Awapuhi Adventures | Maui Private Tours — Local services in Maui

My wife and I did this tour with a coworker and his girlfriend. There is no way we would have enjoyed this a fraction as much if we had done a self-guided tour.

Matt was an excellent guide on multiple levels: He is very friendly. It was very easy to talk with him, for a long time. He never pushed you so that we stayed 'on schedule'. If we really enjoyed a particular spot and wanted to stay there longer than most people, he supported it. It was our personal, private tour, and he honored that description. Our tour was about 12 hours from start to finish. Yours can be shorter if you want, but we milked it for all it was worth. He is extremely knowledgeable about Hawaii: the history, the culture, the economy, agriculture, the flora and fauna, etc. Seriously, he is a treasure trove of information, a walking Hawaii encyclopedia. There were very few questions that he did not know the answers to, and we asked him a lot of questions. I did not think learning about Hawaiian history, culture, etc would be so interesting, but it really was. He took photos for us, photos that we never would have capture on our own, both because it is hard to take pictures of yourself (you need someone else to take them for you) and also because a lot of the pictures were taken in the water. He knew of all of the cool places to go. Some of them had no tourists, though most had at least a couple. He provided most of the things we needed for the day: towel, sunscreen, a delicious lunch, etc. He was knowledgable about a lot of other random stuff too, which made it even more enjoyable to talk w/ him. We talked about business, technology, and more.

Things we did: cliff jumping into water to the base of a waterfall. My wife did it too, which was the first time she had ever jumped off something that high (probably 15-20 feet high). She was very excited swimming in freshwater pools and going through a waterfall so that we are right behind the waterfall short hikes to view multiple waterfalls and freshwater pools black sand beach gorgeous red sand beach (the most beautiful location I've seen in Maui) blow hole lave tube

Things we ate/drank: had the best banana bread I've ever tasted. I guess banana bread is a thing in Maui had a coconut split open for us and drank the coconut water straight from the coconut had the most delicious coconut ice-cream I've ever tasted had guava right off the tree that Matt got for us Matt provided a lunch of sandwiches (assortment of meats and cheeses, avocado and tomato, and condiments), taro chips and hummuss, fresh cut pineapple, chocolate covered almonds (or were they macadamia nuts?), iced tea, and probably more that I'm forgetting

This tour was definitely worth it.

For those who get car sick, the good news is that you do not spend much time in the car in a given stretch. The longest stretch was maybe 20 minutes on the way to Hana, but since we took so much time at some of the spots, on the way back we couldn't stop much because it was already getting late, so we spent a long stretch in the car (maybe 90 minutes...?). So if you get car sick, be prepared with...

We often book tours while on vacation; seldom do we feel compelled to write a review. We just HAD to write a review for this tour. While in Maui with our two daughter (17 and 21 years old), we decided to book a private guided tour to experience the road to Hana. With so many options, it was tough to decide which tour company to book with. After much research, we came upon Awapuhi Adventures. This company has an informative website with very competitive private tour pricing. After reading all the wonderful reviews, we could tell that Awapuhi Adventures is a mom and pop operation that focuses on a very customized and personal experience. The owner Susan contacted us soon after booking to provide information and make sure all of our questions were answered. She also kept us informed via emails as our tour date approached.

When we arrived promptly at our meeting point, Kapono our guide, was already there waiting to greet us. Some of the initial qualities that stood out about Kapono were his sincerity and genuine desire to find out about our expectations for the day. After intently listening, he did and amazing job providing our family with a customized adventurous itinerary. It was indeed an adventure of a lifetime. Our tour included visiting picturesque black and red sand beaches, exploring lava tubes, bamboo forests, clambering through rivers to beautiful waterfalls and breathtaking cliff jumping. He expertly guided us at our pace. He knew when to move on and when to take a break.

During our lunch break, Kapono provided our family with an amazing ocean view picnic. Even more enjoyable than the food, was the company. We were able to get to know Kapono throughout the day. We could write an entire review about our guide. But for a quick summation, Kapono is a knowledgeable native guide. Who made our family feel safe and provided encouragement when needed. He is humorous and relatable which created an atmosphere of fun, making the time fly by as we all laughed throughout the day. What began as a tour with a guide, progressed into Kapono becoming part of our family. He not only met our expectations, he exceeded them! We did not want the day to end.

During our next visit to Maui, we will definitely be scheduling with Awapuhi Adventures for our next great adventure. If you are trying to decide what tour to book and want a fun, high quality experience that is customized to your needs, then we recommend Awapuhi Adventures without hesitation. If you’re lucky, you’ll get Kapono as your guide :)

The...

The private tour is absolutely the best way to experience the road to Hana! While it is somewhat more expensive than the group tours, there is no doubt in my mind that I got my money's worth and then some. Our driver Trena was an A+++ in every way. She was very communicative and knowledgeable about all aspects of the journey; not just giving us the usual "tourist info" about the many sites along the way, but also explaining a lot about Maul culture, history and her own personal relationships with the locals. It's one thing to see a majestic waterfall, that can be a wonderful experience in isolation. But to see this wonder of nature while Trena points out the owner of the waterfall and surrounding private land and gives us the back story is something that you just don't get on any generic tour.

Trena and the owner of Awapuhi Tours also knew that we wanted to see the backside of the island, on the south side of Hana. Most tour operators won't venture south of Hana anymore, largely because of the continual erosion of the road. It was especially tricky during our trip in early November because the Hana area and the backside had received an unusually large amount of rain for 5 consecutive days before our tour. I cannot emphasize enough how perfectly Trena and Susan navigated that extremely fine line between accommodating the customer's wishes vs. looking out for everyone's safety. Trena took us as far as she could along the backside/south side before a road closure forced us to turn around.

I should also mention that Trena is an excellent driver. At no point did my wife, my 85 year-old mother or I become anxious over our safety. Trena is a pro in every way. All-in-all, our custom private tour of the road to Hana was far and away the highlight of our trip, and far and away superior to the group tour to Hana that we took last year. I have sometimes regretted over-paying for some tourist experiences in the past, but for this tour with Trena and Awapuhi, it was absolutely worth every penny and is something that we have every intention of...