See our FREE Maui Travel Guide to get you ready for the Valley Isle: thehawaiivacationguide.com/maui-travel-guide/ Thanks for watching and drive safely!
Every time we have done the road to Hana we have driven the complete circle and in my opinion the coast side road wasn’t that bad driving. You get a feeling of the whole island.
My wife and I did the Road to Hana back in Sept 2023. Sadly all the road side places to stop were temporarily closed due to the downturn in tourism because of the fires. We really wanted to help with our dollars. Luckily Uncle Rogers World Famous Huli Huli Chicken tent was open! The people working at the black sand beach allowed us to stay as long as we want because not many people were there. Fun trip never the less. Your video showed a lot of familiar places we stopped along the way. The Road Hana APP came in handy too.
My advice from experience is that if you’re at all prone to car or motion sickness, take a Bonnine before you take off. Makes all the difference between a great time and a very bad time.
I had heard about the road to Hana, but I didn't fully understand how tight and windy it was. And we drove it in the rain, lol. Fortunately, I'm a road warrior. We did just a day trip to Maui, so it was the road, continued around the island, hiked up Pipiwai, circled around and drove up Haleakala and then went back to the airport. Mokulele Airlines flew us in from Waimea-Kohala to Kahului just after sunrise. Amazing!
My wife and I drove the Road to Hana yesterday (12/29/23) and can attest it can be a challenging drive, especially on the SE back half as Jordan mentioned 😬; absolutely gorgeous views though. Definitely stop by the Kipahulu District of Haleakala State Park for the Pipiwai trail if you’re up for it.
My family and I did that back side drive from Haleakala to Ono Organic Farms to do their fruit tour. There are definitely dangerous, cliffside areas but the views were pretty amazing. I'd suggest that fruit tour as well if you guys haven't done it. They bring you around the farm in a golf cart for about an hour or 2 and you get to taste anything along the way. Advance reservations and a deposite are necessary. At the end of the tour they send you home with a box full of their delicious fruit. I would highly recommend doing the tour a day after getting to Maui because some of that fruit needs a few days to ripen but it's SO good!
I’ve used Valley Isle Excursions! 4 years ago and it was a good decision. I could take photos while riding in the shuttle vehicle and they stopped frequently also. I still remember the black sand beach with the cave, so cool! They feed you breakfast at a local golf course and lunch at one of the stops, down home island food. The one negative: Auntie Sandy’s was closed! But we got good banana bread from another stand.
You should do a video of roads to avoid in Hawaii. When I was in Maui last year, my GPS routed me to take the Highway 340 loop back to Kaanapali. That road is terrifying and makes the road to Hana look like a cakewalk.
I barely discovered the highway 340 today and I was only able to go halfway because I had to return my rental at 8am in the morning and we went at 630 am to do a trail. I’m definitely coming back for it. The road to Hana was not enough, I was renting a mustang though 😝
This was one of my favorite things on Maui. Lessons learned : 1) Please PLEASE focus on what you are doing as the driver. Yes there are many amazing views but let your passengers get pictures and operate the GoPro. 2) Get comfortable with the corners of your rental car in a parking lot and in more comfortable areas. Do the road to Hana later in your trip. You need to have a good sense for how close you can get to the road edge and other cars. If you are one of those people who need 3 feet between you and a guardrail or jersey wall at home, maybe someone else can drive because you likely will have some places you can't get that much room. 3) There is one place in particular that going east you go downhill and curve right. Brown Cliff on the right side, guardrail on the left. It's like one and a half lane and an S curve. The road is questionable for two cars and you plain cannot see the other starting point. This is the only place on the road that you can really get stuck. If that happens, work with others to find a less narrow spot. You need to be able to reverse and carefully navigate. You may have to give or they do. It's NOT the place to lose your patience.
Watching your video brought back great memories! The Road to Hana was one of the highlights of our trip to Maui in July of 2021. Rental cars were hard to to get at the time and we ended up with a small sedan. It did fine. It was almost better than a Wrangler Unlimited as it was a bit smaller. There were a lot of people in convertible Mustangs too. We made it as far as the Kipalulu Vistor Center in Haleakalā National Park and turned around. Definitely make reservations for Waiʻānapanapa State Park!! We forgot and missed out on Black Sands Beach.
