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Maui Airports

© Lottie Tagupa

Maui is currently riding a wave of popularity that currently surpasses any other island in Hawaii. Maui is a wonderful place with great resorts, golf courses and sightseeing that makes it a wonderful vacation spot. However, the choices one must make to get the most out of that special Hawaii vacation are much more difficult than for other islands.

Maui has three airports and two major resort areas. Planning a successful vacation depends on making the right choices in these areas. First, the airports. The largest and most centralized is the Kahului airport. It's located just 20 minutes from the Wailea Resort and Kihei areas, but an hour or more from the West Maui resort areas. Many airlines service this airport non-stop from many domestic and international gateways. Inter-island service is offered daily from 6 a.m. until about 9 p.m. Flights to and from Honolulu operate about every 20 minutes.

The Kapalua airport is the most under-utilized airport on Maui. It is small and intimate, and is limited to inter-island service on Island Air only during daylight hours. This is the airport of choice if your plans include staying in the West maui resort areas of Lahaina, Kaanapali and Kapalua. This airport works especially well if you are planning on connecting service in and out of Maui from Honolulu. Kapalua airport is just five mintues from all the West Maui resort areas, and car rentals arelocated adjacent to the airport site.

Maui's third airport is Hana. Service is limited to one or two departures and arrivals daily. Hana flights are used primarily for those who are spending time in the Hana area.

In my next article we will concentrate on the Maui resort areas.