A Complete Guide to the Road to Hana

22 Places you NEED to Stop [Road to Hana - 2024 Mile Marker Guide]

1/26/2023

During our time in Maui, we had the opportunity to drive the stretch of road from Kahului to Hana, better known as the infamous "Road to Hana." With 50 miles in total, the road only becomes windy and dangerous after Paia, so the difficult portion of the road is only 40 miles at most. However, we recommend allocating at least an entire day to drive to Hana and back with time for a few stops in between. Read on for our best tips to completing the drive yourself, what to expect, and where to stop on the Raod to Hana.

While in Maui we stayed at Lumeria Resort and loved it!

Our Essential Travel Resources :
There are a lot of travel companies out there, but some are better than others. These are our favorite websites and resources to help you plan an incredible trip.

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Car rentals comparisons are best through Discover Cars - just make sure to bring your international driver's permit with you if you're heading somewhere international!

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For fun things to do, we always recommend Viator to find the best tours in the area, otherwise Klook also does the trick, especially for tours in Asia.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use for travel insurance.

Lastly, my packing list for your international or domestic travels.

Best Tips to Drive the Road to Hana

Driving the Road to Hana can seem like a daunting challenge, especially if you've heard the stories of motion sickness, winding roads, and dangerous accidents that are nearly inevitable. After driving it ourselves, we gathered our BEST tips to help you fully enjoy your journey getting to and exploring Hana.

The tourism board of Maui does not recommend that anyone drives the Road to Hana on their own, we recommend booking this fully customizable private tour instead!

Ho'okipa Beach Lookout

Bamboo Forest

Huelo Lookout

Bring Food & Water - there aren't too many places to stop along the way to Hana (minus the halfway point, where we recommend stopping at Halfway to Hana to try their banana bread!) so having your own lunch, snacks, and beverages is essential to having a fun road trip to Hana!
Be Patient - many areas of the road are one ways, and traffic can easily get backed up along the road, especially with how busy it can get with tourists! (because of this reason, Visit Maui highly recommends that everyone takes a tour to cut back on the number of vehicles on the road)
Follow Parking Rules - in recent years, MANY of the parking areas and pull offs have been closed down and no longer allow parking, it's essential to keep a lookout for "No Parking" signs and barricades (we saw many cars getting tickets!)
Bring (or Wear) Your Swimsuit - there are plenty of swimming holes and beaches along the way to Hana, so we highly recommend bringing your swimsuit (or wearing it as there aren't many places to change) as well as towels to dry off with, and reef safe sunscreen!
Bring Toilet Paper & Hand Sanitizer - even though there aren't many bathrooms along the way to Hana, the bathrooms that are available to the public are complete disasters, so it'll definitely pay off to have your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you
Prepare for Motion Sickness - if you easily get motion sickness, we highly recommend taking some Dramamine or other motion sickness preventative before you begin the drive! (otherwise it'll be a miserable ride for everyone in the vehicle with you)
DO NOT Go All the Way Around - once you get to Hana, you'll have the option to either turn back towards Paia, or drive all the way around towards Kaupo. We honestly didn't think the road could get worse than it had been on the way to Hana, however we were shocked at how dangerous the road was past Hana. We DO NOT recommend driving all the way around the island from Hana, with cliffs, steep inclines, and more dangerous stretches of one way road - you should steer clear of this area - no matter how beautiful the views on the other side are. ;)
Plan to Spend MORE Than One Day Driving - our best piece of advice, especially if you want to stop at most of the places we've listed below along the Road to Hana, would be to plan to spend more than one day driving. You can easily drive there in one day, spend a night or two in Hana, and then drive back to give you maximum time to explore the area and all the stops in between!

Where to Stop on the Road to Hana

Once you prepare for the Road to Hana, the next thing you'll want to know is where to stop along the way! With 50 miles of road between Paia to Hana there are SO MANY hidden gems along the way that you could easily miss if you're driving the Road to Hana on your own. We've organized our list by mile marker, so you can ensure you won't miss the stops you want to see. Our recommendation would be to choose 5-10 places you for sure want to stop at, then doing half of them as you drive to Hana, and the other half as you drive back. This way you can refuel and have some lunch before continuing to explore the area!

