EAST MAUI

Even though Hana, at the extreme eastern end of Maui, is only a little over 50 miles from Central Maui, it can take as much as 3 hours to drive from the Hasegawa Store, Hana’s general store, to the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Center in Kahului. Again, this seeming inconvenience is a highly treasured fact of life for East Maui people. To live happily here, people have to be glad about the isolation. It is after all a matter of being “trapped” in an incomparably lush tropical landscape where neighborliness and mutuality are primary values.

East Maui is the nominal destination of tourists on the famous Road to Hana, but many visitors are disappointed to find so little when they arrive in “Heavenly Hana.” For those who live here or want to, the apparent nothing (one resort hotel, no major restaurants outside of it) is what they are seeking. East Maui is the area of the island least affected by tourism, the place least changed by time and progress.

The population in Hana is small and mostly local as it is in nearby areas: the Ke‘anae peninsula and the old communities of Wailua and Nahiku to the west, and tiny population centers like Ha‘o‘u, Mu‘olea and, behind the volcano, Kaupo.

If the antidote for stress is relaxation and the cure for dazed rushing is a lazy slow-down, Hana has the corner on setting things right.

Cultural sites and remarkable views are commonplace in East Maui, and everything that is really necessary is nearby… or the pace of life is slow enough to encompass waiting for it to be delivered.

Schools in East Maui naturally tend to be quite small. Hana High & Elementary School usually has fewer than 400 students enrolled for its 13 grades, K to 12. Ke‘anae has an early grades school, but has never had more than 10 K-to-3 students at a time.

The scale that quietly proclaims “small is beautiful” in visitor accommodations, population, and so much else, pervades life in East Maui. Many superstars and celebrities have their Maui hideaways here. Some live here full-time, others escape to East Maui from Hollywood and New York when they can, but the shops and facilities of Hana show no evidence of the demands of grand lifestyles.

Some real estate agents, realtors and realty companies specialize in East Maui properties. They can give accurate and detailed answers to your questions.