As I mentioned before, I (and Doug) did a LOT of research for this trip. We had a number of friends tell us we needed to drive the Hana Highway (known as the Road to Hana). It is a great way to explore a large part of the island.
Doing research online, I read a lot of comments and reviews about the Road to Hana. The thoughts about going to Hana were definitely mixed. Lots of people liked it and definitely recommended it.
But lots of people didn't like it either.
People didn't like that it took all day. People didn't like how winding the road was. People said the mile markers were screwy and hard to follow (I have to agree with that). People were nervous on the one lane bridges. People said the locals drive like maniacs and tourists drive crappy too (that's true). People complained about no cell service along the route. People said there were too many trees and it was a boring drive. People said it was hard to find bathrooms (and I definitely like a good bathroom.) People said once you get to Hana - it wasn't really worth it. Over and over we heard "It's not the destination, it's the journey."
This is the journey we would take on Day 4 (just look at the curves and switchbacks)...
I get motion sickness, so I was definitely nervous about the trip. But once again, no risk - no reward. So I went for it.
And so I won't leave you in suspense, I really loved the Road to Hana. I am SO glad I didn't listen to the "don't do it" people online (everyone I know personally said to definitely do it). I think people don't do the research and don't know what to expect, so they get disappointed. If you know what to expect, then you are good. We got to experience a lot of Maui on the road. And I didn't get sick either - so yay me.
We were told we needed to hit the road around 6:30AM in order to get in front of traffic and so we could also get back to the hotel at a decent time in the evening.
The Kai Cafe at the Ritz was great for a light breakfast to take on the road. Doug said their donuts were crazy delicious...
It took an hour just to get from our hotel to the "start" of the Road to Hana. Pretty drive though...
We downloaded the "Gypsy" app which helped along the highway. At times, the app was a little behind so we did miss a stop or two and had to turn around, but over all it was great getting us to neat stops on the way to Hana. It doesn't guide you at all on the way back though. It just told stories about Maui history.
This is a sample of what we listened to...
The "official" start to the Road to Hana is Paia Town (which is 15 minutes east of Kahalui)...
I did not take the below photo, but this is what Paia looks like...
We decided that stopping for gas and the potty before we really got started was a good idea (it was). There were like only two gas stations in Paia and only one allowed you to go to the bathroom. It was a good thing we were there early.
And we were off...
My research let me know that at mile marker 7 there was a patch of painted bark eucalyptus trees (rainbow eucalyptus trees) to stop at.
We did stop there for just a couple of minutes...
I didn't take the photo below, but you can get a sense of the curves and the one lane bridges you come across on the road...
I did take this pic below - a waterfall next to a one lane bridge...
I was very happy that Doug was totally comfortable and willing to drive - I was content (sort of) being a passenger. And I need to shout out to Bri because she sat in the backseat and never complained once about the long drive (she did complain once that I was taking too many pictures of her; I told her she was in freaking Hawaii and needed to suck it up - lol!).
There are SO many stops you can make along the way to Hana - you just need to pick and choose what you want to do the most and what will make you the most happy. Doug and I felt happy about the choices we made and we were able to get back to the hotel at a decent time that evening. (My only regret was not being able to eat at Mama's Fish House in Paia for dinner - reservations were completely booked the entire time we were in Maui.)
The first stop we made was at the Ke'anae Arboretum.
That's the next post...
