The Road to Hana: Maui's Best Scenic Drive
Ever since returning from Hawaii, I’ve been going through my photos and remembering all the beautiful landscapes. The depth of layers brought back memories of staring into viewfinders as a kid.
One of my favorite excursions was The Road to Hana. Driving the 620 curves and 59 bridges that were often one-lane with hairpin turns was a white-knuckle experience and truly unforgettable. The incredible scenery (captured by #DasDrone001) made me feel lucky to be alive, in Hawaii, and in that moment.
“When it comes to driving the Hana Highway on Maui, it's the journey, not the destination, that is the main attraction. There are few words that can describe the beauty of this drive with its cliffs cloaked in green and lush valleys bursting with waterfalls.”
My best recommendation is to start early and purchase and download the Shaka Road to Hana Tour Guide before you go. It ended up being one of our favorite aspects of the trip. Driving the treacherous roads without reliable access to wifi is a stressful endeavor, but having the friendly audioguide help navigate the way was a huge help. It always knew exactly where we were, and would even point out things like a random small cave to the side of the road. In between scenic spots, pleasant and atmospheric Hawaiian music was played — 10/10 recommend.
Also — just go with the flow! We loved stopping at random points along the way and bought banana bread from the sweetest old woman ever from her house/stand in the middle of nowhere. She had a cat named Baby, and two dogs, and made quite an impression on the group.
Once we completed the "main" Road to Hana portion, the app recommended we turn around and drive BACK the way we came. Well, we were all a bit carsick and tired of twisty turn-y roads at that point (I was because I drove the ENTIRE way), so we decided to push on and complete the trip back via the other coastal road leading back to Kihei thus completing a day-long circle of Maui.
The roads were at times more than just a little breathtaking. On the way back we stopped, saw some whales from the side of the road, and took a lot of awesome drone footage.
A day or so later, my traveling buddies bought me a t-shirt from Lahaina that says: "I Survived the Road to Haha" as a thank you for driving. I guess you could say it was a successful adventure.
