25 Unforgettable Places to Go in 2026: Māui

Photo: HTA / Tor Johnson

West Māui’s restaurant community has become a bellwether of resilience. Longstanding favorites in Kapalua and Kāʻanapali continue to draw diners, while newer hubs like Coco Deck — opened in 2024 after its building survived the fire — offer a glimpse of a food scene evolving with intention. Hotels that had pivoted to helping workers and people displaced by the fire, like Aston Kaʻanapali Shores, are back to regular programming and encouraging visitors back.

Across the island, festivals and events are again shaping the calendar, offering visitors concrete ways to participate in local life while directing spending toward recovery. Across the island, 2026 brings one of Māui’s most robust event calendars in years: January’s Māui Oceanfront Marathon and “Buy Back the Beach” conservation fundraiser; February’s World Whale Day festivities, Māui Open Studios art tour, and the Lahaina Food & Wine Festival held at venues outside the burn zone. Spring adds the East Maui Taro Festival in Hāna, a community-centered celebration of agriculture, food sovereignty, and Native Hawaiian culture and Japanese heritage celebrations at Māui Matsuri.

Photo: HTA / Ben Ono

Summer highlights include the 45th annual Kapalua Wine & Food Festival and the inaugural Wailuku Film Festival, set across historic upcountry and Wailuku venues. Ocean culture remains a constant: the community-driven Paddle Imua race, youth-centered Menehune Mayhem at Ho‘okipa, and the global anticipation surrounding big-wave season at Peʻahi (Jaws). And in November, the Māui Jim Invitational — one of college basketball’s premier tournaments — returns to the Lahaina Civic Center, a meaningful symbol of continuity for the island.

Traveling to Māui in 2026 means savoring its beaches, food, and culture while supporting residents, workers, and small businesses whose recovery depends on a steady, respectful return of visitors.