Maui Tour Guides

These guides are often locals who are retired and actually do this for fun.  Some are haole (caucasians) who have lived on Maui most of their lives. They have all told us that in one way or another that the road to Hana gets in your blood.  Many even go out to Hana even on their days off!  Some have family in Hana, some grew up in Hana and all are not only proud but honored to share their Aloha and knowledge of the island and Hana with visitors from around the world.  Often we hear them referring to their guests as “my people”.  They feel that showing people the Hawaiʻian way of thinking and living is something that can make a real difference in the world.  To be honest, most of them would make great stand up comedians too!  Laughter is definitely a big part of the Hawaiʻian culture.

What people enjoy the most from these guides are the stories of life and living on Maui that they share throughout the day.  A guide’s childhood story about how her parents would not let them play in the streams alone in Hana until they could hear a stone thrown into the water rolling with the current becomes part of the tour. The streams of Hana often have unannounced flash floods that start high on the mountain and roll all the way down to the often sunny coastline.  When this happens the only warning is the sound of the rocks being pushed by a wall of water.  As she put it “growing up in Hana you have to have jungle smarts.”

At Valley Isle Excursions our picnic lunch is stored in a hot box (prepared fresh that morning) on the van so a stop for lunch can be done just about anywhere.  Usually this BBQ chicken meal is served up at a flower farm, overlooking Hana Bay or at Wai’anapanapa State Park.  With real plates and silverware, the guides unpack everything, serve the food buffet style, and pack it all back up. This all takes in about an hour and then it’s back on the road.