The travel books said that the Road to Hana trip would be bumper to bumper. We did not experience alot of traffic but you should start out very early so that you can return before dark. You do not want to drive that road in the dark. The road is very challenging and you will want to stop along the way to see various waterfalls, beaches, towns, etc. My husband and I really enjoyed the trip. Our kids needed dramamine and my one daughter thought the day was a complete waste of time because she would have rather spent the day in the pool rather than in the car.

We stopped in Hana for lunch. It was very expensive but unless you pack a lunch, you are stuck. We stopped to body surf on the black sand beach of Waianapanapa State Park. It seems that all of the state parks in Hawaii have adequate shower and bathroom facilities. We ended up at Oheo Gulch expecting to swim in the 7 pools of fresh water. However, the pools were closed to swimming. The views there, as with the entire drive, were spectacular. We found out later that the day before, some drunk Hawaiian native accidently killed himself diving into one of the pools so perhaps that is why the pools were closed that day.

Hana is a special place if you like laid back and don't mind intense rain showers. It would not be lush green with out the rain. The best banana bread is a mile from the state park ( opposite Richard Pryor's old house). Three more mile ( away from Hana there is a great pork taco. Two miles past the state park is a great fruit stand with bike your own fruit smoothies.

Huge disapointment......This is overly hyped. This is a very curvy road that takes 2 hours to get to Hana. Once you are there the Hotel Hana is lovely and nice and pleasant. Great food at this hotel. If you truly have nothing else to do this is a good day out if your intention is to see the town of Hana. This was the biggest and only disapointment on our trip.

We used the Fairmont road to Hana guide. The first tthree suggestions were not worth the walk or ride down to them and so we didn't beleive the guide after that.

The so called majestic water falls are treacherous and dangerous filled with slick rocks and murky milky white water that I didn't want to step in. Fifty people would be vying for a piece of the little tiny water fall area enclosed in a murky area about 20 by 20 feet big.

The surf boading little town that surrounds Hookipa beach is worth the trip. I think the town of Paia is near Hook i pa and is very cute.

We are hike, bike and ride sort of people. We love the outdoors-this is over hyped.

There is so much to see on the lovely island of Maui. So much that you don't hear about....we love it there.

The road needs a lot of work. They should widen the road wherever possible and provide better indications of places to stop. We had Maui Revealed, but the stopping points were difficult to detect. The 2nd half of the road was brutal for about 6 miles after Hana. The road needs to be paved and I would recommend that the road connect to Wailea. This would help increase tourism.

The seven sacred pools area was beautiful and worth the time. Everything else was OK at best. If you have seen a waterfall or dark sand beaches, then you have seen better sights.

Bottom line, the road trip is so treacherous and we had a bad lunch and the sights just were not that special, that I would never recommend doing the road to Hana and beyond again. I only hope I have saved some of you from this terrible mistake.

BTW, I loved Maui and think the world of the place. I just feel you should be warned of many of the issues that this road trip presents.