Road to hana tour?

[tg1974]

We will be on the Pride of America cruise next August. I was wondering if anyone knew the company that NCL uses for its Road to Hana Excursion? I would like to do this excusion on my own. Valley Isle Excursions look quite attractive but I'm not sure it will fit into our itinerary.

 

Tim

[LJH1]

We will be on the Pride of America cruise next August. I was wondering if anyone knew the company that NCL uses for its Road to Hana Excursion? I would like to do this excusion on my own. Valley Isle Excursions look quite attractive but I'm not sure it will fit into our itinerary.

 

Tim

 

You should check out and post any further questions on the Hawaii board, y'll find it under "ports of call" on main page.

 

As for your question they use Polynesian Adventure Tours which is owned by NCL.

[flowerchild]

You can just rent a car and do it yourself. The RTH is easy to do on your own. There is a fantastic series of books regarding Hawaii commonly referred to as the Blue Bible, the books are called "Revealed" as in Maui Revealed, Oahu Revealed, etc. The Maui edition has a fantastic chapter about doing the Road to Hana and the many stops along the way. We've done it three times, now; once completely around the east side! I am proud to say I have completely circumnavited Maui, even though the drive up around Kahakuloa almost made me wet myself, LOL! That one I would not advise if you are afraid of heights. Even some areas of the RTH are a little scary, not the road conditions, but the drop off to the ocean below...still a very lovely and picturesque drive.

 

Maui is our favorite place in the world and every time we leave, I cry for days!

 

Aloha!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I am also researching our cruise to Hawaii on the POA next May. I have learned so much on the Ports Forum already. Head on over there for lots of helpful advice.:)

[Ms belp]

I'm terrified of heights. Positano, Italy nearly did me in. Is there something to see that does not involve me having a heart attack?

 

Yes, I know about the other boards.

[GORDONCHICK]

On Maui or other stops? The Tedesci Winery is on Maui and no heights involved. Be sure to taste the pineapple wines. The only made one when I was there, and I'd love to try Hula O Maui Sparkling Wine.

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

The road to Hana was a nice one time experience...recommendation, get the smallest car practical. We rented a Lincoln Navigator and, while comfortable, not practical. Had to fold the mirrors in!

[mew1]

We did it ourselves with a car, it is a hard on one driver. You will find a lot of info on the Hawaii boards. Enjoy it is an amazing cruise.

mew1

[flowerchild]

Ms Belp, I hear you. I burst into tears at one point driving around Kahakuloa. One way narrow road, hugging a cliff and a steep drop off to the ocean on the other side. We passed a van traveling the opposite direction on the sea side of the road; I will never forget the expressions on thier faces. I felt sick just thinking about me being in the van...yuck.

 

Other spots for people afraid of heights:

Iao Valley

Twin Falls (early on the RTH)

Olivine Pools (some downhill hiking involved)

Dragon's Teeth

 

The drive can be hard on one driver, I agree.

 

Some amazing stops later on the RTH:

Red Sand Beach

Pailoa Beach, a true black sand beach

Oheo Gulch

[eltigre]

On Maui or other stops? The Tedesci Winery is on Maui and no heights involved. Be sure to taste the pineapple wines. The only made one when I was there, and I'd love to try Hula O Maui Sparkling Wine.

 

in Sept. How far is the winery from the main road heading back?

[CruisingGoddess]

We will be on the Pride of America cruise next August. I was wondering if anyone knew the company that NCL uses for its Road to Hana Excursion? I would like to do this excusion on my own. Valley Isle Excursions look quite attractive but I'm not sure it will fit into our itinerary.

 

Tim

 

I don't know who they use for "Road to Hana" but NCL uses Temptation Tours for "Hana Picnic":

 

http://www.temptationtours.com/

 

We are taking this tour through them for our cruise in November. NCL also uses them for the Hana Sky Trek.

[GORDONCHICK]

in Sept. How far is the winery from the main road heading back?

 

It's not far from the road to Heleakala but I was there 11 years ago and I wasn't driving.

[intentionaltourist]

We are taking Valle Excursions. People on the CC Boards have loved the, We are going on the Sept. 4th sailing.

[flowerchild]

in Sept. How far is the winery from the main road heading back?

 

The winery is south of the entrance to Haleakala. You can see paniolo, visit the tasting room and go to a little food store to pick up picnic supplies. I love the Maui Splash wine (passion and pineapple) but the Blanc (pineapple) is also very good. I love love love the raspberry wine, it is more of a cordial...delicious.

 

That entire area from Paia all the way south is considered Upcountry. Other stops is Upcountry include a goat dairy farm, a lavender farm, stops in Makawao (cool little town, look for malasadas in the local bakery, yum, try the guava) and other little scenic overlooks along the road. My husband's favorite area in Maui is Upcountry.

