Staying on Maui is expensive; there’s no doubt about that. Today we are covering costs and a bonus gift if you decide to visit.
Just how expensive is Maui?
In the last month reported, October 2022, the island boasted the highest hotel rates in the state once again. The average daily rate was $528, up more than 56% compared with 2019. And in coveted Wailea (pictured above), the average rate soared to $830, which might seem like a deal since that number hit $1,000+ this past summer. The relative bargain spot is the West Maui area from Lahaina to Kapalua, pegged at $472. In October, Maui vacation rentals averaged $343 per night, +53% compared with 2019.
Is Maui sold out?
Largely so, especially for in-demand acommodations. We spoke with multiple hotel and vacation rental managers this week and heard the same story. “We are largely sold out heading into 2023.” Checking recently on the OTA’s like Booking, we found the same thing. It looks like there is simply no end to the demand for Maui vacations, and 2023 is set to be a banner year for the island.
New promotion from the Maui Visitors Bureau.
The state-funded visitor bureau and Raw Elements have partnered to offer mineral-based sunscreen at no cost at 20 locations. You will find this at the busiest beaches on Maui. While it doesn’t remove the burnout feeling caused by higher prices, it may help to soothe it by doing something good for the environment.
Supporting regenerative tourism, per the bureau, the dispensers are to be found at these beaches:
- Baldwin Beach Park
- Haycraft Beach Park
- Hulopoe Bay, Lanai
- Honolua Farms Food Truck at Honolua Bay
- Hookipa Beach Park
- Kalepolepo Beach Park
- Kamaole 1 Beach Park
- Kamaole 2 Beach Park
- Kamaole 3 Beach Park
- Kanaha Beach Park
- Keawakapu Beach (2 dispensers)
- Launiupoko Beach Park
- Papalaua Wayside Park
- Pohaku Beach Park
- Waianapanapa State Park
- Whalerʻs Village (4 dispensers)
The new Maui sunscreen law started in October.
Sunscreen ends up in the ocean. A new law that went into effect in October bans all non-mineral sunscreens across Maui County, including Lanai and Molokai. Effective December 1, the Big Island enacted a similar law.
It became illegal to use, sell or distribute sunscreens that aren’t mineral-based without a prescription. Sunscreens must be made using zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as active ingredients to be allowed. Those are the ones the USDA is proposing to be both “safe and effective.” Maui hopes that the law will be one step in protecting coral reefs that comprise a critical aspect of Hawaii’s fragile marine ecosystem.
Controversy about sunscreens.
Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide-based sunscreens are all the talk, especially in Hawaii. These “safe and effective” active ingredients allowed by Maui and Hawaii counties are considered physical barriers that offer greater protection than chemical sunscreens. That is also true according to the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Some of you have disagreed with that assessment in previous comments. Others believe that sunscreens of all types should be encouraged when skin cancer rates are increasing and more research is still needed about sunscreens. That was corroborated by a report from the National Academy of Sciences, which indicated an ongoing lack of confirming data regarding sunscreens. Others believe that reef-safe sunscreens aren’t necessarily better for marine life.
As the debate continues, look for Hawaii to update its sunscreen laws in conjunction with future findings from the FDA.
It took me a while to get to this article, but I couldn’t; help but notice that your reference to the picture, “And in coveted Wailea (pictured above), looks very much like a photo of Kaanapali beach looking South from Black Rock.
The picture label is incorrect. That’s kaanapali Beach