Road To Hana, Maui, Hawaii

I’m not sure how to feel about my Road to Hana experience. It was beautiful, but the journey was challenging. Here’s how I survived.

February 12, 2024

*Left the Hostel at 8:00 a.m. (the Road to Hana is an all day excursion)*

The route I took with as many stops as I could list. (The stops were difficult to list as they were associated with the closest mile marker.)

The Road to Hana is a narrow and winding road that leads to a small town, Hana, on the east side of the island. The locals of Hana have to drive into Kahului to stock up on groceries and supplies. All of the bridges on this road are one lane, and at one point in the drive, you have to honk your horn while going up the hill and around the corner to alert oncoming drivers to avoid a head-on collision. Luckily, I was in the backseat of a cautious driver who was perhaps a bit too slow. She would even stop and wait for birds to cross the road, which seemed excessive to me. Maybe it’s just my nature, but I believe that either the bird will move or it’s survival of the fittest.

Here’s a close up of what the Road to Hana looks like.

Let’s discuss how I ended up going on the Road to Hana. A few days earlier, I had met Mali and Marie, and we had been hanging out together. All three of us had expressed interest in going on the Road to Hana at some point. And then, coincidentally, someone sent a message to our WhatsApp group chat asking if anyone wanted to go on the Road to Hana the next day, and all we had to do was split the car rental cost. We immediately responded and secured our spots.

We had secured three spots in a 2017 Chevy Spark that already had two passengers. Mali, Marie, and I decided to make it work by putting a couple of folded-up beach towels over the cup holder to create a third seat. To my surprise, we all took turns rotating and ended up having an even amount of time in the middle.

The two girls we met up with were friends from Vancouver, Canada. It was their last day and they needed to be at the airport by 8:00 p.m.

To be completely honest, there isn’t much to say about our experience on the Road to Hana. We simply drove along the road, stopped a few times to take some pictures, and then continued driving. Unfortunately, the road on the south side of the island was closed due to being washed out, so we had to turn around at the Kipahulu Visitor Center in Haleakala National Park. The girls from Vancouver suggested that we could stop somewhere to swim on our way back, but by the time we were headed back, it was getting late, the sun was setting, and they needed to clean the car and get to the airport.

I will definitely drive the Road to Hana again. I am grateful for the experience, but I want to explore more next time!

If you’re planning to drive along the Road to Hana, here’s some advice for you.

There are plenty of websites with maps and detailed routes to some of the best spots, so be sure to do your research.
It’s likely that the locals who frequently drive on this road won’t be too pleased if you drive slowly. However, I wouldn’t advise you to speed either, as the last thing anyone would want is to get into an accident on this road. Such an incident would cause a major traffic jam, and emergency services would take a long time to arrive. Moreover, the road has a steep drop-off of about 50-100 feet in most places, making it even more dangerous.
Before embarking on your journey, ensure that you download the road map on your phone for offline use. You will not have access to the internet on most parts of the route, so this step is crucial.
Get some Aunty Sandy’s banana bread.
Learn how to park your car like a normal person.