Pa’ia Town

An unassuming hub of the North Shore community, Paia Town has great restaurants, interesting shops, and the best natural food store on the island.

Rating: ★★★★½

In a nutshell: An unassuming hub of the North Shore community, Paia Town has great restaurants, interesting shops, and the best natural food store on the island.
Minuses: Parking can be difficult if you don’t know where to look (pssst..we have a map with parking below the article :))
Sound-bite: “Woah, did that sign really say “Don’t feed the hippies?!?“”

Summary
Old-west style building facades painted in a patchwork of pastel colors greet you as you pull into Paia, and at first impression the small T-shaped stretch of quaint shops and restaurants is reminiscent of a funky 60’s California beach town.

Paia Town Shops

Paia Town Shops

Unfortunately, many visitors will only experience Paia glancing at the weathered surface through a car window on the way to Hana. Don’t be one of them!

Description
Often visitor information glosses over Paia as little more than a place for people watching or gassing up on the way to Hana. For the better informed, Paia has become a destination in its own right – especially for those in search of reasonably priced quality restaurants and an eclectic selection of unique, interesting and affordable shops.

Another draw of Paia is that it has managed to avoid becoming touristy or gentrified, and it is still largely populated by a diverse mix of colorful and eccentric people, no doubt drawn to the independent bohemian vibe.

A stroll through Paia can have you brushing by old-school hippies, professional surfers, new-age mamas, Hollywood actors and street corner preachers. You might see an unknown kid playing his guitar in front of the Bank of Hawaii for tips, or Willie Nelson might show up unannounced to play with the local band while you’re eating a burger in Charley’s. If you’re looking for a memorable experience in a uniquely-Maui town, I suggest planning a North Shore adventure day with Paia as a stop.

A center of gravity in Paia is unquestionably Mana Foods. Not just the best (and least expensive) natural foods store on the island, Mana Foods is a social hub where a diverse North Shore community shops and socializes. If you want to absorb a bit of the funky scene (or if you’re just plain hungry!) taking a stroll through Mana’s isles to grab a treat is an experience in and of itself.

Milagros

Milagros

Restaurants
Unlike the resort areas that are littered with overpriced tourist-traps, Paia restaurants need to stand on their own with the local crowd. You really can’t go wrong just wandering into virtually any restaurant here. Paia Fish Market is casual and affordable, and also delicious. Flatbread Pizza is a great option for gourmet pizza or if you’re traveling with kids. [links to reviews of all Paia restaurant are coming soon.]

Location & Attractions
The last traffic light this side of Hana marks the intersection of Baldwin Ave and Hana Hwy. By mainland standards Paia Town is so small that in most places it wouldn’t even make it on the map; in fact, the shop-lined roads that comprise the “main drag” clock in at under a half mile. But for such a small area, unexpected variety is packed tightly.

Some examples of the significant range in offerings you may find worth a look: Surf & swimwear shops, a saloon where Willie Nelson periodically shows up for an impromptu gig, two coffee houses, fine art galleries, a Buddhist stupa consecrated by the Dalai Lama, a chic upscale inn, a chiropractic office known for inexpensive (and really good) massages, two tattoo parlors, a hemp store, new-age boutiques, a yoga studio, a yummy gelato parlor, a wine store, downhill bike shop… Whew! And I didn’t even name the half of it! (The Paia Community Association website lists all of the businesses.)

Rainfall Map for Paia

University Of Hawaii rainfall map

Weather
There is a misconception (often repeated in many guidebooks) that Paia is wet. I suppose it’s all relative – if you’re from Phoenix, maybe so… But to put it in perspective, Paia receives about the same anual rainfall as the eastern half of the continental United States. You see, Paia is located in Haleakala mountain’s rain shadow – in fact, this is the first area that sugar plantation workers slaved to bring water to (and that was quite a monumental task.)

But, if I’m telling you not to take another guidebook’s word – don’t take mine either! You can look at the University of Hawaii Maui rainfall map here yourself!

Paia Bay

Paia Bay

Beaches
Oh, did I forget beaches? There are several beaches within walking distance of Paia town, in order they are:

Paia Bay (bring a picnic)
Paia Secret Beach (nudists)
Baldwin Cove (this one vanishes!)
Baldwin Beach Park (long sandy beach)
Baby Beach (scenic & great for keiki)

A short drive:
Tavares Beach (unknown to visitors)
Ku’au Cove (aka Mama’s Fish House Beach)
Ho’okipa Beach Park (windsurfing capital of the world!)

