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Experience the evening sunset spectacular at these front-row seats across the islands of aloha.

Swaying palm trees, frangipani-scented trade winds and the soft sensuality of the hula: These are just a few of the reasons why Hawaii usually lands at the top of most people’s hot list for romantic destinations. Sunsets are a particularly sacred time to savor nature’s beauty and the good fortune the two of you share. We hopped across the Hawaiian Islands in search of the most memorable ways to spend those special moments. Here’s your guide to the evening shows.

Maui

A hula dancer gives thanks for the day of the Big Island.

The favorite of many visitors to Hawaii, this island melds high-end resorts and golf courses with genuine Hawaiian experiences. And the sunsets are no exception. Posh, sophisticated Kaanapali Beach on Maui’s west coast offers beach butlers and the latest in water-sports equipment by day. Come dusk, however, a whole new mood takes hold along its tawny three-mile shore. At each of Kaanapali’s 11 resorts, someone blows a conch shell signaling that it’s time to head to Pu’u Keka’a (called Black Rock in English), the massive black lava boulder that juts into the sea and divides the beach in two. This is the focal point for the nightly torch-lighting and cliff-diving ritual. The ancients believed that Pu’u Keka’a was the spot where the souls of slain warriors leaped into the ancestral world, and the cliff-diving ceremony celebrates that legend. Shortly before sunset, a loincloth-clad “warrior” lights a series of torches all the way up to the boulder’s crest, symbolizing the path for these souls to follow. As an acknowledgment of tribal elders, as well as the elements, he holds an orchid lei to the sky in all four directions. Just as the sun slips into the channel and the sky is painted in pink and vibrant yellow, the barefoot warrior plunges some 30 feet into the inky ocean below.

Afterward, head to the Kaanapali Beach Hotel, order a Tropical Itch mai tai at the Tiki Bar and enjoy the free hula show under the stars. Known as the most Hawaiian hotel in Maui for its numerous award-winning cultural programs, this laid-back low-rise resort is also a great budget-conscious hideaway (kbhmaui.com).

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