| |
Arriving
Hana
I
mistakenly did the drive to Hana the same day I went to the
top of Mt. Haleakala. You need at least an entire day
devoted to Hana, if not 2. If you have the time to do 2
days, I would recommend it. There is a hotel in Hana
called Joe's Place which is about $50 a night. The other option would to be just pitch a
tent on one of the beaches overnight. You also need to
start very early, especially if you are going to try to do it
all in one day. There is much to see in Hana, and you
shouldn't miss anything by getting a late start.
The Road to Hana starts in Paia, and from there, even though it is
only 55 miles away, it will take you every bit of 2 1/2 hours
to get there. You can not be in a rush to get to Hana
because the road has many cutbacks, and at some points, you
can only go 5 to 10 miles an hour. During the drive,
you cross over 66 one-lane bridges. The road has recently been
resurfaced and is in excellent condition. Also, you do not
want to rush, because you do not want to miss any of the
scenic waterfalls, mini cascades, eucalyptus groves, bamboo
jungles and
breath taking views of the ocean along the road as you drive. There are plenty of
pull-offs, and I suggest taking advantage of some of them.
This
is an example of what most of The Road to Hana doesn't look
like. Most of it is not straight, but has many twists,
turns and cutbacks along the cliffs of the Pacific.
Along the Road to Hana are many unmarked dirt roads.
Here is one we took just to see where it would lead us, and
it took us to a secluded beach. I would have loved to
stayed and snorkeled, but by now it is getting late, and I
wanted to see all I could in Hana.
Right
before getting in to the main strip of Hana, we had to pull
over at this authentic Hawaiian fruit stand. For $10,
we got a fruit plate with a little Hawaiian fruit education.
Hawaii Hostels Map
|
|
