The Road to Hana, also known as the Hana Highway, is a 64.4-mile-long road on the island of Maui that connects Kahului to the town of Hana. It’s known for its gorgeous views and scenic stops, and it’s the ideal experience for adventure seekers. If you’re heading to Hawaii for more than just beaches, the Road to Hana will be right up your alley.
In March 2021, my boyfriend and I drove the Road to Hana ourselves, and I’ve compiled my top 7 tips for driving the Road to Hana that I’d recommend for anyone looking to do it themselves
1. Plan ahead
You’re in Hawaii and all you want to do is hop in your Jeep or convertible to drive the Road to Hana. You can stop at what looks good and figure it out when you get there, right?
Wrong. We found that researching the Road to Hana ahead of time actually enhanced our experience, and in some cases, we didn’t do enough research. So, that’s the first of my top 7 tips for driving the Road to Hana. Make sure you do a least a little bit of planning before you hop in the car.
For example, you’ll see several banana bread stands along the Road to Hana, but you may not want to stop at the first one you see. We read that the “Halfway to Hana” (Mile Marker 17) banana bread was stellar – a must-have – and my boyfriend was determined to give it a try. Indeed, it didn’t disappoint. I don’t even like banana bread myself, and I thought it was worth trying. Hawaiian bananas are sweeter than bananas grown elsewhere, and the baked result was truly delicious. If we hadn’t known that the premier banana bread was miles down the road, we probably would have stopped early on in the trip for a snack. It was worth the wait!
That said, even the research that we had done didn’t prove helpful in every situation. All of the literature we had read was pre-COVID-19. Unfortunately, to control traffic and crowding, Waianapanapa State Park had recently instituted a fairly new reservation system. It was cheap ($10/car) and easy, but the reservations were sold out for the convenient time slots. We originally got to the park (where the Black Sand Beach is located) around 11 AM. They didn’t have any open slots available until 3 PM.
Ultimately, we decided to wait it out, book that slot, and kill four hours in the area, which was unsurprisingly not hard to do. That said, it would’ve made our day much smoother if we had looked ahead of time. We simply had no way of knowing because all the information online about the Road to Hana pre-dated the new reservation system. Learn from our mistakes and check the day before so you can get your preferred time slot.
Our view when we finally made it to the Black Sand Beach at 3 PM.
2. Note the mile markers
If you’ve never done an old-school road trip, mile markers kind of seem like a waste of time. On the Road to Hana, however, they’re incredibly necessary. Between my personal phone, my boyfriend’s personal phone, and my boyfriend’s work phone, we have 3 different cellular service providers (T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon), and not one of them had service on the Road to Hana.
For millennial and gen Z travelers, it’s natural for us to plug whatever we want to find into Google Maps, but you simply can’t do this with the Road to Hana. Fortunately, there are a few alternatives.
- Wing it
I’m sure plenty of people do this and have a positive experience. There are plenty of waterfalls and fruit stands to surpass anyone’s expectations. That said, I think you’ll get more out of your experience if you know everything that’s available. Sometimes the road isn’t clearly marked, and it can be difficult to know what you’re missing out on (especially if parking is packed and it seems easier to skip the stop). The research does pay off!
- Research and write down what you want to see what mile markers
This is essentially what we did. We didn’t realize that not one of our phones would have service during the road, but in hindsight it makes sense. All of the blogs we had read prior to our trip had recommended getting an app (see more below). We didn’t really feel the need to pay an additional $15 for something when we thought we could do the legwork ourselves. It makes sense that having all of the information downloaded to your phone would be beneficial.
I still think that you could do a lot of research yourself and just have it on your phone offline or have it on paper in front of you (depending on what type of traveler you are). When I figured out that we probably wouldn’t have service, I pulled up a blog that listed all of the major attractions and their mile markers. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave us an idea of where we could expect what we really wanted to see. And then there was an element of “winging it.”
- Pay for an app
If you don’t mind paying $15 for an app that tells you what you need to know, download the Shaka Guide app. We saw it advertised everywhere, and while I can’t tell you for certain, I feel fairly confident that you’d have a mile-by-mile guide of what’s worth stopping for.
We snapped a picture at “Halfway to Hana” (Mile Marker 17). Here we enjoyed banana bread, shave ice, and coffee.
