Rental car companies forbid Road to Hana?

[Dd3thomas]

On a different site, someone said the car rental companies forbid you from driving the Road to Hana on your own?  Does anyone know if this is true? We have a Jeep rental with Hertz and we’re planning to do this the first day in Maui. Are we going to have an issue?

[Beachiekeen]

Always a good idea to check with your rental agency but generally you can drive as far as Lindbergh’s grave—that seems to be the turn around point I’ve always read about. Driving past that is generally prohibited, although I’ve read about Jeeps being allowed so again just check. But lots of people drive the Road to Hana, it’s certainly allowed up to that point.

 

Here is an article that explains it.

 

https://www.govisithawaii.com/2009/08/26/should-you-drive-the-back-side-of-the-road-to-hana/

[CruiserBruce]

Driving to Hana?  No. Driving past Hana? Possibly. All depends on your rental contract. Calling and talking to Hertz would be a wise thing to do.

 

In fact, not sure why going to the source was not the option to best solve this issue. And this is from somebody sitting on Maui, with a Hertz rental, not a Jeep, who is not forbidden from driving TO Hana.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Car rental companies "ban" you from driving on unimproved roads (roads that are not paved, in other words).

 

In the link below when you go to the full map of Maui you can see the two zones on Maui where rental cars can't go per the terms you sign.

 

Maui Drive Guide

[eltigre]

If you are adventurous you can drive all the way around the island in a rental, you just won't have insurance coverage if you go past Hana & something happens.

 

Also note the unimproved roads have many posted speeds of 5 miles per hour so the drive takes much longer than the mileage would suggest.

 Also getting a tow truck should you need one will take a long time & be very expensive.

 

It will take a full day & the last section (back on paved road) will be in the dark. Would I do it again? No, but honestly I have to say I'm glad I did it once.

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, eltigre said:

Also getting a tow truck should you need one will take a long time & be very expensive.

 

That is if you happen to be in an area where your cell phone works and you can call for help.  Coverage out there is spotty.

[cb at sea]

It said our vehicle wasn't supposed to go on the RTH, but we did....wasn't as "rough" as it's made out to be....except for a few spots.  This is a FULL DAY trip, tho....so unless you have an entire day to kill, there are plenty of other things to do in Maui!!!

If you damage your vehicle there, you will be charged for it!

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

On 12/8/2018 at 5:11 PM, cb at sea said:

It said our vehicle wasn't supposed to go on the RTH, but we did....wasn't as "rough" as it's made out to be....except for a few spots.  This is a FULL DAY trip, tho....so unless you have an entire day to kill, there are plenty of other things to do in Maui!!!

If you damage your vehicle there, you will be charged for it!

 

I don't know a single rental car company that says you can't go on the "RTH", which stands for "Road TO Hana". It is beyond Hana when you get past 'Ohe'o Gulch/Kipahulu that your contract gets voided.

 

Here is a sample of how the road is. Kipahulu

[KimA75]

On 12/10/2018 at 10:25 AM, scottca075 said:

Here is a sample of how the road is. Kipahulu

Great example.  We just drove this on Sunday.  There are two really rough spots on the southern side where I was literally thanking God that another car didn’t come the other way.  Locals fly through there as well.  Even with the blind curves.  So, you just have to be cautious.  Just like eltigre said, I doubt I’ll do it again, but I am glad I did it once.  The south side is just as beautiful, but in a different way.

 

I verified with my rental company, Maui Budget Cars, that we could go that way.  I also inquired about recent rainfall to make sure it wouldn’t be even more difficult, if not impassable.  My understanding from other research is that the companies can’t exactly prohibit the travel.  However, you will be on your own if any tow truck service, etc is needed.

 

If you decide to go, you better make sure you have a very confident driver.  My friend, the passenger, panicked for a moment each time a car came around a blind curve towards us.  There is no way she could have driven that side.