If there's one thing we know about the holiday season, travel is at an all-time high, especially here in Maui. So many people love making the trip to the Valley Isle, where they can spend their winter months laying out on the beach and exploring lush forests and crystal clear waters. For some, the 2022 holiday season will be their first time visiting the island! So we thought we'd put together our favorite seven things you should know before stepping off the plane at OGG. 

1. Maui and The Valley Isle are one and the same.

If you have been racking your brain about why "Valley Isle" pops up when you're googling what to do on Maui, don't be alarmed. Maui and all the other Hawaiian Islands have famous nicknames that highlight something

Summer is typically the time to hit the refresh button and take time for ourselves during the year's warmest weather and sunniest days. 

Once you find the quiet spots and serene hideaways tucked into the corners of the island, you won't find anything better. Your personal oasis can be under the falls of Nailiilihaele or in the tide pools of Ho'okipa. 

We've rounded up our personal favorites of Maui spots that ooze our serenity and calmness. 

Alii Kula Lavender Farm

The Alii Kula Lavender farm is an enormous flora farm with about 55,000 lavender plants perched on the slopes of Haleakala. Hideaway among the nooks and crannies they have tucked away throughout the property, including a secluded gazebo that looks out onto the West Maui

Maui, and the rest of Hawai'i, is often considered one of the most beautiful places in the world, but sometimes, you visit somewhere on Maui that is entirely out of this world. These seven places on Maui will have you wondering when you left Earth for a striking alien planet or fantasy oasis.

Haleakala

Haleakala, Maui's famous dormant volcano that sits 10,023 feet above sea level, is more than just a breathtaking sunrise destination. Within the fertile crater lies a hiking path that resembles something out of this world. Deep red sand, plants native to the crater alone, views of Maui's skyline, and rock gardens are only some fantastic sights to see inside the Haleakala crater. This is a place where you can, quite literally, have your

Just above the white clouds that sit on top of Maui's upcountry skyline lies magnificent Haleakala. This unique location brings stories of ancient and current Hawaiian culture alive, and it serves to preserve the relationship between the ʻāina (native land) and the Hawaiian people. In Hawaiian, Haleakala means "house of the sun," and legend has it that the demigod Maui lassoed the sun as he stood on the volcano's peak, delaying its descent so that his family had more time in the day to grow their crops.

The dormant volcano, one of the most treasured sites on the island, sits at 10,023 feet above sea level and is home to some of the most breathtaking sights. Along its fertile crater are many hikeable pathways that take you on a journey through lush

Wayfinding and navigation are some of the essential parts of the Hawaiian and Polynesian cultures. Polynesian voyagers were one of the first people to travel long distances in early ages, so navigation was crucial and an integral part of places like Hawaii's historical and cultural heritage. 

"Before the invention of the compass, the sextant and clocks, or more recently, the satellite-dependant Global Positioning System (GPS), Pacific Islanders navigated open-ocean voyages without instruments, using instead their observations of the stars, the sun, the ocean swells, and other signs of nature for clues to direction and location of a vessel at sea," Hokule'a.com. 

 As recently as 50 years ago, the deep knowledge of navigation and wayfinding

Astronomy is a part of Hawaii’s deep-rooted history. Without it, the islands of Hawaii would not be inhabited. Throughout the Pacific, there are islands that would never have been discovered without the ancient practice of navigation and the study of stars. 

We spoke with Dr. Roy R. Gal, Associate Astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy, the University of Hawaii at Manoa to get his insight on the significance of the stars in Hawaii.

Dr. Gal studies how galaxies like our own Milky Way evolve over time, and how this varies in different places in the Universe. He uses telescopes from all over the world, including Mauna Kea, to look at far-away galaxies. 

“We see galaxies as they were a long time ago, and trace the changes over time - much like

Hawaiian legend goes that the demigod Maui, after whom our island is named, was determined to capture the sun to slow it down so his mother could have enough light in the day to dry her kapa cloth. So one night, Maui journeyed to the peak of Haleakalā to wait for the sun to rise. As it began to illuminate the sky that morning, he lassoed the sun, convincing it to slow its descent for part of the year to make the day last longer. 

Today, millions of Maui residents and visitors have made the same trek the summit of the dormant volcano, waiting for the sun as it rises over the crater. Towering over the island of Maui, Haleakalā, meaning the "house of the sun,” offers one of the ecologically diverse landscapes in the world and one of the state’s most