Maui Ocean Center
192 Ma'alaea Road, Ma'alaea
808-270-7000
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Cost: $18 adults, $12.50 children
As an island, Maui enjoys a special link to the sea. The Maui Ocean Center explores that link; indoor and outdoor displays at the aquarium feature 2,000 sharks, fishes and other sea creatures as well as vast displays on Hawaii's black lava shores and colorful coral.

Maui Tropical Plantation
1670 Honopi'ilani Highway, Waikapu
800-451-6805
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
Cost: $9.50 adults, $3.50 children
A tram ride transports tourists through this lush region of the island as a narrator tells of its rich agricultural heritage. The 120-acre plantation encompasses more than 60 acres of pineapple, sugar cane, mangoes, guavas, papaya, ginger and coffee, and also showcases dozens of varieties of tropical orchids.

Sea World
191 North Kihei Road, Kihei
808-879-8860
Hours: 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. daily
Cost: $29.20 adults, $14.60 children
A two-hour boat ride takes visitors to see Hawaii's most impressive residents - its whales. On most trips, boats are able to get so close that observers can see the barnacles on the whales' backs, and may get sprayed by the splash as their great tales slap the water's surface. You can also expect to hear the whales as they converse with each other in their clicking, singing "language."

Whalers Village Museum
Kaanapali Beach, Lahaina
This museum, in the heart of Lahaina, documents the sleepy port city's evolution to a whaling boomtown. Home to an impressive collection of whaling memorabilia, the museum shows what life was like between 1825 and 1860 for the men who led the harsh whaling life aboard tiny boats chasing 45-ton quarry. The exhibit includes harpoons, sea chests and a re-creation of the typical six-man crew's quarters. Films about whales and whaling history are shown throughout the day.

Hike Maui
P.O. Box 330969, Kahului
808-879-5270
Hours: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily
Cost: $85 adults, $15 children 15 and younger
Some of Maui's most incredible scenery can only be viewed on foot. A guide will lead your group on a four-and-a-half-mile mountain hike to the upper ridges of the West Maui mountains. A picnic lunch, supplied by the outfitter, awaits at the top, but you may already be full if you've stopped to sample the wild fruit and berries along the path.

Maui Paraglide
P.O. Box 1286, Kula
877-463-5944
Hours: 9 a.m. to 3 pm. daily
Cost: $75 to $275 for a 15- to 45-minute flight
Riding a tandem paraglide (with a flight instructor along), you'll take a once-in-a-lifetime soar over the Haleakala's magnificent terrain and hover over its 3,000-foot-deep crater.

Maui Downhill Tours
199 Dairy Road, Kahului
808-871-2155
Hours: 6:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: $115 for adults and children 12 and older
After a light, pre-dawn breakfast, the outfitter will drive your group to the summit of Haleakala to watch the sunrise. Then, depending on your skill and adventure level, you'll take one of five bicycle trips and coast down the volcano past incredible scenery and through the switchbacks toward Pa'ia for a full-day adventure. Those with younger children should be advised that, for safety reasons, children under 12 are not permitted.

Sunshine Helicopter
107 Kahului Airport, Kahului
808-871-0722
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, weather permitting
Cost: $156.25
Since more than half of the island is inaccessible by car, visitors may choose to take this memorable flight over Haleakala's crater and the surrounding volcanic landscape.