WEST MAUI

West Maui, where the visitor industry began in Maui County, is today unequivocally dominated by tourism and world-class resorts, but it is also a good place to live. People who are attracted to West Maui are often those who like having the restaurants and nightclubs of the major resorts nearby or those who have the leisure to enjoy the activities and attractions that have developed as part of the visitor industry.

However, West Maui has both old and new residential areas that have developed independent of the resorts. Lahaina, Lahainaluna and Olowalu, for example, as well as more northerly areas like Honokowai were settled communities long before the 1960s start of tourism. More recently, large tracts of former agricultural land have been developed for full-time and, as often as not, part-time Maui residences.

Sugar cane operations, vital to West Maui for so long, have been gone since the 1990s, but pineapple operations, while diminished, are still in full swing in the northerly areas of West Maui. Other low-impact agriculture is increasing in the twenty-first century. West Maui is separated from South and Central Maui by the majestic West Maui Mountains—actually the eroded remains of a shield volcano—and people who live there often live as though they were actually on a separate island, traveling to the larger, Haleakala-side, areas of Maui. Everything is there from restaurants to shopping, recreation and scenic areas to schools through grade 12 and, of course, endless beaches and bays.

The weather on the west side, protected from the trade winds by the mountains, tends to be drier and warmer than most of Maui. These nearly perpetual sunny days are just what resort guests want for long days on the beach and in the water, and the temperate (but seldom actually cool) evenings make it pleasant to enjoy the many outdoor and open-air dining opportunities.

Shopping options are growing steadily with the development of residences. Already, basic, day-to-day shopping needs are handled by the stores at the Lahaina Cannery Mall where a supermarket and drugstore share space with many shops more appropriate to the visitor population.

West Maui is often developed as estates or gentleman farmer properties, although apartment buildings, condos complexes and less luxurious homes have been built in recent years. Some real estate agents, realtors and realty companies specialize in West Maui properties. They can give accurate and detailed answers to your questions.