BriGeeski The Road to Hana in Maui, Hawaii is an amazing sight to see! We have the best halfway Road to Hana adventure with kids itinerary for you! It’s one of the most beautiful places I have been to with so many different things to see. While I also recommend you do the whole Road to Hana adventure, this post is for those who want to see a good portion of it without spending a whole day on the road. This adventure took us about 4-5 hours and then we spent about an hour in Paia on the way back to our condo. On the halfway Road to Hana adventure, you will see waterfalls, rainbow eucalyptus, Honomanu Bay, the Ke’anae Arboretum, stop for banana bread, enjoy the tropical rainforest and end with a delicious Hawaiian meal.
Driving the Road to Hana
If you’ve heard anything about the Road to Hana, you’ve probably heard that the road can be pretty intense. There are a lot of sharp turns and you have to be mindful of the locals just trying to get to where they are going. While this road is a beautiful destination for sight seeing, it’s also the only road to get around in the area. If you’re not comfortable driving in tight spaces, I would check out a tour. If you’re anything like Mark, you are up for the adventure and ready to get going!
Sights on Halfway Road to Hana
During our halfway to Hana adventure, we took all of our stops on the way to the halfway point. Driving back was much quicker since we didn’t make any stops. We started our day around 8AM and finished up at lunch at Noon. As you plan your adventure, note that every spot is found by mile markers or just simply pulling over when you see something you like. There are areas that do not allow parking and are clearly marked.
The road to Hana starts in Paia. We drove through Paia and headed for the sights first so we could end our adventure in Paia on the way back.
The sights you can view on the Halfway Road to Hana
- Twin Falls (Mile Marker 2)
- Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees (Mile Marker 7)
- Ho’okipa Lookout (Mile Marker 9)
- Garden of Eden Arboretum (Mile Marker 10)
- Haipua’ena Falls (Mile Marker 11)
- Ke’Anae Peninsula (Mile Marker 13)
- Honomanu Bay (Mile Marker 14)
- Halfway to Hana Stand (Mile Marker 17)
Haipua’ena Falls
While we were hoping to stop at the Twin Falls, the parking lot was full. We kept going and found the Haipua’ena Falls, just after mile marker 11. This was an awesome waterfall to take the kids to see. We hiked through the trees about 2 minutes and stepped into this beautiful pool of water. The kids went straight into the water and swam to the waterfall. This was one of their favorite moments of our whole Maui vacation. They LOVED swimming under a waterfall and thought it was so awesome.
Stop for Banana Bread
I’ve done the Road to Hana a few times and I always remembered stopping along the way to get some Banana Bread. I love banana bread any time but there’s just something about stopping for banana bread on the Road to Hana that just feels right. There are a few spots along the way that sell banana bread. We stopped at Aunty Sandy’s in Waialohe Park and got banana bread, strawberry-banana smoothies and a coconut bar. All the items were a hit but don’t skip out on that awesome banana bread!
After our stop for banana bread, we checked out Ke’Anae lookout on the Peninsula. The ocean is a beautiful bright blue surrounded by lots of lava rock. We then turned around to head back to the start of the Road to Hana.
Aloha Aina BBQ
We stopped for lunch at Aloha Aina BBQ. They’ve been serving traditional Kiawe BBQ on the road to Hana for over 7 years with succulent brisket, juicy baby back ribs, tender pork belly, and Huli Huli chicken. The pohole fern salad was amazing and I can’t wait to create our own recipe for you to try it too! Their portions are pretty large. We ordered a BBQ plate with 2 meats and added a side of rice and cornbread. There was plenty for the 4 of us and it was really tasty food!
Exploring Paia
We finished up our Road to Hana day exploring Paia. It’s a little hippy town with a bunch of shops, eateries and shave ice! We got our shave ice at Ululani’s Hawaiian and it was sooo yum! Shave Ice in Hawaii is so tasty. It is incredibly soft and I love that they add a scoop of ice cream on the bottom and have tasty flavors like macadamia nut, pineapple and coconut. We browsed around a bunch of cute surfer like shops in Paia then headed back. The ocean at Baldwin Beach Park is a very pretty turquoise blue which is a must see.
I hope you enjoyed this Halfway Road to Hana adventure with kids itinerary and share it with your friends! Pin the image below to save it for later. xo, Bri
