When deciding what we wanted to do while in Maui for a week, driving the Road to Hana was top of the list.
If you’ve not heard of the Road to Hana before, it’s a scenic drive between Kahului and Hana that takes you along the coast, above cliffs, through rainforests, past waterfalls and much more.
I’d read that it’s not really something you can rush. Despite the drive only being ~50 miles, if you drive it nonstop it takes at least two hours as it’s a long and winding road. If you want to stop and see things along the way, you’re looking at a journey of at least five hours in just the one direction. Add on a drive of at least two hours back – assuming no stops along the way – and that’s going to make for quite a long day.
Not wanting to rush things, we decided to split up the drive by spending a couple of nights in Hana. Our flight from Kauai to Maui was due to land at 4pm. By the time we’d gotten our cases and picked up our rental car it was 4:30pm. With sunset being at 5:45pm that night, a two hour drive meant we wouldn’t have time to see much before it got dark.
As a result, we decided to drive straight from the airport to our hotel in Hana without stopping. It was a bit of a nervy drive at dusk because the road narrows to one lane at numerous bridges along the way. Those bridges are often on hairpin corners, so it’s hard to see if a car’s coming the other way. Things actually became much easier once it was dark as we could see the headlights of cars coming in the opposite direction.
Important Tip 1 – Download Offline Maps
We had very little cell phone service or internet connection while driving the Road to Hana. I’d therefore highly recommend downloading offline maps in Google Maps before you leave – here’s how to do that. Doing this ensures you can get directions without any issue, making it far easier to plan stops along the way.
If you create route maps with stops, be sure to have Google Maps send directions to your phone or email rather than copying a link to the map. When you click through from the link that’s texted or emailed to you, it’ll bring the stops up in the Google Maps app without any problem even if you don’t have any signal provided you have an offline map downloaded. However, if you plan out your route and only copy the URL and it gives a goo.gl link, that won’t open if you don’t have signal. Ask us how we know 😉
Important Tip 2 – Withdraw Cash Ahead Of Time
Many of the places that we stopped at on the Road to Hana accepted card payments, but some were cash only. It’s therefore advisable to have some cash on you if you’re likely to want to stop for snacks, drinks, souvenirs and activities along the way.
Hana-Maui Resort
The hotel we booked for a couple of nights in Hana was the Hana-Maui Resort. The property has a lot of different kinds of rooms, suites and villas. I have Globalist status with Hyatt and so we were upgraded to a bungalow with a partial ocean view.
The accommodations at the resort aren’t as luxurious-feeling as you might initially anticipate considering the high cash or points price. However, it didn’t feel like the hotel was cheaping out on decor either. Hana isn’t quite as remote as Utqiagvik in Alaska, but it’s not far off. As a result, there’s only so much that you can expect of somewhere that’s so far from everything.
Ultimately, it felt like old school luxury, as though we were stepping back in time – not in a bad way though. Our bungalow was spacious, with both a deep bathtub and a walk-in shower, along with high ceilings. Out back there was a large lanai with loungers looking out towards the ocean.
The resort itself is beautiful and very well maintained. There are paved paths to get to the restaurant, pool, etc., but you can also call the front desk to have a staff member pick you up in a buggy to take you to wherever else on the resort you want to go to.
The resort is also incredibly peaceful. In fact, it’s probably one of the most relaxing hotels we’ve ever stayed at.
One of the benefits of my Globalist status was complimentary breakfast each morning. The restaurant is slightly elevated above the rest of the property, so that provides some lovely views as you dine in the morning.
One of the hotel’s best features is its infinity pool overlooking the ocean. The pool is heated, but it’s not what I’d call warm. However, it was pleasant enough to be in on a hot day and we spent at least a couple of hours hanging out in there.
What makes the pool area even better is the poolside bar. The server was very friendly and we enjoyed our cocktails.
Overall, we had a wonderful stay at the resort. In hindsight, I wish we’d booked an additional night there so that we could’ve had a day to explore the town of Hana and other attractions at that end of the Road to Hana.
There is a downside to the property though – its price. It was a ridiculously expensive $800 per night for our dates, but thankfully we had a workaround.
The Hana-Maui Resort is a Destination by Hyatt property which meant it could be booked using World of Hyatt points. At the time of our stay in December 2024 it was a category 7 property which means it costs 25,000, 30,000 or 35,000 points per night depending on if it’s at off-peak, standard or peak pricing. The first night was off-peak and the second was standard for our stay, so we redeemed points for the first night and used a category 1-7 free night certificate for the second night. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt which is what we did to get the 25,000 points needed for our first night.
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On the day we checked out of the Hana-Maui Resort, we’d planned to get a somewhat early start in order to have plenty of time to stop and see as many places along the Road to Hana as we could. However, we were both having such a relaxing time that morning, we didn’t end up checking out until closer to 11am.
