Adventures of Hawaii - 9 Day Trip to Kauai & Maui
Our 9 Day Honeymoon Adventure in Hawaii
Goole Maps Location List: Hawaii Travel Guide - Kauai & Maui
Those of you who travel know that planning may be the most important part of preparation for visiting any unknown location. Luckily I have have Leza. She is an amazing planner and honestly runs circles around me when finding places to go and things to see.
After a year of Covid limitations and hurdles, Leza and I were finally able to take our Honeymoon to the beautiful islands of Hawaii! Specifically the islands of Kauai and Maui. Throughout this travel blog, we want to share our experiences, photos and recommendations of these gorgeous locations.
Maps for Kauai Tours & Maps for Maui Tours
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For anyone who is planning a trip to Hawaii and don’t know where to begin, this may be a good place to start for reference. We’re not the type of couple to lounge around a resort, so we definitely tried to cover as much ground as we could in the amount of time we had. We also had a little gem up our sleeves though... Leza told me about this app called GuideAlong that I needed to check It out, and I was like, why?! You’re the planner! We don’t need an app!
Fast forward several months to our departure and Leza mentioned it again and I said sure, let’s give it a go and try it out.
Needless to say, Leza was right again and this app was amazing! In a nut shell, GuideAlong gives you self guided audio tours and routes based on the tours that you purchase. Instead of using your GPS, it downloads the maps directly to your smartphone.
So even if you have no service, it will know where you’re located and will narrate along your specific location. We didn’t use our GPS once for driving directions. The GuideAlong App is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Between Leza’s previous planning and our new GuideAlong App, we were in excellent shape! I’ll most likely mention more about GuideAlong as you read along about where we went and what we did, but if you’re traveling to Kauai, or Maui, check out these guides!
As you can see from the two photos below, this is a visual of where we took photos and visited on Kauai. So if you’re interested in traveling along with us, keep reading for all of the amazing locations we encountered!
For those of you who use Google Maps, feel free to use my saved locations from Hawaii Travel Guide - Kauai & Maui HERE
Map view of our photos on Kauai
Satellite view of our photos on Kauai
We scheduled eleven days total; five days on Kauai, four days in Maui, and two days of travel.
It wasn’t hard leaving the 25º F weather of Minnesota, but we took our early flight out of Minneapolis and headed to rainy Seattle which then led us to our final destination of Kauai.
After about twelve hours of travel (including layover), we landed around 8pm in Kauai. First thing was to get our rental car, which was a mustang convertible. After driving this for five days, I will never ever own one! After getting our fancy convertible, we were ready to find our temporary home, shower and get some sleep in a real bed.
Welcome to Kauai Sign at the Airport
The drive was pitch black and you could hear the crashing of the waves as we finally found what we would call home for the next few nights. We quickly brought in luggage and prepared for bed, as the next day we wanted to be well rested to see the paradise we arrived at.
Official 1st day on Kauai
After a well rested night, we woke up ready to explore. The only thing planned this day was the Star Na Pali Dinner Sunset Sail cruise from Capt Andy’s Sailing Adventures. If any of you are wondering if you should book this, we would highly recommend. The cost is approximately $185 per person, but it’s worth every penny!
Our 55’ Catamaran from Capt Andy’s didn’t set sail till afternoon, so we had ample time to explore our surrounding area. We explored the southern tip of Kauai in the town of Poipu which was located near our rental home at the Sunset Kahili Condominium.
We booked this location through Vrbo and our tenant’s name was Maureen. She literally had everything there for us! Beach towels, chairs, umbrella, TV, wifi, washer dryer, you name it, she accommodated. HERE is a link to the exact location we stayed for reference. We would highly recommend!
Not only was the accommodations great, the location was prime because it was a middle point on the island. There are no roads that make a full circle around the island. So kudos to you Maureen. We loved it!
We ate breakfast at Anuenue Cafe and then visited the near by Poipu Beach Park and were lucky enough to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal taking a little break in the sand!
As we left the beach, we connected GuideAlong to the car and were off on our first self guided tours. I will tell you, we would not have encountered as much as we did if it weren’t for this app.
This app is so AMAZING! It gives you stories and history about the land and how the island came to be, tips about the local hot spots, and just entertaining facts that made the experience of driving in an unknown place just purely enjoyable. Amazing! If you’re on Kauai, download the maps HERE!
