Went on the sunrise tour with skyline adventures. The morning started off cold, rainy and cloudy...but the house the sun was true to it's name. The darkness melted away, pinks, purples and oranges filled the sky and lit up the multicolor crater just in time for a breathtaking view. Don't miss it.
This is a great drive upto the crater and the views are wonderful. Recommend going mid day opposed to sunrise due to crowds and length of drive up to the crater. Well worth it.
My wife and I drove up for sunrise. We got a spot on the lotto, but be aware tickets seem to sell out in minutes when released 2 days prior at 7am. Temperatures in early October were about 40 degrees F at the summit. Even with the lotto the tour bus crowd made it very hard to get a good spot to view. I had to take my photos over the shoulders of others. That said, it is pretty spectacular as the sun opens over the crater and the colors change from blue to red to green to orange, etc. We also stayed after the sunrise - the space vacated very fast - and did the Sliding Sands trail about 1.5 miles (and 1000 feet) into the crater. I would recommend that too. It gives you a feel for the landscape and a modest workout for a couple hours. It seems like it would take even a couple more hours to get down to the truly different views, where you’re deep into the geologic formations. Also, at the summit, don’t forget to look west to see the shadow of the volcano over the rest of the island!
Definitely plan and make reservations for sunrise or sunset if you want one of those sights. But go mid-late morning if you want to avoid traffic and cyclists. Take your binoculars and camera, and stop at all the turn outs to soak up the views and your ascent and descent. You can't really do that while driving because the roads are quite winding and steep; I'm told the 5th fastest descending road in the world so use low gear on the way down.
Driving to the top of Haleakala was a wonderful experience. It's great for the whole family. The crater is really big and majestic looking with lots of nice photo ops. Pretty amazing to think it once spewed lava and created Maui! Make sure you check out the ethereal silversword plants that grow there. They can live up to 90 years and only flower once and then die. Wild!
