What exactly are the rental car company policies as far as what kind of vehicle are you suppose to rent to drive to Hana and to Haleakala? Are the policies enforced? Or does everyone just do it anyway??

The road to Haleakala is a well maintained paved road so there is no problem with any rental car restrictions. Restrictions on most policies state that cars cannot be taken on dirt or unpaved roads however which to most people means the "back way" our of Hana. We've been to Hana a dozen times with rental cars and never have tried it, it's risky if you have a problem, why look for trouble. I know many people will tell you to do it, but it is at your own risk and I understand it's slow going. You can rent a 4-wheel drive vehicle for the day if you prefer to come back out the back way. "Everyone" does not just do it anyway, many of us follow rules and guidelines.

I drove the Road to Hana and returned via the back way last week. It is definitely not paved, but if you are careful you can do it. I asked an 80-ish lady at a farmers market near Ocheo (sp?) about the road and she drives it weekly with a Honda Civic. Go slow and enjoy it. It is very bizarre terrain, almost extra-terrestrial. It does not save you much time at 15 mph though. I would not do it after sunset. Have fun!

P.S. I passed a Jeep with a flat tire. I drove an Intrepid.

I was in Maui last December and found that most rental car companies allowed all of their vehicles to the Haleakala crater but stated that the vehicles had to be driven down the volcano in low gear to prevent brake failure. However, after just speaking with a friend who has also travelled to Maui I found that there is at least one company that does not allow their vehicles to be traveled to the Haleakala (sorry I don't know which one). As for driving to Hana on the northern road or "Hana Highway" it is fine for all vehicles to travel but most companies do not "allow" their vehicles around the southern route of the island. Some may make exceptions for Jeeps but I don't know how any of these rules are enforced.

How do they enforce these rules? Simple. Any driving on these roads is entirely at YOUR risk. If you crash your car, or the engine dies, or ANYTHING goes wrong; the entire cost of the repair, even if it wasn't your "fault", is out of your pocket. Your credit card company won't help you here, either, because you violated the terms of the rental contract.

It gets down to risk: if you can afford to buy a new car for the rental company, you may want to drive this part of the highway. If the risk of spending thousands of dollars is more than you want to for this drive is too much for you, then don't.

Mary,
We drove our rental car to Haleakala and the road to Hana, neither of these roads were prohibited by our rental company (Budget). There are two roads the rental company does not want you to drive on and they will point them out on the map they give you. We ended up driving on both of these roads. The back way from Hana was one of them, we checked with the ranger at the Seven Sacred Pools about the road and he said "the road is open to all cars." I had read about people taking it here without a problem so we decided to go for it, we had a Jeep Grand Cherokee. There were other rental cars on the road and most were not 4WD, no one seemed to be having a problem. We even saw a mini tour bus on the back road. The scenery is very different from the road to Hana but beautiful as well. The other road that we weren't supposed to drive on was the Kahekili Hwy (# 340), this road was more treacherous. It was mainly a single lane road with blind corners on the side of a cliff. This was a beautiful drive as well, but not for the faint of heart. We wouldn't drive that road again but would take the back road from Hana again. If your rental car breaks down in these areas you are not covered by your rental agreement and are fully responsible for the car.

Do the rental restrictions apply to 4 wheel drive vehicles? We are going to Maui in 2 weeks and reserved a 4 wheel drive hoping that we would not have any restrictions.