Comments on: Tips for Driving the Road to Hana

By: sheila

sheila — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:10:22 +0000

Thanks for the report, Russ. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed your day driving the road to Hana, despite the rain.

By: RUSS HEDLAND

RUSS HEDLAND — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:09:30 +0000

just got home yesterday–maui was even more beautiful than we expected. it did rain most of the day we did the road to hana so we couldn’t actually get out and do any of the hikes but all the waterfalls were full and i mean FULL. even though we pretty much had to stay in the car it was still a worthwhile adventure. it let up enough we went down to the black sand beach it was gorgeous. a good thing was we stayed in lahaina and it didn’t rain there at all. my wife and i are looking forward to returning to your paradise on earth

By: sheila

sheila — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:50:45 +0000

Russ – Hawaii’s weather can be very unpredictable. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you have nice weather!

Just in case the weather is a bit rainy, see my recommendations of what to do on Maui for a rainy day:
http://www.govisithawaii.com/2007/12/10/8-great-rainy-day-things-to-do-on-maui/

By: RUSS HEDLAND

RUSS HEDLAND — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:19:31 +0000

what the hecks up with the weather. i checked the long range forecast as we are leaving tom. a.m. and it has rain and high winds forecast for every day we are gonna be there!!!

By: A Maui Blog » Blog Archive » Hotel Hana Maui – What I Loved About My Drive, My Visit, My Stay

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:06:42 +0000

[...] 1. The Scenic Drive to Hana. 600 curves and across 59 bridges (over half of which are just one lane wide), the beauty is simply stunning. I got to see waterfalls, bamboo forrest, and ocean view. It was my first time to drive there by myself, and I thought it would be “scary” – but it was actually enjoyable. Of course I made it a point to pull over every time I see a car or truck behind me, because I know I was driving slow. That made the drive less stressful. For tips on driving to Hana, check out Go Visit Hawaii Blog. [...]

By: RUSS HEDLAND

RUSS HEDLAND — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:25:59 +0000

thanks for the prompt response and advice we are really looking forward to the trip

By: sheila

sheila — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:37:11 +0000

Russ – I don’t think the day of the week really matters much when it comes to driving the road to Hana. In my opinion, the weather forecast is far more important. So, check the weather reports when you are there and aim for the day that looks the sunniest on the Hana side.

The amount of time it takes to get to say a good turning around point really depends on how many stops you make. I would allow approximately 3 hours one way.

I’m a fan of the revealed guides, with some exceptions. (Exceptions = the book seems to encourage trespassing which I absolutely discourage & the book can send you on a wild goose chase hikes into dangerous situations.)

My advice would be to get the revealed guide before you go to Maui. Carefully read and highlight the road to Hana section. Make yourself a cheat sheet of all the stops that sound interesting and note the associated mile markers and landmarks.

By: RUSS HEDLAND

RUSS HEDLAND — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:57:23 +0000

my wife and i are planning a trip to maui the first week in march is it better to take the road to hana on a weekday? do you think the traffic will be lighter then? we will be staying in lahaina–about how long of a trip is it one way to the recommended turn around area? i am a very experienced driver app. how long will it take? should i buy the “mile by mile” or “maui revealed” guidebook in your opinion? any info anybody can give me will be greatly appreciated.

By: Justin Wright

Justin Wright — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:41:32 +0000

I made this drive back when I lived in Hawaii and loved it. It took a long time but the scenery was well worth the drive. An amazing place I must say!

By: mau

mau — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:24:11 +0000

Number three “…Definitely plan to make a whole day of the drive there and back. Ideally, an overnight stay in the town of Hana.”

Great advice!

By: Midge

Midge — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:27:23 +0000

Just got back from a week in Maui! Super fantastic vacation. We did the Road to Hana with a tour on Tuesday and it was so much fun. We wasn’t able to go to the pools because of the weather outlook…all the beaches in State Parks were closed due to weather. We didn’t have any bad weather the whole time we were there. Everyone was so friendly and nice and helpful. Lahaina was a blast and the dinner magic show at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel was super.
Midge Neitz

By: A Maui Blog

A Maui Blog — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:18:21 +0000

Great post and discussion Sheilah! This is worth a tweet, so will do right now

By: Alison

Alison — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:18:40 +0000

Thanks for your reply, Sheila. Hope you had a relaxing weekend; sounded like you needed it by your August 26 blog.
Since then, I’ve called Budget in Kahului and chatted with Rose who was most helpful and gave me the skinny on kapu roads.
I’ve revamped our trip; it’ll mean doubling up on roads previously travelled but it’ll also give us a second chance to appreciate Maui’s beauty.
We are so looking forward to our trip.
Mahalo!

