7-day Maui road trip itinerary: fall in love with Hawaii

In this 7-day Maui road trip itinerary you'll find out:

• How to beat the traffic jams on the Road to Hana.
• What to avoid if you want to watch the sunrise over Haleakala without freezing your fingers off.
• Where to find the best snorkeling beaches in the south of the island.

And much more…

This itinerary is the second part of our trip to Hawaii in late November 2016, where we visited the islands of Kauai and Maui, in that order.

Since it was low season (late fall), the weather wasn't on our side the whole time (to put it mildly). However, as you'll see below, we made the absolute most of our 7-day stay in Maui.

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Day 1: Arrival and heading to Hana

After spending 9 unforgettable days in Kauai, we took a direct flight with Hawaiian Airlines. In under 1 hour, we had already taken off and landed.

The first thing that surprised us was that Maui's airport was quite a bit larger than Kauai's; and, naturally, so was the line to pick up our car at Dollar. 🙂

They gave us a Chevy Spark without a trunk cover, so we asked for a change and they swapped it for another car of the same model without any hassle.

Paia

Around 11:30-12:00 we headed to Paia, a lively little coastal town where we'd kick off our route.

First, though, we made a pit stop at the Mana Foods supermarket, packed with organic products and freshly prepared hot meals. Such a treat!

Now we were ready; fully stocked with food for 3 days…

Heading to Hana

Around 13:00-14:00 we set off on our drive along the famous Road to Hana:

1. We parked at the Ho’okipa Beach Park lookout and ate our delicious hot meal inside the car, as it was raining. Right there was a food truck serving hot dogs and burgers if you prefer to keep things simple, though I wouldn't have traded my portion of roasted veggies, rice, and curry tofu for anything.
2. We walked down to the beach to get a close look at the green sea turtles sleeping and resting on the sand. Remember to keep a safe distance, please. 🙂
3. We continued along the Road to Hana with hardly any traffic (15:00-16:00) and found waterfalls and ancient trees around every bend in the road.
4. We looked for the Ke’anae Arboretum, but missed the entrance and decided to keep going to Wai’anapanapa Black Sand Beach. I've never seen such a breathtaking contrast of colors as in this park.
5. We reached Hana at sunset. We took a stroll to its small harbor and, to make the most of the ‘lanai’ or terrace at our Airbnb (Relaxing Oceanfront getaway in Hana), we popped into the Hasegawa General Store to grab some beers.

Day 2: Pipiwai Trail and Ohe’o Gulch

After a hearty homemade breakfast with ocean views at our Hana Airbnb, we set off for the Kipahulu valley, part of Haleakala National Park, to visit the 7 Sacred Pools of Ohe’o Gulch and the Pipiwai Trail.

Ohe’o Gulch

By arriving so early, we got to enjoy the park almost entirely to ourselves.

We paid the $20 entrance fee (valid for all of Haleakala National Park for 3 days) and first walked the short circular path with views of the 7 Sacred Pools.

Back then they were closed for swimming due to heavy rains and rockslides—a closure that remains in place to this day (March, 2018). Even so, the postcard-worthy sight of this river flowing into the Pacific is well worth the visit on its own.

Pipiwai Trail

Next up, we started the Pipiwai Trail, which we couldn't complete all the way to Waimoku Falls due to rockslides near the end of the path.

Still, seeing the beauty along the rest of the trail, we're sure we'll return to this slice of paradise on earth:

• An enchanted forest of twisted trunks.
• Rushing waterfalls.
• The gorgeous Makahiku Falls.
• A massive, almost unbelievable banyan tree.
• Several bridges crossing over the river.
• A forest—no, a bamboo jungle.

Tip: Keep your mosquito repellent handy.

Koki Beach

Around midday, just as the trail was starting to fill up with tourists, we headed for the nearest beaches, eager to wash off the mud caked on our legs.

First, we tried parking near Hamoa Beach, which is great for swimming. However, we couldn't find a single parking spot. So, we continued down the road to Koki Beach, a gorgeous spot suitable only for experienced surfers, but with far fewer cars.

After a short stroll along the beach, we went back to visit the natural park at Black Sand Beach:

• One last look at those out-of-this-world colors.
• Enjoying the spray from the coastal blowholes for a while.
• Snap candid photos of the elusive mongooses.

What more could you ask for?

And to wrap up the day, we had a delicious pad thai (bought from the food truck Ae’s thai kitchen) on the lanai of our Airbnb in Hana as the sun went down. This is the life!