Huelo Lookout

Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees

Rappel Maui @ Garden of Eden

Ho'okipa Beach Park - (technically before the Road to Hana begins, so no mile marker) located right after Paia town, this stunning beach is a great stop to relax and take in the views
Mile Marker #2 : Twin Falls - with a large parking area that is now blocked off and requires you to pay for parking, you have two options for waterfall viewing : a short hike to Lower Falls or a one mile roundtrip hike to Upper Falls
Mile Marker #4.5 : Huelo Lookout - here you'll see a small fruit/snack stand and parking area, with a few short steps down behind the stand you'll see a beautiful view of the island
Mile Marker #6.5 : Bamboo Forest Waterfalls - although now closed as private property, these 4 stunning waterfalls can be reached after a muddy 1.2 mile hike, and might be worth looking into if they reopen to the public!
Mile Marker #7 : Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees - with a small pull off nearby you'll have to take a short walk back towards the trees, which can easily be missed when driving are also located on private property (this was one of my favorite stops, and there is another cluster of them further down on the Road to Hana!)
Mile Marker #10 : Maui Garden of Eden Arboretum - although gardens may not be our things, this one is beautiful, and is actually where we also went waterfall rappelling! (read our full experience here!)

Honomanu Bay

Halfway to Hana

Pua'a Ka'a Falls

Mile Marker #14 : Honomanu Bay - a great black beach stop (rocky, not sandy) however the road can be quite rocky and have lots of potholes (we parked at the top before the turn off and walked down!)
Mile Marker #16 : Ke'anae Peninsula - stop here for stunning coastal views and for a great chance to stretch and have a snack!
Mile Marker #17 : Halfway to Hana - a great stand to stop at for banana bread (they're known to have the best in Hawaii - or switch it up and get a banana bread sundae!) PLUS a great way to celebrate making it halfway!
Mile Marker #18 : Wailua Valley State Wayside - a beautiful, sweeping view of the mountains and valley below (this is another great opportunity for a stretch and snack break!)
Mile Marker #22.5 : Pua'a Ka'a Falls - an easy hike from the small pull off on the road will bring you to a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole that also has a rope to swing off of, we also saw people cliff jumping but can't recommend as we didn't do this ourselves and it can be dangerous without knowing what is below. We also heard that if you continue past the first swimming hole up the trail that there is another, more hidden upper falls to enjoy as well!
Mile Marker #24 : Hanawi Falls - this falls can be a bit harder to get to, we parked further up the hill and walked down (which can be a little dangerous depending how busy it is) in order to view the falls from the bridge
Mile Marker #31 : Hana Farms Roadside Stand - a great spot to stock up on locally sourced produce and other goods! (and to celebrate making it all the way to Hana!)

Backside of Haleakala National Park

Hanawi Falls

Backside of Haleakala National Park

Mile Marker #31 : Hana Lava Tube - at $15 per person, we actually skipped this stop, but we've heard some people absolutely love it!
Mile Marker #32 : Wai'anapanapa State Park - now only open to those who have reservations, there is a beautiful black sand beach that is perfect for relaxing and stretching out after the long ride!
Mile Marker #34 : Hana Town - a perfect spot for lunch, or dinner, we recommend heading across the street from Hana Ranch Restaurant to a small cove of food trucks!
Mile Marker #42 : Ohe'o Gulch a.k.a. Seven Sacred Pools - these beautiful pools are located inside Haleakala National Park and are best viewed when the water is high and the area hasn't dried up, although on the other hand if the water level is too high then they will be closed to hikers and swimmers
Mile Marker #42 : Pipiwai Trail - this 4 mile out and back hike goes right above the Ohe'o Gulch a.k.a. Seven Sacred Pools through a bamboo forest
Mile Marker #45 : Wailua Falls - a stunning 80 foot waterfall that is also commonly known as being the most photographed waterfall on Maui, there is a large parking area here right across from the falls
Mile Marker #50 : Kaihalulu Beach - a red sand beach that is also now closed to the public, you'll have to cross private property and no trespassing signs, so we can't recommend stopping, HOWEVER, if it ever does reopen to the public it would definitely be worth to see one of only a few red sand beaches!
Mile Marker #51 : Hamoa Beach - located right outside of Hana this beautiful sandy beach is known for being a great spot to go body surfing with stunning cliff views!
Mile Marker #53+ : Backside of Haleakala National Park - if you do decide to drive all the way around as a loop, the views are stunning (however this section of road can get much worse than the Road to Hana), just make sure to have a confident driver