Adventure to Hana Excursion on Celebrity, Hawaii

[wallygator]

I have a question for anyone that has taken the “Adventure to Hana Excursion on Celebrity. Based on what I hear the road is narrow and winding. What type of vehicle do they use? Also is there a better side of the vehicle for viewing the sites and picture taking? Lastly how did you enjoy the experience? Thanking you in advance for any information you deem pertinent :) :o

[hcat]

Sorry I cannot answer your question, but pls make sure your cruise allows enough time for this excursion. Although listed in the general info given, our cruise on Summit did not so we could not sign up--we were disappointed...

It is a very long trip & have heard it involves winding roads...

[Mika110202]

We experienced this excursion two years ago on Celebrity. You are correct, it is a very long day over winding, bumpy roads. So bumpy the mirror fell off our van! I believe they advise if you have back problems, this would not be the excursion for you. I have to agree. I believe some tours only go part of the way to Hana and miss the bumpiest portion of the road.

[wallygator]

Sorry I cannot answer your question, but pls make sure your cruise allows enough time for this excursion. Although listed in the general info given, our cruise on Summit did not so we could not sign up--we were disappointed...

It is a very long trip & have heard it involves winding roads...

 

 

We are on the Summit 10/26 cruise. We already booked and after the fact we recieved an notice that the starting time was changed from 8:30 to 7:30 AM. We are in Lahaina, Maui for two days. The day we do the Adventure to Hana we leave at 11:00 PM so we should be fine.

Thanks for your response :) :cool:

[JRMEL]

We took the tour to Hana in April, however, we did it in a rented car. The drive to Hana is a 34 mile trip. It took about one and a half hours to drive to the town. Winding road and one lane bridges all the way. The road is not bumpy or rough, it's just slow going. The scenery is great. The rough roads are the 9 miles past Hana on the way to the seven pools. The last couple of miles will test your driving skills. Very tight roads, sometime inches between passing cars. People on tour that we encountered were in 9 passenger vans. Knowing what I know now I don't think I'd leave the driving to someone else.

John

[curiouscat]

If it took you only 1 1/2 hrs.... you MISSED the whole thing... what a shame..It should take several hours each way

 

CuriousCat

 

PS stop and smell the flowers

 

OH and stop and eat at Mama's fish house... make a reserv ...best place in Maui

[swifs]

We took a Road to Hana tour with the NCL line this summer and the road was not at all bumpy. But we would recommend the tour rather than self-drive because the road is difficult with lots of blind turns and the driver would miss a lot (apart from the constant tension of watching the road the whole time). Also the tour guide was very familiar with the trees and flowers en route and that added significantly our enjoyment. We thought it was a great way to spend that day- our tour was in a 16 passenger vehicle- bigger than a mini van but smaller than a full fledged bus.You might want to check out the Hawaii message board on this subject.

[dutchess43]

We rented a car & DH did all of the driving. I have done it both ways in a car & a van & will tell you it is a lot more comfortable in the car. I will admit that you have to be an excellent driver to accomplish this because of the twist & turns. DH at the end of the day surely felt it in his arms. But if we had to do again we definately would do the car rental.

[aaklang]

I've never done Hana on a cruise excursion, but my husband and I did the drive when we were in Maui on our own a few years ago. It definitely takes several hours each way because there are so many places to stop along the way. Scenery is equally beautiful on both sides so you can sit anywhere in the car and get great sites. Usually, you double back on the way home (rather than making a circle) so you'll get to see the stuff on both sides of the road anyway.

 

Doing it on your own is nice because you can stop wherever you want, BUT the road is very windy and quite stressful/difficult for the driver. I don't remember it being too bumpy - just quite narrow and twisty.

 

Hana is beautiful with great scenery along the way. I definitely recommend going. I don't remember anything about the town itself - it is the drive that makes the journey worthwhile.

[rhsjr]

Never did a tour, but rented a convertible and completed the trip 8-10 hours. GREAT scenery!!!!!!! You can rent a CD or tape to narrate as you go. Yes, a lot of curvesssssssss, something like 346, but please rent a car convertible and really enjoy the views:D .

[TravelerThom]

Never did a tour, but rented a convertible and completed the trip 8-10 hours. GREAT scenery!!!!!!! You can rent a CD or tape to narrate as you go. Yes, a lot of curvesssssssss, something like 346, but please rent a car convertible and really enjoy the views:D .

And 50+ one lane bridges! In addition to renting a tape narration, you have [at least in the past] been able to "rent a dog" [actually no cost] for the trip! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2002/03/17/AR2005041500563_pf.html I have driven to Hana twice, but made a [relatively] easy trip out of it by spending the night both times [obviously not on a cruise those times]. Almost all car rental contracts say no off-pavement driving, but most people continue on the gravel road to Seven Pools. Unless the road beyond is washed out, you can continue on around East Maui [but don't tell the rent-a-car company]. If you continue on around, after the pavement starts back up, you will come to Tedeschi Vineyards, purveyers of Pineapple wine [better than it sounds] - lovely grounds and a nice tour. This can make for a very long, tiring, but fantastically beautiful day - get an early start!

[naples queen]

I second a previous poster's advice to stop at Mama's Fish House for dinner after your trip. That is, of course, if you have your own rental car. The food is great as is the ambience. It is a very winding road and is a difficult drive to get to Hana but well worth it. I would never advise going the entire way around the island on the unpaved road past the town. Very hairy experience!!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Second the recommendation to eat at Mama's.

 

Having been the driver on the road to Hana, I would recommend letting someone else do the driving or at least switching. It is hard doing all the driving.

[Kathie44]

We did the road to Hana in '87 on a land trip to the islands through Pleasant Hawaiian (Now Pleasant Holiday). DH drove the rental car. The road was winding but not horribly bumpy. We stopped along the way at some state parks, one with a black sand beach, did some hiking and took lots of pics. We ate a packed lunch and look our time on this all-day trip. It's not bad to drive it yourself and better than having to go along with a large group and no control over stops. In '87 we couldn't do a circle island tour due to road closures from the previous hurricane. So we had to go back the way we came. :eek: Quite an experience! What I remember most is the waterfalls around every bend--gorgeous!! Also the grave of Charles Lindbergh, right along the road.

Truthfully, I would never do Hawaii on a cruise. There's too much to see and not enough time for that on excursions. We did a 15-day package with 5 days on Oahu and 3 each on Hawaii, Maui and Kuai, the last 3 included the rental cars. On Oahu we did motorcoach tours and saw a lot.

[tdiii]

The drive is worth it. Bumpy, curvy, breathtaking and spectacular. But do be careful if you choose to swim in the seven pools at the end. I remember when we were there a father drowned while trying to save his son from drowning. the son survived. A local told me that this happens once or twice a year at that spot.

 

I have to say that stopping to eat at Mama's is a great idea, but be prepared to drop some serious coin! It was one of the most expensive meals I have had anywhere in the world. Of course, that didn't stop us from buying t-shirts at check out!