Shortened route on Road to Hana short option perfect for families or kids

 Road to Hana - this is by far what everyone said to do. Thank you! We loved it. Make sure you know it's an all day adventure. We were on our last day in Maui and we didn't want to spend it all in the car, especially after our West Maui adventure day on Sunday! We loved the resort and hanging out there and on the beach so we decided to just do a half day Road to Hana 😁 Here is an itinerary if you want to get an awesome taste of the Road to Hana with some incredible stops, waterfalls, views, but only takes about 4 hours including stops -- perfect for a half day adventure or with kids, those worried about driving the Road to Hana, or those that don't want to be in the car all day! Here is the map of where we'll be stopping - you can click on it to edit or add your stops.

   

 We began around 6:30 a.m. in Kaanapali, stopped at Kihei Cafe (see here) for breakfast and drove up to Paia to begin. I can't recommend the Shaka Guide of Road to Hana enough. So much information, great tips for parking, warnings, fun stories and well worth your money. Download it on your phone and it will be your best friend for the day. You will also hear great stories on the way back. The GPS will see where you are and tell you turn by turn information. So amazing to me!

Be sure you fill up with gas and have your phone charged as well as a car charger because you are going to be using it all day. Here are the stops that were well worth it for our half day Road to Hana adventure so we were back at the resort by 1 p.m. For any of these, if the parking is full keep going and you can hit it on the way back.

1. Twin Falls Hike - it costs $10 to park here but well worth it.  Beautiful walks/hikes and waterfalls and trees! 

2. Wailua Valley State Wayside definitely pull over at this one if there are parking spots and take the stairs up for a spectacular 360 degree views! This is well worth the stop for birds-eye views. 

3. Ke ' Anae Arboretum - a perfect place to stop, free of charge, and walk on the path (kids can run!) and see native trees you most likely have never seen before. The rainbow eucalyptus trees were incredible and worth the stop alone. If there are no parking spots hit it on your way back. You will pass Halfway to Hana stand on your way to the falls (next destination) but I would wait for Aunt Sandy's. (see below)

4. Upper Waikani Falls (Three Bears Falls) this is where we look at the beautiful falls, get pics from the car window and turn around to head back wherever you see a good spot.  There is no parking but people will disregard and still stop anyway. 😕 If you really want to stop keep driving and see if there are any spots past the bridge.

5. Lunch at Aunt Sandy's Banana Bread we tried several and this was our favorite!! We are hitting this on the way back but if it makes more sense if the parking lots were full, go whenever you want!  Be sure to check the hours - they were open until 2:30 p.m. and closed on Sundays when we were there. This is a perfect spot to grab a warm loaf of banana bread and some milk (they also have smoothies, hot dogs, sandwiches, etc) and then you can take it down to the  Kenae Lookout to enjoy a picnic with an incredible view ♥

6. Keanae Lookout keep driving down the road past the baseball fields and look for the Ke'Anae Congregational Church  built in 1860 out of coral and rocks. The doors should be open and visitors are welcome to walk in for peace and reflection. It is the only building in the area that survived the 1946 tsunami. Go to the end of the peninsula for some incredible coastline views! One of my very favorite places of our trip.

I hope you enjoyed the shortened Road to Hana itinerary! Head back knowing you saw some incredible sights but only took half a day. See more of our Maui recommendations here. Enjoy!!