The Road to Hana in Maui, Sept 2023

Intro

In December 2019, Kate and I took a girl's weekend to the Big Island while she was 30 weeks pregnant with her daughter Zeny.  We left our significant others behind and joked that I was the one who got to take her on her babymoon.

Kate's babymoon in 2019

Four years later, with me now 25 weeks pregnant, we decided it was only fitting that she and I should go on a girl's trip to an outer island for my babymoon.  

Following the Lahaina wildfire tragedy on August 8th 2023, visitors were urged to stay away from Maui which rapidly lead to a plunge in the tourism that Maui's economy relies on.  As a result, Maui County's mayor and other public officers rapidly reversed their advice and urged tourists to return.  We chose Maui for that reason, and I suggested "The Road to Hana" which is my favorite area in Maui.  Kate agreed, even though she only had negative memories of Hana (her prior experience involved morning sickness on a windy road combined with a mango crashing through her windshield).

Sept 26, 2023

Kate met up with me at my house for an early breakfast before the sun was even up, and then my husband Bill dropped us off at the airport in time for a 7:15am flight.  We grabbed a rental car, stopped by Belle Surf Cafe in Paia for some coffee and food, and headed out on the Road to Hana!  

Start of our trip!

We downloaded the "GuideAlong" app to help navigate us to Hana so we wouldn't have to worry about reading or getting carsick along the way.  I highly recommend having a navigation app; it makes everything so easy!  There were tons of options for where to stop on the gorgeous road to Hana, and these are the ones we chose:

1. Waikamoi Ridge Trail - a short loop trail.  It was a little muddy and there wasn't much in the way of views, but it was a pleasant place to stretch our legs.

Red ginger flower at Waikamoi Ridge Trail

2. Kaumahina Park - we took a bathroom break and had a nice picnic lunch with the food we had grabbed in Paia

Picnic view at Kaumahina Park

3. Ke'anae Arboretum - a short flat walk that had lots of rainbow eucalyptus trees, red ginger flowers, and banana spiders!

So many red ginger flowers at Ke'anae Arboretum!

I always love rainbow eucalyptus trees

Banana spiders - they're so neat!

4. Ke'anae Peninsula - we grabbed some banana bread at Aunty Sandy's and watched the waves crashing over lava rocks.  This was one of the tour guide's "must do" attractions and one of Kate's favorite parts of the day.

Here come the baby bump photos!  At Ke'anae Peninsula

The waves hitting jagged lava rocks were so beautiful

5. Wailua Valley State Wayside - a small set of stairs to an overlook

Wailua Valley State Wayside

6. Pua'a Ka'a State Park - a cute little park with two small waterfalls.  This would also have been a convenient spot for a bathroom break and food if we hadn't already done that.

Lower waterfall at Pua'a Ka'a State Park

Upper waterfall at Pua'a Ka'a State Park

7. Nahiku Marketplace - we weren't yet feeling hungry enough to eat, but Kate got her family some gifts and I bought homemade coconut candy here.

8. Hana Lava Tube - there was a $15 fee per person, and it was totally worth it.  I had never been here before but would definitely return if I was in Hana again.  I wasn't expecting this lava tube to be so extensive and beautiful, complete with lava stalactites and a skylight!  As a bonus, they had a cute little garden maze, which of course I made us walk through.

Entrance to the lava tube

Beautiful skylight in the lava tube

Lots of lava stalactites - so cool!

Loving those stalactites

Pretty flowers at the garden maze!

Another bump photo!

9. Hana Bay Beach Park - a black sand beach (in actuality, the sand is closer to brown).  It's a nice spot to go swimming but we just dipped our feet in. 

Black Sand Beach at Hana Bay Beach Park!

Kate playing in the sand

Cooling off our feet

We checked into the Hana-Maui Resort, where we stayed overnight.  After dropping off our bags, we hiked to the Red Sand Beach, which is one of my favorite spots in Maui.  The hike can feel a bit unsafe due to some steep slippery bits, but it's only 0.5 miles each way, so you can take your time to get there.  And it's absolutely worth it for when you round the bend and first lay your eyes on that unique red cove!

Almost there!

Kate at the Red Sand Beach!

