We flew into Kahului in the early morning (my son gets me up at 5:30 am so its always a little difficult but I'm kinda used to it by now). Our first stop, after renting the car, was Wailea, which is pretty much the polar opposite of Paia. Wailea is perhaps the most expensive resort area in Hawaii, an immaculate wonderland of multi-million dollar oceanview condos and perfectly manicured golf courses (and home to an outpost of the Spago Empire situated, natch, at the ridiculously posh Four Seasons). Wailea is on the other side of the island from Paia so I figured we'd hit the beaches there first as we probably wouldn't get another chance.

Wailea also has some of Hawaii's best sandy beaches with talcum powder-soft sands, gently sloped sandy bottoms (actually, a rarity in Hawaii), clear water, and generally mellow surf. Unlike other exclusive resorts around the world, Hawaii has an extremely egalitarian beach policy, as in, there are no private beaches and every beach must provide beach access. We parked in the large parking lot for Wailea Beach next to the Grand Wailea Resort, a short walk from the beach designated for visitors and residents not staying at one of the beachfront hotels. The public showers and bathrooms are clean and functioning at Wailea Beach, another rarity in Hawaii. We dug sand castles, jumped over breaking waves, and floated on the ocean. Time for lunch. We packed up an headed for Paia, across the isthmus.

—Alex, 07/08/06