Road to Hana on Princess

[Aquaticdreams]

The road to Hana is on my bucket list. On our last cruise to Hawaii I was disappointed that Celebrity cancelled the excursion, probably due to cutting it too close to departure time.  This time we’re going on Princess from San Diego. The excursions for our sailing are not posted yet. I see that their cruise from LA docks in Kahului and offers two Hana excursions. Our January cruise will dock in Lahaina and I’m hoping they offer Hana on our trip too. Has anyone done a Princess tour out of Lahaina or any other cruise line for that matter? Does anyone know anything about the San Diego excursions and when they’ll be posted? Thanks.

[princeton123211]

3 minutes ago, Aquaticdreams said:

Has anyone done a Princess tour out of Lahaina or any other cruise line for that matter? Does anyone know anything about the San Diego excursions and when they’ll be posted? Thanks.

Do yourself a favor and rent a car and drive yourself. The mini busses they take on these excursions are cramped and uncomfortable over what is mostly uneven road. More so you can stop at the things you want to see and not what the tour dictates. 

 

There are fabulous audio guides that sync up to your cars sound system and gps and let you see as much or as little as you would like and you can move at your own pace. Gypsy Guides has been our favorite app/audio guide so far. 

 

5 minutes ago, Aquaticdreams said:

Our January cruise will dock in Lahaina and I’m hoping they offer Hana on our trip too.

I'll let you judge after your first trip out to Hana but most likely you will want to not repeat or not. Its something we do every few years but definitely not every time we go and its a LONG day. 

 

Worth noting that Kahului is a much easier jumping off point for Hana-- both in terms of rental car and getting to the actual road-- than leaving from Lahaina. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

6 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Worth noting that Kahului is a much easier jumping off point for Hana-- both in terms of rental car and getting to the actual road-- than leaving from Lahaina. 

 

Since Lahaina is a tender port, you will have to factor time for tender rides to and from the dock, getting and later returning your rental car and an extra hour or so (on a perfect day traffic-wise) to get to Hana Highway and start the Road To Hana.

[karylrocks]

I have been researching this and found this tour on a couple other sailings going to Kahului. While I used to see two different tours, I have only been able to find the one that includes the picnic lunch which is now $330, I think $100 more that it was when I was looking at Lahaina tours last year. While I really wanted this tour, I am really having a hard time with the prices of some of these tours; I can't wrap my head around paying $660 for the two of us. Renting a car would be around $150 plus gas and getting to and from the car rental, and driving it sounds a bit stressful.

[princeton123211]

49 minutes ago, karylrocks said:

driving it sounds a bit stressful.

Its not very stressful-- the road gets a bad rep but the sections you'll be on are fairly easy to drive. Because of the number of drivers on the road, the overall pace tends to be a bit slow too at peak times. 

 

You'll most likely turn around in Hana and drive what you did in reverse. The section of road beyond Hana, if you were to continue all the way around, is a little more stressful but not awful. 

 

I wouldn't let the thought of it being stressful dissuade you from renting a car-- as you saw, its a LOT less expensive than tour alternatives and lets you do it at your own pace and see things you want to see. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, karylrocks said:

I have been researching this and found this tour on a couple other sailings going to Kahului. While I used to see two different tours, I have only been able to find the one that includes the picnic lunch which is now $330, I think $100 more that it was when I was looking at Lahaina tours last year. While I really wanted this tour, I am really having a hard time with the prices of some of these tours; I can't wrap my head around paying $660 for the two of us. Renting a car would be around $150 plus gas and getting to and from the car rental, and driving it sounds a bit stressful.

If you got the $330. figure from a Valley Isle Excursions ad about a Road to Hana tour, that amount was for two people.

[karylrocks]

2 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

If you got the $330. figure from a Valley Isle Excursions ad about a Road to Hana tour, that amount was for two people.

 

 

From Princess website:

Hana Road Adventure & Picnic

8.75 hours | Kahului | OGG-180O G G - 1 8 0

From $329.95

[Silver Sweethearts]

47 minutes ago, karylrocks said:

From Princess website:

Hana Road Adventure & Picnic

8.75 hours | Kahului | OGG-180O G G - 1 8 0

From $329.95

 

Aloha,  All we can say is that cruise lines do tend to mark up their excursions, and this certainly seems one example.  There are many companies here who offer Hana tours.  Princess is hardly the only game in town.  Unless you want only their excursions, check out local tours.  

[Aquaticdreams]

Thanks. I would rent a car on a land vacation because I think it would be more fun to stop wherever we want. We definitely don’t mind mountain driving and long days, we love that sort of thing. But for a cruise I would be more comfortable taking a tour just because of the distance from Lahaina and wanting to make sure we get back to the ship on time. I agree $329 is pretty steep. If Princess doesn’t end up offering one from Lahaina I’ll look for a private tour that picks up at the port and fits our 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM port schedule (less of course due to tenders). I don’t know if there are any options for that but suggestions for private tours are welcomed!

[princeton123211]

6 hours ago, Aquaticdreams said:

I agree $329 is pretty steep. If Princess doesn’t end up offering one from Lahaina I’ll look for a private tour that picks up at the port and fits our 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM port schedule (less of course due to tenders).

$329 per person for this is very steep compared to other options-- its more in line with what local tour operators charge for private tours or ones in an upgraded luxury vehicle. With this one you'll be on a mini bus that sort of resembles an airport shuttle-- not the most comfortable way to go around. 

 

The value in paying the higher price here is the $660 insurance policy you'll have the ship wait for you if theres a delay and I get that and its a personal decision. There are options that can significantly reduce the cost, and I would argue enhance the experience, but it will come down to where your comfort level is with it. 

[vacation44]

Can anyone recommend tour companies?   We would be a group of ten.