Kaanapali, HI Summary

KAANAPALI, just a few miles north of Lahaina but reliably cooler, was never a town; fields of sugar cane here were replaced in the 1960s by high-rise hotels and condos, each no doubt comfortable enough but soulless en masse. Besides several perfect family beaches – swimming and snorkeling are best at Black Rock, in front of the Sheraton – the main attraction is the whaling museum in the Whalers Village mall (daily 9.30am-10pm; free). Grisly but fascinating exhibits include a cast-iron “try pot,” used for reducing whale blubber at sea; such pots gave rise to the stereotyped but not entirely untrue image of cannibals cooking missionaries in big black cauldrons.