We love Kihei! And Hana of course. Wanted to stay in Lahaina the next time.... :( Passion Fruit/Mango shaved ice at the stand by the farmers market. Yum
We drove the road to Hana when we were on Maui. One thing I can say is that I wish we would have given ourselves more time. I made the reservation for the black sand beach around 11:45. We left our rental around 7am and just felt rushed. We missed so many chances for stops along the way because we didn’t have time and didn’t want to miss our reservation slot. Coming back, the sun was setting and I was nervous about driving the twists and turns at night.
We had a blast! A little white knuckled driving but it was fun! We managed to get back to our Airbnb and went for a swim with the sea turtles. We were staying directly across the street from the National marine sanctuary visitor center. My wife was in heaven! Getting up and having coffee on the beach with all the turtles around was amazing!
I have been to Maui a bunch of times and I have done the road to Hana every trip, the drive is worth it and we see something new every time!!! My personal preference is for Hana Farms banana bread, but Aunty Sandys is really good and we always stop at the Hasegawa General Store for treats and refreshments!!! I think that if you careful, prepared and show Aloha along the drive you will have a great day!!! Another great video!!
Thanks for the comment Robert! I like the founders’ story on Hana Farms. They make great banana bread and other locally sourced food. Thanks for sharing the tip!
The wife and I decided to drive the backside of the road to Hana for our first time visiting Maui. Extremely beautiful, intense, and dangerous. We drove it while the sun was setting in our faces which made it even strategic to make it back safe. Though beautiful, I do not recommend doing the same thing 🤙🏼
We did a tour that did the full loop (included the backside). I was so thankful we booked a tour and we were both able to enjoy the Road to Hana. The drive up the volcano almost sent us to divorce court! 😂😂
It would be so helpful if you could enclose costs of what these amazing trips $$ were. When you’re traveling on a budget and trying to plan an amazing trip sadly dollars or so important.
Take a look on our website for prices. We have an article on the cost for a couple and another for a family of four. Here is a cost estimate for a couple: thehawaiivacationguide.com/trip-to-hawaii-cost-for-two/
Why aren't there any open air tours on the Road to Hana? I'm thinking about the double-decker buses you see in other touristy places. Would be incredible.
I'm not a local (I'm in Ohio, actually), but based on all the videos I've seen of the highway, I would imagine that a combo of the length of those tour busses along with their height (for double deckers) would make driving that road extremely slow and hazardous. Between the tight turns, narrow lanes, and the height of the trees in some areas, that'd be a bad idea.
I wanted to use the local car rental but how do I get from Maui airport to Sheraton resort if I don’t rent from airport? And if there’s a local car rental in the airport, what’s the name? Is there a near by car rental locally owned by Sheraton area? Thank you
Routes are linked in the description box. Most people avoid the drive along the back of the volcano by just turning around once they reach Hana and coming back the same way they drove in. I have driven 45-minutes past Hana to go to the national park and hike the Pipiwai Trail and the road was fine. Never ventured further though. Reversing up a narrow one lane road in a rental car isn’t my idea of fun.
@keawarren Thank you! I didn’t think to check the description box for alternate routes. We are wanting to hike the Pipiwai Trail as well and aren’t wanting to have to reverse on a clifside road either lol.
@@celestemosteller I would recommend getting to Pipiwai first (early early) and then hitting some of the RTH spots on your way back to Central Maui. Or staying overnight in Hana and splitting it up over two days. Drive in with some stops and a visit to Wainapanapa and do the Pipiwai hike and more stops on the way back to Central Maui on day two. I find trying to do the hike with multiple other stops stressful in one day. Obviously, the RTH doesn’t have street lights and it can dark early under the canopy.
@keawarren we survived the road to Hāna! We did the road to Hana a few days ago. We followed your advice and broke it up into two days, staying one night in Hana. It was perfect! Thank you so much
@@celestemosteller Glad you enjoyed it! I love Hana so much. Just visited again in January. A friend mentioned improvements to the southern route where “only some spots” are one lane. May brave that road next time.
We really want to do the road to Hana, but my wife can get motion sickness at times…she can’t read or be on her phone when driving because it makes her feel a bit sick. This is obviously our concern with this road, but is it a case where you’re driving it slow enough that it might not be an issue? Or is there no avoiding the potential for motion sickness on this road?
It is a curvy road and you will still be driving over 35 MPH on most turns. She could take motion sickness medicine, stay off her phone, and turn around if she starts to feel ill. There is still great things to do around Paia Town.
It is a coincidence. One meaning of napa in Hawaiian is curve or bend. Napa in California is a native american word. Wai means water in Hawaiian and is close to water in English.
Anapanapa has nothing to do with “bend” as you stated. A'napa (ā-nă'-pā)- glistening brightness, as of reflected light; a shine; a luster; a sheen. Wai= fresh water. Kai= ocean water First you try to teach me Olelo Hawai’i. Second, to translated wrong. Third you pronounced the word wrong. Your ancestors banned our language, banned our culture and arts, banned our hula and. Illegally took our land away. Go educate yourself and read the Bayonet Constitution. Your ignorance of our language and your egregious translation, teaching me my language is out of your boundaries. Geez.
@@TheHawaiiVacationGuide We found out the hard way, but we got lucky. The first time we stopped, we saw a stand. They didn't have a bathroom - even though we were willing to buy something. However, there was a park attached - where you could go in for $20 apiece and use the bathroom there. Climbed back into the car and found a place a few miles down the road. We all made it in time. So, after that, we stopped. Sone areas have incredible views of the ocean coast, so it was worth the stop.
See our FREE Maui Travel Guide to get you ready for the Valley Isle: thehawaiivacationguide.com/maui-travel-guide/ Thanks for watching and drive safely!
We traveled the Road to Hana in March 2024 it was an awesome trip it actually was our third trip to Maui and we loved it.
Thank you stopping by our shop! We love all your tips for the road to Hana 😍 great job!
Wow, thanks so much for watching! I feel like a celebrity tweeted back.
@@TheHawaiiVacationGuide 😂
Good job explaining proper etiquette. from someone that has lived in Hana for well over 30 years. and has driven the road for more than 4000 times.
Every time we have done the road to Hana we have driven the complete circle and in my opinion the coast side road wasn’t that bad driving. You get a feeling of the whole island.
Exactly, it's not bad at all. Honk around the Corners and you're good
My wife and I did the Road to Hana back in Sept 2023. Sadly all the road side places to stop were temporarily closed due to the downturn in tourism because of the fires. We really wanted to help with our dollars. Luckily Uncle Rogers World Famous Huli Huli Chicken tent was open! The people working at the black sand beach allowed us to stay as long as we want because not many people were there. Fun trip never the less. Your video showed a lot of familiar places we stopped along the way. The Road Hana APP came in handy too.
My advice from experience is that if you’re at all prone to car or motion sickness, take a Bonnine before you take off. Makes all the difference between a great time and a very bad time.
Bonine is the ONLY thing that has helped my motion sickness through multiple RTH drives. Lifesaver.
Thanks for sharing the tip!!
What’s a Bonnie
@@mrmalone28 Bonine. It’s motion sickness medicine. Similar to Dramamine but without getting sleepy. I used it on Road to Hana.
@@mrmalone28 Bonine! Sorry, a typo. It’s a non drowsy motion sickness tablet. Tastes awful, works wonders.
I had heard about the road to Hana, but I didn't fully understand how tight and windy it was. And we drove it in the rain, lol. Fortunately, I'm a road warrior. We did just a day trip to Maui, so it was the road, continued around the island, hiked up Pipiwai, circled around and drove up Haleakala and then went back to the airport. Mokulele Airlines flew us in from Waimea-Kohala to Kahului just after sunrise. Amazing!
