Craving to get away from everything to a place where work and worries simply don’t exist? Well say “aloha” to the lovely island of Maui in Hawaii! A short six to seven hour flight from Los Angeles and you’ll feel right at home on the friendly island where the sun always shines.

For the perfect vacation in Maui, staying at one of the five-star resorts on the famed Ka’anapali Beach is a must. Whether you’re traveling with your significant other or your entire extended family, the hotels situated just steps from the beach are definitely ideal.

Choose from the Westin, Hyatt, Sheraton or Marriott, which all offer numerous pools, water slides, massages and daily activities to keep everyone entertained. The Hyatt is home to an assortment of warm weather penguins, and the Westin has a plethora of fish and flamingos swimming in their ponds.

Just walk down the beach and you can learn how to surf on the perfect small waves through one of Maui’s many surfing schools. If surfing seems a bit intense for you, snorkeling on Ka’anapali is also an excellent way to spend a few hours in the ocean with your family and friends.

When you get hungry, each hotel has several restaurants and snack bars on their property to choose from, which are not exclusive to hotel guests only. If you’re on a smaller budget, Whalers Village (2435 Kaanapali Pkwy, H6, Lahaina) is a short walk from most of the resorts and offers all types of food and less expensive dining choices as well as boutiques to shop in.

After a long day of relaxing in the sun, happy hour beside the palm trees overlooking the gorgeous sunset and ocean is a great way to start your night. For dinner, there are the restaurants at the resorts or the option of taking a free shuttle into town.

Often referred to as the “jewel in the crown of Maui,” the town of Lahaina is a spot that more than two million people in Maui visit annually. The main drag of this historic town is Front Street, which has everything from restaurants like the Kobe Steakhouse (136 Dickenson St.) and Cheeseburger in Paradise (811 Front St.) to nightclubs and Irish pubs that the locals frequent.

Only a short 10-minute ride from the beach, one night in the town of Lahaina is also a must. If you don’t mind early bird dining, Lulu’s restaurant in the Lahaina Cannery Mall (1221 Honoapiilani Hwy.) is one of Maui’s new best-kept secrets. Lulu’s has an extensive scenic bar and dining area, and if you are seated before 6 p.m. any day of the week all of your food is 50 percent off!

If you’re the type who eventually gets bored of lying on the beach and crave adventure, excursions are the best way to keep active in Maui. From scuba diving to whale watching, the opportunities are endless. But if you talk to any local in Maui, they will tell you that the one activity you can’t miss is the road trip to Hana.

If you have a free day sometime during your trip, look into renting a car, grabbing a map and spending the day driving the road to beautiful Hana. Choose your stops along the way and enjoy the natural beauty, amazing waterfalls and breathtaking landscape of the untouched town. It is recommended to start your day early around 6 a.m. so you can get to as many stops as possible.

Along the way, you have the opportunity to see black, red and white sand beaches, go surfing, play in waterfalls and try delicious homemade banana bread. Stop at Twin Falls, which is the first waterfall on the road to Hana. After about a mile hike in the rainforest, you come to a gigantic waterfall and natural pool where you can swim.

The other must-see is the Seven Sacred Pools that are a 10-mile drive past Hana. There is a series of lovely waterfalls as well as the Pipiwai Trail, which is considered one of the best hikes on Maui.