Road to Hana

Driving or Taking a Tour of the Hana Highway

How to See the Sights and Attractions on Maui's Most Famous Drive

The road to Hana is one of Maui's two most famous sights. (The other is the crater at the top of Haleakala.) You can drive the road to Hana yourself, or take a tour in a van. It is a long and difficult drive on a narrow winding mountain road. If you prefer to have a tour van take you, you can sign up at your hotel or at any tour booth to take the all day ride to and from Hana. Whether on your own or on a tour, you will see the gorgeous scenery of the rainforest, including many beautiful waterfalls of various shapes and sizes along the mountainsides.

If you drive yourself, leave your hotel by 8 A.M., and take a picnic lunch. If you are staying on West Maui, I recommend the “Hana Box Lunch” which you can get at CJ’s Deli in the Fairway Shops just outside of Kaanapali (667-0968). Allow six hours to get to Hana (with stops to see scenery), and three hours to return (without stops). It's 81 miles from Kaanapali; the hard part (the Hana Road) has 617 curves and 56 one lane bridges. If you are prone to motion sickness, do not read (not even the map) in your car or tour van. You must drive back from Hana the same way you came, NOT by the unpaved desolate southern route. (Here's why.) Hana itself is just a quaint small village, isolated from the rest of Maui by the mountain road. There is nothing much to do there. The point of this trip is the sights on the road to Hana, rather than Hana itself.

On the way to Hana, just past Mile Marker 16, turn left at the sign to Keanae, for close-up views of waves on lava rocks. Stop near the end of that peninsula to pick up a couple loaves of the world’s best banana bread, at the Keanae Landing Fruit Stand.

If you have extra time, you can drive another 40 minutes beyond Hana to the beautiful Pools of Ohe’o, also called Ohe’o Gulch and Palikea Stream. (This area was formerly called the Seven Sacred Pools, but there are more than seven and they are not sacred, since that was just a marketing term made up by a Hana hotel worker in the 1950’s.) There are several lovely waterfalls cascading into the series of natural pools, working their way down the mountain slope. A little further beyond here is Charles Lindbergh’s grave at Palapalo Hoomau Church, but it is not visible from the road and is difficult to find.

If you drive to Hana (rather than taking a van tour), be SURE to take along the excellent "Hana CD Guide." Call 808-572-0550 the day before you go, for directions on where to get it (at their booth by the Shell station on Dairy Road in Kahului, which you will pass on your way to the start of your trip to Hana). This is an audio CD that tells you what to see along the way. You play the CD in your car while you drive to Hana. You will see twice as many wonderful sights if you take this guide recording along. An excellent guidebook that includes color maps & photos, and describes where to find specific waterfalls and parks and scenic lookouts along the way, is Maui Revealed. For more details about this and other Maui guidebooks, see the Books section of this website at Maui Books.

The day before you drive to Hana, you can call the Maui police at 244-6400 (or the Hana Branch at 248-8311) to find out whether there will be major road construction delays on the road to Hana.

See photos below.

Road to Hana

Waterfalls on Road to Hana

One of many waterfalls near the Road to Hana

Keanae Penninsula

Black sand beach at Waianapanapa

Pools at Oheo (formerly called Seven Sacred Pools)

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