Banana Bungalow Maui Hostel, Maui

Look, the place doesn't sugar coat that its appealing to the budget end of things. That's not the problem. Its a hostel afterall. The blatant thievery is the problem. I was robbed. During my stay on Maui I ran into three other former visitors to Banana Bungalow Maui Hostel who where also robbed. One even had his vacation money and passport stolen from the office safe. Come on folks. That has to be in inside job. The locals who I mentioned this too just laughed and said its a known problem with the place.

i did not like the fact that one of the drivers was drinking all day at little beach, then drove 15 people back very recklessly, fishtailing on purpose,and going over the large dip before ,little b each very fast causing aggravation to an old back injury,then to add insult to insult to injury a sign was posted a couple of days later stating if you have back problems please do not sign up for our tours i say if they have a drinking problem they should not be endangering guests either by aggravating an old injury or creating a new one so dont tip the guide if it was an unsafe ride ,

Just stayed at the Banana Bungalow Maui Hostel for 5 days and had a blast! The staff was extremely welcoming and helpful, especially Zack and Johnny! The free tours were awesome! If you're looking to really see Maui and meet cool people, this is the place!

Yes, really, awesome ! Dorms are correct, a little bit small I would say, but the goal is not to sleep when we are in Maui !!! Wireless works well ! The kitchen is big and well-equiped. The environment is really peaceful. I only had the hostel trip to Haleakala and it was really a nice hike ! I recommand fully this outing ! Don't hesitate if you want to have good time ! Have fun !

I traveled to Hawaii for the first time in April. I choose Banana Bungalow for the tours as driving a rental car to Hana was not an appealing option. The tours are great however the comraderie was better. I met all ages and nationalities. I expect to stay friends with several. I am not sure I could live in Maui but am aiming to return soon. The rooms are spartan but I slept well. The location was fine for me because I like to walk and was able to utilize the bus system.

The free tours at Banana Bungalow are amazing. You cannot pay to do those types of experiences anywhere else. All the staff were super friendly and always were willing to help you out. Stay here, you will not regret it.

I arrived at the Banana Bungalow on Friday Jan. 9th at night, with no reservations, and they had no problem providing me with accommodations. I have never stayed at a hostel before the BB and any expectations I had of hostels were completely blown away. My plan was to stay here for a couple of days then travel to other hostels to get the full Maui experience. However, the BB provides free tours to all the corners of the island. The real draw hear are the free tours. Monday is a hike through the Iao Valley. Simon is the greatest guide, he fed us all with the wild fruits of the jungle along the way. Tuesday is the road to Hana, this is a very long and winding drive with the most amazing views of the ocean, jungle and dozens of water falls. There are stops along the way for local foods and fresh produce, both a red and black sand beach, a hike into a cave, and the greatest hike through a bamboo forest to a 300ft waterfall for a swim. Wednesday is a snorkeling trip to Black Rock in Kaanapali. I swam with hundreds of fish and followed a sea turtle over a beautiful coral reef. After we went to see the largest Buddha statue in the U.S. and then a trip into Lahaina for some shopping, food and drinks. Thursday is another snorkeling trip to Turtle Town, there is a lot of great reef to see here. Buy a waterproof camera, it is well worth it. After swimming and some sun the tour goes to Big Beach in Makena for some volleyball and more sun,..... Bring sun screen. Friday is a whale watching tour that I have yet to experience for myself, but I hear it is quite amazing. Saturday is a hike through the Haleakala crater. This is by far the most breathtaking place I have ever seen. To my knowledge, there is no other company on the island you can hire to guide you through the Volcano. It is truly one of those places in the world that words can not describe, you have to see it for yourself. It is well worth the stay at the BB to see this awesome place. Sunday is an incredibly relaxing day in Makena at Big Beach/Little Beach. Little beach, also my favorite beach, is clothing optional and the weeks events culminate with the most fabulous sunset over the island Kahoolawe with fire dancers feed primitive rhythms by a 20 piece drum circle. The beds here are very comfortable but sleeping street side can get noisy in the early morning, however the BB provides ear plugs which does alleviate the problem. They use a white power called Diatomaceous earth in the beds which helps prevent a bed bug infestation, as of yet I have not seen a single bed bug or anyone with bites, this is good because hostels usually have problems with bed bugs. The neighborhood is a pretty cool place with a bunch of cafes and art dealers. It can be a bit sketchy at night so if you need a midnight stroll use some common sense and walk in a group. The Banana Bungalow is a very interesting place. The atmosphere is here is very conducive to the social environment. I have had many fascinating philosophical conversation here. People travel here from all over the world for the Real Maui experience. The common area is the focal point of the BB. There is a 52in HD TV with satellite, free Wi-Fi, pool table, foosball, full kitchen, and a hot tub outside that is great to soak in after a long day of hiking. Friday there is a free keg and Chuck is here providing some great island tacos. I think the BB is a great place for the budget traveler. Young and old, couples and families, or just single this place will be able to accommodate anybody. I have been here for little over a month, met so many interesting people, and had the opportunity to see many of the less touristy areas of the island. I hope to stay here for a bit longer and see more of non resort Maui. The Banana Bungalow is centrally located on the island and is in my opinion perfect for taking in the Real Maui experience.