Oops, looks like a I made a mistake, lol. Looks like you have less rain on the backside. We did, too.
We almost died one time during heavy rain but can't wait to go back next month! 😍⛈️
You guys know to get my weekend started! Kihei Car rental, Love them! my favorite place to get a car on Maui.
Thanks for watching Tyler! The folks at Kihei rent a car are the best.
My wife and I drove the Road to Hana yesterday (12/29/23) and can attest it can be a challenging drive, especially on the SE back half as Jordan mentioned 😬; absolutely gorgeous views though. Definitely stop by the Kipahulu District of Haleakala State Park for the Pipiwai trail if you’re up for it.
Thanks for sharing! Kipahulu is worth a stop and for the best hike on the island!
Thanks for the information on the bamboo forest.
My family and I did that back side drive from Haleakala to Ono Organic Farms to do their fruit tour. There are definitely dangerous, cliffside areas but the views were pretty amazing. I'd suggest that fruit tour as well if you guys haven't done it. They bring you around the farm in a golf cart for about an hour or 2 and you get to taste anything along the way. Advance reservations and a deposite are necessary. At the end of the tour they send you home with a box full of their delicious fruit. I would highly recommend doing the tour a day after getting to Maui because some of that fruit needs a few days to ripen but it's SO good!
Thanks so much for the recommendation to visit Ono Organic Farms! We love farm tours on Maui!
We drove the backside, didn't have a problem and it was beautiful!
I’ve used Valley Isle Excursions!
4 years ago and it was a good decision.
I could take photos while riding in the shuttle vehicle and they stopped frequently also. I still remember the black sand beach with the cave, so cool!
They feed you breakfast at a local golf course and lunch at one of the stops, down home island food.
The one negative: Auntie Sandy’s was closed! But we got good banana bread from another stand.
You should do a video of roads to avoid in Hawaii. When I was in Maui last year, my GPS routed me to take the Highway 340 loop back to Kaanapali. That road is terrifying and makes the road to Hana look like a cakewalk.
Yes! That road is the worst. We have mentioned it in videos to not take it. Far worse than the backside of Haleakala
I barely discovered the highway 340 today and I was only able to go halfway because I had to return my rental at 8am in the morning and we went at 630 am to do a trail. I’m definitely coming back for it. The road to Hana was not enough, I was renting a mustang though 😝
This was one of my favorite things on Maui. Lessons learned :
1) Please PLEASE focus on what you are doing as the driver. Yes there are many amazing views but let your passengers get pictures and operate the GoPro.
2) Get comfortable with the corners of your rental car in a parking lot and in more comfortable areas. Do the road to Hana later in your trip. You need to have a good sense for how close you can get to the road edge and other cars. If you are one of those people who need 3 feet between you and a guardrail or jersey wall at home, maybe someone else can drive because you likely will have some places you can't get that much room.
3) There is one place in particular that going east you go downhill and curve right. Brown Cliff on the right side, guardrail on the left. It's like one and a half lane and an S curve. The road is questionable for two cars and you plain cannot see the other starting point. This is the only place on the road that you can really get stuck. If that happens, work with others to find a less narrow spot. You need to be able to reverse and carefully navigate. You may have to give or they do. It's NOT the place to lose your patience.
Loved everything about Hana and the people good banana bread and huli chicken
Hana is well worth the drive! We love the food trucks and if you can find the huli chicken shack on the beach, that is a bonus!
Watching your video brought back great memories! The Road to Hana was one of the highlights of our trip to Maui in July of 2021. Rental cars were hard to to get at the time and we ended up with a small sedan. It did fine. It was almost better than a Wrangler Unlimited as it was a bit smaller. There were a lot of people in convertible Mustangs too. We made it as far as the Kipalulu Vistor Center in Haleakalā National Park and turned around. Definitely make reservations for Waiʻānapanapa State Park!! We forgot and missed out on Black Sands Beach.
Just did the Hana drive last Saturday. Took a Miata so those twisty roads were just fine with me. 😊
that sounds like fun.
