Maui! OMG it is beautiful!

Maui is stunningly beautiful, and the only issue with our travel plan is that we would be there a short two days so we had to pick what we wanted to do.  It was a very tough decision, but I believe we had two of the most perfect days in Maui that we could possibly hope for.  That being said, I will tell you that someday I will go back to Maui and spend a week to see more and enjoy the serene beauty of the island.

The best thing about our travel by Cruise ship is that we went to bed one night and woke up docked at Maui the next morning.  Which was perfect because we were renting a car and spending the first day in Maui driving the road to Hana.  This is an all day 'excursion' if you choose to do this.   When you are doing your research you may see that it will take 2 1/2 hours to do this drive -- be aware that this is with no stops.  And what is the point of that?LOL

Map of the Road to Hana.  

There are several companies that offer tours that will drive you to Hana, but I do recommend you do this yourself in a rental car.  The roads are narrow, but if you take it slow and mind your 'road' manners, you will have a great time.  Road manner tips:  Practice aloha. Give way at one-lane bridges, wave at oncoming motorists, and if the person behind you blinks his lights, let him pass. And don't honk your horn -- in Hawaii, it's considered rude. 

Get an early start -- as early as you can because it will take you the whole day to get there and back.  At 7am we picked up our rental car right down the road from where the ship docks, filled the gas tank up and we were off and driving!  

Driving the rental car

I think a real key to enjoying this drive is to get on the road early before everyone else starts the drive.  And you will encounter many people doing the same drive, but there is so much to see that you get pretty spread out.  

Make sure you have your 'Road Kit' ready.  A driving-tour CD of the Hana Highway is available at  www.maui-info.com/hanatape.html. For more information, visit www.hana-maui.com/highway and www.hanamaui.com.  You can also buy this CD at the gas station or get a map if you like.  

Also take plenty of water, lunch & snacks.  I always bring my small foldable lunch bag and some ziplocks with me when I cruise.  PoA knows that a lot of people will be off ship all day, so at the breakfast buffet they put out sandwich  fixings.  You can make a couple of sandwiches, take some whole fruit and a few muffins or pasties and you are good for the day!  Put a little ice in your ziplock to keep your bag cool and do not forget your towels & snorkel gear. We both wore our swimsuits all day with cover ups.  We were perfectly comfortable and were able to 'dive in' anywhere we wanted to.

You start in Kahului where the cruise ships come in to port.  We had decided that we would pretty much just drive, stop where we wanted, etc.  We knew we wanted to snorkel, see waterfalls, the black sand beaches, but we were going to it at our own pace and stop whenever the mood or scenery compelled us to do so.  You can get on the web and print out an itinerary for this drive very easily.  You should definitely read up on the drive and pick a few 'must see' places for yourselves.  

Most web sites cover the following stops a long the way, so I will not go in to detail but know that it is easy to follow the road and look for the mile markers if you wish to stop in a specific spot:

Garden of Eden & Botanical Arboretum just past mile marker 10
Lower Puokokamoa Falls around mile marker 11
Pau'a Ka'a State Park, just past mile marker 22
Waianapanapa State Park at mile marker 32
Ohe'o Guich mile marker 42
Wailua Falls mile marker 45








We did not go in to the State Parks and there was so much to see along the way, that we just stopped and played where ever we wanted.  Ok, so here are a few pictures of the trip to Hana, these do no begin to show the beauty that is this drive, but I think you will get the idea. 

Thank you to CJS for the fabulous photography!

Sights seen on the Road to Hana!  A lovely fresh fruit stand.  Get a smoothie for the road, they make it fresh for you on the spot!  Behind the fruit stand there was a little path and we found a guy cutting sugar cane for his smoothie stand



When I spoke of narrow roads, this is what I am talking about.  If you drive the whole 52 miles of highway you will come across 59 bridges 46 of which are one lane bridges. Most date back to 1910 and were built by the US Army Corps of Engineers.   The Hana Highway was originally built for sugar plantation workers commuting from Pa'ia to Hana.

 

This waterfall is much taller than it looks in this pic

sometime you have to hike a bit to get to the waterfall

 
 It's hard to describe the beautiful of the various waterfalls. I am trying not to put too many pictures in because I understand they probably start to look alike to the viewer, but I hope this series of snaps give you the idea of the size and how you can hike to them.  Sometimes you do not see them from the road, you have to be 'in the know' of where to turn off.  Tips from other travelers :-)

we just could not get enough of waterfalls

You can see how you might be enchanted by these

I am not sure how many waterfalls there are along this drive, I lost count, but there are many.  Be careful when you pull over.  The roads are narrow and not always a lot of room to park on the side of the road.  Don't block the road to stop and take a picture.  Drive forward until you find a place to park, turn on your flashers and walk back to take the photo.   You will see a fair amount of people doing the same.  One thing I've learned in all my travels is to not be shy and talk to fellow travelers along the way.  Often times they will tell you about places they have seen and how to get there.  I have found many a hidden treasure off of tips from fellow travelers.  

Oh, the water at the base of the fall was so cold & refreshing!

So many waterfalls along the drive.  After a while we had to say enough, and keep going to see the beaches.  But it was hard not to stop at every waterfall!

 The beaches were incredible.  Each one different than the last, black sand, white sand, pinkish red sand.  Fantastic!  

Plenty of places to stop, swim, snorkel, sunbath, each lunch or just sit and enjoy the scenery.  

It was difficult keep ourselves moving forward as each place we stopped seemed to be more  enchanting than the last.

All beaches in Hawaii are public. Some guidebooks document the "keep out" areas and ways past barbed wire fences and locked gates to reach attractions.

Towards the afternoon we finally made it to the town of Hana.  Hana is one of the most isolated communities in Maui, with a population sightly over 1,000 people.   An interesting fact about Hana:  Charles Lindbergh retired there in the 1970's for its isolation and quiet.  He was buried near Hana in 1974.
Unfortunately, by the time we got to Hana, we did not have much time left to explore (too much time spent at waterfalls and beaches along the way!!)  We wanted to be back at the ship by dark, and we knew we would need a minimum of 2.5 hours to get back, so after a short exploration, we turned around and headed back, promising ourselves to return to Hana one day to truly explore.

It took us a little more than the 2.5 hours to drive back, but this was due to a few extra stops along the way back :-)

We had a marvelous & exhausting day.  It was dinner and to bed early because tomorrow we were headed out on a catamaran to snorkel the Molokini Crater!  More on that in my next post.
When in Maui ---
Do this:  Drive the Road to Hana
Stop:      And hike to a waterfall, enjoy the cool pools of water
Find:      Your favorite beach, and swim or snorkel
Take:     Lunch and lots of water

Until next time, safe travels!