Maui Spotlight: Road to Hana

Traveling the Road to Hana was something I definitely wanted to do during my first visit to Maui. Although I had read about the road on the internet and in the book, Maui Revealed, I couldn't completely imagine what it would be like. I knew that I would see waterfalls and I knew that there were hundreds of curves and some one lane bridges, but it was still difficult for me to visualize it prior to making the trip.

In planning the trip on the Road to Hana, I definitely knew that I didn't want to drive. I also knew that my family members wouldn't want to drive either so I opted for the Hana picnic tour through Temptation Tours. The tour company received really good reviews, but we were not completely happy with it. I think it had a lot to do with our driver. I thought that he drove too fast and didn't stop at many of the waterfalls and other sights. Hana is a beautiful road with a lot of waterfalls and lush rainforests. It's best driven at leisurely pace with frequent stops. When you take a tour, you don't have control over the frequency of the stops or the speed at which you drive. For that reason, it may be better to drive yourself to Hana if you don't mind driving along narrow, winding mountain cliffs.

Admittedly, we were exhausted during the trip. I made the mistake of booking the tour for the day after we arrived on Maui thinking that we would want to go somewhere early in the morning due to the time difference. Well, we did want to wake up early, but the prior day's long travel time had us wiped out early in the tour. I think I was the only one with some appreciation for the beauty provided by the Road to Hana. My mother hated the road and was terrified about the possibility of going over a cliff. The passing truck drivers zooming by didn't seem to help either.

The trip to Hana was better than the return trip because we were on the mountain side of the two lane highway. The return trip was on the cliff side of the mountain, which was worse. The one lane bridges weren't bad at all because they were very short and you could easily see when there was a car on the opposite side trying to cross.

In going to Hana, it's really about the journey, not the destination. Hana didn't seem to have much and we didn't really enjoy it. (Of course, we were really tired.) However, the Road to Hana is unique and I definitely believe it's worth going at least once.

Sightseeing Tours on the island of Maui - CLICK HERE!