If you are looking for the scene, the place to drop your stuff and dig Maui on the cheap, a place that is very social and happening then you might be interested in the Banana Bungalow. If you are not a social beast, or get all knotted up when somebody slams a door late at night, or people are a bit noisy coming back from the bars, or you like you kitchen just so, then you could save yourself some aggravation and look at the other joint over on Vineyard. The room was clean, the sheets fresh, the staff helpful. I found the kitchen wanting and hard to figure out what was ok to use and what was somebody's stuff. Lots of people using it as it is a big place. Plus is closes at 10 pm and isn't open again till 8 am or so. Not cool if you are doing some real early morning stuff and want to make a cup of coffee. The bathrooms were ok. Clean but busy. Toilet paper was at a premium at 8:00pm on a friday and I could not find where it was stored. Firday was Keg night. 'the one day they relax the rules a bit in terms of taking the party off the grounds.' It wasn't bad and it got relatively quiet by 11:00pm, but it seemed to fuel a lot of late night drunks who were still coming in at 3:30am. Pleasent people but loud the way drinking makes people. The manager gave me a set of ear plugs to try and help with the noise abatement. Nice gesture. Clean room (+}, Kitchen (-), Bathrooms (+,-) Staff (+), Noise (--), Social Scene (+, if you are into that kind of thing.) Finally, this is a hostel, in Wailuku. Not a Hotel in Ka'anapali. You get what you pay for. Don't expect anything more and don't be surprised when that is what you get.

My partner and I went here in June of 2005 and are now going to stay there again this coming January. We can't wait to go back. We wanted an inexpensive, laid back place to stay at with down-to-earth people (not rich snobby tourists). Neither of us drive, so a place that was accessable and offered free tours was a huge bonus. Our room was clean, just big enough, and overlooked their tropical backyard. The bathrooms are shared, but there are plenty of them and they are very clean and welcoming. The staff were pretty helpful and there was information everywhere. We also enjoyed the the communal gameroom and kitchen, meeting some interesting people. There is a definate party vibe here, and though that isn't our cup of tea, it was pretty mellow. The town Wailuku is a sleepy local town, which was perfect for me. The tours were great and covered many of the must see places of Maui. There were plenty of stops and time for relaxing and playing on the beaches. My only qualm is that one day they had a lot of people wanting to go on the Hana tour but for some reason would only take one of the two vans- many people got left behind. But, the tours were still the highlight of the trip- hooray for waterfalls!

Okay lets get one thing straight this is not the Fairmont Kea Lani. It is how ever the best hostel for the best price on Maui. I stayed there for several months and had the best time of my life! The rooms leave something to be desired, the location is awful, but the tours and people you interact with here more then make up for it! The owner is a very nice guy who knows a lot about the island and comes by several times during the week to take care of any problems. The people who work there are like a family and I found to be very helpful. The guy/girl ratio depends on the week but I will tell you this guys when it rains it pours there! I liked everyone I met there except one creepy guy named Joe who just happens to be the tour guide :( Lucky for us there are two tour vans so we just stayed as far away from him as possible. Ladies if you dont want to be molested by a wirdo stay away from the tour guide named Joe Other then Joe I found nothing to complain about I look forward to going back to the island someday and I know where I will stay!