It was then time to make the drive back – this time in daylight. You could probably make this journey in both directions multiple times and stop to see different things each time. This guide therefore isn’t a comprehensive list of everything to see and do on the Road to Hana – it’s simply everything that we stopped to see and do. Note that it’s in the order of attractions when starting in Hana; if you’re making the drive from Kahului, take this list in reverse.
Black Sand Beach At Waiʻanapanapa State Park
We made a bit of a mistake. We wanted to visit the Black Sand Beach at Waiʻanapanapa State Park and had heard ahead of time that we needed to get a timed pass in order to enter. Unfortunately we didn’t end up doing that, but decided to head there anyway in case it was possible to gain entry on the day.
It wasn’t.
We therefore had to turn around at the entrance and continue on our way back. Oh well – it’s just a good excuse to return to Maui and drive the Road to Hana again in the future!
Hana Gold Cacao Plantation
Our first official stop was therefore at the Hana Gold Cacao Plantation. It’s a small family-owned plantation that produces “branch to bar” chocolate, growing the cacao trees and harvesting its fruit to produce their own chocolate.
In addition to chocolate bars of a variety of flavors, Hana Gold had all kinds of other chocolate products like chocolate candles and cacao body butter.
We bought several bars of chocolate (which were good) and a jar of cacao body butter and continued on our way. The owner was very friendly and provided excellent service.
Hana Lava Tube
Our next stop was the Hana Lava Tube, just one mile up the road from the cacao plantation.
Entry is $15 per person, with it being free for those ages five and under. The tube takes about 30-45 minutes to walk depending on your speed, how long you stop to look around inside and how long it takes you to read the plentiful information boards inside the cave.
The cave itself isn’t lit, so the owners provide flashlights to take down with you.
The information boards shared a lot of information about the lava tube. Here’s just a small amount of what we learned:
- The cave was created almost 1,000 years ago. It was formed by lava forming a crust on top, then the rest of the lava beneath drained out towards the ocean. What was left behind was this lava tube
- The ceiling crust is 30-60 feet thick
- The cave was once used as a potential nuclear fallout shelter
- Some of the ceiling has what looks like gold in it. Those are actually chemolithotrophs – rock eating bacteria that’s thought to have been on the planet for4 billion years.
- The cave stays 66°-72°F (19°-22°C) year-round, with 70% humidity
Hana Lava Tube accepts payment by credit card, but they also have an ATM on site. There are porta-potties with water and soap as well which is another useful feature if you’re at the start or end of a long drive (depending on where you set off from).
Coconut Glen’s
Our next stop was for refreshment at Coconut Glen’s. Coconut Glen’s is an ice cream food truck/shack that also serves fresh coconuts, other drinks and a few other snacks like banana bread – a commonly found treat on the Road to Hana.
The ice cream is vegan and dairy free, made using organic coconut and with more than half a dozen flavors on rotation. You get two scoops per cup and you can mix and match. Shae got chocolate chunk and merry mint, while I ordered coconut and lilikoi (passionfruit).
We hadn’t noticed beforehand that the ice cream was made using coconut. Shae isn’t a big fan of coconut, so this wasn’t her best ice cream. I love coconut though and really enjoyed it – for being vegan ice cream, it was excellent. My coconut ice cream was very good and had coconut flakes in it, but the lilikoi flavor was my favorite of the two. I tried Shae’s flavors and they were good as well.
Kipakaone Bay
A friend mentioned that they’d seen whales playing in the water in Kipakaone Bay when visiting Maui, so we added that as our next stop. Unfortunately we didn’t have any luck getting to the water. We followed Google Maps as far as we could, but we got to a point about half a mile away where we couldn’t drive our car any further.
We left our car in a small parking area and figured we could walk down to the water. As we took a path in the right direction towards the bay, we were joined by a super sweet dog who seemed to enjoy our company.
A little further down the path we came across a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on a bridge. Apparently sometimes when you see those in Hawaii they’re just advisory, but we weren’t comfortable going beyond a sign like that and so gave up on our attempt to go whale watching.
Makapipi Falls
There are quite a lot of waterfalls to be seen along the Road to Hana, with some of them being easier to view than others.
Makapipi Falls was a blend of the two. There was a pull-off just before the bridge over the falls where you could just about make out the cascade.
However, walking on to the bridge and looking down gave a better view.
Hanawi Falls
Hanawi Falls was next. The best place to park here is just before you get to the falls if you’re driving from Hana, or just after the falls if coming from Kahului. It’s then just a short walk to see the falls.
Please be respectful though and follow rules listed that you might see along the Road to Hana.
Roadside Lava Tube
Another mile further up on the side of the road was another lava tube given the ingeniously-titled name Roadside Lava Tube. There’s a pull-off just past a nearby bridge where you can park your car and get out.
Seeing as we’d already stopped at Hana Lava Tube that day, we didn’t feel the need to go inside and I’ve no idea if it’s even safe to do so!