I digress….after the beach, GuideAlong led us to the Hanapepe Swinging Bridge located in a little town of Hanapepe. If you're looking for a quick fun place to get out of the car and stretch your legs, check out this little town and walk on the bridge. It won’t take long to walk across the bridge and then you can cross it off your list of things to view!
After visiting this town we headed along the coast to our next stop Salt Pond Salt Ponds. We learned that the local Hawaiians harvest and make salt from this location. This would be an excellent beach to go to if you have small children as the waves are pretty calm here. It’s a nice little cove and just like all the beaches, it’s a wonderful place to stop.
After all of this exploring it was time to head to Port Allen and check in for departure of the sunset cruise.
There was about 24 other guests on board, a couple crew members, Five Star Chef and a Captain who road the waves as if she had her eyes closed. I’m not sure if we’ve recently watched a little too much of Below Deck, but we felt right at home. The cruise lasted for about four hours. As we set sailed up the Nā Pali Coast, the views were stunning It was like another world.
The Crew and Captain did an excellent job of tending to the guests and telling stories along the way that gave us a little history and background of this Island. The captain even spotted dolphins, took a detour in the boat so we could get a closer look! Talk about customer service! I personally have never seen dolphins in their natural habitat that close.
After a couple hours we reached our destination. It was time to turn around, sit down for our feast of shrimp and steak and watch the sun fall behind the waves. We were amazed at how quickly the sun fell below the horizon. Within a matter of minutes it fell past the water no longer in sight.
If you’re ever here, make sure you seize the moment and take some pictures, because the sun won’t last long.
Day 2 on Kauai
The first day on this island was going to be hard to compete with, but little did we know, Kauai did not let us down.
Our second day we had fully planned to take advantage of the GuideAlong and it took us to Waimea Canyon State Park. Best described, this would be Kauai’s own version of the Grand Canyon, which in my opinion is slightly better. The waterfalls, the lush green trees and vibrant red rocks. It has a little bit of everything here.
As the day went on, we continued to Waimea Canyon Trail. It was hard to not stop at all the lookouts! We pretty much followed the advice from GuideAlong which led us all the way to the Pihea Trailhead.
This was an excellent hike! It’s starts right at the beginning of Pu’u O Kila Lookout. If you end up here, don’t stop! Hike the trail a little if you’re able! This is known as one of the wettest spots on earth and it’s not hard to see why. As you travel along this path, you will have the beautiful Nā Pali Coast to your left and amazing scenery or Waimea Canyon on your right.
We were lucky to get an early start as we were still able to catch a glimpse of the water between the mountain ranges, but those views quickly diminished by the cold clouds rushing up and over the ground.
It was a surreal moment literally feeling the clouds moving through you as you hike this path. Pretty soon it was just pure white, as before was filled with color.
We made it past the one mile marker and we decided to turn back around. This was somewhat of a moderate hike, as it was not flat the whole time. We did need to climb up some steep rocks, muddy hills and trees, so a good pair of hiking shoes is a must! Prepare for them to get a little dirty.
After all of this, we traveled back towards Old Koloa Town and found some lunch! We are a huge fan of food trucks and ate at Big Monster Sushi Food Truck. It was quite delicious!
Old Koloa Town has a handful of restaurants, food trucks and little stores, but when we were there, it was always hit or miss if things were open. It was a pleasant little town to visit though.
After lunch we continued with GuideAlong and visited the landmark known as Spouting Horn. I’ll be honest, don’t get your hopes up too much. It’s a quick jump out of the car to take a look and cross it off the list of things to do.
However, there is a near by tree right at that location called an autograph tree. We noticed it was written on and people were signing their names on it. When I took a photo on my iPhone and had it do the “look up” feature, it said the type of tree was an autograph tree. So you know, we obviously had to mark the occasion. I tried etching our names but poked a hole every time through the leaf. Leza clearly did a much better job than I.
Truck foods were so fresh and delicious!
After lunch we decided to find a beach to relax at and we landed on Shipwreck Beach. No pun intended. This was recommended to us by one of the locals and they told us we would see some surfers and lots of waves there. So we packed a bag, grabbed some the beach chairs (Thanks Maureen) and headed to the sand for a couple hours. It’s hard to find something that you don’t like at the beach.
This was surely one of our favorites beaches on Kauai. It wasn’t crowded and you could tell the majority of the people were locals. Off in the distance there is a little cliff that you can hike to the top of. You will often spot people up here. I guess it’s a well known place for people to cliff jump into the water as well. While we were there, we were fortunate to catch it in action!