Day 3: Road to Hana, the return trip

After breakfast, we started our journey back along the Road from Hana.

Ke’anae Arboretum

At this time of the morning, there was hardly any traffic. So, we quickly arrived at Ke’anae Arboretum (this time, we actually spotted the entrance).

We only made it as far as the rainbow eucalyptus trees, which were our main goal. The full route looked promising, but the mosquitoes swarmed us (despite the repellent) and we were exhausted from the day before.

Ho’okipa Beach Park

After slowly making our way back along the Road from Hana, stopping at every single waterfall and feeling infinitely glad we did the drive at an off-peak time (the opposite lane was completely jammed with traffic), we reached Ho’okipa Beach Park around noon.

And there, sitting on the sand while the green sea turtles rested just a few meters away from us, we ate our sandwiches and enjoyed the views.

Wailea

Naturally, we stopped by Mana Foods in Paia again before continuing to our next stay, a cozy studio at the Grand Champions Condos in Wailea, in southeastern Maui.

Tip: If you're following this same itinerary, the cheapest gas station we found was Tesoro (marked on the map at the end of this post). It’s prepaid and you can't top it off to a full tank, but the price difference makes it totally worth it.

And to wrap up, we drove down to the nearest beach (just 5 minutes away): Ulua Beach. From there, we took a nice, long walk north, easily strolling from one beach to the next right along the sand.

Bare feet cooling off in the water and the sun painting the sky in reddish hues as it dipped below the horizon…

If there's a definition of happy exhaustion (the twists and turns of the Road to Hana are no joke), this is definitely it.

Day 4: Humpback whales and snorkeling

Whale watching

The next morning we woke up super early to make it in time to the harbor in Maʻalaea, where our tour with Pacific Whale Foundation was setting off.

If you want all the details about the excursion, I share everything in the post I wrote a few weeks ago about our whale watching experience off the coast of Maui.

However, if you're just looking for a quick summary:

2 humpback whales breaching halfway out of the water right by the boat's stern just 15 minutes after setting sail.

Peak season hadn't fully kicked in yet, it was cold, super windy, happened so fast that we couldn't capture the moment on camera, and after that, we only saw their upper backs and a dorsal fin…

Still, as fleeting as it was, what a show!

Snorkeling at Wailea Beach

Afterwards, we headed back home tired and feeling a bit sunstruck (despite the clouds and poor weather).

We decided to eat in the studio, on the shared lanai. However, the owner of the units (ours and the neighboring one) showed up to clean the other apartment… terrace included! She didn't even let us finish lunch in peace. In my opinion, she wasn't very considerate toward her ‘guests’—meaning us. 🙂

On the bright side, once she finally left, a cheeky multicolored lizard brightened up our after-lunch chill time by licking up the crumbs we had dropped on the floor.

And to wrap up, we spent the afternoon at Wailea Beach snorkeling, soaking up the sun, and admiring the sunset.

Day 5: Haleakala (take 1)

No sunrise over Haleakala

This adventure started in the middle of the night, when the neighbors arrived shouting and waking up the whole building.

And you can't really say things got much better as the day went on…

• Want to have a good laugh with the full version?
  • Here is our experience at Haleakala.
• Prefer the quick, dry summary?
  • There was no sunrise, and we didn't even see the summit of Haleakala.
  • But we got more than enough cold weather and freezing fingers.

Snorkeling at Palauea Beach

With our tails between our legs, we headed back to our studio in Waimea, warmed up a bit with liter-sized cups of tea and coffee, and spent some time watching our colorful lizards (a little couple) on the lanai.

After that, we swung by Maui Dive Shop to rent a couple of snorkel sets (the ones at the apartment were terrible) and set off for Palauea Beach.

And here, the ocean, the marine life, and the warm sunshine completely washed away the bitter taste the morning had left behind.

Well… There was a bit of a scare… I dropped my mask in the water and couldn't find it… Thank goodness my personal Superman-Photographer grabbed it before the current swept it away. 🙂

The icing on the cake?

4 matrimonios por el rito hawaiano a orillas de la playa durante una puesta de sol para el recuerdo. <3

Day 6: Moana

I don't know if I mentioned this already… We didn't have the best luck with the weather in Maui.

Snorkeling? Guess again

Originally, we planned to spend this day relaxing on the beach while snorkeling among coral reefs and turtles in South Maui.

However, the day started off gray and rainy. We drove over to Chang’s Beach, but jumping into the water in that weather didn't sound appealing at all.

So we returned the snorkel gear and, when life gives you rainy days… it's movie afternoon!

