Road to Hana, Hana

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Hotel Hana Maui was a very unique and amazing hotel. It is pricey to have no t.v and wi-fi, but it's beautiful and private and romantic. The service is excellent! I've heard it is changing entirely as far as the name and prices, etc., but I'm hoping it continues to be an oasis of beauty and "old Hawaii". I would totally recommend this hotel, esp. as a romantic "total get-away from it all and focus on each other" type place.

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We (30 somethings) stayed at Hotel Hana Maui and loved it! But half the fun was getting there.... we chose the R2H cd guide (http://www.ther2h.com) and we were so glad we did! We discovered it at Anthony's in Paia (http://www.anthonyscoffee.com/). We had heard that all the CD guides were kinda cheesy, so we were hesitant to even use one. However, this cd guide had amazing music and great tips and spots to stop. We would've missed so many stops along the road (and probably would've stopped at some we shouldn't have). It is fairly new, I think, but we would totally recommend it when doing the Road to Hana. It's a beautiful road, and there's more to see after Hana! So we stayed the night at Hotel Hana Maui and spent the next day doing the "beyond" as the guide puts it. We look forward to driving the "Road" again in the future!

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The end of the road. To get here is the main reason people do the road to Hana. Its actually for the whole journey. Those few hours that you are on the road is all beautiful but when you finally get here you can say "i have arrived".
I had gone to Haleakala the day before and I was told to save my entrance to the park ticket because it was good for three days. So when I drove into the Haleakala area and everyone was paying to get in, I just should them my ticket and didnt have to pay for anything extra.
The Seven Sacred pools is located in the Haleakala area. Its its not referred to as Seven sacred pools either. Its called Ohe'o Gulch.
It was beautiful also! My kids enjoyed being here more than at any other place along the Road to Hana.
The easiest to reach and the nicest pools are located near the shoreline. The land where the Seven Sacred Pools are situated was donated to the Haleakala National Park system so that the pools would forever be open to the public.
There are tons of trail here but we just stayed at the closest pools area. People were diving off the cliffs and the water was alittle cold but very clean. We stayed there for a few hours than drove through the back way to get back to Kihei.
I really enjoyed this place. I cant wait to go back. There is just so much to see and so many trails to hike that I didnt have enough time to do everything I wanted.

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To be very honest sometimes I got alittle confused as to where I was at along the Road to Hana. Before we got to the seven sacred pools we found this place. There ere many people parked along side the road. There are also people selling their crafts here. You have to be careful because there is not too much parking and you are walking along side the main road. the drivers are also looking at the falls and not paying attention to pedestrians. As you start walking to the falls it is very slippery and wet. There also alot of muddy areas. Its easy to fall or slip. I was with my youngest son and it got a little complicated to walk all the way down. It could be done because there was other people there but we chose not to go all the way down.
You really dont have to. you can see it fine from the street. It was beautiful. The area is so green and the waterfalls water drops 200-feet down a sharp cliff. It was one of the last waterfalls we saw before getting to the seven sacred pools.

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On the Road to Hana right before we got to the actual town we saw this sign that said Lava tunnels. My son Adrian saw it and had to check it out. It was great for him to do and for my youngest son Kekoa who is 5yrs. My daughter and I got the creeps alittle but it was fun.
This tour usually lasts about 30-45 minutes. We got a flash light and a hard hat which is optional. Kekoa loved having his own hard hat and flash light. There are hand rails to assist you in walking and there are signs everywhere to point out what everything is. It was interesting but i think I have watched way too many scary movies because I felt a need to get out of there. I thought it was ok. The kids loved it. It is a self guided tour and its $11.95 Per Person. Kids 5 & under free.
7 Days Per Week
365 Days Per Year
10:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Well this is something that you have to do at least once in your lifetime if you ever get to Maui. Its going to be an all day adventure so take snacks , change of clothes, towels, water...etc..
I took a little cooler with all these things and they came in handy. We did a few stops along the way also but the stuff I brought, especially with the kids, was a good thing.
The road is curvy and in some areas there is construction going on. In some areas there is also just one lane so be cautious but dont be afraid to do the drive. It was just me and the three kids because my husband couldnt come and we were fine. I checked the road conditions and I knew that between a certain road marker to another the road would be closed from 11am to 3pm so since I didnt want to get stuck there I made sure I was out of that area at those times.
Fill up your car before you go and just have fun. I took so many pictures it was ridiculous. As you can see in my travelogues :)

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If you do the Road to Hâna, you will come across Waikani Falls, which is sometimes called Three Bears (it's obvious why). These falls are viewable from the bridge and it is a popular spot with both tourists in cars and the tour buses. Unfortunately, there is not much legal parking.

During our trip in Oct. '06, we came across the area crammed with several cars and two buses parked illegally. Since there is only room for two cars to park legally, all of the others were on the road and blocking traffic. It was a mess like this a couple times. We ended up going a couple hundred meters past it to park and just walked back.

We were here several times and found it in several different states of flow. As we have read before about these falls, more is not always better. Just look at all my photos and judge for yourself.

If you do decide to hike down for a closer look like I did in 2005, be VERY carefull. The first step off the bridge is a big one and the rocks are slippery. Venture at your own risk! As a matter of fact, it looked so slippery this trip (2006) that I chose not go down there.

These falls are much bigger than they appear from the road. Look at my first photo. I am standing directly in front of them and they look huge. It puts a little perspective on all the other photos, which were all taken from the bridge.

Have you ever watched Girl Meets Hawai`i on the Travel Channel with Samantha Brown? My wife and I always record this show to see if there is some place they highlight to which we we have not yet been. During an episode where she took The Road to Hana, she stopped at this roadside stand. Guess what? We were planning a trip to Maui and decided it would be neat to see things she reviewed.

We just happened to pass this stand and recognized it from the show. When we saw the proprietor, we knew it was the place. When we told her we saw her on the Travel Channel, she smiled and aknowledged it. She said it was about a year ago that they taped it and they sent her a tape of the final product. Guess what? She has yet to see the tape? Why? She has no VCR nor does she have elictrical power to her home.

She said it was confusng because they taped each sequence three times and each time they had the microphone on a different person. So she has no real clear idea of how it turned out.

We bought some tropical fruit and I enjoyed some coconut water directly from a fresh coconut. And, FYI, coconut water tastes nothing like coconut milk used for mixed drinks or cooking? Why? Because the water in the coconut is just that: drinkable water. Coconut milk is derived from crushing and grinding the flesh of the coconut to extract its juice.


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Drive the Road to Hana but go slow. If you go too fast you might miss something beautiful or hit an on coming car.
It's a must, beautiful views, wonderful places to explore.

I strongly suggest taking two days to drive the road to Hana. A lot of people do it in one day but you miss so much! My husband and I took our time stopping every chance we got. We started out in the very early morning and arrived in Hana by night fall. We pitched a tent at the state park and enjoyed an incredible sunrise! We completed our journey the following day...words can't explain it!

The rainforest lead you into Hana and when you leave you experience rolling hills, lava fields and cliffs with the ocean pounding against it!