Along side the beautiful scenery were surfers and chickens. Yes, more chickens. I’m so used to taking pictures of seagulls on the beach that the chickens were a nice change. And they can be quite colorful too!
Dinner time was approaching soon, so went home, showered and got ready for our reservations at The Beach House. It was slightly more upscale than the ambiance of our food trucks, but nevertheless, the food was amazing. The drinks were “meh”. After dinner, it was time for bed as we had a full agenda for the next day.
Day 3 on Kauai
We made sure to get a good nights sleep because today we had two big things planned; A helicopter ride by Island Helicopter Tours to the Manawaiopuna Falls, otherwise known as Jurassic Falls and a Hawaiian Luau at the Smith Family Garden Luau. Both I would highly highly recommend.
We arrived near the airport early and waited for our security briefing and then boarded our ride. We have never experienced this before and we were very excited. Just like the pilot said, “it’s like a rollercoaster in the sky”. Our pilot was friendly, knowledgeable and really took the effort to make sure both sides of the helicopter were able to see the highlights of the scenic views that we experienced.
We specifically choose this tour company because it actually landed us in location of the water falls that is famous from the iconic Jurassic Park Movie as seen HERE.
The flight lasted for roughly an hour and half and we were able to get views that would not be possible any other way. I would definitely recommend if it fits in your budget, as this could be a one in a life time experience.
For those of you wondering about bringing your camera and gear, they do have limits on weight and they don’t allow large bags. For Cameras ,they don’t recommend any camera with a lens longer than 4”, however they did let me bring my Canon 5D Mark IV with a 24-70mm lens.
For you photographers, I will say, do not get your hopes up about getting picture perfect shots, as there will be reflections and if you’re sharing a ride with others, there may be a chance you’re sitting in between two people, so your vantage point may not be ideal. Either way, it will be worth it.
After our air adventure we got some Thai food at a place called Coconut Thai & Chinese located near Lae Nani Beach. Drunken noodles did not disappoint!
After lunch we had a few hours to spare before our big Luau, so we plugged GuideAlong back into the car and set out for more history lessons and beaches.
Moloa'a Beach and Anahola Beach Park were two more I would recommend checking out. Moloa'a Beach was another location we would have never found if it weren’t for the use of GuideAlong. It was through some random neighborhood where you need to park at the end of a dead end.
This beach was nice and secluded and almost felt like your own private beach.
Fun Fact: Moloa'a Beach, known for its white sand and palm trees, served as the backdrop for the Gilligan’s Island’s initial filming, including the pilot episode and opening scenes!
We continued south from Moloa'a Beach and stopped at Anahola Beach Park. There were a few more people here that were definitely locals. Some were surfing and others just soaking up the sun. I’m not certain, but this beach must have been an old location for a port or something, as there were remains of big cement pillars lined up in the water.
Either way, it made a good scene for a photo. It’s also really impressive how every beach feels so different. I highly recommend to check out multiple locations if you’re visiting this island.
As much as we would have loved to sit and relax along the shore, we needed to get back to shower and get ready for our Luau. We were pretty excited about this. Neither of us had been to a Luau and we honestly had no idea what to expect. All we knew is we would be having dinner and a show.
The Smith Family Garden Luau is a family owned establishment that is four generations strong going on 60 years. It is reservation based, so I would highly suggest to visit their website and look at the schedule. They also have two options to either do a dinner and show or just the show. In my opinion do both. There’s nothing like the home cooked meal of a traditional Hawaiian style family tradition.
When we arrived at the location we entered an overwhelming 30-acre garden park filled with an abundance of different trees, plants, animals and flowers. It was a little hidden oasis that you could walk for hours. They gave us a quick 10 minute trolly ride through the gardens where we were followed by a flock of chickens in addition to a peacock who must have been trained to spread it’s feathers on command because it posed for literally 20 minutes while people took pictures.
After we took our trolly ride, we had roughly 15 minutes till the ceremony of the family digging up the pig from the imu oven. We learned that this is how they cook the pig we were going to eat and they dug a hole in the ground, wrapped the pig in various fruit leaves, stuffed it with rocks and covered it all under sand and let cook for a day. It really is pretty cool to see.
Don’t worry though, the look of the pig that comes out of the hole is nothing like what it looks like when it shows up on your plate! After the ceremony, it was time to be seated and sip on some beverages and listen to live performers as tables got called up for the buffet line.
There was so much food to choose from and an experience I would not pass up. They even had their traditional dish called poi which is made from a taro plant. We learned this dish is a staple of Hawaiian culture and dinner meals. It’s purple in color and has no real taste, but it’s designed to compliment other food with it.
Try it if you get the opportunity and you can decide for yourself if you like it or not. Speaking of poi, you’ll also learn a lot about how taro plants are harvested and made into poi from Dave Pettitt who narrates for the GuideAlong. These guides are so good if you’re into that kinda thing!
Our dinner plates were overflowing and we both had full intentions for round two, but we just couldn’t do it. We were completely stuffed. Luckily the night was not over. As dinner came to a closing, we took a quick walk through the garden to the theatre. Here is where we sat in awe as we were entertained by a talented group of individuals who danced, drumed and twirled fire in a way you never thought possible. An event like this is something you do not want to miss if you’re visiting Kauai! The Smith Family Garden Luau exceeded every expectation we had! We highly highly recommend.
Day 4 on Kauai
Today we had no real plans. It’s hard to top a helicopter ride with a traditional Hawaiian Luau. Our goal for our fourth day was to put our full faith in GuideAlong and lead us to whereever it would take us. GuideAlong did not let us down.
We wanted to get an early start and finish the tours on the north end of the island near Princeville, so we departed from our humble abode on the south side of the island in Poipu and started our journey back up the eastern coast.
We stopped and had some breakfast at Island Craves Kauai. They had some delicious donuts, but their coffee was scolding hot. Like so hot it was still boiling as they poured it in the cup. Leza literally had to wait a few hours to even start drinking it and even by then it was still warm.
Island Craves Kauai
Our first stop on the list was the Kilauea Lighthouse at the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge. Apparently they were closed on Tuesdays, so we did not actually get to the lighthouse itself, but we were able to get an excellent view from a distance at the entrance.
I will say this is an excellent stop regardless if it’s closed as there is an abundance of wildlife and birds flying around. If you’re a bird or lighthouse lover, it’s highly worth stopping here.
Next stop on the list was Kauapea Beach, also known as Secret Beach, along with Anini Beach located near Kalihikai Park.
Kudos again to GuideAlong as we would have never found Kauapea (Secret) Beach Trail Head. There are no signs or directions anywhere leading to this place. You literally turn off the highway, take some side road, turn onto some random dirt road and then park in some little alleyway where you walk down some really steep hills to a gorgeous beach.
If you were wondering… yes, it’s worth it. I got some beautiful pictures of Leza walking down the beach, and again it was like our own little private beach. Although we thought we were alone, there was a chicken that seemed to follow us and and then pose for a picture on a log.
Anini Beach located near Kalihikai Park
Next stop was probably one of my favorites. Just north of Hanalei, lies Queen’s Bath. The hike was well worth the views! Parking can be a little bit challenging as it's a very small lot within a residential neighborhood, so be patient and either wait, or park and walk.
It was pretty impressive to the see the powerful waves crash along the shoreline. The walk to the actual Queen’s Bath was only about 20-25 minutes, depending on how much you choose to stop and take in the views. You first travel through what feels like a jungle out of child story book and then through a little forest which even has it’s own little waterfall!
Once we got there, there were quite a few people swimming in it. Some even brought lunches and were sun bathing. This is a great place to spend a few hours. It can be pretty slippery and the waves can be very large, but overall the hike across the lava rock isn't too bad.
If you visit with little ones, please be careful and respect the land. There is obviously no rails to fall off the edge and If you stand too close, the waves will soak you. Trust me, I learned the hard way. If you pay close attention while walking over the rocks, you may also encounter crabs that are walking along and hiding between little coves within the rocks. This is just a picture perfect place.
After this adventure we were hungry and decided to find something nearby and came across Tropical Taco in the town of Hanalei. This location has many shops and food options. It’s worth a stop. We had fish tacos and beef taco salad and it was amazing. We also stopped and had our first shave ice experience at Jojo's Shave Ice.
Now I feel I must expand on this as this is not shaved ice like what you may be thinking. This is not your traditional midwest “Snow Cone”. Shave Ice stands are everywhere in Hawaii and we regret not trying it earlier. The ice is shaved so thin it’s like a fluffy spoon full of ice cream in your mouth.
