As many of our readers know, there’s nothing us Ramblers love more than taking a good road trip. As it turns out, many other travelers agree that hopping in a car and just driving around is a fantastic way to see the sights and really get to know a place. With that in mind we thought it would be fun to put together a series of articles featuring road trip tales from some of our traveling friends. Here’ the first installment of our ” My Favorite Ramblin’ Road Trip” series featuring Gary Arndt.
My favorite road trip has to be the Hana Highway on the island of Maui. While the actual distance is quite short, only 50 miles, it takes well over three hours to drive due to the number of curves and one-lane bridges. There are 620 curves and 59 bridges you have to navigate to get to the town on Hana, which is on the far side of the Haleakala volcano.
What makes the journey take even longer is the fact that you will be frequently stopping to take photos of the waterfalls and spectacular scenery you see along the way. Once you get to Hana, if you take the time you can visit the fantastic Red Sand Beach. There are no signs or roads pointing to the Red Sand Beach, so you will have to ask locals and find the way there yourself. It isn’t that hard, but it will require some work.
The Hana Highway is officially Route 360, which starts in Kahului and ends in Hana. Make sure you have a full tank of gas as there are no places to refuel along the way. Also, gasoline in Hana can be quite expensive. It is possible to make a round trip on a full tank, so make sure you do that before you leave.
Expect to encounter small landslides or patches of water along the way. You will have to drive slowly due to the curves and bridges. Be sure to honk your horn as you go around blind curves and stop before all one-lane bridges if there is another car which has started to cross on the other side.
About the Author
Gary Arndt has visited over 145 countries and territories , all 50 US states, 9/10 Canadian provinces, every Australian state and territory, over 100 US National Park Service sites and over 250 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Read more of his stories at Everything Everywhere or connect with him on Facebook or twitter.
Is the beach really that small? I would imagine it would be bigger than that.
I have to say you made me curious. I would love to go and take my own photos. Great read. Thanks.
Wow, a place I wish I could explore right now!
The Red Sand Beach looks fantastic.. I didn’t notice it’s a bit huge(I didn’t notice the people until after a min of staring at it), well huge enough for few people. But no matter how difficult it is to find, I certainly will conquer all the odds just to get there hehe.
This is an amazing post by the way. Love your photos! :)
I normally like road trips that are straight from A to B but this one looks tempting
Everytime I see a secluded beach like that I think back to the movie The Beach, haha. Looks like a fun little road trip though,
Love this! We’re huge fans of the road trip as well. One of my favorites is driving around the island of Oahu, which has some gorgeous views as well. This would be a fantastic trip to take in a convertible jeep, I think.
The road to Hana is definitely one of the best road trips I’ve ever done…great photos here, too!
It seems like a great trip! The picture of the bridge is amazing. So beautiful. Thanks for sharing.