Day Trips
Six hundred curves, fifty-some one-lane bridges, and a full, unforgettable day — planned from Kihei, with the stops that matter and the one reservation most people forget.
The Road to Hana is the drive every visitor to Maui has heard about, and it earns the reputation. We’ve done it dozens of times since moving to Kihei in 2012. What we tell every guest: this is a day about the journey, not about checking Hana town off a list.
The Hana Highway (Highway 360) runs roughly 64 miles along Maui’s northeastern coastline from Paia to Hana, threading through rainforest, past waterfalls, and over more than 50 one-lane bridges on a road with somewhere around 600 curves. That last number sounds like a marketing gimmick until you’re on mile 20 and realize you haven’t seen a straight stretch in an hour.
It is one of the most beautiful drives in the world. It is also slow, occasionally nerve-wracking, and a full all-day commitment. People who rush it — or who treat Hana town as the prize — often come back a little disappointed. People who stop often, eat banana bread off a roadside stand, and watch the ocean from a black-sand beach come back happy.
From our bungalows in Kihei, you’re not starting at the beginning of the Road to Hana. You’re about 45 minutes away from it. The road proper begins in Paia, on Maui’s north shore, so you need to drive up first — and that extra leg makes the early start matter even more.
We recommend leaving the bungalows no later than 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. That sounds early on vacation, but it puts you into Paia for breakfast before the crowds, on the road by 8:00 a.m., and gives you a full day of daylight to work with. Hana is roughly three to four hours of driving from Paia without stops — with stops, you’re looking at a full day out and back.
You could stop every half-mile on this road and still miss things. Here are the ones we always point guests toward — roughly in sequence from Paia heading toward Hana.
Don’t skip Paia. It’s a small North Shore surf town with good coffee, good breakfast spots, and the last reliable gas station before Hana. Fill the tank here no matter what the gauge says. Pick up snacks if you didn’t pack them — there are a few roadside stands ahead, but nothing you can count on for a full meal until Hana.
Just past Paia, pull over at the Hookipa lookout. On any given morning you’ll see sea turtles hauled out on the beach below and, depending on conditions, windsurfers or kiters on the water. It’s a two-minute stop that eases you gently into the pace of the day.
One of the first easy waterfall stops on the highway proper — a short, well-marked walk into the jungle leads to a pair of falls with a swimming hole. It gets busy later in the day, so your early start pays off here. Wear shoes you don’t mind getting muddy.
A private, paid botanical garden worth the entry fee. You’ll walk through curated tropical plantings with sweeping ocean views, and there’s a lookout over one of the most-photographed waterfall drops on the highway. Plan 45 minutes to an hour here.
Pull off at the Keanae lookout and walk down toward the peninsula — a flat shelf of old lava reaching into a rough stretch of coastline. It feels completely different from the jungle you’ve been driving through. There’s often a roadside stand here selling banana bread that’s become well-known in its own right. Buy some.
Just past the Wailua village overlook, a roadside pullout gives you a clear view of Upper Waikani Falls — three separate streams dropping side by side through dense green, which is why locals call them the Three Bears. It’s a windshield view, but a very good one. Stop briefly, take it in, and keep moving.
The one most people have seen in photos: jet-black volcanic sand, vivid blue water, sea caves and lava arches. Budget at least an hour. See the reservation note below — you cannot show up without one.
Small, quiet, unhurried — Hana is a real community, not a tourist hub. There’s a general store, a few food options, and the beautiful Hamoa Beach a short drive south. If you’ve been rushing to get here expecting a destination, recalibrate: Hana is a place to slow down further, not a reward. Some of our favorite guests choose to stay a night in Hana and drive back the next morning. It changes the whole experience.
If you have the energy and the daylight, keep going south to the Kipahulu district of Haleakala National Park. The Oheo Gulch pools are here, and the Pipiwai Trail — a four-mile round trip through towering bamboo forest — ends at Waimoku Falls, a 400-foot cascade that feels like a different planet. Allow two to three hours for the trail. National Park entry fees apply.
Waianapanapa State Park requires an advance reservation. Non-Hawai’i residents must book a timed parking and entry pass online before arriving — you cannot pay at the gate or walk in. Reservations open a set number of days in advance and sell out fast, especially on weekends. Book as soon as you know your Maui dates. If you forget, check for cancellations the week of your trip.
The road is as much about how you drive it as where you stop. A few things we always tell our guests:
Driving yourself gives you the most flexibility: you stop when you want, linger at what moves you, and skip the narration. We think it’s the better experience for most people — especially if you’re leaving early and moving at a relaxed pace.
That said, guided van tours are a legitimate option if anyone in your group gets anxious on narrow mountain roads, or if you’d simply rather have someone else handle the driving and narration. Tours pick up in the Kihei area — ask us for operators we’ve heard good things about and we’ll point you in the right direction. Check our best time to visit guide if you’re still deciding when to schedule the drive during your trip; weather matters here more than people expect.
The Road to Hana rewards the unhurried. It punishes the impatient. Starting early from the bungalows — coffee in hand, cooler packed, offline maps downloaded, Waianapanapa reservation confirmed — is the single thing that separates a great day from a stressful one. We’ve seen both kinds of guests come back, and the difference is almost always the morning departure time.
If you want any of our personal favorites — the stand where we always stop for banana bread, the pullout that most tour vans sail past — just ask when you arrive. We’re happy to mark up a map.
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Stay in a bungalow with a full kitchen to pack your cooler and an easy drive up to Paia — the Road to Hana is best begun rested and early.