bodhijack

i figure that if we leave hana at 8:30am, we should be at the airport in 2 1/2 hours, or 11:00am. does this sound reasonable? (2 days prior we will have done the hana highway trip taking all day to arrive in hana.)total 2 nights in hana. alternate plan would be to go to hana via south road, stay 1 night in hana, return via all day trip on hana highway, and overnight at airport hotel for flight home. looking for opinions...........

dusty56438

It takes about 2 hours from Hana to Kahului Airport without stops, so it would be no problem.

I wouldn't venture too far from your car on any Hana Highway stops if you have your luggage in the car.

You cannot use the southern route to get to Hana. From Hana you can get to Seven Pools. But the road is closed a little past Seven Pools.

The temporary Paihi Bridge was opened a couple weeks ago, so Seven Pools is accessable now.

Your message does not say when you are going, so the southern route may be open by the time you get there. Check for news updates before you go.

bodhijack

thank you dusty!

npurpleh2

There are many posts on this board about how long to stay in Hana. It seems there are those who think it is the greatest place ever and recommend staying there a couple of days. I on the other hand feel that there are a lot more interesting places to explore on Maui besides Hana so I wouldn't recommend staying any more than one night there.

Lauricelli

Hana is a long ways out. I think it's beautiful, but not to be rushed. We stayed two nights in Nov. at the Hotel Hana Maui. It is very expensive but we loved our rooms right on the ocean. The rooms were huge. There is not a beach there but they will shuttle you to one. Food is not a great option there. Sorely lacking. Hana is very small. If you stay there, find the thai place. The bar at the Hotel Hana Maui is probably the best deal. Room service takes forever, arrives lukewarm and is pricey, ($12.00 for runny oatmeal)

All of our spa treatments were absolutely wonderful.

If you do Hana, two nights is a must. Staying only one night involves a lot of driving for two days. It's not so enjoyable if you rush the Hana Highway. You should have time to go slow and stop if you want to, esp. if you have anyone that gets car sick. The banana bread on the side of the road on the way in just past Hookipa is excellent. Wish I had some now. Fish tacos on the road are great too. (smoked marlin etc. ) Yum.

On our trip we flew in and stayed at Mama's Fish House for a night then went to Hana for two nights, then to Kaanapali. We were glad we stayed at Mama's the first night after all that flying. Staying here could be an option on your way to the airport if you do want to split up the long drive.

If you're in Lahaina, go to Blu on Front St. We had the best blue cheese burgers! Outrageous. All four of us ordered the same thing and were all wagging tails. Also, Warren and Annabelle's magic show was so much fun. We laughed a lot. Excellent value.
good luck have fun
Aloha

bodhijack

thank you, both! glad to hear that there is a thai restaurant in hana. first time we are hearing of this. we agree, warren & annabelle is an extremely funny show. we plan to see it again...........

higgdog

We stayed 2 nights in Hana, black-sand beaches are breathtaking, but there's not alot to do! I agree with the food comments posted earlier, although we found a couple with a cooler full of Blue Fin tuna (fresh, of course), so we bought 2 fish for $2 each (no kidding), cleaned and grilled them one night. The southern route takes you through glorious scenery, but most of the route is not paved, extremely rough and dangerous I would think after a storm. But it's an interesting way to get back to civilization, pack food before you go because there's no place to stop. We're heading back for Trip #2 in a couple of weeks.

Lex1

While it may seem otherwise, only a short stretch of the road beyond Hana is unpaved. The scenery is some of the most beautiful on Maui.

We spent a week in Hana and did not scratch the surface of things to do. I suspect that most of the folks who complain that there's nothing to do in Hana probably should skip the drive, and buy the t-shirt in Lahaina where the "action" is.

iamq

An FYI for higgdog, the Pi'ilani Highway is still closed due to the earthquake earlier this year, however the temporary Paihi is open so traffic can get to Kipahulu

54 days...

-pila

Lauricelli

Now, I'm not quite sure if there is an "actual" Thai place (restaurant). We were told to find the woman who makes the Thai food. People at the pool had take out and it smelled wonderful. We were sorry we didn't get any but it was a walkable distance from the hotel. Just ask anyone in town.
Hana is beautiful, enjoy.