What to do after Haleakala sunrise?
 

We are going up to Haleakala to see the sunrise but we have to be back in Kihei for a 1:30pm shore dive. Please advise:

1) What time do we need to leave the summit in order to make it in time for our shore dive?

2) What activities can we do after sunrise, with this timeline?

Thanks!!!

I would give yourself at least 2 1/2 hours to get back to Kihei. The drive down seems to go faster than the drive up, however. After sunrise you could go on one of the trails in the crater and/or drive halfway down the mountain to Kula and have breakfast at the Kula Lodge. A wonderful little lodge with magnificent views of Maui and good food too. A local artist Curtis Wilson Cost has a gallery in the Lodge and we always enjoy looking at his paintings.

Thanks Carbogilligan! We'll put this on our potential things to do after the sunrise!

jmoy - I have a question. :-? Since I really don't remember the answer to this: does driving up to 10,000 feet prohibit you from SCUBA diving on the same day, the way flying does? OK, you recently certified divers, please help with the answer.

And...just a suggestion...what you might want to do is take a nap. Your reflexes and judgement for the dive might be somewhat impared by your definite lack of sleep...

we did the haleakala bike ride sunrise thing...which was WAY overrated...freezing cold and a lot of sitting around waiting for it to be your groups turn to go. also,we were so tired it killed the rest of the day...we literally slept it away..in the room, too tired to make do with a snooze at the pool.

just my opinion but if you are really set on the sunrise thing, plan on the rest of the day being a wash.

hi kamahinaohoku! yes, you can dive after flying. You can't fly afer diving until after 12 hours (for non-decompression dives). :-)

thanks ediegirl, i think we'll pass on the bikeride for this one!

You'll have tons of time.

Remember, you're there for the sunrise, so you'll be done by 7:00 or so (unless you really like the view and just want to hang around the place or hike). 2-3 hours to drive back to Kihei at most. So another 3 hours or so to do what you want.

My advice is to keep busy the remainder of the day, and get to bed at your regular time that night. Don't give into the temptation to take a nap, or you'll end up being up at 2am the next morning, also.

Enjoy!!

thanks travelinandgolfin and mauigirl50! it's good to know that we have some time to hike around (don't want to rush). and yes, we will try to get adjusted to Hawaii time once we've done Haleakala :-D!