Breakfast on the terrace overlooking the ocean came with an unexpected bonus: Free whale watching.

While gazing out to sea from the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort restaurant, I noticed a plume of water sprayed high into the air. As I looked around for confirmation of what I'd just seen, a waitress stopped by: "The whales are here," she announced.

Welcome to Maui wild and free.

Every year thousands of humpbacks leave their summer feeding grounds in Alaska and arrive here around mid-December to mate, give birth and nurse their young. They stay until May, preferring Maui over the other Hawaiian islands for the natural shelter they find here.

There are a surpising number of places from which you can see the leviathans from shore for free. One brochure listed no fewer than 10 land-based whale watching sites, including McGregor Point Lookout and Lahaina Pali Trail. Both are on Maui's west side, which turns out to be a great place for freebie attractions.

Aside from the whales, and the world-class beaches such as Kaanapali, there's the admission-free Iao Valley State Park, which Mark Twain once called "The Yosemite of the Pacific."

To Hawaiians it's a sacred place. For hundreds of years local chiefs were laid to rest in secret burial sites along the walls of valley. In 1790 the valley was the site of a famous battle that changed Hawaii's history.

Today it's a pleasant place to escape into nature and marvel at the famed "Iao Needle," a 685-metre basaltic pinnacle once used as an altar.

After a short stroll we arrived at the Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens (also free). The Japanese teahouse, Chinese moon gate and other formal gardens are designed to represent the various peoples that have immigrated to Maui.

Sooner or later most visitors end up in the harbour town of Lahaina, the former capital of Hawaii. Among the dozens of stores in this shopping mecca is Hilo Hattie, where visitors get a free shell lei and chilled drinks.

Discovering the town's historic district was easy with the complimentary self-guided tour brochures available at the visitor centre. There are more than 30 points of interest, most within walking distance.

Among them is one of the world's largest Banyan trees, the huge Buddha statue at the Jodo Mission and the Baldwin Mission House (built in 1834 it's the oldest standing structure in Lahaina).

One of the town's major landmarks is the Pioneer Inn, which has a Canadian connection. George Freeland, an RCMP officer once tracked a notorious criminal to Lahaina. While here, he fell in love with a local girl and in 1901 built the inn, which for many years was the only hotel on Maui's west side. The inn's bar is said to have been a favourite of movie stars Errol Flynn and Spencer Tracy.

Years before the Inn was built, however, Lahaina was known as one of the world's great whaling ports (its golden age was between 1825 and 1860). You can learn more at the Whalers Village Museum in Kaanapali, which features a whaling longboat, rare samples of 19th-century scrimshaw, and a bird cage made from whale bone. The museum, like many of Maui's top sites, is free!

For more, log on to visitmaui.com.

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ISLAND HOPPING SIDE TRIPS

From Maui, you can take a ferry to nearby islands for a day or longer. Lanai, 9 km from Maui, was once known for having the world's largest pineapple plantation. Today it's a privately owned resort destination famous for its luxurious accommodation (Microsoft founder Bill Gates honeymooned here).

Molokai, "the Friendly Island" (population 7,000), is about a one-hour ferry ride away. Here you can tour a macadamia nut farm, pick your own plumerias, enjoy uncrowded beaches and parks, or take a mule ride on a cliffside trail to a famous 19th-century leper colony.