They fill the bottom of the bowl with ice cream, and then shave the ice with a machine directly on top and then cover it with juices that are so sweet. It puts what we know as “snow cones” to shame. I might as well suck on an ice cube if I have one of our Snow Cones from Minnesota. Either way someone needs to bring this concept back to the midwest because we’re clearly doing it wrong.
After our tacos and sweet treat, our hunger was satisfied and we were ready for our next stop. Hanalei Pier was next on the list and it was only a few minutes away. This was a very family friendly beach with lots of room, soft sand and a breathtaking view of a long pier with picture perfect mountains completing the scene. I would certainly check this beach out if you have the opportunity. Great for the whole family! There was also a beautiful location called Hanalei Valley Lookout that was on the way so we captured some scenic views of that too!
Wainiha Bay Park was our next beach in line followed by Tunnels Beach. Just like the rest of the beaches here in Kauai, they were gorgeous. Tunnels Beach was a little tricky as it was in a neighborhood again and there was one little street to park near the entrance.
After these quick stops we were determined to get as far as we could on Kuhio Highway 560 to Haena State Park. This state park is the farthest point you can drive on around the island, as there is no road that goes completely around. We were running out of time for a hike there and did not buy a pass, so this was our time to turn around and catch any other spots we missed on the way back.
On our way back heading toward Poipu , we found the Maniniholo Dry Cave attraction. This is located right near Ha'ena Beach. It’s a very quick stop and you can walk in this giant open cave. It doesn’t go too deep, but it’s still unique. After that we slowly made our way home to a hot shower and cozy bed.
Wainiha Bay Park
Day 5 on Kauai
Day five was our last day Kauai, as tomorrow morning we would hop on a quick flight to Maui. Our agenda was to find a beach and relax. Since we had covered lots of ground and other beaches the previous days, we decided to head to Shipwreck Beach again. This was our favorite beach and It was simply enjoyable to watch the surfers ride the waves.
We ate breakfast at Little Fish Coffee, which was a worthy breakfast spot. I would recommend to order online and do pickup, as their line of customers is always super long. The bagel sandwiches and açaí fruit bowl were really delicious. The shakes were “meh”. After eating we felt we needed to walk off the food, so we put the beach on hold and found another adventure.
We revisited our trusty GuideAlong and found a few more waypoints that we did not yet cover. We were on a mission to do everything we possibly could, and the next stop led us to Wailua Falls. This was a short drive at a dead end parking lot where the falls were located. It’s a short and sweet stop.
You can’t really hike anywhere here, but it’s another beautiful waterfall to see. On the way back, we couldn’t help but notice an amazing horse, so we stopped and said hi!
Continuing on, we stopped to take pictures at the Tree Tunnel. It’s a beautiful stretch of road sandwiched between towering trees that make a perfect tunnel. Pictures don’t do it justice, but I was like a kid in a candy store every time we drove through it. It’s one of those earthly wonders that just puts a smile on your face.
Next on our list was Sleeping Giant. Located next to Wailua, we made a quick stop near the post office and got a picture. They do have hiking trails for this location, but we did not go. With a little imagination, it certainly does look like a Giant sleeping on his back on the top of a mountain. Lying on its back with the head on the far left and the feet on the far right of the photo. We also made a quick stop by Huleia National Wildlife Refuge. This was another beautiful view on the way to our next stop.
Sleeping Giant near the city of Wailua on Kauai
By this point it was time for lunch and we wanted to make sure to try another recommendation from the locals. Puka Dog Hawaiian Style Hot Dogs was the place to be. If you like hotdogs, you will love these. If you don’t, you probably will still love them. They were really good. They came with a variety of sauce options at different heat indexes.
Also, the bun is pure genius. Instead of cutting the bread, they would poke a hole down the center and place it on a grill, which pretty much toasted the bun from from the inside out. Then they would fill with your choice of sauces and mustard and put the hotdog in. Mmmmmm. So Good!
Midwest people, we’re doing it wrong!
Poipu Beach is right across the street, so we decided to stroll the beach while we ate. This beach was always a nice place to visit. The beach is large, and there are always people here. It was pretty cool to see one of the locals doing some fishing with his net. He was just begging for a picture in my opinion.
After we downed our dogs, we finally decided to head to Shipwreck beach for the rest of the afternoon. We knew we would be there for a while, so we picked up Thai food at Nutcharee's Authentic Thai Food back near Nalu's South Shore Grill, so we could eat dinner on the beach. There were a lot more surfers this time and two weddings happening! This clearly was the place to be.
