So, I am heading to Maui soon and plan on doing the road to Hana and then turning around at the seven pools and heading hack up to have dinner at Mama's. Does anyone have any great stops, waterfalls they remember? Also, what is the timing like assuming I hit the road early. Thinking of making reservations around 8 on whichever night I go.

Hey labob,

Give yourself a good 2 hours to get to Mama's from the Seven Sacred Pools.

When my wife & I did the Road in February we left early (around 7 A.M.), and made an 8 P.M. reservation as you're thinking of doing. We left finished up the S.S.P. at around 6:30, turned around, and made it to Mama's around 8:20. They held our reservation, though, as we called ahead when I knew we were going to be late.

The road to Hana is OK, and is scenic. Don't go for the waterfalls, unless you live in the desert! They divert the water for irrigation and the guides act like you are seeing what you might see from a helicopter, at least that is what the photos lead you to believe. Save your money and time and although the pools are great, some dude was killed there last week and they closed the pools. So save your money and take a helicopter tour instead!!

My husband and I went to Maui during the first part of August. He was reluctant to do the road to Hana due to the time commitment you must make. He ended up really enjoying it--well, we both did. Now he says it's something that everyone should do once. If we go back, we probably wouldn't go a second time since there are other things we missed the first time besides Hana. If you haven't gotten the Maui Revealed book you should. It was very helpful to us on the road to Hana as well as everything else we did on the island. What do I recommend?
The Black Sand beach. This may have been our favorite. The Blue Pool. If you want to swim, this is a great place. The Halfway to Hana was a great place to stop and eat. Their banana bread is great! Also, pack a lunch. It's a loooong trip. Mama's is great. We both had the stuffed Mahi Mahi and enjoyed it very much. If you have time, shop in Pa'ia (the town right before Mama's). It is fabulous. We did that on our last day before heading to the airport. Hope that helps!

I would second Blue Pool. Halfway to Hana has great Banana Bread and smoothies.Seven Sacred Smoothies also is good and is worth a stop just for the view. Nahiku Road was our favorite spot. 8 would be good for reservations assuming you get an early start. We left Kaanapali at 6:00 Am and didnt even get to Oheo until late afternoon.
Dont go to fast!! We talked to one guy who said he did the drive there and back in 3.5 hrs ....needless to say he didnt understand what the fuss was all about!! We did however go a little to slow and didnt have as much time at the Seven Sac. Pools as we would have liked.
Next time I would consider staying in Hana 1 night or...driving directly to Oheo and doing the drive backwards.
I wish I were going....ALOHA!

If you're interested, I wrote a trip report last month covering several great spots on the Hana Hwy, just click on my screenname, it's called "maui trip report--action packed with details".

love
roxy