Welcome back to my blog! As promised, I am here to continue my recap of Maui by highlighting my time on the Road to Hana. In my last post, I covered how we traveled to Maui, where we stayed, and even budget and costs. Today, I really want to highlight Road to Hana as it was the piece of my Maui trip that was not only the most memorable but the most impactful. 

What is the Road to Hana?

The Road to Hana is a 64-mile long highway that stretches from Kahului to the small town of Hana. This popular tourist attraction has about 59 bridges and tons of hiking trails, state parks, beaches, and gorgeous waterfalls to see along the way. The cherry on top of this adventure is the small local businesses along the way that sell anything from banana bread, fruit, and souvenirs. The highway is known to be very windy, and some of the bridges are only one lane, so be sure you are riding with someone that is an exceptional driver. 

This is how we do!

There are tons of ways to explore the Road to Hana. Many people simply rent a car and follow the road and make stops along the way. If you decide to drive yourself, many apps will navigate you and point out popular mile markers for you. Others opt to sign up for group or private tours with certified drivers that plan a whole day for you. In my last post, I mentioned that my friends and I traveled to Hawaii at the very peak of their rental car shortage. Because of this, we were not able to rent a car and explore on our own. Luckily, we were blessed to connect with Kat from Oui Tour Maui, who took us on a private tour of Road to Hana. Kat is fantastic and is super knowledgeable of the Road to Hana and the island’s history as a whole. I loved touring the island with Kat because she listened to our interests and customized our tour according to our interests, athletic ability, etc. Kat also knows the Road to Hana like the back of her hand and took us on the most adventurous hikes and spots that the average tourist doesn’t know about. We started our day at 7am and spent the whole day exploring, getting home around 6 or 7pm. 

If you ever find yourself in Maui and are interested in booking a tour, please check out Kat at Oui Tour Mau here. You can also check out her Instagram @ouitourmaui! 

Highlighted Stops

To be honest, I was so present on this trip that I did not capture as many photos and footage as I wanted to. However, that is sort of the joy of the whole experience to me. I hold the majority of these memories in my heart and with others that were blessed enough to experience this adventure with me. When I wasn’t thoroughly entranced with the magic of Mother Earth, I did manage to capture a few notable stops:

Bamboo Forest and Waterfalls

The first stop of our day was the Bamboo Forest and Waterfalls. This was one of the most adventurous hikes that I have ever done. This honestly increased my confidence as a hiker, pushing me to do more rigid and challenging hiking back home. This one starts with entering a small passage on the side of the road that immediately puts you in the middle of a ton of Bamboos. After that, it is an adventure of crossing streams, planks, crawling through fallen trees, and a few slips and falls before finding your way to a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole. 

Rainbow Eucalyptus Grove

I have never seen anything like this. This spot highlights the Eucalyptus Deglupta tree in all of its beautiful glory. They have a very smooth bark that reveals more bright rainbow colors each time they shed. These trees gave off so much energy, and touching them was a very grounding and enlightening experience. 

Keanae Lookout

The Keanae Lookout is a beautiful place to stop and stretch your legs while looking out at the beautiful Pacific waves. There is also a nice grass area nearby to eat lunch. 

Wai’anapanapa State Park & Black Sand Beach

As one of the more popular stops along the Road to Hana, you will have to make a reservation to stop here (this rule was implemented due to COVID). The park has tons of trails, cliffs, nature to take in, and its main attraction, Black Sand Beach. This place is beautiful, and we took a lot of time here to relax, swim, and take some pictures. 

Honorable Mentions: 

There are tons of stops on the Road to Hana. So many that it is impossible to see everything in one day. Some other places not pictured are Twin Falls and Hana Lava Tube. I found an excellent website that lists a few additional stops here.

Local Businesses

We wrapped up our day by shopping with some small local businesses along the Road to Hana. COVID has hit some of these business owners pretty hard, so I highly recommend supporting the local shops during your journey. 

The experience of it all

The Road to Hana was a very grounding and spiritual experience. I felt so connected to Spirit, and my heart feels warm and complete as I type this. I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting lately on the purpose of life. Why do our souls come here to have the human experience? The human experience involves ups and downs. Good and bad. Joy and struggles. However, our purpose is not to struggle each day. Our purpose is to overcome these challenging times and learn how to simply live life. See the beauty in everything and connect back to Source. The Road to Hana further confirmed this. Be present, allow yourself to enjoy the pleasures that life can bring, and feel love. 💚

XO – Kat