Leaving for Maui this Friday, wondering if the drive up (and down) for the sunrise at Haleakala will be too hazardous for someone new to the island.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Mahalo,
Jim

Winding and slow yes but not dangerous. Drive yourself and save some money. Bring some blankets as well!

People do it themselves all the time. That being said, you'll have to leave your hotel between 1:45am to 2:30am (depending on where you're staying on Maui) to get there in time to see the sunrise. Once you reach the road with all the switchbacks, it will be very dark, as there aren't any (many?) streetlights on the road (nor are there always guard rails) just the headlights of other people on the road. The first time I went up there (on a tour) I got very woozy from altitude sickness, and was happy that someone else was driving. What you have to ask yourself is this: How comfortable do I feel driving in the middle of the night on strange roads with little sleep?

Also - because of the altitude (10,000 feet), people with heart conditions and asthma sould not be doing this trip. And panhandle was right about bringing (or wearing) something warm. It can be freezing at the summit.

Our family drove up in a rental van but mid-morning (since no one wanted to get up in the middle of the night). The road is VERY twisting curvey and steep. I don't know about 'hazardous' since people do it all the time, but it wouldn't have been fun for me to drive it myself in the dark, that's for sure! And heed the tips above about the high altitude and cold.

No, not dangerous at all, just very winding. Typical mountain driving.
Yes, go early if you want to beat the crowd and get a good parking spot up there.

I did this over 25 years ago with my fist wife. We had to leave the Kaanapali area around 3 to get there in time for the sunrise. I took a picture of my wife with the sunrise in the background, scowling, arms folded, giving me a "look that could kill." I am sure she was thinking why we had gotten up so darned early just to see the sun come up. I still keep that picture around to remind me of why I divorced her. Aside from the company, the sunrise was the most spectacular I have ever seen. In contrast, my present wife was thrilled to get out of bed at 5AM in Venice, just so we could walk around the incredibly quiet streets to San Marco and wait for the sun to come up.

We did the sunrise ourselves and left Kaanapali at 3:45. We did it the second morning of our trip--if you live in the eastern time zone, you will have no problem getting up at this time.

We didn't find the drive difficult--there is a line of traffic that moves up the road.

We only went to the Leleiwi Overlook since we had to drive back down to meet our bike tour at Rice Park. Great view and only about 6 people were there that morning. We didn't want to get in traffic as everyone drove down from the top.

Beautiful sunrise.

Thanks so much folks, now my wife feels better about it. The tour is expensive and going to take 8 hours. I'm excited to experience this sunrise of all sunrises (is it true?), but not to spend nearly $300 and kill an entire day. We're only on Maui for 5 days.

So from Kaanapali it shoould take about 1 hour...?
And the Sun <also>rises at 4:00am...?

Seems like the route is to take hwy (?) 30 down and around to 380 to 37 to 377 and the fun begins at the 378 up. What is the best vantage point?

Thanks so much... Mahalo!

Yep, it's about a little over an hour to get there. The sun comes up at about 5:30? or so. But you should go early to get a good parking spot and to stake your own spot on the observation deck.

I like the idea of somebody else driving so that everyone can appreciate the surroundings. Often, a winding road distracts the driver from all the great views.

I would leave more than 1 hr to drive from Kaanapali. I think we left around 3:30am the last time we went. I forget exactly how long it takes. Do not be tempted to combine this with the road to Hana trip if you're planning to do that as well! It looks like a good idea on the map - but forget it! Wayyyyy too long of day!

Might I suggest something a little different? Having done the sunrise thing several times, we've found the sunSET from the top to be something truly amazing--the road up is still in daylight, the park is virtually deserted, you can park in any lot or pullout that faces west, and if there are clouds, the light off them is truly spectacular. Even better, the ride back down is easier, much less crowded with cars and bicycles. The best part is not getting up in the middle of the night and joining a caravan up (then down) of equally tired, freezing (and yes, you will be frozen), and cranky drivers. Quite often, the sunrise is cloudy and you can't see anything at all until the sun finally makes it over that level.
The amazing view of the crater as the sun is getting lower--the crater glows with hues otherwise washed out in bright daylight. It is a wonderful peaceful scene that you will have alone--as compared to the mob of folks in the a.m.

Seeing the sunset is a good choice too!

I agree with others that it is better to drive yourself. It offers the freedom to stay longer or make other stops on the way back.

To answer your question of how long a drive it is from Kaanapali, it is more like 2 1/2 hours one way. Not the 1 hour you mentioned.

This site says it takes 2.75 hours roundtrip from Kahului (almost 1 1/2 hours one way). It takes close to 1 hour to get from Kaanapali to Kahului. So that makes it 2 1/2 hours one way. So if you leave 2 hours 45 minutes before the sunrise, you will have time to get there and find a decent place for viewing the sunrise.

Today, the sun rose (Honolulu) at 6:08. Haleakala is only a few minutes from that time. Probably around 6:00.

So if you leave your hotel at 3 am, you'll be OK.

http://www.hawaiiweb.com/maui/html/s...onal_park.html