[eltigre]

Thank you we will definately do this now.

[eltigre]

This is our second time driving the RTH.

The first time we didn't complete it as we stopped so often.

This time we did the whole thing all the way around.

 

1st Half

The road seems to have been repaved & is very good.

Best stops the box lunch at Paia, the drive down to Keanae, Waianapanapa State Park (bring your bathing suit), Oheo Gulch, Kipahulu Falls & church. These were all GREAT!!

 

Worst was Nahiku after driving 2.5 miles down it is all private property. Fun to see eclectic styles of living but no beach access or parking.

 

2nd half

Driving the undrivable according to your rental agreement...not fun.

 

The road is gravel, no shoulder, narrow one lane but is a 2 way road. The locals do not seem impressed when they come upon you, nor do the bulls, cows & goats that may suddenly be on the road as you crest a steep hill that you can not see more than the edge of the pavement. The signs call it sight impaired..no kidding!!

 

The scenery of the back side of Haleakala is different..dry, sage brush, stunted trees, rocks with one big dry valley followed by one big huge ranch.

The ocean side is beautiful & the sea arch is georgeous.

The setting sun was a often blinding. We were late getting all the way through this portion & it was a low sun that made it more difficult to drive.

It also got dark before we hit the paved part again.

As it was dark we didn't stop at the winery.

 

For the driver it is a hard day of driving with no scenery as they must constantly pay attention. Only the stops become worthwhile for them.

 

Was it scary...no.

If you got a flat you'd be in serious trouble.

 

Was it faster than returing the way you came ..no

Would we do it again..no.

Am I glad I did it..yes just to know what it's all about

Was it worth it...no

 

Any question?

Email me. My addy is under my signature

 

PS

We were in a convertible as we expected to have more passengers & wanted them to be able to view everything from the back seat.

An SUV or 4x4 would be a better idea...

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the review, eltigre. Your report certainly makes me aware that I do not want to drive this road myself. If I want to go all around I will do so with a tour and a professional driver used to driving the road. The first part sounds fun, though.:cool:

[flowerchild]

I would not want to go on a tour because they will not make the many stops you would make on your own. Traveling the Road to Hana is not about the drive, it is about the pit stops. Different strokes, I guess. I would hate to be crowded in a van with a bunch of strangers, but that is just me. I dislike ship excursions for that very reason, I hate being part of the "cattle drive".

[vbmom87]

I would not want to go on a tour because they will not make the many stops you would make on your own. Traveling the Road to Hana is not about the drive, it is about the pit stops. Different strokes, I guess. I would hate to be crowded in a van with a bunch of strangers, but that is just me. I dislike ship excursions for that very reason, I hate being part of the "cattle drive".

 

Exactly, different strokes for different folks. I just wish those who criticize the tour would take one and then make a judgment. In general I prefer to drive myself too. However, we are not the kind of people to violate contracts, so we went with the tour. We probably stopped more on the tour than we would have on our own. We loved that everyone could sit back and relax. No one had to concentrate on driving. The real highlight for us was the commentary by the driver. Even my 22 year old daughter told me she was so glad I booked the tour. She so enjoyed listening and learning from our driver. Our van had only 12 people I believe. Seats were very comfy...far more comfy than many cars.

[fleckle]

Exactly, different strokes for different folks. I just wish those who criticize the tour would take one and then make a judgment. In general I prefer to drive myself too. However, we are not the kind of people to violate contracts, so we went with the tour. We probably stopped more on the tour than we would have on our own. We loved that everyone could sit back and relax. No one had to concentrate on driving. The real highlight for us was the commentary by the driver. Even my 22 year old daughter told me she was so glad I booked the tour. She so enjoyed listening and learning from our driver. Our van had only 12 people I believe. Seats were very comfy...far more comfy than many cars.

GMTA! We did the same thing. Unsure of whether or not we would enjoy driving on that narrow, twisty road with its one-way bridges, we also decided to book a tour. Our tour was also in a van that held about 12. We enjoyed it a lot and were glad to have the driver/guide's commentary.

 

It was a very long, full day. On the drive out, I kept thinking that we could have rented a car and driven it ourselves. But by late afternoon, we were exhausted from all the running around we had done at the various stops along the way so we were very happy to be able to sit back, relax and leave the driving to someone else.

