How long is the drive to Haleakala Summit?

If I pick up my rental car from the airport, how long will the drive to Haleakala take? Is the drive easy? Where would you recommend going after visiting the summit? I was thinking about either Iao State Park (this trip is next June so it should be open), the plantation, or heading over to Wailea Beach.

This will be on our second day of a POA cruise, so I would want to return the car to the airport no later than 4:30 pm.

If I pick up my rental car from the airport, how long will the drive to Haleakala take? Is the drive easy? Where would you recommend going after visiting the summit? I was thinking about either Iao State Park (this trip is next June so it should be open), the plantation, or heading over to Wailea Beach.

 

 

This will be on our second day of a POA cruise, so I would want to return the car to the airport no later than 4:30 pm.

This from the National Park Service website:

"Park headquarters and the 10,023 foot (3055m) summit can be reached from Kahului via Route 37 to 377 to 378. Driving time to the summit from:

• Kahului is 2.5 hours
  
• Wailea is 3 hours
  
• Lahaina is 3.5 hours
  
• Global Positioning System address: 30,000 Haleakala Hwy, Kula, HI 96790; add 10 miles to reach the park entrance."
  

As to what to do afterwards, we would suggest (though we are biased because we live in the area) that since you will be Upcountry anyway, stay and tour the area. Google Upcountry to learn more about it.

That is 2.5 hours each way correct? Since we are doing the RTH on day 1, I am not sure I want to spend so much time on Day 2 in a car. We will be seeing craters in Oahu, Hilo, and taking an airplane tour in Kuaui, we have also been to the top of Mt Etna, will we really be missing out if we skip the long drive? It will be me, hubby, 22 year old son, and 19 year old daughter.

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That is 2.5 hours each way correct? Since we are doing the RTH on day 1, I am not sure I want to spend so much time on Day 2 in a car. We will be seeing craters in Oahu, Hilo, and taking an airplane tour in Kuaui, we have also been to the top of Mt Etna, will we really be missing out if we skip the long drive? It will be me, hubby, 22 year old son, and 19 year old daughter.

Yes, that is each way. No, you won't (at least in our opinion) be missing out. We feel you are also smart to take the Road to Hana just as far as you want and not feel obligated to go all the way to Hana. Maui should be seen in person and not just from a car window.

Are those times correct? Google maps has them half of that. And i've driven to Haleakala from Lahaina before and it didn't take 3.5 hours at all. we left in the morning and were done and at lunch afterward. these seems more like round trip then one way?

This from the National Park Service website:

 

"Park headquarters and the 10,023 foot (3055m) summit can be reached from Kahului via Route 37 to 377 to 378. DRIVING TIME TO THE SUMMIT from:

 

• Kahului is 2.5 hours
  
• Wailea is 3 hours
  
• Lahaina is 3.5 hours
  

Are those times correct? Google maps has them half of that. And i've driven to Haleakala from Lahaina before and it didn't take 3.5 hours at all. we left in the morning and were done and at lunch afterward. these seems more like round trip then one way?

We simply quoted what the National Park Service said. The times were one-way, as noted above. Their estimates may err on the side of caution (heavy traffic, bad weather, slow drivers ahead, steep and windy road within the Park, etc.) but we listed it because the NPS knows this better than we do.

Well crud, I had no idea it would take that long. If that's the case, we will be changing our plans for our day in Maui as well ;)

But I still don't remember it taking 3.5 hours from Lahaina at all.

Are those times correct? Google maps has them half of that. And i've driven to Haleakala from Lahaina before and it didn't take 3.5 hours at all. we left in the morning and were done and at lunch afterward. these seems more like round trip then one way?

While we feel the NPS's times to be generous, we would not believe any google map that estimated half that time. That would mean 75 minutes from Kahului to the summit. Not going to happen unless they iron out all the switchbacks and take away other drivers. We never timed ourselves so can't say, but keep researching and perhaps figure out a happy medium.

By "morning" do you mean after the sun was up, and was lunch back in Lahaina? If so, you made fantastic time, but it must have been a whirlwind of a drive.

Just to note that we drove part of the route today to see what timing is most truthful, and have to say you can make it from the airport to Crater Road in half an hour (though this is Sunday and weekday traffic out of Kahului will be heavier during the week). If you allow an hour to get from Crater Road to the summit that makes it 1.5 hours. This would mean everything flowed quickly and smoothly, but at least it gives you a more realistic time frame. Hope this helps.

I finally found my trip logs from that trip and we left Lahaina at 9am and got to the summit just after 11AM, left at 11:30 and stopped for lunch and was back in Lahaina at 1:40. This is why 3.5 hours was shocking to me and why we weren't planning on that at all.

Has there been a lot of traffic congestion or road work in the last ten years that makes the trip go from 2 hours to 3.5 now? I know my husband can drive on the faster side of things, but I wont let him drive crazy over the speed limit, so I know he couldn't have been going crazy that day. ;)

I think we are still going to take it off our list to make sure we have time to see other things, but it never would have occurred to me it would take 3.5 hours as we did it round trip in 4.5 hours lol

Just to note that we drove part of the route today to see what timing is most truthful, and have to say you can make it from the airport to Crater Road in half an hour (though this is Sunday and weekday traffic out of Kahului will be heavier during the week). If you allow an hour to get from Crater Road to the summit that makes it 1.5 hours. This would mean everything flowed quickly and smoothly, but at least it gives you a more realistic time frame. Hope this helps.

I finally found my trip logs from that trip and we left Lahaina at 9am and got to the summit just after 11AM, left at 11:30 and stopped for lunch and was back in Lahaina at 1:40. This is why 3.5 hours was shocking to me and why we weren't planning on that at all.

 

Has there been a lot of traffic congestion or road work in the last ten years that makes the trip go from 2 hours to 3.5 now? I know my husband can drive on the faster side of things, but I wont let him drive crazy over the speed limit, so I know he couldn't have been going crazy that day. ;)

 

I think we are still going to take it off our list to make sure we have time to see other things, but it never would have occurred to me it would take 3.5 hours as we did it round trip in 4.5 hours lol

If it has been ten years since your last visit, you will notice more cars on the road, with a visitor count of something like 2.6 million people last year and a population of a bit over 150,000. Our estimate of 1.5 hours from Kahului to the summit seems accurate these days, and add 45 minutes to an hour between Kahului and Lahaina.

I finally found my trip logs from that trip and we left Lahaina at 9am and got to the summit just after 11AM, left at 11:30 and stopped for lunch and was back in Lahaina at 1:40. This is why 3.5 hours was shocking to me and why we weren't planning on that at all.

 

Has there been a lot of traffic congestion or road work in the last ten years that makes the trip go from 2 hours to 3.5 now? I know my husband can drive on the faster side of things, but I wont let him drive crazy over the speed limit, so I know he couldn't have been going crazy that day. ;)

 

I think we are still going to take it off our list to make sure we have time to see other things, but it never would have occurred to me it would take 3.5 hours as we did it round trip in 4.5 hours lol

it is 38 miles from Kahului to Haleakala summit