1
DayArrival and Kapalua
Fly into Kahului Airport and drive northwest to Kapalua, a 50- to 60-minute transfer through the sugarcane fields and along the coast. Check into The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, depending on budget tier.
Pin itMaui Focus: Five Nights on the Valley Isle
Five nights across West and South Maui playing Kapalua's Plantation and Bay courses and Wailea Gold, with Molokini snorkelling and whale watching between rounds.
Duration
5 Days
Type
Bucket List Trip
Estimated Cost
$3500–$6000/person
Rounds
2
Difficulty
Moderate
This itinerary covers both of Maui's golf corridors across five nights, starting in Kapalua on the island's northwest coast and moving to Wailea in the south. The two-base setup adds a hotel change mid-trip but eliminates the long commutes that a single base would force. Kapalua to Wailea is roughly 50 minutes by car, a drive that is scenic on the first pass and tedious by the fourth.
Hawaii (Maui / Big Island), Hawaii
Trip at a Glance
- Duration
- 5 days
- Type
- Bucket List Trip
- Cost / person
- $3500–$6000
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Courses· 2
Stay· 2
Wailea Beach Resort — Marriott, Maui$400–$700/night
The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua$500–$1200/night
Activities· 3
Whale Watching2 hours
2
DayKapalua Plantation Course
Morning tee time on Kapalua Plantation Course, the centrepiece of the trip. The Coore and Crenshaw design plays 7,596 yards across volcanic ridgelines with elevation changes exceeding 300 feet across the round.
3
DayKapalua Bay Course and Luau
Morning round on Kapalua Bay Course, Arnold Palmer's 1975 design that plays along the coastline rather than above it. The par-3 17th, with its tee shot directly over the ocean, is the single most dramatic hole on either Kapalua course, and the winter whale-watching opportunities from the fairways add a dimension the Plantation Course doesn't share.
4
DaySnorkelling at Molokini Crater and Rest
No golf. The morning is allocated to Snorkelling at Molokini Crater, departing from Ma'alaea Harbor in South Maui.
5
DayWailea Gold Course
Morning tee time on Wailea Gold Course, Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s more challenging Wailea layout.
6
DayDeparture
Check out and drive to Kahului Airport, a 25- to 35-minute transfer from Wailea. Flights from Kahului connect to the mainland throughout the day.
Trip Logistics
Plan the Practicalities
Logistics
The two-base approach is the recommended strategy despite the mid-trip hotel change. A single base in Kapalua means a 50-minute drive each way to the Wailea course. A single base in Wailea means the same commute to the Kapalua courses. Neither option is terrible, but both add 100 minutes of driving on two of the five days. Two bases eliminates that driving and lets each portion of the trip feel rooted in its location rather than tied to the car.
Three rounds across five nights provides an unhurried pace that leaves room for the non-golf experiences. Hawaii is one of the few golf destinations where adding a fourth round at the expense of a snorkelling trip or a whale watching excursion would be a net negative for the overall trip. The island has more to offer than the courses alone, and this trip is built to capture that balance.
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