Moana in 3D

I know reviews for this movie (known as Vaiana in Europe) aren't super positive, but keep in mind:

• We are Pixar fans.
• We had the 3D option, which always helps.
• We watched Moana on the island of Maui itself… where better?

The result: We loved it.

We left the cinema singing and dancing to Shiny! and You are welcome! The screaming chicken and the killer coconuts were totally priceless too… I still get a smile on my face when I remember certain scenes.

And, to top it off, sunset at Kamaole Beach Park III (where time caught up with us). 🙂

Day 7: Haleakala (take 2)

Ready for round two?

Ready for part two of how not to watch the sunrise over Haleakala?

If you prefer the summary, here it is:

• We weren't as cold, because we learned from our mistakes.
• We didn't see Haleakala, nor the sunrise, nor jack squat.

Mind you, this time we drove back down the road singing along to 'You're Welcome' from Moana.

Snorkeling at Poolanelane Beach

The exhaustion from waking up so early, combined with the disappointment of missing out on Haleakala and the fact that our trip was coming to an end, left us feeling a bit drained.

Instead of renting diving gear again, I patched up the masks we had at the house as best I could and we took them over to Poolanelane Beach.

And… surprise!

The best snorkeling of our trip was waiting for us in southern Maui, on our very last day road tripping through Hawaii.

It was incredible. I didn't want to get out of the water, no matter how tired I was.

I even swam (well, floating slowly is more like it) all the way to the famous Chang’s Beach, which shares a reef with the southern part of Poolanelane beach.

As a farewell treat, we picked up sushi and poke (a traditional spicy raw Hawaiian tuna dish) to have dinner out on the house 'lanai'.

Day 8: Heading to San Diego

After breakfast, we packed up everything and headed to the airport, where we'd catch a flight to San Diego…

But that's a story for another day. 😉

Budget

During our 7 days and 7 nights in Maui, our expenses were as follows:

• One-way flight Kauai-Maui: €212.72 (2 tickets).
• Accommodation: €940.3 (€67.2 per person per day).
• Food: €345.8 (€24.7 per person per day).
• Car: €227.73 (€32.5 per day).
• Gas: €60.13.
• Haleakala National Park: €38.02 (€19.01 per ticket for 2 people).
• Whale watching: €70 (€35 per person).
• Snorkel rental: €17.52 (2 sets/1 day).
• 3D Cinema: €25.32 (2 tickets + popcorn). 🙂

In total, the budget for a one-week road trip around Maui came to €1934/2 people (€139 per person per day).

Our next trip

If I get the chance to visit Maui again, these are the places I'd love to add or revisit:

• Head back to the Pipiwai Trail to reach waterfall Waimoku.
• Stay in the northeast of the island to compare the beauty of snorkeling up north versus down south.
• Hike up to the summit of Haleakala at any time of day (no more sunrises, lesson learned), to walk among its volcanoes.
• Go on another whale watching tour with the Pacific Whale Foundation, but during high season and first thing in the morning.
• Sign up for a diving trip around Molokini Crater.
• Return to Chang’s Beach and swim among corals.

Videos

Here you can see a little glimpse of our Maui experience:

• The Road to Hana in 4 minutes.
• Snorkeling in southeast Maui.

Useful links

• International flight deals to Hawaii: Trabber, eDreams and Momondo.
• Car rentals with AlohaRent and DiscountHawaiiCarRental.
• Official website of Haleakala National Park.
• Booking deals in Maui.
• 5% discount on your IATI travel insurance.

Want to dive deeper into every corner I visited in Maui? Here are all the related articles:

• Guide to planning a DIY trip to Maui.
• The best snorkeling beaches in South Maui.
• Humpback whale watching off the coast of Maui.
• A nightmare before dawn at Haleakala.
• The full description of our experience at O’hoe Gulch and Pipiway Trail.
• 3 days and 2 nights exploring the Road to Hana.

And if you're considering other Hawaiian islands, don't miss:

• How to decide which Hawaiian island to visit.
• 9-day Kauai road trip, step by step.
• Practical guide to organizing your own trip to Kauai.
• Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
• Kalalau Trail, Kauai's most demanding trek.
• Awaawapuhi Trail, the Napali Coast at your feet.
• Fly over Kauai in a helicopter… with no doors!
• Kauai's most beautiful beaches: what are you in the mood for today?
• Discover the Napali Coast on a luxury boat.
• Queen’s Bath, forbidden beauty in the Garden of Eden.
• Mahaulepu Trail, hiking, temples, and pristine beaches in Kauai.

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