Come to Maui, and you will most certainly not miss sunrise - at least not on the first day or two of your visit. Hawaii has it's own time zone, Hawaii Standard Time, which is 3 hours behind the Pacific Time zone, and 5 hours behind US Central Time. Hawaii doesn't observe that lovely thing we know as Daylight Savings Time, so subtract an hour to the time difference in the winter months. Now in October we are 3 hours behind the North American West Coast, come winter, it will just be 2.
Kihei is located at 20.7 degrees latitude. As a result, we don't have the fluctuations in sunrise and sunset many our guests experience where they live. The earliest sunrise happens is 5:44am in June. By contrast, in December/January it will be as late as 7:05am. Yes, that's right! Especially with the time difference, it should be no problem for you to see sunrise at least on the first morning or two of your arrival (especially if you've brought your young kids along)! The sun sets by 7:11pm in June, in December/January it will be as early as 5:45pm.
If you want to make sure you don't miss a single one of our beautiful sunrises or sunsets, here is a great resource for you... http://www.sunrisesunset.com/USA/Hawaii.asp. Select Kihei as your city, and then choose the month of your stay, and it gives you a great calendar to print!
What to do at sunrise? Well..... here is one of the top things tourists do on Maui:
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| Watch sunrise at the top of our resident volcano, Haleakala! |
There are a few tips for catching sunrise on Haleakala. First, allow plenty of time to get there. During the day you can count on a good 2 hours to drive up the volcano from Kihei. Allow extra time driving in the dark, especially as the drive is unfamiliar to you. Allow extra time for dealing with all those 'tourists!!' who don't know where they're going either. And also, get there early! There is a large parking lot, but it sure fills up fast at sunrise, and you are not allowed to park elsewhere up there. It would sure be a shame to miss taking those sunrise pictures over the crater.
Remember, there are no gas stations and there is no food/drink available in the national park (there is an entrance fee - $10/car). Bring your own supplies and dress for the cool weather! Here is a handy website from Haleakala National Park
If you prefer not to drive, ask about bus tours at one of the many activity centers around the island (beware of timeshare related 'deals').
Then after your day is over - enjoy a sunset before, during or after dinner!
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| Enjoy sunset at one of South Maui's beaches - I took this picture from the lanai (balcony) of our Kihei Surfside condo. |
Labels: Kihei Surfside 405, life on Maui, volcano
