Road to Hana and sunset at Haleakala

[Pam in KY]

Is it possible to disembark from cruise ship at 8:00, get a rental car, drive the road to Hana and then go to Haleakala to view the sunset? I'm thinking the answer is no and my husband is hoping the answer is yes...

[smslms]

Anything is possible, but as someone who has lived on Maui I wouldn't even think of it, unless your ship is leaving at 11PM or later.

[Pam in KY]

Ship is overnight in Maui.

[cccole]

I think you can do both, but maybe not the entire RTH. I imagine that you will not be in your rental car and on your way until about 10:00. Pick up a pic nic lunch in Paia and stop somewhere with a nice view for lunch. Drive as far as you feel comfortable then turn around and head for Haleakala. Take a look at a guide like Richard Sullivan's Driving & Discovering Hawaii, Maui and you can decide on a spot on the RTH to drive to. It really is a beautiful drive. I know that there are those who have a very different opinion but having spent a lot of time on Maui in the last 45 years I think it is really pretty. Just don't overwhelm yourself with thinking you have to do the entire drive to enjoy it's beauty. Cherie

[smslms]

Ship is overnight in Maui.

 

If you are overnighting then it is doable. Be aware however that the "Road to Hana" is a narrow, twisty 2 lane road with a number of one lane bridges, allowing for alternating traffic.

 

Keep an eye on the time and as advised you don't necessarily have to drive the entire length. The car rental agencies supply quite decent maps to assist you.

 

Have fun.

[cb at sea]

RTH is something you could do if you have time to kill...IMO, it's not a "must do"...yeah, it's lovely, but it's a LONG day...and I don't think it's the best way to spend a day, unless you have MANY days to fill!

[HistoryandTravel]

RTH is something you could do if you have time to kill...IMO, it's not a "must do"...yeah, it's lovely, but it's a LONG day...and I don't think it's the best way to spend a day, unless you have MANY days to fill!

 

What would be your suggestions of "must see" if we are only at that island from 7am to 6pm (and we have to create a buffer on either side to get off the ship, rent a car, get back to the ship after returning the car)? We were thinking of JUST doing Road to Hana... Thanks.

[PCWalton1]

Is it possible to disembark from cruise ship at 8:00, get a rental car, drive the road to Hana and then go to Haleakala to view the sunset? I'm thinking the answer is no and my husband is hoping the answer is yes...

 

You do not state what month you are going. In August sunset is close to 7pm. By November it is closer to 6:30pm.

If you are going to be on POA arriving in Kahului and get off the ship and get the car early (8-9) you have a good opportunity to do both. I would not venture past the town of Hana if you want to get back to Haleakala by sunset. Thankfully there are numerous sights to see prior to the town.

It would be a quick trip but if you don't figure to make it back to Maui at some other time, go for it.

 

Just driving non stop from Kahului to Hana to Haleakala maps out to about 4 1/2 hours. If you get the car at 9am that gives you 10 hours to get to Haleakala by sunset. So about 5 hours to actually stop and see the sights. :)

[Luv Cruising Land or Sea]

Ship is overnight in Maui.

 

Hi Pam

 

We were on the POA in April but stayed in Maui 4 days post trip so didn't do them both from the ship.

 

Having done both (and we did the full round trip to Hana and down the back side!) I would say yes you can but it will make for an extremely long day.

 

We are from the Northeast and travel many long and winding roads throughout ME and NH so the drive for us was wonderful - full of exciting views and turns, but not for anyone who doesn't truly enjoy driving. DH does not like roller coasters but truly enjoyed his drive! He felt he saw just as much as I did as the passenger and we stopped often to find "off the path" waterfalls and scenic views. I used the "Maui Revealed" guide book and found lots of stops that we may have passed otherwise. It was a rainy day so we didn't venture into to some of the falls, but we had a blast! Yes there are some one lane bridges but there are lights to control the traffic or people are just really courteous and take turns. And we didn't find the roads exceptionally narrow - two normal lanes for traffic in most spots.

 

We stopped at "Halfway to Hana" for some warm banana bread, fruit and another snack to be eaten later! Fabulous!

 

We did go beyond Hana to see the "Seven Sacred Pools" at Oheo Gulch and continued on the "forbidden road" down the southern side of Haleakala. This road gets a little bumpy in some spots but we were in a very small Chevy Spark and had no issues at all but great views all the way down. The plus side of going this route is that you are always in the "inside" lane! Total time roundtrip from the car rental pick up spot at the Airport and back would have been about 9 hours ( deducting the additional time to get back to where our condo was) We left our condo at 8:30 am and were back at 6:00 pm but we were staying in Kihie on the south shore

 

ff you take the southern route around from Hana, coming north again you will go by the signs to the entrance of Haleakala - that will take about 3-4 more hours up and down depending on how much time you spend up there.

 

So could you do it in one day? Yes if you truly love to drive and don't mind spending a lot of time in the car. It's a personal preference thing and only you can decide how you want to spend your time. The plus side to renting an "economy" car - we could park in some spots that others couldn't fit in LOL

 

If those are your only two points of interest I would do RTH the first day and then Haleakala the second day - getting up there for sunrise is supposed to be beautiful but it was raining the day we went so we went later (about 9:00 am) and brought our car back with plenty of time to get back on board for sail away.

 

Have fun!