lianne

Can anyone suggest a moderatly priced spot to stay in Hana for a couple nights? We want to be able to catch some attractions on the south of the island before we leave but are thinking of spending most of our time further North.

How long does it take to drive the island?

here_today_gone2Maui

We stay here at least once a year

http://www.hana-maui.com/accommodations.html

Theer are many other rentals--nearly everyone in Hana seems to have `ohana or cottage for rent these days. So a search for "Hana vaction rental" and you'll find all kinds of places to stay.

You can drive straight through to Hana in 2.5 - 3 hrs, longer of you are coming from West Maui, or you take your time, stop and experience the sights, sounds and smells of the rain forest. My husband recently took some friends to Hana and they left Kihei at 7:30 and never go to Hana Town until 2 pm. They did several hikes along the way. It is up to you how much you want to see along the way.

I'm not sure if this answers your question. When you ask how long it takes to drive the island, is this waht you meant? Where are you staying? Are you staying on the north shore?

kimr

We did the full drive around the island last summer and it was a VERY long day. Plus we felt a bit rushed and that we could have stopped a few more places. Next time we would stay in Hana for a couple of days.

Maui Revealed has several suggestions of other places to stay besides the Hotel Hana Maui. It also sounds like there are very limited dining options in the evening so maybe bring food?

I would definitely recommend driving the south portion of the island. There is one white knuckle area not far past Oheo Gulch but if you make it past that it's fine. There is 5-7 miles of unpaved area but it's graded regularly. Definitely a different view of the island! And I don't think it's any slower than being part of the tourist pack driving back at the end of the day.

kim

Rusty

With minimum stops drive completely around east maui (Hana, etc) in 6-7 hours. Drive completely around west Maui in 3 hours. Through in an extra hour for central Maui and you have covered most of the island.

lianne

Thank you so much for all your help. We are planning to stay either at Kahana Sunset or Noelani Condo Resort, so farther North. I didn't know if we'd be able to experience all sides of the island only staying at one end but now I feel confident we can cozy up North for most of our trip and still be able to see everything we are interested in. Thanks!

baddeck

Hi - we just got back and stayed two nights at Hale Papalani found on web, very lovely, outdoor bathtub, 2 min. drive from Hamoa Beach and directly across from spot where they mention Venus Pools in Maui Revealed however we didn't go in there because there was a no trespassing sign that included warnings! Drive to Hana was spectacular but only took food for the one night so were feeling 'stuck' the next night but ended up seeing a Willie K concert on the beach with rice and chili being offered for $3 - what a deal in Maui. Concert was fabulous and different than going to a restaurant. I don't agree with poster above about the drive past O'Heo Gulch to go back -we hated it and would have preferred to go back the way we came even though we'd take longer because you'd be coming against more traffic. Each to their own I guess! We stopped at a beautiful rainforest and ended up at a waterfall/pool area which was the best experience - it's mentioned in Maui Revealed under Activities/Challenges, something like that. Advise you to do it - it was spectacular. I definitely wouldn't advise doing this in one day - we loved staying in Hana and would advise at least one night there. Different experience but definitely worth it!

baddeck

I'm just responding again - I'm not too familiar with this forum. I read it all the time but have trouble posting something on my own. I did write a little report on our visit but I notice it's just under 'baddeck' at the top and not in the general topics. Could anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?