Maui | JOURNEYS
Laid-back Pā'ia is a place to linger.
Tourists from around the world have been visiting the Hawaiian islands to soak up its surf culture, bask in its warm weather and enjoy cocktails in hotels fit for royals since the 1920s. Those same things drew me to O'ahu at age 19 as a backpacker and lured me to Maui 20 years later with my family. But there's a lot more to Hawai'i than beach-bumming and water play. Hawai'i has heart and a strong community, both of which became more apparent when fatal wildfires tore through one of Maui's main tourist towns, Lahaina, in August 2023. Brave residents helped each other and tourists to safety, offered refuge and continue to look after those who've lost homes, cars, income, and not least family and friends. This kindness is part of their very being, it's their aloha.
Before the fires, the tight-knit community of Lahaina, the
