Kahului Harbor

Surf Guide

Located on the north-central coast, is Kahului, Maui's largest city and most important hub, home to the island's main airport and largest harbor. While hardly the desolate, picturesque surf spot that hopeful Hawaiian travelers may imagine, Kahului Harbor is a worthy -- and super fun (for the more experienced surfer) -- place to get your feet wet. There are several good breaks inside and outside of the harbor, which all light up on a solid North swell, but the best wave is the right on the west side of the harbor. Large swells push through the wide entrance with energy refracting out of the deeper channel and crossing up with swell energy bouncing off the jetty, creating a powerful roll-in wedge over shallow water. This mini Box-like wedge is a favorite of bodyboarders and surfers adept at negotiating abrupt steps and chucking barrels. There is a left off of this same peak but it dumps into the deep water of the channel, thus not offering much. As you can imagine, Kahului Harbor is often crowded and polluted. On top of that, watch out for urchins, rocks, tricky rip currents, and the occasional shark. Despite the many obstacles, a Kahului Harbor right tube is an experience worth attempting.