Are you looking for an adventurous tour into the interior of West Maui? Then I would highly suggest the ATV Tour Lahaina with “Maui Off-Road Adventures.” “Maui Off Road Adventures” is located just 3.8 miles north from Ka’anapali beach, right off Honoapiilani Highway. This tour gives you an up-close look into the interior of West Maui. Who knows what else you will discover.
Maui has proven to be one of the hottest places to experience paradise and to learn about an inspiring culture. The Hawaiian culture puts emphasis in Aloha, a greeting that expresses love and acceptance as well as selflessness. It signifies something greater than just hello and goodbye. It signifies a lifestyle that can change the world. Aloha symbolizes the human responsibility to love one another. We will guide you through the different activities of Maui that will open your mind. You can make something more of your vacation, so you can inspire others with your life-changing adventure.
The ATV tour is about 2 hours. Our tour started at 12 pm and the check-in time is at 11:30am. We arrived a little before check-in time so we could relax and enjoy getting our helmets and goggles fitted and meeting our enthusiastic tour guides. We arrived prepared for rocky and uneven terrain that we would be driving through. We made sure to wear closed-toed shoes and clothes that would protect us from the elements. We didn’t bring anything that was of value.
Our tour was on Wednesday Nov 29th. That day was particularly rainy and the week prior was rainy, so the ground was super muddy and wet! It was perfect! Before the tour, everyone was given rain ponchos. The safety briefing included an explanation of the tour, the route that we would be taking, and the correct way to operate the vehicles while following our tour guides.
Each ATV can hold up to four adults. Compartments are located on the dashboard for small unbreakable items, like a small water bottle or a towel. The ATV is also equipped with a video camera that records the entire ride in a 360-degree view format that you could later purchase after the tour!
On the tour that day there were about 5 groups, and each group operated their own ATV. One of the tour guides was leading the front of the line in an ATV, and the other guiding the back to ensure no one would get lost or drive off the tour path. Both tour guides were happy to help us with anything that we needed. They volunteered to take our pictures and to answer any of our questions.
I was looking forward to this tour because it had been a while since I experienced an ATV. The only other time was about 10 years ago when Chad and I traveled to Utila Island, Honduras to volunteer for the Sea Shepard to protect turtles and their nesting grounds from poachers.
Once everyone was geared up and buckled in, we turned on our engines. We could hear the engines rumble and we began to feel ourselves get fired up with excitement. The train of ATVs snaked through the backroads and immediately we entered into the interior. I held on to the hand holds as Chad drove over the bumpy dirt path. Chad was careful not to get too close or too far from the ATV in front of him.
We experienced seeing different kinds of plant life and unexplored rock formations. Who knows what is hidden beneath all the foliage! We had climbed to a height of more than 1,200 feet and from the viewpoints that we visited, and we could see the nearby islands of Molokai, and Lanai and the coastline between Ka’anapali and Kapalua.
The tour took a break every 30 minutes, and our tour guides gave us a short and interesting presentation about the environment and the history of the island. As we scanned the views of the landscape, I found that it was exceptionally quiet because we were far from the heavily populated areas. At one point of the tour, the tour guides demonstrated planting an A’ali’i tree. On every tour they plant a native Hawaiian tree to help restore the original landscape.
Lahaina was once called the Venice of the Pacific because of the natural streams that flowed down from the mountains and nourished a thriving ecosystem that fed the Native Hawaiians. The area was once a fertile land that supported big native trees, wetland taro terraces, fishponds and crops like banana, breadfruit, and coconut groves. In the late 1800s, all that changed. The streams were diverted, and the crops were cleared away for the vast pineapple and sugar cane fields, changing the climate to become dry. Usually, the dirt road is very dusty because of the lack of rain.
The A’ali’i tree is a symbol of strength and endurance. It is used for medicinal purposes to help treat coughs and used as a diuretic. The wood is used for making canoes, spears, and even fishhooks, because the wood is denser than the ocean water. It is also used for lei making and to create yellow, pink, and red dyes.
This tour is top on my list of fun and unique things to do on Maui because you are given a different perspective of the island, as well as learning about the natural landscape of West Maui. We climbed hills that overlooked canyons and valleys. We drove through forest tunnels, along the edge of cliffsides and next to towering rock walls. We even crossed streams and through huge river-like puddles. If it wasn’t for the poncho, I would have been soaked in mud!
I highly recommend this tour if you are looking for a thrilling and different way to explore West Maui’s nature preserve.
To book your ATV tour, click on the link below: