Why blow $5 to $30 in parking fees a night, when dining and shopping in Maui, when you can find free parking nearby?  I’d rather spend the money drinking or dining with the family.  Pay parking lots are all around Ka’anapali and Lahaina – I won’t talk about those easy to find money pits.  Here are the secret FREE parking locations that are just as convenient to shopping and dining – Shhhhh don’t tell anyone.

Beach Access Parking Lots:

This is the true hidden gem of FREE parking in Maui – look for the blue and white signs; some are round and some are square.  Maui demands that the when resorts are built beach access roads and parking lots be built for free and given to Maui before building permits are issued.  So around EVERY large resort you will see the blue and white access signs.  Unless you know what to look for you will overlook them.  Parking is free and unlimited.  Locals construction workers like to park there during the day but at 4 PM they clear out.

North of the Honua Kai there is a HUGE beach access that we owners paid for with higher purchase price from the building permits that demanded about 10 acres of free parks and parking.  Well folks dining at Duke’s park in the lot and don’t have to pay Honua Kai a penny in parking – why not.

Whalers’ Village:

You can get 3 hours of FREE parking by parking at the paid parking lot and spending at least $15 at some of the shops in Whalers’ Village.  The ABC store is a minimum of $15 but each store has its own minimum – find out before you buy at a store.
TRULY FREE PARKING @ WHALERS VILLAGE, On a Space Available Basis
In addition to the Whalers Village pay garage described above, there is another, little known “Beach Access” parking lot, located about 50 yards south of the Village (towards Lahaina); it is actually a long, narrow area squeezed in between the Village and the Westin Hotel. It is identified by a small, rather nondescript, blue sign for “Beach Access,” and is intended for persons wanting to visit Kaanapali Beach for “recreational purposes” (swimming, boating, hiking, visiting sacred sites…”). There are about 47 parking spots here, each specifically labeled “Beach Access,” and SCATTERED throughout this long, strip lot (containing about 100+ total spaces), which runs perpendicular to the ocean.

There are two caveats, however: (1) There are an even larger number of parking spaces which are for private or commercial use, and vehicles will be towed for violating their use; and (2) the 47 “Beach Access” spaces supposedly “go quick” most mornings, although turnover may be much greater in the afternoons and evenings. My personal belief is that most of these spots are being illegally used by workers and commercial vehicles at the Village (without any enforcement against their use); I suspect that there is actually very little “turnover” among these spaces.

This space is available seven days a week, and offers an inexpensive way to visit Kaanapali Beach all day long, particularly if you arrive early. Weekend use by local residents is believed to make this space even scarcer. There is no time limit, but overnight parking is NOT allowed. NOTE: Technically, evening visitors to the Village do not meet the “recreational purposes” definition for this parking area, but this rule is apparently not enforced.

MORE TRULY FREE, “BEACH ACCESS” PARKING LOTS, as available
There are 5 hotel parking lots, located directly alongside the ocean side of Kaanapali Parkway, all of which have a FEW FREE parking spaces, on a very limited basis. Each can be identified from the Parkway by small, blue and white signs labeled either “Shoreline Access,” or “Parking – Beach Users Only.” Each free lot is physically separate from the main parking lot of each associated hotel. Open spaces are reportedly difficult to actually obtain, with most being taken early in the AM. Turnover does occur, and is believed to be much greater in the afternoons and evenings: You just have to get lucky!

Free parking spaces may be found at the following lots:
Sheraton Maui (inside the ground floor corner of the main, pay Sheraton concrete garage, this physically separate garage entrance is at the SOUTH border of the Sheraton property and contains 21 spaces).

Kaanapali Beach Hotel (mostly low rise buildings, just south of the Sheraton), has 10 spaces and are reached by entering the main driveway to the lobby: the spaces are to the right of the lobby, at the northern corner of the lot…and clearly labeled “Beach Parking Only.”

Kaanapali Alii (located between the Kaanapali Alii condominiums and the Marriott), and totally separate from the main Alii parking lot; this tiny lot has a mere 10 parking spaces; a white-and-black sign INSIDE the lot says “Beach Parking Only.”

Maui Marriott (located within the entrance to the main Marriott lot, but just outside of a large concrete garage; contains just 10 spaces)

Hyatt Hotel (located at the south border of the Hyatt, sharing a large parking lot mainly intended for some Hyatt guests and service vehicles; this area offers most of two rows of 23 public parking spaces. This is reached via a long “service road” between the Hyatt and the golf course; one helpful HINT is to follow the sign that reads “Luau Parking.” There are blue and white signs INSIDE the lot which read “Beach Access Parking,” and specific spaces are so labeled on the pavement. [This area is deceptively hidden, but is a large lot to the south of all the Hyatt buildings.] The Hyatt is located at the southernmost border of Kaanapali Beach, making this lot the furthest distance from Whalers Village: It’s about a 15-20 minute walk.

A seemingly good strategy for finding FREE parking would be to drive directly to the Sheraton (follow the Kaanapali Parkway to the most northerly hotel (the Sheraton), and check to see if space exists inside its covered SOUTH corner of the lot. Continue driving South from there, checking at the large lot between the Village and the Westin Hotel, try your luck at the tiny lots near the Kaanapali Alii and Marriott, and finish by looking in the hard-to-find Hyatt lot. If you decide to pay, the Kaanapali Beach Hotel has the least expensive parking = $10/day.

ALTERNATIVE FREE PARKING, ONE MILE FROM WHALERS VILLAGE, is an easy stroll along a beautiful beach and resort parkway:
Visitors who enjoy walking (and free parking) should consider parking at Kahekili Beach County Park (totally free, and LOTS of space…perhaps for 100+ cars). This park is NORTH of Whalers Village, and located at the very southern edge of the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas; it is about a 25 minute walk to reach Whalers Village…and you will enjoy every minute getting there and back.

If you are primarily interested in just “walking ALONG the beach,” starting at Kahekili Park is an easy and beautiful PAVED stroll along the shore, thru 2 attractive hotel properties (the Royal Lahaina, and Maui Kaanapali Villas, both of which welcome walkabout visitors), and stretching around (and thru) the Sheraton Hotel…and then along the paved Kaanapali Beachwalk leading to the Village…and even beyond to the Hyatt. It’s an easy and gorgeous walk alongside the ocean and the beach, borders a lush golf course and lots of swaying palm trees, and passes seven major resort properties…all with gorgeous grounds, fancy lobbies, and pools for your viewing: IT’S ALL GOOD

Hey, if you plan on walking a lot anyway, it doesn’t make any difference if you start at the free Kahekili Park or at any of the Kaanapali parking lots, IF you are going to be walking between both areas. You can easily make a full day of beach enjoyment by parking at Kahekili, strolling one mile to Whalers Village, and taking your time to visit all 7 major resort properties, lobbies, lush vegetation, and elaborate grounds. There is also excellent swimming at Kahekili Beach Park, which is adjacent to a spectacularly beautiful beach that stretches for about one-half mile to the northern edge of Sheraton @ Black Rock. This beach is actually just as pretty as the famed Kaanapali Beach that is south of the Sheraton…and is never crowded or even “busy.”

Just to put this walk into perspective: Timeshare owners and guests at the popular Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas consider themselves very fortunate to be located on this long stretch of beach that borders their resort and Kahekili Park. Many of these folks stroll and jog this walkway to Whalers Village and beyond EVERY day! [To be completely truthful, there are probably more of them that ride the free shuttle between their Villas and the Westin Hotel, which is adjacent to the Village!]