Plan · Stages 02 & 04
Prepare well, travel easy
The unglamorous work, done early, is what makes a Maui trip feel effortless. These are the program facts and checklists from the guide, checked against current sources in October 2026.
The ten stages
Researching
Start with the shape of the island — its shores, seasons, and distances — before a single booking is made.
Preparing
The unglamorous essentials, handled early — documents, gear, and honest expectations about the island.
Booking
Flights, rooms, tables, and tours — secured in the right order, with the hardest reservations first.
Pre-Travel Checklists
Final confirmations, packing, and the small checks that quietly save a trip.
Transportation
Arriving at Kahului (OGG), collecting the car, and moving around the island without friction.
Lodging
Where to base yourselves, shore by shore — from the quiet south to the north-shore towns.
Dining
The tables worth planning a trip around, and the small rooms worth booking months ahead.
Excursions
Guided days on the water and up the mountain, arranged while the best departures still have room.
Sights to See
The places that give Maui its character — approached slowly, and with respect.
Adventures to Enjoy
Snorkeling, surf, and open water — the island at full stretch.
Trusted-traveler programs
Trusted-traveler programs, at their current published fees. If you fly to Hawaii even once a year, one of these pays for itself in a single saved hour.
TSA PreCheck
| New enrollment | $76.75 (IDEMIA) · $79.95 (CLEAR) · $85 (Telos) — the fee depends on the provider |
|---|---|
| Renewal | $58.75–$79.95 · valid 5 years |
| Children | Age 12 and under ride along with an enrolled parent or guardian; ages 13–17 on the same reservation |
| Timing | Most applicants hear back in 3–5 days (officially, allow up to 60) |
CLEAR Plus
| Price | $209 per year at the standard rate (a $199 rate survives through some airline loyalty programs) |
|---|---|
| What it is | A private identity-verification company — not a government program; it speeds the ID check, then you still pass TSA screening |
| Children | Under 18 free with an enrolled member |
Global Entry
| Price | $120 (raised from $100 on 1 October 2024) |
|---|---|
| Worth knowing | Includes TSA PreCheck — for most Hawaii travellers this is the one to get |
| Children | No minimum age; children enrol with a parent or guardian's consent |
NEXUS
| Price | $120 (raised from $50 on 1 October 2024) |
|---|---|
| Children | Under 18 pay no fee when a parent or guardian is a member or applying at the same time |
SENTRI
| Price | $120 flat (harmonised on 1 October 2024) |
|---|---|
| Note | Relevant only if your travels also cross the Mexican border regularly |
Sunscreen, precisely
On Maui, only mineral sunscreen — zinc oxide or titanium dioxide — may be sold, given out, or used without a prescription (Maui County Ordinance 5306, in force since October 2022). Statewide, sunscreens containing oxybenzone or octinoxate cannot be sold at all (Act 104). There is no ban on spray formats as such, but drift makes them a poor choice around reefs and other swimmers. Pack mineral sunscreen, or buy it on arrival — every island store stocks it.
Before you go
- Make the hard reservations first — the small dining rooms and the best departures fill weeks out, and everything else can arrange itself around them.
- Footwear: one pair that can get wet and stay comfortable. Reef shoes earn their suitcase space.
- Provision on arrival: a single warehouse run stocks a condo kitchen for the week and ends the daily grocery errand.
- Download the island for offline use — coverage thins on the far side of Haleakalā and along the Hana coast.
Departure-day checklist
- Confirm tomorrow's transport — car, shuttle, or ride — and tonight's alarm.
- Charge everything: phones, cameras, the battery pack.
- Pause the mail; set the house to away; locks and lights on timers.
- Boarding passes and ID where your hand expects them. Then stop checking.