The Rod to Hana is pretty much an all day thing if you stop along the way. Traffic is slow, and there are many one way bridges. I would definitely recommend downloading an app for that part (I recommend the Gypsy one.) Haleakala was one of our favorite parts of Hawaii. It takes a long time to get there also. I would do them on separate days. We did sunset at Haleakala, and it was amazing! I have heard sunrise traffic is pretty bad, and it will take an even longer time returning down the mountain. We spent 6 nights there, and we could have stayed longer. We stayed in Maaleaea.
Since I started this thread, I have been doing almost nothing but researching the Road to Hana. We are so excited to take this drive and will definitely allow a full day. That Gypsy app keeps popping up, so we will definitely go for that, thanks for the tip. We are torn between sunrise and sunset at Haleakala but leaning toward sunset. Either way, we will probably combine it with an afternoon in Lahaina and a drive up to Kaanapali. Right now leaning toward early moring drive up to the northern tip of the island and working our way down the west side, stopping at some beaches along the way, lunch in Lahaina, followed by a drive up the mountain for sunset. Next day...Hana. Wish we could stay 6 nights, but our vacation is limited to 10 total, going to spend 7 on Oahu.
Whenever you decide to go to Maui, you would need a minimum of 4 days to see what you want. Since you land late, you won’t be able to do anything your first day.
As OP have said, doing the Road to Hana takes about 10-12 hours depending on if you do the entire route and the number of stops you make. You are also on a two lane highway, so you will have to travel at whatever speed the traffic is going. The earlier you start the better. While you can drive it yourself, I booked a tour from Kihei when I did it.
Visiting Mt. Haleakala for sunrise now requires a reservation which must be booked online a week ahead of time. Visit the park website for details. It is not to be missed, but is very cold at the top so bring layers or wear a winter coat. When I took a tour to the top, the tour picked me up from Kihei about 3:30am. After picking up other guests, we got to the top about 30-45 minutes before sunrise and were able to get a good spot up front. There is a sunrise ceremony that is done as the sun is rising, but it is only done on one side of the visitor’s center—we weren’t on that side, but could hear the chanting. The max elevation is a little over 10,000ft so read up on altitude sickness if you have concerns.
Seeing Lahaina doesn’t take much time. You can spend as little or much time as you want. However, you might have to pay for parking. There are some free 3 hour parking lots and spots available, so do your homework ahead of time. Lahaina is about an hour from Kihei/Wailea and an easy day trip.
During my visits to Maui, I’ve stayed in the Kihei/Wailea and Ka’annapali areas. When I stayed in Kihei, I did Iao Valley and things East of the Maui Ocean Center. When I stayed in Kaanapali, I did tours that left from the Lahaina marina and nearby areas. As long as you don’t mind driving you can access everything from Wailea. Wailea also had a good beach and Kihei has three. Kaanapali has Kaanapali Beach, Whaler’s Village (terrible parking situation) and Lahaina. Good luck.
Thank you for your advice! We decided to stay in Kihei! We booked 3 nights at the Maui Coast Hotel which is walkable to many shops and restaurants, and is closest to the airport the Road to Hana and Haleakala. We are leaning toward sunset on Haleakala so we won't have to worry about the alarm clock or the reservation. Right now we are thinking full day 1 would be West Maui and Lahaina morning/afternoon, and a late afternoon drive up Haleakala. Full day 2 would be Road to Hana. Would love do do excursions from the Lahaina Marina and Iao Valley, but...have to save some great things to do to convice DH we need to go back some day, LOL!
Last year, we flew from Honolulu to Maui, and landed around 6. We drove straight to Haleakala, and made it for sunset without traffic or crowds. It was perfect. We got to our hotel quite late, but felt like it was a great use of that time.
Unfortunately, the time of sunset and the time of our flight arrival won't make this a possibility for us. What a great idea, though! We might have just enough time to race over to our hotel in Kihei to catch the sunset. You must have visited on one of the longest days of the year?
I personally would allow one day for each. If you really want to combine two of them, I would combine Haleakala (morning) and Lahaina (rest of day). Road to Hana is an experience that is best not rushed or tired from another activity.
I would not change hotels, if that's what you mean by a split. The island isn't that big. But I would allow a minimum of two full days: one full day for Haleakala & Lahaina, and one full day for road to Hana. Imo it doesn't matter where you stay, if your goals are that limited & you don't plan on having much resort time. Since Lahaina is one of your interests, I recommend staying there. We stayed at Makena (south Maui) which was uncrowded & gorgeous.
I will add that personally I was unimpressed by Lahaina and found it touristy & uninspiring compared to the natural beauty of the island. But that's me. I'm also one of the few who doesn't care about Haleakala, but that's because I've seen a lot of dry mountain landscapes, & that wasn't my purpose for visiting Hawaii. I did go, though, as I wasn't alone. It doesn't take as long as road to Hana. Road to Hana is very special and you should allow yourself time to explore.
Advice well-taken! Not changing hotels. We have decided to stay 3 nights in Kihei because of its central location...easy access to everything we want to do and about as close as we can get to OGG. this will minimize the amount of time we have to spend driving just to get to places. We are going to combine Lahaina (and West Maui) with our Haleakala day, just not sure yet if we are doing sunrise or sunset.
Same as what other posters have said. Road to Hana is a wonderful full day. Haleakala might combine well with the beach but not necessarily a Lahaina trip. Lahaina as a third day could combine with something else. I think outings to Lanai or Molokini left from Lahaina. Both are good.
Thanks for the advice. We are not going to Lanai or Molokini for sure, we already have too many must-dos just on Maui to fit it all in! We don't need to spend much time in Lahaina, we just want to see the Tiki carver and the banyon tree, so will combine that with West Maui beaches for a full morning/early afternoon.
I’ll start by saying I have NO idea how things will be in August, but based on my previous trip to Maui, here’s what I say...you don’t HAVE to do Haleakala at sunrise or sunset. It’s really cool to see any time—it looks quite a lot like the rover photos from Mars. I personally thought it was cool to see the observatories on top. Also, the drive through “upcountry” was gorgeous (DH is a cattle farmer so really enjoyed it). But definitely do not attempt that and Hana in one day—fatigue will make that dangerous.
We totally skipped west Maui because much of it is more touristy than what we wanted to see. We might do it next trip.....or skip it again.
As a PP said, if you snorkel at all, makes sure to take some time (preferably morning,due to afternoon winds) to do some snorkeling. Lots of great beach-accessible spots on Maui, and if you stay in Kihei/Wailea (or Lahaina/Kaanapali) many are very close to you.
Please come back and let us know what you end up doing!
Thank you for your advice! It's true, this August is all up in the air, and we are closely watching the developments. We DO love to snorkel! We are thinking of packing up our snorkel gear on morning 1 and heading up to West Maui to see Black Rock and surrounds, make our way down the coast maybe hitting Lahaina by lunch, and maybe even have time for a short nap or a leisurely drive through upcountry on our way to sunset on the maountain. Next day RTH!
Lots of good advice. I'd do Haleakala for sunrise the first morning you arrive. You're body is going to be so off with the timezone change that you will likely be up in the middle of the night so why not use that to your advantage and get out sightseeing?
Makes sense about the timing and the body clocks. Definitely noted and under consideration. Really appreciate the advice! We might splurge for the reservation and see if we wake up and decide that morning. We are leaning toward sunset because I heard the am traffic can get pretty bad...but maybe this year will be different?
We stayed in Kaanapali and it was about a 45 minute drive from the airport. If you're landing around 6pm, I would consider that first night a wash.
We didn't do Haleakala or Road to Hana, but we did visit Lahaina. IMO, you don't need more than an evening there. We stayed at the Westin in Kaanapali and they had a free shuttle to Lahaina and the outlets, no more than a 10 minute drive. Would also be a quick/easy drive in your own car, but not sure how much of a challenge parking is. We strolled all of Front St, browsed some stores, had dinner, had a drink and shave ice, checked out the Banyan tree. Wasn't much else to do in that general area, unless you had something specific you wanted to see.
I agree with PPs that Road to Hana is an all day trip so I would leave one day dedicated to that. I think you could do Haleakala in the morning for sunrise, and then do Lahaina that afternoon/evening. If you were arriving at 6pm on Monday (for example), I'd do Haleakala/Lahaina on Tuesday, Road to Hana on Wednesday, and then leave Thursday morning if you want to maximize your vacation time elsewhere. We spent 3 nights there - arrived early afternoon on Sunday, and left around lunch on Wednesday. We got to see and do everything we wanted during that time. I might try to stay closer to Haleakala if you intend to something in the morning there, but I know our hotel in Kaanapali offered organized tours as well. I probably wouldn't do a split stay somewhere with such little time.
Also, I would suggest booking your inter-island flight for your next stop either early in the morning or late in the evening. We did all our island hopping around mid-day/late morning, and found it ate up the best part of the day so we didn't get to do much on either end of the travel. The day was kind of lost.
Thank you so much for your advice and I definitely agree about booking inter-island flights. We plan to hit Oahu early and drive around Diamond head and up the east coast on our first day there.
