Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is almost a must if you are visiting Maui. I mean only if you’re up for an adventure of a lifetime. Before going, we had heard various stories about the road; and a few people actually said it was not worth it. But I am here to tell you it is 110% worth every second. The views, all the greenery, the breathtaking waterfalls. It was way more than I was expecting. If you ever get yourself to Maui, set aside a day to complete this route!

The Road to Hana is essentially a road on the Eastern part of the island that connects Kahului to the town of Hana. And it’s more about the sights and the drive to Hana, than actually experiencing the town of Hana itself. The road is only 52 miles, but has 617 hairpin curves, 59 one-lane bridges, and the speed limit is 25 mph or less the entire way. But it’s ok! because I wouldn’t want to go any faster and miss all the gorgeous views anyways.

Check out our Vlog of the whole day for some awesome footage of this gorgeous route!

C H O O S E Y O U R R O U T E

First you need to know how much of the road you’re going to do, and roughly which route to take.

Going forward, from Kahului to Hana and turning back (would recommend going a little further past Hana to Ohe’o Gulch for some incredible views and lush greenery)
Going forward, from Kahului to Hana and continuing the entire loop around Haleakala and through upcountry
Going backwards, from upcountry Maui and continuing to Hana and through Kahului
Or going halfway and staying in Hana and completing the loop, or turning around and heading back through Kahului the next day.

We decided on option 2. Some of the prettiest views we saw were actually past Hana, but the road can be very narrow and is unpaved in spots past the Ohe’o Gulch and seven sacred pools. So use your own judgement. People say that doing the road backwards eliminates crowds at most of the stops, but honestly we didn’t find crowds to be an issue at all – but it’s still an option. Also, you also might be a little burnt out by the time you get to some pretty incredible views by driving the road in reverse. I’ve heard of people doing half the road, staying in Hana overnight and finishing it the next day. Although, I think the road is totally doable in a day, as long as you don’t linger too long in any one spot and get an early start (like get up before the sun).

B E P R E P A R E D

TIME: Expect this to be an all day thing. And when I say all day, I mean waking up at 6 AM and being prepared for this to be a 12+ hour day, especially if you’re staying in Lahaina or Kihei. We were exhausted after it, but would do this 10x over. Have I mentioned how the views are just absolutely gorgeous?

FOOD: With that said, pack snacks and or a lunch, and lots of water. There are stops along the way for food but don’t count on them. We did come across a few fruit stands but half of them were closed, and we did end up stopping for a late lunch in Hana. There were a couple food trucks and I think maybe a restaurant or two to choose from in Hana town.

ROAD: Yes, you need to be prepared that this is a very windy road. And, it is narrow in some spots with no guard rail. Please be cautious. Also, there are locals that live along the road, so try not to get in their way or hold them up; pull over if you can and let them pass. Past Hana, and more on the backside of Haleakala, the road is unpaved in large sections, so a 4 wheel drive car is highly recommended if you do the road backwards or choose to complete the loop and drive past Hana. If you choose to take this route, do so at your own risk and take extra caution if it has just rained as parts of the road might be washed out. If you are just doing the road forwards to Hana and turning around to drive back, I don’t think a 4 wheel drive car is completely necessary as most of the road is paved.

GUIDE: Unless you do extensive amount of research before hand and literally map out your road on your own time before you hit the road, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY suggest downloading the Shaka Guide App. It was the best thing we did and worth every penny. It takes your GPS coordinates and gives your turn by turn directions to some of the best views and hikes. This app gives you history and legendary stories of the area, some great tips for hikes and which stops are actually worth your time.

CAUTION: Anytime you leave your car behind and go on a walk or hike, it is highly suggested that you take your valuables (cameras, phones, etc) with you. While we never had an issues, we were warned of the possibility of theft. Just be as cautious as you would anywhere else.

E S S E N T I A L S

Here is what we packed for the day

Non Perishable snacks
Lots of Water (We love our Hydroflasks, but similar here and here)
Sunscreen (Here, Here, and Here. Try to use a reef safe sunscreen – read about why here)
Bug Spray
Extra clothes (we didn’t end up needing them, but just in case you want to take a dip in the water)
Extra shoes (we wore flip flops in the car and changed into our athletic shoes whenever we got out to explore)
Towels
Charger for your phone (and a car adapter if your car doesn’t have a USB port)
AUX cord to plug your phone into your rental car for GPS guide.
Cash (a lot of the fruit and food stands will only take cash)
Dramamine or these wrist bands if you get car/motion sick (I get motion sick pretty easily, but didn’t end up needing these at all)
Backpack to take water, camera, wallets etc. if you plan to do any hikes
This might go without saying, but make sure your gas tank is filled up before you start.

S T O P S

There are endless stops that you could make along this road, and all of them are breath taking. I wouldn’t recommend you spend too much time at one stop if you plan to make it back before it gets dark. Again, we used The Shaka Guide App, and all these stops minus breakfast, were recommendations from the app. These were the stops we made:

1 . Breakfast –

If you are traveling from Lahaina /Kaanapali area it will take you about 45 minutes just to get to the start of the road. Right before you hit the road there is a small town, Paia where you can stop for a good breakfast. We stopped at Paia Bay Coffee for breakfast sandwiches and coffee.

2 . Twin Falls (mile marker 2) –

This was our first stop, and was probably the most crowded of them all. We walked about 10 minutes and found 2 waterfalls. We thought this was the “Twin falls,” but it wasn’t until we came home and did more research and realized this was not in fact the actual twin falls. Keep walking and you will find the actual falls!

3 . Honomanu Bay (mile marker 14) –

This was a quick stop. We parked on the side of the road, walked across and took in the views of this gorgeous bay.

4 . Ke’anae Peninsula (mile marker 16) –

Highly recommend this detour. Stop at Aunt Sandy’s Banana Bread stand, put your order in, and walk around the peninsula to wait for your bread to be done. The shores are lined with lava rock – so no swimming in the beaches here, but the views sure are stunning.

5 . Wailua Iki Falls (mile marker 21) –

Our favorite stop on the route. It’s a short mile roundtrip hike to a hidden waterfall that you can take a dip in. I guess this stop isn’t on most travel guides because it’s technically private property, but it’s leased out to the county of Maui, and there are never any issues. But just practice good judgement.

6 . Lava Tube Cave (mile marker 23) –

This was a cool, and quick, stop that’s right off of the main highway. The cave was formed when hot lava hardened on the exterior and red lava was still flowing through the center. It seems that there is another lava tube cave at mile marker 31 that has an entrance fee but it has tours and handrails, making it a little safer than this one we stopped at.

7 . Wai’anapanapa State Park (mile marker 32) –

Yeah, try to say that 5 times fast. There are a lot of things to do and see here – you could easily spend an entire day here. There are sea arches, blow holes, and a black sand beach that’s more of a tiny rock beach, so bring sandals if you plan on making a stop down at the beach. There was even a campground you could stay at!

8 . Hana (mile marker 34) –

Honestly we stopped for food and then kept on our way. Like I said, it was more about the journey than the actual destination.

9 . Wailua Falls (mile marker 45) –

This was one of the very few waterfalls right off the highway that we stopped for. Seriously, you don’t need to stop at all of them, you will never finish the route if you do. But this one! I highly recommend a quick pit stop for. It’s 80 feet tall and you can walk down close to the base (we didn’t, but saw people doing it).

10 . Seven Sacred Pools (mile marker 42) –

I don’t know if we were just exhausted at this point, or everything else we saw was far more grand than this, but we were very underwhelmed. And on top of it, you have to pay a park entrance fee of $25 to get in. Unless you plan on doing the Pipiwai hike there, I wouldn’t stop. The hike supposedly lasts about 2 hours, has some amazing views of waterfalls and goes through a bamboo forest.

We continued the loop around Haleakala and through upcountry. The scenery is SO different on the backside of Haleakala and not all lush and green, but still very cool none the less. We didn’t get back into Lahaina until after dark. We grabbed some dinner, took showers and called it a night.

Other Maui posts: Maui Travel Guide, What we ate in Maui, Maui Vlogs, and wedding posts here!