Why now is the best time to visit the Hawaiian island of Maui

It might be the warm glow of Hawaii going to my head but I think that turtle is looking at me. Lazily floating in Maui's sapphire waters, autumn sun warming my back and decked out in snorkel and flippers, I've spotted the honu (Hawaiian green sea turtle) surface just metres away from me. After gazing in wonder for a long few seconds, my daze breaks and I realise why this endangered creature appears to be checking me out.

I'm in its way to the spectacular rainbow reef that adorns an ancient lava tube stretching out from the shoreline and into the perfect blue waters. I give a wide berth to the wary honu, which gives me one last look before it dips down and glides into the kaleidoscope of coral and fish below.

This moment captures exactly what I had hoped for on my trip to Maui - spectacular sights, a break to refresh the soul and a bit of adventure thrown in.

Maui is the second largest of the volcanic Hawaiian islands rising from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It's quieter and less developed than the popular Oahu, home of capital city Honolulu, from where it takes barely a half-hour flight and a 15-minute car ride before we're sitting in the renowned Mama's Fish House on Maui's north coast.

As I devour freshly caught Hawaiian Kanpachi cooked in a macadamia nut crust, served with crab and lobster, the sea breeze gently drifts through open windows overlooking turquoise waves and two honu resting on the golden sand. With stellar attention to detail, warm and efficient staff, the family-owned restaurant has collected 50 years of clientele and a long waitlist, making booking months in advance essential.

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A post-lunch stroll calls and the charming town of Paia answers. It's packed with gorgeous boutiques and locally-made wares, clothing, jewellery, art and souvenirs. Boldly painted shopfronts retain the heritage feel of the historic sugar plantation town.

Just out of town the Lumeria Maui offers a welcome opportunity to unwind on a hammock, book in hand and the ocean in the distance. An overnight stay at the educational retreat requires enrolment in its wellness program offering daily classes in yoga and mediation, Hawaiian heritage, movement and healing arts. Its restaurant The Wooden Crate serves flavour-packed farm-to-table dinners featuring fresh produce from the centre's gardens.

Peeling ourselves away from the island's coastlines, our focus turns inland to the dormant, but still active, Haleakala volcano. More than 200 years since its last eruption, Haleakala rises 3055 metres to offer panoramic views of Maui from its exposed summit. Wrapped in a jacket to beat the wind and looking down at the rugged crater streaked in tones of ash and earthy reds, it feels like we're on another planet.

Our base for the next two nights is the luxurious Fairmont Kea Lani, perched on the Wailea coastline in south Maui that boasts golf courses, palm-tree-lined beaches and lavish resorts. The Fairmont has recently opened its redesigned open-air lobby, renovated all 413 suites and 37 two- and three-bedroom villas, and launched a new Hawaiian cultural centre. In the evening the resort's white facade reflects a golden glow through the window of my one-bedroom Ocean View Suite, drawing me to the balcony's uninterrupted vista of a glorious sunset unfolding over the beach below.

Downstairs at the open-air Ko restaurant, the popular Ahi on the Rock appetiser involves searing your own island fresh tuna on a hot stone, just a few seconds each side. Paired with a nutty miso sauce it melts deliciously in my mouth.

The next day is an earlier start but I'm practically jumping out of bed for our morning snorkel tour aboard a 54-foot sloop-rigged catamaran with Sail Trilogy. Half an hour later, tour captain Riley Coon is comically demonstrating how not to wear our snorkel masks as we set off cruising in deep blue waters.

We anchor at Molokini - an ancient crater shaped like a crescent moon filled with coral reef and teeming with tropical fish. Packs of sparkling blue needle fish dart just below the surface while yellow tang pass by in a flurry and parrotfish nibble on the coral-covered sea floor. My aforementioned encounter with a honu is at our next and final stop, the aptly named Turtle Town, and becomes an instant trip highlight.

But just as impressive are the friendly staff and food onboard - fresh cinnamon rolls (a family recipe) for breakfast, shoyu chicken, rice and salad for lunch, and a choice of Maui Brew Co beverages, wine and cocktails. But for me the showstopper is Maui-made Roselani ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, served as we sail in the sun back to the harbour.

After our tour we talk to Captain Riley, who is co-owner of the third-generation family business, about the wildfires on Maui in August 2023. A deadly combination of gale-force winds and years of drought razed the historic whaling port town of Lahaina, in west Maui. One-hundred-and-one people lost their lives. "We took this very boat that night [to Lahaina] after the coast guard called for help," Captain Riley tells us. "I was on the boat watching the whole town burn down." He describes Lahaina as the island's "heart and soul" and its loss has been felt deeply by the community. For tourism operators it was almost a second COVID-19 with a visitor exodus, as focus turned to supporting locals, and hotels and resorts, such as the Fairmont, becoming sanctuaries for the displaced.

Tourists are being welcomed back with open arms - the only place remaining off-limits is what remains of Lahaina - but the grief lies just below the surface. It's why visitors are asked to be respectful and patient as the island recovers.

"Bring your aloha," Captain Riley suggests. Aloha - it's a word we've heard often during our week in Hawaii, its meaning described in varying ways but encapsulated in love, peace and compassion for people and the environment.

We see it a short time later from our driver Forest who collects us from the harbour having just afforded a free trip to a woman who lost her home at Lahaina. It's in the shop windows of Paia that proudly display a "Maui Strong" banner, or the business owners donating a portion of their proceeds to the recovery efforts. And it's in the warmth of the Maui locals, whose generosity and kindness leave a lasting impression.

These subtle signs are all we as outsiders see of what has befallen the community. So while Maui is open for business - don't forget to bring your aloha.

Getting there: Hawaiian Airlines flies nonstop services five times a week between Sydney and Honolulu, about 10 hours, as well as frequent inter-island flights between four major Hawaiian islands. See hawaiianairlines.com.au

Staying there: Fairmont Kea Lani offers suites and two- or three-bedroom villas on the beachfront at Wailea. See fairmont-kea-lani.com

Explore more: gohawaii.com

The writer was a guest of Hawaii Tourism and Hawaiian Airlines.

Pictures: Anna McGuinness; Hawaii Tourism