 

Vbmom, I have seen your posts on the Alaska board too. When it comes to driving the South Klondike Highway up to the Yukon from Skagway, we are in the "different strokes" group because there we greatly prefer to rent a car and drive ourselves. But we find that road to be so much easier and more relaxing than the Road to Hana.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Vbmom, I have seen your posts on the Alaska board too. When it comes to driving the South Klondike Highway up to the Yukon from Skagway, we are in the "different strokes" group because there we greatly prefer to rent a car and drive ourselves. But we find that road to be so much easier and more relaxing than the Road to Hana.

LOL! As I was reading all of this I was thinking of the comment my 27 yo DD made while we were on the Chilkoot train/van tour from Skagway. I mentioned to her that we could have rented a car ourselves and she said, "But then we would not have heard all of the things the guide is telling us, and that is what makes it so special".

 

I do a combination of ship tours, independent and private tours and 'on our own' depending on the circumstances. I am picky about ship tours and avoid the large cattle drive types. I usually tend to take the smaller, limited tours. I must say that some of my better tours have been ship tours, though. In Alaska, for example, the "Photo Safari by Land & Sea" in Juneau was one of my all time favorite tours. There were only 7 of us on the tour, too. In Hawaii I have rental cars reserved currently for all ports except for Hilo, where we are reserved with Ricky. He limits to 10 or 12 people. We may change our minds with the rental cars as we continue to make plans. It is nice to have options.:)

[vbmom87]

Vbmom, I have seen your posts on the Alaska board too. When it comes to driving the South Klondike Highway up to the Yukon from Skagway, we are in the "different strokes" group because there we greatly prefer to rent a car and drive ourselves. But we find that road to be so much easier and more relaxing than the Road to Hana.

 

Most likely if we were ever in Skagway again, we would rent a car. However, thinking it might be a one in a lifetime trip, we wanted to see the scenery from both perspectives and weren't disappointed. Again, we did enjoy the commentary from the driver. No one way to vacation that is for sure. We all need to choose according to our travel style.

[fleckle]

.......or different strokes for the same folks

 

One of the primary considerations for us when deciding whether or not to book a commercial tour on a first-time visit anywhere is how much advance preparation we have had to familiarize ourselves with the area we will be visiting.

 

When it is a last minute pack-and-go first trip to an unfamiliar location, we typically opt for a commercial guided tour.

 

When we have had a chance to read up on the area in advance, order the local brochures and maps, possibly watch some films about it, look at the reviews of others, and have a pretty good idea of what we want to see and do, that is when we are more likely to drive ourselves or use public transportation (where available). Of course we also take into consideration the relative safety of the area, road conditions and ease of parking.

 

There are always trade-offs, whichever way you decide.

In the case of the Alaska drive to the Yukon, we did not feel that the commentary of commercial tour guide was necessary even for first-timers, as long as they had a copy of the highly acclaimed Murray's guide. It provides detailed descriptions of everything along the route, mile by mile. For those who want more information about the history of the area, there are very good free park ranger presentations in Skagway. But there are some people who do not feel comfortable driving on that road, despite knowing that most others consider it to be an extremely safe and easy drive.

 

[flowerchild]

.......or different strokes for the same folks

 

One of the primary considerations for us when deciding whether or not to book a commercial tour on a first-time visit anywhere is how much advance preparation we have had to familiarize ourselves with the area we will be visiting.

 

When it is a last minute pack-and-go first trip to an unfamiliar location, we typically opt for a commercial guided tour.

 

When we have had a chance to read up on the area in advance, order the local brochures and maps, possibly watch some films about it, look at the reviews of others, and have a pretty good idea of what we want to see and do, that is when we are more likely to drive ourselves or use public transportation (where available). Of course we also take into consideration the relative safety of the area, road conditions and ease of parking.

 

There are always trade-offs, whichever way you decide.

In the case of the Alaska drive to the Yukon, we did not feel that the commentary of commercial tour guide was necessary even for first-timers, as long as they had a copy of the highly acclaimed Murray's guide. It provides detailed descriptions of everything along the route, mile by mile. For those who want more information about the history of the area, there are very good free park ranger presentations in Skagway. But there are some people who do not feel comfortable driving on that road, despite knowing that most others consider it to be an extremely safe and easy drive.

 

 

I agree with this wholeheartedly. With the amount of research I personally did on the RTH, specifically the Maui Revealed book, I felt so informed that I did not need a guide. My husband, who did all the driving, was tired, but appreciated that we did it our way, stopping as often as we wanted, exploring on our own schedule, etc.

[vbmom87]

I agree with this wholeheartedly. With the amount of research I personally did on the RTH, specifically the Maui Revealed book, I felt so informed that I did not need a guide. My husband, who did all the driving, was tired, but appreciated that we did it our way, stopping as often as we wanted, exploring on our own schedule, etc.

 

I read the Revealed books too, and still loved having the guide. Again, different strokes for different folks.