Pua’a Ka’a Falls At Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside
Next up was Pua’a Ka’a Falls. Unlike the couple of sets of roadside waterfalls we’d stopped at quickly earlier, Pua’a Ka’a Falls was a bit of a longer stop. That’s because these falls are at Pua’a Ka’a State Wayside and you have to take a short walk to see them.
That makes it a great opportunity to stretch your legs if you’ve mostly been in the car for a while, plus there are restrooms available.
You can view one waterfall from above in the park, plus you can walk along the road and over the narrow bridge to see more from below.
Random Waterfall
I couldn’t find a name of it on Google Maps, but there was another gradual waterfall on a hairpin bend that crosses over West Wailua Iki Stream. You can find its location on Google Maps here.
Upper Waikani Falls (aka Three Bears)
As you can see, there are lots of waterfalls along the Road to Hana. One of the more impressive-looking ones are Upper Waikani Falls which are also known as Three Bears.
Wailuaiki Bay View
While driving downhill, there was a large pull-off to the right. This parking area had some good views of Wailuaiki Bay and the landscape below.
Wailua Valley State Wayside
One of the most scenic views of the day came when we stopped at Wailua Valley State Wayside. After parking, we had to walk uphill a very short distance, but it provided some spectacular views of Wailua Valley.
It’s also a good opportunity to get an elevated photo of the actual Road to Hana.
Being slightly elevated also meant that we temporarily had cellphone signal, so this is worth a stop if you need to make a phone call or look something up online quickly.
Halfway To Hana
Other than the ice cream at Coconut Glen’s, we hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, so we stopped for snacks at Halfway to Hana.
Halfway to Hana has a wide selection of food, from hot and cold sandwiches to banana bread to chips to ice cream to shave ice and more. I ordered a BBQ pork sandwich, while Shae got a hot dog which both hit the spot.
There was a sign stating that Halfway to Hana is the home of the original banana bread. I’ve no idea how true this might be, but we grabbed a loaf to take with us to check it out.
Aunt Sandy’s Banana Bread
We ended up being extremely glad that we picked up the banana bread from Halfway to Hana. When checking out of the Hana-Maui Resort earlier that morning, the guy who gave us a buggy ride to our car recommended that we stop at Aunt Sandy’s Banana Bread, so we added that to our list of places to visit along the Road to Hana.
Shae and I arrived just before 3:30pm and they’d shut up shop for the day, so they presumably sold out of the banana bread. Seeing as banana bread seems to be a quintessential thing on the Road to Hana, we were grateful that we’d gotten that other banana bread to go.
Waialohe Park
Although we got unlucky with Aunt Sandy’s being closed, we were fortunate nonetheless. We’d had to make a short diversion to drive down there and discovered its location is next to Waialohe Park on Ke’anae Peninsula.
This was a lovely spot to stop for a few minutes, breathe in the sea air and admire the views while having a slice or two of the banana bread we’d purchased earlier.
Honomanu Bay
A couple of miles further up the road was a pull-off that had beautiful views of Honomanu Bay.
Kaumahina State Wayside Park
Another great spot to get out and properly stretch your legs is at Kaumahina State Wayside Park which also has some restrooms.
There are some really cool looking trees…
…some short trails…
…and views of the ocean and Road to Hana.
Haipua’ena Falls
A few more miles along we stopped near Haipua’ena Falls, although the view of it was slightly obstructed.
Eucalyptus Rainbow Trees
Perhaps the most fascinating stop of the day was to see the Eucalyptus Rainbow Trees.
The Eucalyptus Rainbow Trees are named that way due to their colorful bark which has shades of orange, green, brown and more.
Ho’okipa Beach Park
Our final stop on the Road to Hana before continuing on to our next hotel was Ho’okipa Beach Park. When we were in Kauai, we visited Poipu Beach where dozens of turtles come up on to the beach at night to sleep.
By chatting to one of the volunteers at Poipu Beach, Shae learned that there’s apparently a beach on each of the main Hawaiian islands where turtles sleep at night. On Maui, that’s Ho’okipa Beach Park.
We weren’t sure which end of the beach they’d be at, so we walked west initially. That was the wrong direction, but it did mean we got to see a monk seal resting on the beach.
After watching it rest for a while, we headed up the opposite end of the beach where we found lots of sea turtles. There are a couple of ways to view them; there’s a viewing area from above…
…or you can watch them at beach level.
To help ensure that the honu (sea turtles) remain undisturbed, their resting area is marked off.
Other Attractions We Missed
We spent about 6-7 hours driving the Road to Hana and stopped to see as much as we could. Despite that, there were lots of other attractions we missed, such as at least two arboretums, a BBQ joint, other waterfalls, hiking opportunities, beaches and much, much more.
Overall though, we had a wonderful time and were glad we had a chance to drive the Road to Hana.
[…] spending a couple of nights at the Hana-Maui Resort and then driving the Road to Hana, we spent the rest of our week on Maui at the Hyatt Regency Maui […]