rphamy

Going to be on Maui in March. Wondering how long we should plan on spending here. Do you need to hike to see the Iao Needle?

sylvia3

The only trail that you can hike is very very short, and the view from the parking lot is (almost) as good as it gets. Worth an hour out of a day to stroll through, certainly (more if you plan to go wade in the stream), and a nice morning is to combine it with a visit to one of the botanic gardens on the entry road (the free one is nice). Then go tour the historic buildings in Wailuku and have lunch! There's also an archeological site (2 heiaus) near the beach road.

JBHapgood

There are two things to note about Iao Valley. The first is that it's apt to be cloudy or foggy there. That either means everything looks disappointingly dull, or sometimes the "needle" itself is shrouded in fog. That happened two of the three times I've visited-- the third time was the charm, and it looks a lot better when it's sunny.

The other thing is that it's a very popular stop on bus tours, so whenever you're there you're likely to face waves of herd-tourists as they make their stops. But during the time between the waves it can be very pleasant and peaceful. So you'll probably want to spend enough time there to enjoy one or more of the lulls between bus herds.

You don't need to "hike." There's a little trail from the parking area that takes you through a landscaped garden and onto a bridge over Iao Stream, which is probably the best place to contemplate the needle. But beware of the armies of marauding mosquitoes that gorge themselves on each herd that emerges from the buses. Use plenty of repellant, especially if you wade in the stream!

A little-known fact is that the Hawaiian name for the needle is "Kukaemoku," for which the most polite translation is "broken excrement." I guess the Hawaiians had a different view of things.

MaiTaiMary

I was really surprised how small this area was. I don't think we spent more than 45 minutes walking around. Like Sylvia3 said, you can pretty much see everything from the parking lot. Pretty area, but don't plan on spending much time here.

bggirl

I agree with everyone about the time it takes to actaully see everything there. I love visiting though (I've visited all 7 times and will probably go again in May), and like someone else said it's beautiful when it's a clear sunny day. It's very peaceful when the tour buses leave. The only thing that really bothers me are all of the cats.

We always stop at the Maui Tropical Plantation on the way back. You can either do a guided tour or just walk around the grounds and feed the birds at the pond while eating ice cream. The gift shop is also really nice, lots of Hawaiian goods to take home.