3. Wear your swimsuit
I’m not really sure why I didn’t do this, but I wore normal clothes and brought my bathing suit with me. I ended up changing in the Waianapanapa State Park parking lot before we went to the Black Sand Beach. That was fine, but you could definitely save yourself the trouble. It would’ve been more convenient to just have it on the whole time because there are plenty of water-related attractions.
In fact, within the first few miles on the Road to Hana, you’ll pass tons of waterfalls and swimming holes, so if that’s your thing, you’ll be getting out of the car early and often to jump in. I also got my clothes wet at the Red Sand Beach (totally, totally worth it!) by accident, so it would’ve made sense just to have it on from the get-go.
My boyfriend, Dan, enjoying one of the many waterfall stops.
4. Avoid rainy weather
This may not be necessary given Hawaii’s typical climate, but during March 2021 when we visited, the Hawaiian Islands were experiencing unprecedented rain. As a result, we often saw baby rockslides, flooding, or other issues related to rainy weather. We lucked out and got great weather for our Road to Hana day, and I’d recommend you’d wait to do the same. If it’s downpouring, you’re not going to have much fun. Plus, given that the road conditions are already narrow and winding on a sunny day, any detriment to that is potentially dangerous.
5. Visit the Red Sand Beach
The Red Sand Beach was recommended to us by a local snorkeling guide, and while populated, it definitely wasn’t on the “mainstream” Road to Hana list. In fact, many of the blogs we read didn’t talk about it. As I reflect on our Road to Hana adventure, this is my favorite part, and I had a lot of reasons to hate it. You have to hike in it out (not my favorite) and the pebbles on the beach hurt sensitive (aka MY) feet. That said, I put it at the top of our list for stops. Because it was so hard to get to, it was nowhere near as populated as the Black Sand Beach, and the color combination was unmatched. Go out of your way and seek this out! We were able to use Google Maps to drive to it (as you get closer to the town of Hana you’ll have cell phone service again) and then just follow a few other people to find the trail.
A photo that shows the gorgeous red sand and turquoise water at the Red Sand Beach.
6. Be smart about swimming
Both the Black Sand Beach and the Red Sand Beach were relatively typical Hawaiian beaches in the sense that they had small shores with “lively” water. This isn’t the water I, personally, love going for a dip in, but it certainly doesn’t stop others from swimming.
Overall, I wouldn’t recommend swimming at either the Black Sand Beach or the Red Sand Beach unless you are a strong swimmer. I watched fully-grown adults get tossed around by the water, and I feel confident in saying it would not have been suitable for children. The water was swimmable, but it was rough, and there was no lifeguard on duty. It was a swim-at-your-risk situation, so you’re definitely going to these beaches to look at their unique features more than you are to sit, swim, sunbathe, etc.
With that said, there are waterfalls along Road to Hana that are more than suitable for swimming, so if you’re dying to take a dip (in freshwater no less!), then this may be the safer and more appealing option.
We captured this photo right before leaving the Black Sand Beach.
7. Start early
When researching, we couldn’t believe how wildly different the driving estimates were for the Road to Hana depending on who you asked. When you map the actual road on Google Maps, you’ll see that the drive time is around 2.5 hours. However, the roads are winding, and you’ll slow down to 15 miles per hour in some spots. Plus, if you get caught behind a cautious driver, you could be crawling at a snail’s pace until they decide to pull off at an overlook. And then if you decide to stop, who knows how long it’ll actually take you to drive the Road to Hana.
Long story short, the Road to Hana is an individual experience for each person who drives it. What you prioritize and decide to stop at is up to you. Who else is on the road is highly dependent on the day. It could take you 3 hours, or it could take you 10 hours. There’s really no telling!
My recommendation is to start early regardless of what you plan to do. Whether you want a “quick” Road to Hana experience or you want to take it as leisurely as you can, I would start early in the day. This will give you plenty of time to drive no matter how cautiously you want to take the corners or who you get stuck behind. It allows you to audible if need be, and it accounts for any unexpected events. The worst thing that happens is that you get back earlier than expected. Head to the beach or go grab a drink! You deserve it after all that driving.
A photo of Dan hiking inside the bamboo forest.
Final Thoughts
If you’re visiting Maui, be sure to add the Road to Hana to your itinerary. It’s one of the best ways to see the natural beauty and diversity of the island. It’s amazing that a 64.4-mile stretch has so much to offer! Refer to the top 7 tips for driving the Road to Hana above as you’re planning your journey to make both your drive and stops smoother.
Read about my other trips: