Hana Road, an intrepid road trip?
So many tourists are doing the road trip to Hana, on the island of Maui, that it doesn’t seem dangerous at all. Well, it’s true if you only make half of it…
Sunrise at the top of the Haleakala volcano
So many peoples tell tourists not to go all the way around the Haleakala volcano. The road is bad, dangerous, you will break your rented car, you will be alone in a desert place, etc. Other people tell you that you should do it, but can you trust them?
The best advice I have found is that it worth it, but that I must do it before sunset, and only if it doesn’t rain. How could I be sure to finish the bad part of the road before sunset? And, does it really worth it? How can I trust a stranger on the Internet in comparison to all the risks that so many peoples repeat? This is where my best travel planning tool comes to help me: of course, Google Maps.
I planned so many trips in details with Google Maps that I know that I have the right tool (see the maps and published lists at the bottom, including my two weeks trip to the Hawaiian Islands). So, for all Hawaiian Islands, and especially along the road around the Haleakala volcano, I checked the satellites’ views to make sure: where I was going, to know the road conditions, but also to know if it worth it.
When I actually passed the Hana village, I was scared by the kind of road that I saw in front of me, a road that needed to be completed before the sunset. I almost turned around like other tourists, and like my wife told me to. But, with Google Maps, I knew more than the others. Like my wife says: “I don’t need Google, my husband knows everything.” Well, that’s true, because of my secret power: Google Maps! 
The road was bad, but not enough to go back. Then the views became incredible! The usual Hana road trip is only half of the trip. There, you will see completely different views. No more falls, narrow bridges, paved roads or dense vegetation, but a wide view all around. Sometimes, the road passes on a cliff on the side of the ocean, and under a rock wall on the other side. Also, there are many huge ravines that are coming from the top of the 10 000 feet high volcano.
With Google Maps, I was also able to found, before being there, a small place, indicated nowhere, but where we supposed to found a good view around. In fact, it was the perfect place to be! We saw completely the huge volcano with its many ravines coming from its caldera. Far away, we saw the volcano regular slope going from the top to the ocean. On a side, we saw a large lava field at about a 300 feet below. We saw a green grass field on one side with the road winding through it. I am sure that it is one of the most beautiful lookouts in the world, and that almost nobody know that place. This is still my secret. Ok. Don’t tell anybody else, but stop at the one slot parking on the side of the Piilany highway (highway?), near the Waiu Bay, and climb the small hill. Then enjoy!
Yes, we finished the bad part of the road before the sunset, and that without fear or stress because we were aware of the road in front of us. I only take calculated risk, and that one was calculated with the help of Google Maps. You don’t have to trust me. Trust what you see by yourself on Google Maps.
If I ever do this trip on the Hana road again, it will be mostly for the part that Google Maps helped me to discover.
Maps of planned trips with Google Maps:
Lists of addresses for planned trips with Google Maps:
