Maui- Driving time from Port to Hana???? Who know?

[Ruth]

Can anyone tell me about how long it takes to Drive from the port to Hana and then around the south side of the island on Hwy 360 along the coast. We were going to drive to Hana then around the south side then North to the Haleakala National Park and then back to the ship all in one day....Is this possible....Driving to Hana looks as if it could take must of the morning....What about gas stations are there plenty of them? The South side of the Island looks like it doesn't have many towns.....

Any info on this would be appreicated.

Thanks

[bug_dan]

Possible yes, relaxing NO. You're looking at six to seven hours just driving so you'll need an early start. This isn't allowing for any stops and traffic on the way to Hana could be a problem. Gas stations are not plentiful, I think Pai'ia might be the last chance for gas before getting on the Highway to Hana and there are some stations in Hana, but none on the "backside". There are restrooms going to Hana but none after Oheo Gulch. Check out this website. http://www.hawaiihighways.com/maui.htm

scroll down to Hana Highway and click on Photos.

[Das K]

Starting on the July 23 trip, it looks like the Wind will only go to Lahaina for 2 nights, while the Prides will go to Kahului. I have not been there yet, but it looks like you can add about an hour EACH way if driving from Lahaina.

[breeding]

Can anyone tell me about how long it takes to Drive from the port to Hana and then around the south side of the island on Hwy 360 along the coast. We were going to drive to Hana then around the south side then North to the Haleakala National Park and then back to the ship all in one day....Is this possible....Driving to Hana looks as if it could take must of the morning....What about gas stations are there plenty of them? The South side of the Island looks like it doesn't have many towns.....

Any info on this would be appreicated.

Thanks

 

Yes we just did it. We stopped quite a few times but did not stay very long. We did walk back to Twin Falls which took us about 30 minutes. We got off the Wind at 8:00 got our rental SUV (you will want it to go all the way around) by 9:00 and had purchased our CD and were at the start of the road to Hana at 10:00. This was after a water truck on the Hwy in front of us lost all his big empty bottles and one of them go wedged under our SUV and we had to get it out. We listened to the cd and decided from it if we wanted to make the stop or just take a quick picture and continue. We ate sandwiches while driving and stopped at a smoothie stand for fresh smothies and coconut candy (yum). We were at Black rock beach about 2:00 and spend probably 30 minutes exploring there. We were at 7 sacred pools by 3:00. The girls played in the pools for about 30 minutes and we continued on the forbidden road. We had heard about the non-pavement, the bumpiness, the very narrow road with steep banks but no one told us about how much it was like a rollercoaster. The girls loved it. We ended up getting to the winery by 4:58, which they closed at 5:00 but she let us in to taste some wines. That is a fun little stop that I wish we had more time to check out. We were back at the Lahina / Wialea intersection at 6:00 so we decided to go down toward the Grand Wialea hotel and check out the snorkeling there. It was also too wavy to snorkel but the girls played in the water for about 30 minutes. This is where life got a little messy. We got in a traffic jam because of a wreck on the way back to Lahina. We lost over 30 minutes which wasn’t good because we were cutting it close to making it to the boat anyway. We ended up getting lost getting to the pier and made it to the last tender. We were so tired and stressed out that night that we didn’t even order dessert just an entrée and went to bed.

 

Yes you can make it. Keep track of time and don't try to get one more thing in at the end. It was great and one of the girls most favorite parts.

[spleen93]

I would have told you to skip snorkeling near Wailea Beach - better snorkeling in other locations. :)

 

Spleen

[breeding]

I would have told you to skip snorkeling near Wailea Beach - better snorkeling in other locations. :)

 

Spleen

 

I had left all my information about snorkeling on the boat because we were sure we wouldn't have time. Partly we just wanted the excuse to see the Grand Wailea Hotel. We have friends that stay there every year and we were curious.

[spleen93]

It IS a very nice hotel to look at. :)

 

Spleen

[wmwmarmstrong]

Breeding; Which car rental co. did you go with? Did you already have reservations? That was pretty fast time getting the rental.

 

Mary

[Ruth]

Is there a sign...for Twin Falls...also is there parking?...Is it on the road to Hana? Also is 7 sacred pools on the road to Hana?

[Ruth]

At Mile Marker 2 on the Hana Highway, you will see a small parking area and a juice cart. That's it, no signs announcing the hike. Just park your car and lock it! But don't park in front of the driveway (it says 'no parking'). Get a juice from the nice girl at the juice cart and then begin your hike jumping the fence that separates farmland from the highway, then follow along the trail that goes into the farm grounds. This hike is on private property so do not wander off the path as there are signs that say 'no tresspassing.'

