Days 1&2- read here
Days 3&4- read here
On our last full day in Maui we planned to do the "Road to Hana" journey. This is a popular thing for visitors to do. On the trip to the town of Hana there are countless waterfalls and other beautiful sights to see. When we took off we weren't sure if we would make it all the way to Hana and just agreed to go as far as felt comfortable and enjoyable for us then turn around. My main goal was just to see some waterfalls and I would be happy.
**Just an FYI we used the Shaka Guide Road to Hana guide app to guide our trip and can't recommend it enough**
This is an all day event so get up early and get on the road. We got up, got coffee and breakfast then got on the road by about 7:30am. Our first stop was in Paia town to see the Ho'okipa lookout, we were hoping we would see some turtles but didn't find any that day.
Then back in the car to our first stop on the Road to Hana adventure, Twin Falls. This was something I really wanted to see, so that no matter how far we made it I got to see some waterfalls. The first pair of waterfalls aka twin falls is just a couple minute walk from the car and accessible to everyone. After checking those out we sought out the trail to the bigger waterfall known as caveman falls.
To get to Caveman falls you go through a gate with a sign that says for "experienced hikers only" although it was a very easy/moderate hike in my opinion. The only challenge is having to cross a little creek. After walking the trail, crossing the creek and walking across a little bridge we were met with the the most beautiful waterfall, in a cave-like atmosphere.
Seeing that first big waterfall was a killer start to our day and we were thrilled, also not knowing how far we would make it on the trip we felt content knowing we had already had this experience. Next we hopped back in the car. Our next stop was to see Honomanu Bay from an overlook along side the road.
Then we made a quick stop at Changs pond which is a swimming hole with a small waterfall. It was actually full of families with kids swimming, jumping off rocks and hanging out. Definitely a must stop if you have kiddos on board.
Before we knew it we were at the Halfway to Hana stand, and of course we had to stop for snacks and photos. This stand is known for their banana bread so we grabbed a loaf of that and a shaved ice to enjoy before getting back on the road. After this point it did start raining and that did affect some of the places we did and didn't stop. There were several awesome waterfalls you could see from the car and side of the road during this part of the trip.
Next stop was at the Hana lava tube cave, which is something we never would have known about or seen if the app didn't tell us to pull over. You enter from a serious little hole on the side of the road. Then the cave opens up, It was a very cool sight. There is a good amount of footage of this in the blog video.
Soon enough the app let us know we were almost to Hana, we truly didn't think we would make it that far but based on timing it worked out. So we decided we would go to Hana town, grab lunch see the red sand beach then turn around and possibly make a few stops on the way back that we missed on the way up.
Once driving into Hana we headed in the direction of the red sand beach. We parked the car then set out on the trail. After a few minutes on the trail it started to sprinkle. A passing hiker heading back said it is sunny at the beach keep going so we did and to our surprise it sprinkled the whole trail and then the beach itself was somehow super sunny. The red sand beach was an absolutely beautiful sight, something I am glad we saw. However what makes the red sand is broken up lava rock so walking on the sand was miserable, your shoes sunk in and got stuck and bare feet was like walking on rocks and glass lol, just an FYI.
We got lunch at the Hana Ranch restaurant, one of the only sit down restaurants in Hana. Other than that there were mostly food trucks. Honestly the lunch was not impressive and we happened to decide just to split something when it was time to order and very glad we did. Then we hopped back in the car to head back.
We only made a couple stops on the way back. One was to see another waterfall we missed on the way up, honestly I am not sure which waterfall this is but it was beautiful and an easy walk from the car.
We ended up making it back to our hotel a little before dinner time and we were wiped from a full day. Overall I loved this experience and would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Maui, especially if you are the outdoor type and like hiking and waterfalls.
See our full day in this video below:
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