more? Don’t miss some of my most popular (and favorite) posts about Maui: My Favorite Hotels on Maui | Wailea vs Ka’anapali | All of the Wailea Resorts Ranked | Maui Travel Tips | Things You Can ONLY Do on Maui | Where to Find Maui’s Best Condos and Vacation Rentals | My Favorite Road to Hana Itinerary | Road to Hana Tips | Should You Drive the Backside of the Road to Hana? | 10 Day Maui Itinerary | Best Snorkeling Beaches on Maui | Snorkeling Molokini Crater | Old Lahaina Luau Review | Is Mama’s Fish House Worth It? | Tips for Sunrise at Haleakala National Park | Things to Do in Wailea | Things to Do on the North Shore | Things to Do Upcountry | Where to See Turtles on Maui | Whale Watching on Maui | Maui Pineapple Tour | Where to Stay in Hana | Where to Stay in Kihei | Where to Stay in Lahaina & Ka’anapali | Best Beaches in Wailea & Kihei | Fine Dining on Maui | Best Restaurants in Wailea | Best Restaurants in Lahaina | Grand Wailea Luau Review | Maui vs Kauai | Four Seasons Maui Review | Andaz Maui Review | Fairmont Kea Lani Review | Wailea Beach Resort Review | Four Seasons vs Andaz Maui | Andaz Maui vs Wailea Beach Resort | Best Breakfast in Wailea
P.S. Thanks for sticking around and reading this whole post! If you have ANY questions about planning your trip to Hawaii, you can join my free Facebook group here. I’m there answering questions every day and there are 7500+ other friends who have a ton of Hawaii information to share!
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