 

As you follow the path, you will see homemade signs pointing the way to the falls. The first, smaller fall you will come to right away. It is off the path and there is a sign pointing to it. You will have to cross some small streams at this point so your shoes will get wet. Further on up the trail, the farm land ends and it gets more rainforest like. Keep following the signs. You will come up upon an old drainage ditch that you can walk on top of, but this will not get you all the way to the second fall. If it has rained heavily the night before (and it usually does) you will have to wade in water to get to the second fall. The water could be up to your knees or, in my case, my chest because there had been a heavy rain. My poor mother forgot to wear her swimsuit and decided she didn't want to get her clothes wet so I went the rest of the way alone.

 

It was kinda creepy because you can't see the fall, you can only hear it and you can't see in the water either so I was worried about slipping on rocks and dunking my camera (I suggest a waterproof camera for this hike). However, people we passed on the hike said it was worth it to wade though this pass. When I got there it was a spectacular sight! A large waterfall goes into a pool below with the rainforest hanging overhead. A honeymoon couple had beaten me there and they were dunking each other in the water. I took a picture for them of them kissing under the waterfall. Made me wish my honey were there too! After taking several pictures of my own, I waded back to where my mother was waiting.

 

FYI-it is very wet and muddy on this hike, but if you can stand that, the view is worth it! Also, we saw many families on the trail so it is kid friendly, but I have to admit I was surprised at how high the water level was so make sure everyone in your group can swim. There was a group of two couples that came up behind us and one woman in the group was only 5 feet tall. The water came up to her neck!

[breeding]

Breeding; Which car rental co. did you go with? Did you already have reservations? That was pretty fast time getting the rental.

 

Mary

 

We had a Hertz rental with an SUV and we were glad we had it. We had purchased it ahead of time through price line for $40. We had some people that wanted to get on the Hertz bus and rent a car but didn't have reservations and they would not let them on the bus. I suggest making plans ahead of time

 

Twin Falls - Wow our hike was not like that at all!! It was damp and my girls had fun jumping puddles on the road but there was no water to walk through at all. I have a couple of pictures on webshots if you are interested. I didn't put them all but it was a very pretty walk. http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=viewall&albumID=380523057

It is about half way down.

[breeding]

It has been suggested many times before but I wanted to suggest again to stop at the shell station right before the road to Hana and buy the CD and map. They are not in the shell station but a little house right at the entrance to the shell station. It was neat to hear all the background to the stuff you looked at and it gave very good description of the things you were passing so that you could decide wether or not you really wanted or had time for that stop. We had to go to Twin Falls even though it took about 30 minutes because we are from Twin Falls Idaho and we thought we had better see Twin Falls Maui!

[spleen93]

To answer your other question, Oheo Gulch (formerly known as 7 sacred pools) is actually past Hana on the road.

 

Spleen

[wmwmarmstrong]

We had a Hertz rental with an SUV and we were glad we had it. We had purchased it ahead of time through price line for $40. We had some people that wanted to get on the Hertz bus and rent a car but didn't have reservations and they would not let them on the bus. I suggest making plans ahead of time

 

Thank you! I am going to Price line then. So a bus even picked you up at port? Sounds great!

[wmwmarmstrong]

I went to Priceline and put in every combination of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii and does not list Lahaina as a pick up point. Then I went to the Hertz page and it wouldn't allow me to rent for one day. Any suggestions on the Priceline problem would be appreciated.

 

Mary

[Ruth]

I went to Priceline and put in every combination of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii and does not list Lahaina as a pick up point. Then I went to the Hertz page and it wouldn't allow me to rent for one day. Any suggestions on the Priceline problem would be appreciated.

 

Mary

I don't know if Lahaina is pick up for rental cars...I am sure if you are staying at a resort they can arrange for a rental car...But we are coming in by port...I have been told there are a lot of shuttles from different car rentals that will pick you up at the port and take you to the Rental car places...I have been told on most of the islands the Rental car places are at the Airport....

[spleen93]

Look for Kaanapali on Maui (or even Kapalua). Both of those locations are in West Maui and will be close to Lahaina. You're right - Lahaina itself does not actually have rental cars (at least, not the majors)

 

Spleen

[breeding]

In order for price line to understand me I had to put the west Maui airport, also used it's name but I forgot that now. And yes the Hertz bus picked us up about a block from the pier. Hope that helps.

[wmwmarmstrong]

Thanks spleen93 and breeding. Wouldn't take Kaanapali but it does show Kapalua so that must be it.