Driving the Road to Hana is more than just a great scenic drive through Maui. It is an event of seemingly endless hairpin turn, through tropical rainforest and ocean side cliffs with views of waterfalls and truly unique beaches.

The Road to Hana is a 64 mile long stretch connecting Kahului to the town of Hana in east Maui. This scenic drive may be relatively short but it is anything but monotonous. The route winds back and forth as the road is constantly turning around approximately 600 turns with many of them being hairpin turns. Additionally, the road passes over more than 50 single lane bridges including some that the oncoming traffic cannot be seen before entering onto the bridge.

Aside from the technical challenges of driving the route, the road to Hana is a beautiful coastal drive that passes through a rainforest, nearby waterfalls with many that can be seen from the road and along towering ocean cliffs with stunning ocean views.

Beautiful Scenery

The primary reason that many people drive the road to Hana is to see the beautiful scenery. Truthfully, the beautiful scenery on this drive is reason enough to make the drive to Hana. The scenery is wonderful!

Unique Beaches

Hawaii is loaded with beautiful beaches. There are literally beautiful beaches everywhere in Hawaii but there are two unique beaches on the Road to Hana that should not be missed.

Pa’iloa Beach located in Waianapanapa’s State Park is the most famous black sand beach in Maui. It was created from the volcanic materials and lava fragments of the Haleakala Volcano.

Kaihalulu Beach is a red sand beach located on Kaihalulu Bay. It is one of the most unique beaches that I have seen because of the dramatic color contrasts between the tropical blue green waters with white waves pushing up against the rusty red sand.

Waterfalls

Hawaii is known for having stunning waterfalls and the Road to Hana is home to 18 waterfalls that range from small isolated waterfall, tall narrow single drop waterfalls and picturesque multi-stream waterfalls.

The Makahiku Falls is a slender 185 foot waterfall set in the rainforest. The trail to the waterfall takes you through a bamboo forest and vegetation unique to Maui.

My favorite waterfall was the Waikani Falls or Three Bears Waterfall. It is characterized by a trio of falls that drop from a rock formation into single water pool. This waterfall is exceptionally picturesque and has a different look from different locations around the pool.

The Dust on My Shoes

If you are looking for a leisurely scenic drive along the coast, this is not it. The Road to Hana is also known as the “Divorce Highway” because it is a stressful drive due to the constantly curving road and blind-sided single lane bridges. Driving the Road to Hana is an eight to ten hour day of white knuckled sightseeing but it is worth the effort.

Visiting a black sand beach and a red sand beach in the same day is an experience that may not be possible anywhere else. There is no way to see all of the waterfalls in one day so pick 2 or 3 that interests you the most and take a little time to enjoy them.

Without a doubt the road to Hana is a beautiful drive that any first time visitor to Maui should put at the top of their list of things to do on their trip.

Most scenic drives are relaxing way to see beautiful places in the world. Sometimes beautiful places are rugged and difficult to see but the effort to see them is rewarded by the experience of see these places.

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