Ma'alaea Bay Spot Guide

While not the swell magnet that fellow west coast harbor break Lahaina is, Ma'alaea is one of Maui's most famous waves. This is in part for the rifling, perfect right-hand tubes it creates on just the right South or SW swell; in another part for the decades-long fight to preserve Ma'alaea's existence as a world-class, albeit rare, surf spot. (Fortunately, in May of 2012, federal and state agencies ended the project that would have expanded a portion of the Ma'alaea Harbor and effectively destroyed the wave, thus ensuring Ma'alaea will remain a jewel in Hawaii's pantheon of incredible surf breaks.) Once considered the "fastest wave on earth," Ma'alaea has attracted brave barrel riders from within Maui and abroad for decades, thus the crowd can become as intense as the wave itself. Because of its size, the crowd, and the reef bottom, Ma'alaea is considered an expert-only spot, though there are more manageable peaks nearby during smaller South swells.