Me and my baby

We were super hungry when we returned to the resort so we walked to nearby food trucks for dinner (Poke Bobs and Ae Thai).  Then we hung out in the resort pool under the stars.  It was cold when we got out of the water, so we warmed up at a firepit with a view of the ocean.  Before going to bed, we played ukulele and learned the song "Great Adventure" from the musical Kimberly Akimbo.

Pretty blue flowers at the Hana-Maui Resort

Beautiful pool at the resort - and we had it to ourselves!

Warming up by the fire pit

Sept 27, 2023

Our second day in Hana was even more beautiful than the first! I highly recommend spending at least one night in Hana since there's so much to see and do.  I've never understood how some people can cram the entire Road to Hana experience into one day.  

When we woke up, we grabbed coffee and breakfast at Da Mean Bean Coffee food truck and then filmed our ukulele song at the resort: Great Adventure.

Some of the best parts of The Road to Hana are actually beyond the town of Hana.  Our first stop of the day was at the stunning Wailua Waterfall (not to be mistaken with the waterfall of the same name in Kauai), which is about 20 minutes past Hana.

There are lots of waterfalls along the Road to Hana, but this one is the most spectacular 

Me and baby at the waterfall

This is a must-do stop!

Next we made our way to my favorite part of the trip: the Kipahulu district of Haleakala National Park (not to be confused with the summit entrance of the same park, which is 3 hours away).  We took a short walk to Ohe'o Gulch, which features views of a waterfall, multiple small pools, a black sand beach, and a beautiful ocean view all at the same time.  

Another neat spider!  Spotted on our way to Ohe'o Gulch

Waterfall with a faint rainbow at Ohe'o Gulch!

Ohe'o Pools, AKA "The Seven Sacred Pools"

Kate overlooking a black sand beach

A highlight of this trip was hiking on the Pipiwai Trail, one of my very favorite hikes in Hawaii!  It's about 4 miles roundtrip, not very hard, and gives you a ton of bang for your buck.  You are constantly being awarded with beautiful sites: Makahiku Falls, a huge banyan tree, cute little bridges over small waterfalls, a boardwalk through a magnificent bamboo forest, and Waimoku Falls.  I don't have enough good things to say about it.

Makahiku Falls: a 200 foot waterfall

Kate with a giant Banyan tree!

Friends!

Cute little waterfalls!

Mushrooms on the Pipiwai Trail

Bamboo forest!

Love little baby

More baby bump shots

Kate surrounded by bamboo

Pretty bamboo

Perfect day

Final trail destination: Waimoku Falls

Waimoku Falls: a 400 ft waterfall

On our way back to Hana, we stopped at two beaches that are right next to each other: Hamoa Beach and Koki Beach.  Somehow I had missed these gems the last couple times I went to Hana, but I absolutely loved them!  Hamoa Beach is a beautiful swimming spot, and we couldn't resist getting into the water.  Koki Beach looks similar to the Red Sand Beach except that it's a little less dramatic appearing, and it's much easier to get to.  

Hamoa Beach!

Kate swimming at Hamoa Beach

Kate with lots of sea foam at Hamoa Beach

Koki Beach

Pretty reddish sand

More sea foam

It was already about 2pm when we returned to Hana.  We took advantage of a day pass to a spa at our resort to soak in the hot tub and take showers.  Then we returned to Ae's Thai Kitchen food truck for a late lunch.

Front lobby snack!

Beautiful flowers at the Hana-Maui Resort

Hot tub with an ocean view

There wasn't a lot of time left to spare, so we prioritized a quick stop at one of my favorite places on the Road to Hana: Wai'anapanapa State Park.  We had missed this on the way in because the website and road signs indicated you needed reservations ahead of time, but apparently kama'aina can actually get in for free and without a reservation.  We had just enough time to take in the beauty of the ocean cave next to a stunning black sand beach.

Dramatic black sand beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park!

Feeling the waves one last time!

Probably my favorite baby bump photo of the trip!

The rain was falling pretty hard by the time we left, and we felt lucky we had experienced good weather during all of our other stops and adventures in Hana.  We made it to the airport comfortably in time for our 8pm flight back to Oahu.  Kate definitely preferred this trip to the last time she was in Maui, which made me happy since now we can both think back fondly of Hana.  It's a truly remarkable place.

Me matching the sign on the airport trolley