My fiance and I are planning to go to Maui in January for our honeymoon. Is there a difference between staying in West Maui (Ka'anapali beach) and South Maui (Wailea beach) at that time or in general?

If you're planning to stay at a hotel, the more luxurious/elegant hotels are in the Wailea area. Both areas have plenty of nice condos, and "other" hotels.

Thanks dm. We're planning to stay in a hotel (which will be determined by budget), but I was wondering if there was a big difference between the beaches (does rainy season affect it) and convenience to local attractions? We're planning to rent a car.

If you're renting a car, staying anywhere will be fine. I would stay on the South side because it'll rain a little less. Either way you'll get scattered showers. South Maui is like the desert of the island, though it doesn't look like it. You get more sun and less rain anytime of the yaer. The resorts are newer and nicer, mostly. But really, you'll be out and about most of the time anyway. When it comes to tourist attractions, both sides have great stuff to do. Rain may effect things like luaus, and boat trips. Kaanapali has a good luau that's really cheap. Wailea has one of the best luaus too. mauihawaiiluau.com gives some good info on these, but the risk of rain is always there.

I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about the weather. Bring something to cover up with just in case and throw a permanent towel in the car for drying off. Places like the Iao Valley and Hana are rained on all the time, year round. You can get drenched in these spots in a matter of seconds.

We went to Wailea for our honeymoon and loved it. It has drier weather than some of the other areas; we had great weather the entire time we were there. Thought Wailea was pretty posh compared to some other parts of the island. It's a great spot for a honeymoon. Congratulations!

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the info - it's very helpful. We might try to split our stay in half so we can get the best of both worlds!

I just got back from Maui. I have stayed on both sides. Most recently I stayed at the Sheraton in Ka'anapali. If you choose to stay on that side of the island, I would recommend staying there. There is a big black rock on the beach where someone dives from nightly. Snorkeling is excellent there. There are more restaurants on that side of the island. We stayed on that side because we had teenagers with us and there was more to do.
For honeymooners, I would suggest staying at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea. The island is quieter there. The hotel is a suite hotel with mini-kitchens.
I'm not sure I would split my time between two places because they aren't that far from each other but that of course is up to you. Happy honeymoon!

Adding to the original posters question: is the surf much larger on the Kaanapali side than on the Wailea side? Will there be alot of snorkeling during January?

I'm going in early December and these questions came up for me too - so we split the hotels and staying on both sides (no Lahaina traffic to cross either).