i have been sharing about our trip to maui, hawaii this week, i shared about paia town already and today - the road to hana! before we left paia, we downloaded an app called gypsy guide, that came highly recommended to us. i wish this app existed for every city; it is a gps guided tour that tells you when to stop and prioritizes sites for you while driving. the road to hana is a famously treacherous, 42 mile drive along the northeastern coast with 600 hairpin turns. have i sold you? this drive took us about six hours because we took our time and stopped every chance we could. this is truly about the journey, not the destination.
we stopped first at the ho'okipa lookout to see the windsurfers and surfers. the next stop was the rainbow eucalyptus trees off the road in a grove - their bark looks like watercolor. love at first sight. next was the garden of eden arboretum, a small nature preserve with peacocks and local flora where parts of jurassic park were filmed. next was the black sand beach at waianapanapa state park; there are beautiful sea caves and you can go for a swim at the beach. there are many waterfalls (upper waikani, wailua) along the way, we stopped in at a few and swam in the icy water. we drove along the keanae peninsula and stopped at a stand for warm banana bread and shaved ice.
along the route, we stopped at the nakihu mile marker for the most amazing fish tacos and famous 'coconut candy.' the last stop was in our little town in hana at hamoa beach where we would stay for a few days. the beach at hamoa is beautiful (one of maui's best) and there are a few restaurants for dinner if you plan to head back. we saved the south coast for the drive back to wailea.
{the first stop - ho'okipa lookout and windsurfers}
{our jeep for the week}
{rainbow eucalyptus grove - my favorite stop of the whole trip}
{rainbow eucalyptus grove}
{rainbow eucalyptus grove}
{winding roads and lookouts on road to hana}
{'garden of eden' arboretum black rock from jurassic park}
{banana bread on keanae peninsula}
{waianapanapa state park - black sand beach}
{waianapanapa state park - black sand beach}
{perfect black sand beach at waianapanapa state park}
{sea caves at waianapanapa state park}
tips:
- download guide before you leave when you have wifi
- take snacks and water with you, not stops till later in the drive
- plan for this to take a full day (early morning) if going there and back (or stay in hana)
- rent your own car if you can so you can stop at your own pace (and fill up your tank)
- convertibles and jeeps are most fun for this drive, be prepared to close to top for passing showers
- bring hiking shoes, towels, and swimming clothes!
- leave enough time to return and don't drive back in the dark (we rented a place and stayed a few days)
{white plumeria everywhere in hawaii}
{last stop at hamoa beach in hana town, pastoral, and beautiful}
xoxo
madeline
this week i want to share some of my travel photos from our trip to hawaii in november. with the ice and snow around the country, we are all needing to mentally be somewhere else today, somewhere warm! to celebrate finishing my husband's architectural exams and our third wedding anniversary, we booked a trip to maui in november. november is considered 'off season' on the islands; prices are lower, but the weather is perfect year round. we did a lot of research before leaving on where to stay on the island, the best beaches, and what to see. i would love to share.
