The (awe-inspiring) Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is a scenic drive to a tiiiny town way on the other side of the island of Maui (named Hana, obvs). It's beyond stunning, spectacular, splendid, all the positive "S" words one can think of! 

The Road to Hana follows the old King's trail that was the island's main path for years before this "highway" was built. Even though it's known to be well-traveled by tourists and natives alike, we often felt like we were the only car within miles and experienced the sense of being lost in time. It's a 52-mile trek on one island road – windy and narrow mostly – if you go all the way to the town of Hana. Off we go!

{ perfect skies }

But, if you're like us, you could do a "reverse trip" – rather than stop and pull over at mile after mile marker to gawk at stunning views on the way to Hana like most people would – we strategically zipped straight to our final destination, Honokalani Black Sand Beach to get ahead of all the other drivers!

There's no need to actually go all 52 miles to reach Hana. We turned around after hitting the black sand beach at mile marker 32. The real beauty is in the drive itself, where you will be witness to gorg waterfalls, quirky handmade signs, wild roosters in the road, and dramatic changes in landscape from one mile to the next. Our reverse drive took about 8 hours – stop and indulge!

{ colorful sign }

{ kudzu }

{ dappled sunlight }

{ waterfalls so close, you could almost touch them }

{ diversity at its best: mountains, sloping hills, pines, palms }

{ paradise, otherwise known as Honokalani Black Sand Beach }

{ roadside bamboo }

{ waterfalls + note the intact flip flops I am wearing at this point – more on this later! }

{ more waterfalls }

{ just stunning. }