We love Kihei! And Hana of course. Wanted to stay in Lahaina the next time.... :(
Passion Fruit/Mango shaved ice at the stand by the farmers market. Yum
We drove the road to Hana when we were on Maui. One thing I can say is that I wish we would have given ourselves more time. I made the reservation for the black sand beach around 11:45. We left our rental around 7am and just felt rushed. We missed so many chances for stops along the way because we didn’t have time and didn’t want to miss our reservation slot. Coming back, the sun was setting and I was nervous about driving the twists and turns at night.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Making a reservation time does add stress to the journey. I hope it was still a great day!
We had a blast! A little white knuckled driving but it was fun! We managed to get back to our Airbnb and went for a swim with the sea turtles. We were staying directly across the street from the National marine sanctuary visitor center. My wife was in heaven! Getting up and having coffee on the beach with all the turtles around was amazing!
I have been to Maui a bunch of times and I have done the road to Hana every trip, the drive is worth it and we see something new every time!!!
My personal preference is for Hana Farms banana bread, but Aunty Sandys is really good and we always stop at the Hasegawa General Store for treats and refreshments!!!
I think that if you careful, prepared and show Aloha along the drive you will have a great day!!!
Another great video!!
Thanks for the comment Robert! I like the founders’ story on Hana Farms. They make great banana bread and other locally sourced food. Thanks for sharing the tip!
I love Hana 😃
The wife and I decided to drive the backside of the road to Hana for our first time visiting Maui. Extremely beautiful, intense, and dangerous. We drove it while the sun was setting in our faces which made it even strategic to make it back safe. Though beautiful, I do not recommend doing the same thing 🤙🏼
Dig your vibe, HappyNewYear from Guam😎
Thanks for watching from Guam!
We did a tour that did the full loop (included the backside). I was so thankful we booked a tour and we were both able to enjoy the Road to Hana. The drive up the volcano almost sent us to divorce court! 😂😂
😂 both are tough drives. Doing a tour is a great way to go to Hana.
Love this ohana…hope to bump into them back on the aina.
I feel this is a must when visiting the island, but I won’t do it again.
great tips, very helpful. Thank you. Love your blog too. Are the Rainbow Eucalyptus tress on private property or publicly freely accessible? Thank you
They are on public property. On the side of the highway and also in the Ke'anae Arboretum. Thanks for watching and reading our website!
If you don’t mind me asking, what do you guys do for work to be able to afford to go to Hawaii so often?
Check out our website that’s the best guide on a vacation to Hawaii. thehawaiivacationguide.com
That wasn’t even bad. 4x4 is recommended but that’s all !
I heard about people taking sand home from a Hawaiian vacation, and it haunted their home. They sent the sand back to Hawaii
It would be so helpful if you could enclose costs of what these amazing trips $$ were. When you’re traveling on a budget and trying to plan an amazing trip sadly dollars or so important.
Take a look on our website for prices. We have an article on the cost for a couple and another for a family of four. Here is a cost estimate for a couple: thehawaiivacationguide.com/trip-to-hawaii-cost-for-two/
Why aren't there any open air tours on the Road to Hana? I'm thinking about the double-decker buses you see in other touristy places. Would be incredible.
I'm not a local (I'm in Ohio, actually), but based on all the videos I've seen of the highway, I would imagine that a combo of the length of those tour busses along with their height (for double deckers) would make driving that road extremely slow and hazardous. Between the tight turns, narrow lanes, and the height of the trees in some areas, that'd be a bad idea.
If you get motion sickness be PREPARED! You’ll see many others who pull over to the side to vomit because of the windy roads!
I wanted to use the local car rental but how do I get from Maui airport to Sheraton resort if I don’t rent from airport? And if there’s a local car rental in the airport, what’s the name? Is there a near by car rental locally owned by Sheraton area? Thank you
Look at Kihei rent a car or makao rent a car. They are local. There isn’t a local one by the Sheraton. thehawaiivacationguide.com/rental-car/
What camera and equipment did you use on 6:14 - 6:17 ?