By: sheila

sheila — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:17:23 +0000

Hi Alison – I’ve finally had a moment to sit down with a map along with reading your plans. You probably already know this, but you will be driving some sections of road that the major car rental companies “prohibit”. Now, the rental car companies are standing guard at these roads and stopping you from going there. Some tourist can and do drive those roads, but they are assuming a bit of a risk when they do.

I see that your plans include driving around the “top” or northwest side of Maui, too. Here’s an article I wrote on that: http://www.govisithawaii.com/2007/06/01/beware-of-driving-in-northwest-maui/

If you plan to continue with your route, try to pick a “skinny” car, because some of those prohibited roads are super narrow. I would suggest a jeep, but since you’ll be carrying luggage and such, a jeep isn’t very secure.

Hope this helps.

By: sheila

sheila — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:11:08 +0000

I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve updated this post to include a link to this great video of the road to Hana. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvxdpNci3I0

By: sheila

sheila — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:52:13 +0000

Thanks, Alison. I’m going to have intermittent web access over the next several days plus my brain is zapped today. Let me get back to you on the flip side of the weekend.

By: Alison

Alison — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:40:06 +0000

Hi Sheila: Gosh! You’re quick! Thanks for your help. I’ll explain a little further about our route and stays if I may … we arrive obviously in Kahului and will spend the next 3 nights at the Old Wailuku Inn then we’ll take Hwy 30 around the SW tip thru Lahaina and stay at Napili Bay for 3 nights. We’ll tackle the dreaded NW Maui road then across the top end through Kahului then Paia and so on taking 36/360 to Hana. We stay in Hana for 3 nights then head south on Hwy 31 then north on Hwy 37 to Keokea where we stay for 2 nights taking in the volcano and the highlands then through Makawao back to Kahului then south on Hwy 311/350 to Kihei for 3 days then once again back to Kahului and our flight home. No we won’t be renting bikes to do the trip; we have way too much junk to carry around but we are going to look into scooters for a fun day trip in Kihei. Hope this makes our voyage clearer. Alison

By: sheila

sheila — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:27:26 +0000

Hi Alison,

The main part of the road to Hana is safe. It’s well paved. It does have lots and lots of curves and one-lane bridges, though, but nothing too challenging.

The article I wrote today related to driving way past the main sites of the road to Hana. At that point the road is unpaved. As long as you don’t drive past that you really don’t have anything to worry about.

I don’t know of an online map of Maui showing the unpaved areas. I sure wish I did, because it would have made my article much easier to write if I could refer to a map like that.

I’m going to have to review your route and plans and get back to you.

Will you be renting motorcycles on Maui?

By: Alison

Alison — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:11:43 +0000

Kool! I’ve never subscribed to a blog before. Thanks for your reply. Our plan is to drive from Wailuku to Napili via Lahaina, travel along the north shore through Paia to Hana, then Keokea, then Kehei finally retracing our steps to the Kahului airport. Since sending my note of Aug 26, I’ve read your articles about Highway 30 and how dangerous it is making me a trifle anxious. Someone also mentioned unpaved roads. Is there a website I could go to that would give me up-to-date info on Maui highways or can you put my mind to rest somewhat about the actual road conditions? We are looking forward to an adventure but perhaps this is beyond our criteria. We both ride motorcycles so know what a tight corner can mean. Any input would be appreciated. Thx, Alison

By: sheila

sheila — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:06:24 +0000

Hi Alison – Two weeks in Maui in December? Sounds fantastic!

I’m glad you are finding the articles at Go Visit Hawaii to be useful. I write from my own experiences and I’ve learned a lot from my trips to Hawaii.

Thanks for taking the time to provide your kind feedback!