Our final full day on the beautiful island of Maui and the last day to get in the Road to Hana we knew we had to take it or leave it. The forecast looked more clear than any other day but there was still the possibility of rain, well I mean it is a Rain Forest.
We got up bright and early and headed out. Conditions ended up being perfect so the whole journey was really enjoyable! We highly suggest the GyPSy app which works off your GPS instead of data. It costs a minimal amount to download but is well worth it. Telling you Hawaiian history and exactly where to stop, turn out and park you will save yourself a lot of time and guess work. GyPSy even goes as far as to suggest optional stops and tells you about how long you will spend at each stop. We can’t stress enough how helpful this app was!
Our first stop was Twin Falls, this is an easy little hike with a pretty waterfall at the end. You can go further, however it will take some additional time but the view is supposed to be beautiful. We had a lot on our list of sites to see, so we skipped the additional hike. Be warned that there is a warning on the gate to the second hike that mentions it can be dangerous. So make sure you are wearing the right clothing! All in all, this is a nice place to stop, but not one of the prettiest waterfalls. If you too have a lot on your list, I feel like this one can be skipped.
Our second stop was the Garden of Eden Arboretum. This stop does have a cost to enter. At $15 per person, we felt it was totally worth it. The botanical garden trails are beautiful, but the waterfall view is by the best part of this whole place. Oh and I can’t forget, they have real bathrooms which is hard to come by on this beautiful road.
I am totally not a tropical smoothie kind of girl but we got one at a small little shop there at the arboretum and it was delicious! Don’t forget to check out the painted eucalyptus, which is super neat! And again, the waterfall lookout cannot be beat!
The next few stops kind of all blended together, you stop where you can, take pictures when you can.
Some of the things that stood out the most were the black sand beach, the Keanae Peninsula where you need to stop at Aunty Sandy’s banana bread! This banana bread was so delicious, seriously, buy two!
The Lanakila Ihiihi O lehowa Ona Kava Church which was the last remaining building from the 1946 tsunami that destroyed the side of the island.
We also stopped at Da Fish Shack. Jon got the Fresh Fish Burger and I got the fish and chips. We were a little disappointed in the food altogether. Don’t expect this be a serious foodie trip if you are foodies like us. We watched a ton of videos on Youtube which mentioned the really good places to eat. But lots of places were closed and we couldn’t find a few of the others.
Huli Huli Chicken at Koki Beach is another place that we were really pleased with. The chicken was super tender and juicy! Finally, you need to stop at Uncle Harry’s and try the Kalua pork tacos. This pork was so delicious!
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make it all the way to the Seven Sacred Pools because the road was closed due to construction. There was no sign indicating the road was closed either, we were about a half mile away and had to drive back. One thing to keep in mind is that you will be sharing the road with locals who are more comfortable driving at a faster pace. The best thing to do if you find a line of a few cars behind you is to pull to the side and allow them to pass. Thankfully, there are a lot of turnouts you can pull into if this happens.
The Road to Hana is a total must if you find yourself on the beautiful island of Maui!