Before going to Hawaii my cousin and I talked to people who have been and asked for recommendations. When it came to the Road to Hana, we had various reviews. Some said, "you must go!", others said..."you better take dramamine". We decided to go ahead and do it and neither of us threw up!
We left Waihee-Waiehu around 8am that morning and started our journey. You can take the Road to Hana 2 ways, but keep in mind, most people start from the North Shore, rather than starting in Hana. The road is almost wide enough for 2 cars at the North Shore, but as you drive towards Hana, it becomes much smaller, unpaved, and curvy. So, our advice would be to stick with the flow of traffic from the North Shore and rent a narrow vehicle. All the cars and suburbans seemed to be too wide for the road and had a difficult time maneuvering. A jeep or small truck will do the trick!
Our first stop was Ho'okipa Beach Park. There were people surfing and great views.
Then we headed to Twin Falls. We were hoping to swim, but similar to when we were at Waimea Valley in Oahu, the weather made swimming in this waterfall also very dangerous... and cold. The hike to get in is pretty simple, but muddy in certain areas. At the beginning there is a little stand where you can buy food, drinks or souvenirs.
On the way to our next destination was the Waikamoi Ridge Trail. We decided not to stop there since there didn't seem to be much to see. There is Huelo Lookout where you can stop for food and other things. We stopped there just to check it out, but be careful with parking. We continued to the Garden of Eden Arboretum. There is an art gallery, visitor center, view of an inaccessible waterfall, and of course tons of photo opportunities. Some people may know the Garden of Eden because of Keopuka Rock, which was in the movie Jurassic Park. We also saw a 100 year old old Mango Tree, a Rainbow Eucalyptus tree, Upper Puohokamoa Waterfalls, and lots of bamboo.
We stopped at Kaumahina State Wayside Park, but the weather decided to take a turn so we kept driving. Somehow we missed Honomanu Bay, we could not find how to get there, so we kept going. There are tons of places to pull off to explore, but you have to find parking. Also, a lot of the sights are near the various one lane bridges and it can be very dangerous to pull off and try to take pictures. We then ended up at the Halfway to Hana Stand, where I bought fresh baked banana bread, which of course was delicious!
We kept on going and went to Wailua Valley. There is almost no parking at all! So be careful. There were lots of clouds, but we could still see a few waterfalls and the ocean.
The Road to Hana has tons of waterfalls to see. Of course, they were probably more obvious while we were there from all the rain fall. As we drove we saw tons, but we aren't totally sure what the name of each one is...so here's a few of them!
Pua'a Kaa State Wayside Park also had a waterfall, but includes safe parking, bathrooms, and places to have a picnic.
We stopped at Hana Harvest for an amazing fresh fruit smoothie. There is Nahiku Market Place following this which has various places to eat and gift shops.
Then we drove to the Hana Lava Tube. This was formed over 950 years ago from molten lava spewing up from under the ground and flowing towards the ocean. While this was happening, the top cooled and hardened while lava flowed through for 2 more years. Then when it all drained out, it formed a tunnel. It is the 18th largest lava tube in the world. On the bottom left, you can see that some of the ceiling looks like melting chocolate, while on the bottom right it looks different. We thought this was one of the coolest things on the Road to Hana.
Kahanu Garden, which is a botanical garden is another places to stop. After seeing the Garden of Eden, we decided we didn't need to stop there too. So we headed for Wai'anapanapa State Park where we saw a black sand beach!
We stopped in Hana town, but there wasn't much to see and there was an event going on where we weren't allowed to park there. To Koki Beach we went!
Then to Hamoa Beach where we actually went into the water since it wasn't raining and the temperature wasn't bad!
Before driving the scariest part of the drive, we saw Wailua Falls.
The following pictures are pictures from the rest of the drive. There aren't many waterfalls or places to pull off for that matter. The road gets very narrow, and scary since you're on the edge of a cliff, but then much later on it widens and the road becomes normal. Jonathon and I had so much fun, though he said to me, "Must be nice as a passenger," since he did all the driving.
That night we headed to Da Kitchen for an amazing meal after our adventurous day.
If you do go to Maui, I'd definitely recommend doing this! There is also a Helicopter ride you can take which we heard is really cool. The Road to Hana is different for everyone, there are so many places you can stop, if you know where they are! Before and after, be sure to get gas at Costco, it's the cheapest one. Oh, and if you do get car sick bring dramamine...
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