History
Paia has a long history of transformation and rising form its ashes. In the late 1800’s Alexander and Baldwin established Paia Plantation. With the plantation came immigrant workers from every corner of the globe, plantation camps to house them, and their largest sugar mill to process the harvest. You would never know to look at it now, but by the turn of the century Paia had become a bustling plantation town – in fact, over 20% of Maui’s population lived here at one point. As the population grew, movie theaters, hotels, stores, schools and even a hospital sprung up to support the population.

In the 1930’s much of the town was destroyed by fire, but the residents quickly rebuilt; in the 40’s disaster struck again when a tsunami inundated Lower Paia and claimed many of the structures (but only one life.) The town, once again, was quickly rebuilt by the resilient population.

In the 1950’s plantation workers began to move from the camps into homes in developing Kahului and Wailuku, and this time, Paia lost the majority of its population.

Then during the 1960’s and 70’s a new wave of immigrants, hippies who had adopted Maui’s climate and back-to-nature vibe, claimed Paia as their capital (unofficially, of course.) Many saw opportunity to set up shop and are still here. In the 80’s and 90’s a newly popular watersport also found its unofficial capital in Paia: windsurfing. Windsurfers from all around the world discovered the most consistent and challenging windsurfing along our North Shore, with Paia as the town in the center.

In 2000 the sugar mill closed, and with it the last page of plantation history was written for Paia.

Today tourism is finding Paia. While tourists had always stopped to gas up and grab some food for the Road to Hana trip, word has spread about the interesting boutiques, quality restaurants and shops located in this still low-key oceanside town.

Key Info:
Location: Intersection of Baldwin Ave. & Hana Hwy. (Hwys 390 & 36)
GPS Coordinates: 20.916208,-156.381256
Get directions


View Paia Town in a larger map

  1. Donald Green says:

    I told my friend at Lagerhaus #5 in Detroit that my buddy couldn’t meet me there because he was in Hawaii. She said her hippie brother is in Paia living free as the wind on the beach. My friend contacted me with the delightful news that he was also staying in Paia and sent a photo of two goats with the ocean off in the clear blue distance. Looks like a great place to be for him and the goats. He said he would love to meet my friend’s brother, so I connected the dots, and maybe they can meet up and complete the Karma circle. Aloha from the Motor City!

  2. cindi stem says:

    am traveling to Maui in August;hopefully,and this has given me n idea for a day tip on the island thank you

  3. Justine Pa'ia says:

    Pa’ia town is where my family is origianlly from. I’m proud to carry the name Pa’ia from my ancestors. I can not wait to go back home.

  4. Valerie says:

    I loved reading this. Thank you! My mother was born in Pa’ia Hospital in 1913. While she married and lived on O’ahu in later life, she always said “Maui no ka oi”. I last visited Pa’ia in 2005 and love the vibe. It’s got the “old Hawai’i” feel I remember from growing up in the Islands in the 50’s and 60’s. One of our daughters lived on Maui from 2001-2005 and loved Pa’ia, especially the great natural food.

  5. Melinda says:

    Paia is absolutely lovely and where I would love to settle down if Maui was a long-term possibility: I’ve been here for several months and will regretfully have to leave at the end of the year, rejoining my family.
    As a 37 year Colorado native, I liken Paia’s vibe to the Boulder hippie scene (new or old age), but Paia has the small town feel associated with Durango’s Main Street as well. Make sure to stop in and grab a bite (on the way in as well as back because there are many great places to grab some grub) and be sure to visit the shops.
    I would suggest devoting a day to Paia and it’s beaches and extending the trip by heading “up” Baldwin Avenue into some higher country and sightsee. There are some beautiful churches (I have a soft spot for quaint tropical churches) right off the road and then you can catch Highway 36 to Kula, adhering to a naturalistic theme by visiting the Enchanted Gardens, Lavender Fields, and doing some lower-key hiking (versus Halakalea which needs at least a day of it’s own). I’d actually flip-flop the order just to ensure you get in before admission is halted due to operating hours, but the paragraph led better with a focus on Paia!
    And then you can revisit Paia for additional food stops as you take the road to Hana (I will do this in November on a state holiday)! The Flatbread Company’s pizza is amazing as well as reasonably priced, and on Tuesdays they donate a percentage of their profits to charity!

  6. What happened to the US International college campus that was about 4 miles from Paia. I attended in the 1970’s.

  7. Great write up, I’m currently in Wailuku and can’t wait to visit Paia, as soon as my tour/guide fiance takes me.

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