Of all the Hawaiian Islands, Maui is one of the most beautiful and more popular vacation destinations due to its lush greenery and pristine beaches. Although Maui may not be as developed as Oahu, Maui is still home to luxurious hotels and excellent dining, shopping, and entertainment. Maui is especially popular for its dining because many restaurants use produce grown from the numerous local farms on the island. Aside from attracting famous chefs from around the world, Maui offers cuisines of every type such as Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, and Mexican. Luaus are also a popular evening attraction for tourists. The Old Lahaina Luau is one of the most popular luaus that offer tasty Hawaiian dishes such as kalua pig, poi, haupia, and other familiar foods, all accompanied by entertainment ranging from Hawaiian music, to hula, to fire dancing. Shopping is also popular on Maui due to its wealth of designer and local shops and boutiques. There are also many great art galleries selling the beautiful art hand crafted by locals.

Maui is also a great destination for those who love the outdoor activities. Biking, diving, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, whale watching, and even just driving are popular activities. The Hana Highway is a popular road for driving along so tourists can travel along a winding lava shore, past beaches, through forests, and to the summit of Haleakala. Some popular places to visit include nostalgic plantation towns, the historic whaling town of Lahaina, the Maui Ocean Center, which is the state’s largest aquarium, and the Iao Needle and West Maui Mountains.

It is rare for a person to be able to see snow and sand within a few minutes of each other. It is even rarer for a person to have the opportunity to swim in the ocean and snowboard on the same day. For those potential buyers of houses for sale in Hawaii, the ability to enjoy the diverse geographical landscape of Hawaii is one of the best features of life in the islands. The Big Island’s Mauna Kea is 13,796 feet tall when measured from the surface of the Pacific Ocean. However, the towering mountain is actually taller than Mount Everest when measured from its base on the Pacific Ocean floor – 33,500 feet! As with all other mountains in Hawaii, Mauna Kea was formed as a result of erupting magma from the floor of the ocean.

The theory of the “hotspot” says that as the Pacific tectonic plate moves across the hotspot, the magma bursts through
the water, eventually creating an island. This theory is being validated thanks to the creation of the Loihi Seamount south of the Big Island. Loihi is expected to be the ninth Hawaiian Island several million years from now. Maui’s Haleakala is similar to Mauna Kea.