The Road to Hana {Travel Tuesdays}

It's time for another edition of Travel Tuesdays brought to us by these two wonderful ladies- Bonnie and Belinda. Last week I shared with you my amazing scuba experience in Hawaii- if you missed it click here. 

This week I wanted to go back to Hawaii and share with you the Road to Hana on the island of Maui.

The Road to Hana

Cost: Free (other than ticket to Maui and rental car)

Time: The drive starting from the Kahului airport will take 4 fours to get to Hana. That is with no stops, and that is a one way trip. 

Location: East Side of Maui  

The Road to Hana is a 68 mile drive from Kahului to the town of Hana. In all the guide books, it says the road to Hana is a beautiful drive with many scenic stopping points along the way. And the books are right, but it is also one of the hardest drives I have ever done. This was the first time I had ever rented a car and it was nerve wracking driving along the twists and turns, and driving over 50+ one lane bridges. 

 {image via} 

The problem with being the one driving the rental is that I couldn't fully take in the drive, and the problem with the twists and turns is that my passengers were car sick and couldn't take that many pictures of the drive. 

Now there are plenty of stops along the way, but since the road was so narrow often times all the room on the side of the road was taken and we couldn't stop to get out and take pictures. 

However we did make one stop, and it was one of the best places I have ever been to. 

Pailoa Bay is one of the prettiest beaches there is, and it has great snorkeling. Plus, it's black sand and who doesn't want to see that? This was a much needed stop on our road to Hana and we couldn't get into our bathing suits fast enough! 

Jessie and I opted for snorkeling and Jake wandered around to explore. 

The water was so clear and there were tons of fish. 

Jessie with a dead octopus... yum 

We swam around for a while and then continued on our drive to Hana. We went as far as the Seven Scared Pools, but we weren't prepared for a hike so we just got in the car and drove back down the road to Hana and to our hotel. 

On our way back we stopped and went snorkeling at the nature preserve Ahihi- Kinau. {If you can't tell- we love to snorkel.} 

The Road to Hana is something I would suggest doing, but I would be prepared. Make sure you have food and water because there aren't too many places to stop. And make sure you plan what stops you really want to make. I wish we knew we had to hike to the Seven Scared Pools, but next time I'll plan better. 

*Note- there are parts of Maui that you can't drive on with a rental car. Make sure to read the road map your rental company gives you. Our plan was to take the road to Hana all the way around the island, but once we got to Hana we realized we couldn't go any further so we had to turn around and go back the way we came. 

So what do you think? Have you been on the road to Hana? Would you go if you had the chance?