After a few hours we dined on the beach we went back home and watched the sunset fade over the hills.
Day 6 on Kauai to Maui
The day had finally come to leave. Kauai in our eyes was going to be extremely hard to compete with. The lush and vibrant scenery, the kind locals, the amazing food. There could have always been more time to hike, but you can only do so much with the amount of time you have. I don’t think we would have done anything differently.
Our flight to Maui was at noon, so after waking up and checking out of our cozy home, we headed for breakfast near the airport. We found an excellent waffle place called Aloha Liege Waffles & Espresso. Highly highly recommend! This was another food truck near Nāwiliwili Harbor, just south of the airport. The flavors and fresh fruit was just the icing on the cake for leaving this charming island. If you go there, make sure you get the BOB (Best of Both) so you can have multiple flavors. You won’t regret it!
We flew Hawaiian Airlines, and it was probably the quickest flight we’ve ever been on. It was also pretty cool because as we flew, we were low enough to see all of the islands below. We finally landed to Maui and was instantly hit by wind and heat. Kauai had a solid temperature in the mid 80’s that did not feel scorching hot or humid, and there was literally no bugs. Perhaps the chickens took care of that!
However Maui was hot with a noticeable difference and they did have bugs. For reference we traveled in the month of May. It was early afternoon after we got off the plane and picked up our rental car and we immediately set out on our adventure.
We were staying at the Wailea Grand Champions: Destination Residences Hawaii in the city of Wailea, which is on the south west side of the island. The Kahului Airport is centered right on the northern side and we did not want to waste time checking in. So our journey on Maui started with traveling east on the northern coast on the infamous Road To Hana.
And just for reference, the pictures below will give you a little idea of where we traveled on the island of Maui.
Satellite view of our photos on Maui
Map view of our photos on Maui
Thanks to the travel advice and expertise of GuideAlong, we stopped in the city of Paia and ate lunch at a wonderful place called Paia Fish Market. The fish was fresh and there was a line out the door of people waiting. I would highly recommend. In this location there are many shops and other food locations.
There is also a main public parking lot for free on the right side just prior to entering the town where you can park, otherwise you may have to find street parking, If you use GuideAlong, they’ll show you exactly where to go.
After lunch, we set out on our Road to Hana drive and had no idea what to expect. Even though it may only be 45 miles from Paia to the city of Hana, It will take a lot longer than you think. Much longer. I would recommend to start early, stock up on snacks and have a full tank of gas.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Road to Hana, it’s the Hana Highway that follows the north east coast of Maui. It’s 25 mph the entire way, with over 600 tight hairpin turns, 50+ one lane bridges and lots of blind spots. If you’re the driver, you will have 100% focus on the road, so give your camera to whosoever riding shotgun so they can capture the hidden waterfalls and rivers within the corners of the turns. Also if you’re the driver, you deserve an adult beverage or five when you return home.
Along the route there are some locations where you’re able to park and see an overlook and get a good view for a picture, but honestly there is not many. It’s also acceptable to let others pass you, as the locals will know these twists and turns far better than the visitors driving this road.
One recommended stop was Waialohe Park. This was actually a very beautiful location to stop, stretch your legs, and use the bathroom if needed. On one side there are calm waters with palm trees, and the other side has crashing waves with giant rocks along the shore of Keanae Lookout.
Behind all of that there is the Lanakila Ihiihi O Iehowa Ona Kava Church. Beautiful views with plenty of parking and a good spot to have a picnic.
Eventually you will come to a sign that says “Halfway to Hana”. Located here are a handful of shops and place to use the restroom, but it was closed when we stopped. If you’re using the Maui GuideAlong for Road to Hana Tour on this adventure, it’ll be sure to tell you lots of stories and history along the way in addition to letting you know the best places to stop.
GuideAlong also recommends two must see hotspots before and after the city of Hana, but you will need reservations prior to going. Unfortunately we did not have reservations, but would have loved to see these places. They are the Black Sand Beach located within the Waiʻānapanapa State Park and Seven Sacred Pools located in ʻOheʻo Gulch. Perhaps this will give us a reason to come back.
Moving on, we had roughly 17 miles to the actual city of Hana, which if you’re expecting something really spectacular, there’s not much going on there. Sorry to burst your bubble now. We rode through the quiet town and stopped at Hāna Bay Beach Park. We found a local crowd here and it certainly looked like a nice little beach for families.
Road to Hana halfway point