Can you still drive the Road to Hana and not drive the backside of Haleakala? Do you guys have a Road to Hana Route? We are visiting Maui in February.
Routes are linked in the description box. Most people avoid the drive along the back of the volcano by just turning around once they reach Hana and coming back the same way they drove in. I have driven 45-minutes past Hana to go to the national park and hike the Pipiwai Trail and the road was fine. Never ventured further though. Reversing up a narrow one lane road in a rental car isn’t my idea of fun.
@keawarren Thank you! I didn’t think to check the description box for alternate routes. We are wanting to hike the Pipiwai Trail as well and aren’t wanting to have to reverse on a clifside road either lol.
@@celestemosteller I would recommend getting to Pipiwai first (early early) and then hitting some of the RTH spots on your way back to Central Maui. Or staying overnight in Hana and splitting it up over two days. Drive in with some stops and a visit to Wainapanapa and do the Pipiwai hike and more stops on the way back to Central Maui on day two. I find trying to do the hike with multiple other stops stressful in one day. Obviously, the RTH doesn’t have street lights and it can dark early under the canopy.
@keawarren we survived the road to Hāna! We did the road to Hana a few days ago. We followed your advice and broke it up into two days, staying one night in Hana. It was perfect! Thank you so much
@@celestemosteller Glad you enjoyed it! I love Hana so much. Just visited again in January. A friend mentioned improvements to the southern route where “only some spots” are one lane. May brave that road next time.
They should close that road or make it larger in that spot.
We really want to do the road to Hana, but my wife can get motion sickness at times…she can’t read or be on her phone when driving because it makes her feel a bit sick. This is obviously our concern with this road, but is it a case where you’re driving it slow enough that it might not be an issue? Or is there no avoiding the potential for motion sickness on this road?
It is a curvy road and you will still be driving over 35 MPH on most turns. She could take motion sickness medicine, stay off her phone, and turn around if she starts to feel ill. There is still great things to do around Paia Town.
What stretch of road is considered the backside of Haleakala?
After Hana but the road gets rough after Kipahulu District of the park.
@@TheHawaiiVacationGuide Thanks!! Wouldn't feel comfortable driving it; probably will turn around at ʻOheʻo Gulch. Thanks for your channel!
why-Napa-Napa? like Napa in CA?
It is a coincidence. One meaning of napa in Hawaiian is curve or bend. Napa in California is a native american word. Wai means water in Hawaiian and is close to water in English.
Anapanapa has nothing to do with “bend” as you stated.
A'napa (ā-nă'-pā)- glistening brightness, as of reflected light; a shine; a luster; a sheen.
Wai= fresh water.
Kai= ocean water
First you try to teach me Olelo Hawai’i. Second, to translated wrong. Third you pronounced the word wrong.
Your ancestors banned our language, banned our culture and arts, banned our hula and. Illegally took our land away. Go educate yourself and read the Bayonet Constitution.
Your ignorance of our language and your egregious translation, teaching me my language is out of your boundaries.
Geez.
The Red Sand Beach is Closed? Or the path to it? Haven't seen anyone mention it except you.
Part of the trail to the beach was lost a couple years ago. Local signs and the county ask that people don’t put first responders at risk.
Nooo not the red sand beach :(
Public batrooms are not plentiful. Stop when you can. Don't wait until you have to.
That’s a good tip! Your guides make it a point to have plenty of rest stops.
@@TheHawaiiVacationGuide We found out the hard way, but we got lucky. The first time we stopped, we saw a stand. They didn't have a bathroom - even though we were willing to buy something. However, there was a park attached - where you could go in for $20 apiece and use the bathroom there. Climbed back into the car and found a place a few miles down the road. We all made it in time. So, after that, we stopped. Sone areas have incredible views of the ocean coast, so it was worth the stop.
Been there...done that. Its NOT WORTH the hassle.
"Two visitors to Maui were carjacked and robbed at gunpoint, say they were forced to run, hide and hike for their lives on the road Hana"
I HAD to drive there once, for my business. But i would NEVER go there again simply for pleasure. It is NOT WORTH IT.