Downtown Maui is packed with tourists from all over, filled with bright lights, overpriced restaurants, and a lot of noise. But once you leave the overcrowded downtown, Maui is truly special. Maui is an absolutely stunning Hawaiian island. It’s lush and green with roads that lead you to a tropical paradise. For us, the quieter sides of Maui, the areas with fewer people are our most memorable. But it can be challenging to avoid the crowds on such a heavily trafficked island. So we have some tips on how to avoid the crowds and make your trip to Maui truly paradise.

1 Start your day early.

Starting the day early is always my recommendation, vacation or not. Waking up early allows for silent moments before the rest of the world wakes up. It’s always my favorite time of day. Since the nearby coffee shops didn’t open until much later, we made our morning coffee and headed out the door. With no one around and the sun just rising, we had the entire beach to ourselves. We spent these few silent moments along the rhythmic waves, taking it all in. This also meant that we were one of the first to arrive anywhere we wanted to explore or when trying a new breakfast spot.

2 Go to Iao Valley State Park

The beauty of this place is unlike anything I’ve seen. I felt like I was entering a scene from Jurassic Park which to me would be quite dreamy. Iao Valley State Park is known for its viewings of Kuka‘emoku, the Iao Needle. You can see Kuka‘emoku from several different points in the park, standing high above the valley floor. There are several trailheads within the park, allowing for a simple stroll, day-hike, or longer backpacking trips. We did the small paved trail that leads through the botanical gardens of the park along the river but would love to hike deeper into the valley one day. Iao Valley State Park is also an important spiritual and historical place for the Hawaiian people. The battle between Kamehameha I and the Maui army took place in this valley, in which Kamehameha I and his troops won and brought the islands of Hawaii together. With all of its beauty and history, I was surprised that it wasn’t more crowded.

3 Find your own private beaches.

I cannot stress this enough. Some beaches on Maui are packed with people due to their popularity, access to parking lots, and the ‘best’ places to snorkel. But finding your own private, that’s where the magical beach moments happen. Where no one’s around and no public restrooms, just the sound of the waves, the warmth from the sun, and sand in your toes. This is what we lived for on Maui. We would simply find a spot to pull off, park the car, and walk through the ‘barrier’ of trees towards the endless blue water. One of my all-time favorite moments while on Maui was on a random beach. Tim and I had some cans of Maui beer, two types of the most delicious poke, and sat on the beach listening to the waves crash on the sand. We practically sat there for an hour without no one in sight.

4 Do the Road to Hana, but when the weather isn’t ‘perfect’.

Personally, I love a good rainy day. But when traveling, especially while on a tropical island, rainy weather isn’t always welcomed. Except when that means that the Road to Hana becomes almost vacant. I had read horror stories in which people were stacked up in traffic for hours on the Road to Hana, taking all day to complete it. It took us all day too, but that’s because we constantly stopped at waterfalls, beaches, and trails to truly experience the area.

Along the drive, it rained on and off. There would be brief moments of sunlight and then suddenly raindrops. This meant that when we stopped to take a small hike to a watering hole and waterfall, we had it all to ourselves. Not only that, but we swam in the waterhole just us two for almost 30 minutes before more people showed up. Now, something we did fail on was bringing snacks. Regardless of it being a long day due to traffic or sightseeing, bring snacks! There’s food along the way, but most of them were closed the day we went. So bring snacks!

5 Take the Path Less Traveled

Now, of course, I recommend this anywhere. But this especially is true when traveling. Our favorite places often come from paths less traveled and moments unplanned. While on the Road to Hana there was a random road that we had no idea where it lead to. After driving past it twice, we decided to turn back around and take the road. It looked as if it hadn’t been traveled for some time and was a little rough for a two-wheel car. Thankfully we had our four-wheel-drive jeep and headed down the path.

If at any point we felt it wasn’t safe or we would get stuck, we would have turned around. But the road quickly smoothed out and became easy to drive on. And it took us to the most beautiful private beach of them all. This was my other favorite moment while on Maui. It seemed as though we were a million miles from anyone and any type of civilization. It was simply us and the waves alongside the long stretch of beach. It was pure heaven.

We loved Maui and the tropical gems we experienced. In fact, we plan to go back one day and car camp along the beach, right where the locals do. Because eating the best poke you’ve ever had, with a beer in your hand as the waves come crashing on the beach with only a few others to share it with, is absolute paradise.