Driving Maui’s famous Road to Hana is undeniably one of the island’s greatest adventures. I’ve written quite a bit about it on this blog (read about my go to one day itinerary and my best tips).

This post is all about driving the “backside” of the Road to Hana or the road “beyond Hana.”

The official “Road to Hana” is considered to start in Paia on the north shore of Maui. From there it’s about a two hour drive (with no stops) due east to the town of Hana. By far the majority of people turn around once they reach Hana and drive the same road back to Paia. An out and back drive if you will. 

Quite a few people continue on past Hana to the Kipahulu District of Haleakala National Park where you’ll find the Oheo Gulch (aka Seven Sacred Pools) and the Pipiwai Trailhead. Besides the black sand beach at Waianapanapa State Park, this really is the crown jewel of the Road to Hana. It’s 11 miles past Hana town and takes a little over half an hour to reach with no stops. 

People that make it all the way to Kipahulu are usually the ones that ask about turning back and retracing their path back through Hana and on to Paia or driving through (continuing clockwise around the island) the backside of the Road to Hana. If you continue on in the loop, you’ll eventually come through Ulupalakua (where Maui Wine is) and Kula in upcountry Maui and can take the highway back down towards Paia and Kahului. 

*Always check for road closures through the county here before you go. Sometimes the road will wash out when there’s been heavy rain and in the past they’ve had to close it to non local traffic for months at a time while they fix it. 

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Should You Drive the Backside of the Road to Hana?

Here are a few things to think about…

Is driving past Hana illegal?

Here’s my disclaimer: I am neither encouraging or discouraging you to make this drive. I’m just going to describe it as accurately as possible and relay my personal experiences so that you can make a decision that you’re comfortable with. If you go, (just like anything you do), you do so at your own risk. 

There’s a lot of hype about how “bad” the backside of the Road to Hana is. Mostly this stems from talk about it being illegal to take rental cars back this way. In my personal experience, this is…fuzzy. 

After reading through my personal rental car contracts (with companies like Enterprise, National, etc.), I’ve yet to see a contract that even mentions where you can or can’t take the car on Maui (and I always read the fine print!). When I’ve asked them directly at the desk, I usually get a vague answer (with the strong impression that it’s forbidden) but basically what it comes down to is “they won’t come and get you if you have a problem.” 

Mmmmkay, If you think any rental car company is going to come get you if you have a problem ANYWHERE, you have more faith in them than me. It’s possible that some companies offer roadside assistance coverage that you can purchase additionally and maybe this portion of the road isn’t included in that. I carry AAA independently (plus my auto insurance and credit card cover this) so I always decline all extra insurance. 

Yes, it would not be fun to break down on the backside of the Road to Hana or have a flat tire, but guess what? It wouldn’t be fun to do that on the front side with all the traffic and narrow winding roads!

Bottom line: Read the actual fine print of your contract and know YOUR situation with your personal insurance and don’t just go on hearsay. 

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So how bad exactly is the road?

So on to the practicalities of the road itself. The 3-5 miles just past Kipahulu (the National Park, AKA Seven Sacred Pools) are the worst, but it’s not unlike the last few miles leading up to Kipahulu on the other side (past Hana coming into the National Park). There are literally signs posted telling you to honk as you go around the blind corners. It sounds a little more intense than it is. They are indeed blind corners (you can’t see if anyone is coming around the other side), but it’s not actually that scary. 

The road is narrow (a generous one lane road with plenty of spots to pull over and let someone pass) and winding and there are quite a few blind corners, but generally speaking, the road also isn’t very high up in these portions as it is on the front side. When the “drop off” is only 5-10 feet below, it’s nowhere near as intense a feeling as when it’s several hundred feet along the north shore (even though it’s two lanes). 

The road is very comfortable for one car to drive on, the problem comes when you pass another car. You just have to keep your sight lines open and watch for cars coming in the other direction. In any one stretch of the road, there is a spot big enough for your car to pull over so the oncoming car can pass. So when you see a car coming, yield and pull over even if they’re a ways away. It’ll avoid the uncomfortable situation of figuring out how you’re going to squeeze past (or backing up) once you’re on them. 

And if you’re driving clockwise around the island, you will need to yield to them since they’re on the outside lane (which means you have the inside lane and it feels MUCH safer). 

I’ve written a lot here about this and I don’t want it to sound scary, but I also want you to know EXACTLY what you’re signing up for.

I grew up riding ATVs and driving on trails in Colorado (I also drive a Jeep and a 4Runner) so I consider this drive FUN and not at all scary, but I can definitely see how if you’re not a confident driver or you’ve only ever driven in the city it could be stressful. I will say though, that while I have driven this in a Jeep, I’ve also driven it in a sedan and a full size pickup. Four wheel drive is 100% NOT necessary for driving the backside of Hana. 

Here’s my best tip for driving past Hana: Always try to follow a car in front of you. While a lot of the guides/apps say to try to be the first car in a line while driving through the frontside so you don’t have to watch their brake lights too closely while you’re looking around, I think the opposite is true when you’re driving past Hana. Driving in a caravan (even when you don’t know the other people) takes away a LOT of the stress of creeping around blind corners plus the lead car has to sort out all of the passing issues with other cars ; )

Okay, once you pass this portion (the first 3-5 miles past Kipahulu), the road clears up nicely into a wide open terrain. It’s mostly paved, but there are some portions that are gravel or a roughly graded cement. I will say, the paved road is still pretty narrow and even though there’s no drop off on either side, if you see a local (anyone really) coming to meet you, pull over as far as you can and stop where there’s a good place because they will come BLAZING through.

What is the terrain on the backside of Hana?

The backside road is VERY different from the front road and definitely worth experiencing. If the front side is lush and jungle-like, the backside is dry and desert-like (once you get past Kipahulu). While the frontside is super windy and you’re in and out of jungles, the backside is flat, wide open, and you can see for MILES. It has an arid quality. If you couldn’t look out and see the ocean, you’d probably think you were in parts of Texas or another western state. 

Where to Stop along the Backside of Road to Hana

Once you leave the National Park, there’s not really a ton of places I recommend to stop. There are some spots that are popular with locals for camping and fishing, but I think those are best left unexplored by visitors unless you’re taken there as a guest. 

The next and last stop until you get to Ulupalakua (Maui Wine and the Ranch Store) is the Kaupo Store. It’s the quintessential Hawaiian mom and pop shop and it’s a great place to grab a cold drink and use the restroom. If they’re open ; ) I’ll note here that the National Park does NOT have water or snacks for sale so since the Kaupo Store is undependable, make sure you have everything you need once you leave Hana.

The Final Verdict

I say if you’re brave enough to get to Hana and Kipahulu, you might as well go the whole way around! It’s a completely different adventure than driving the front side. Also, once you’re at the National Park, it’s quicker to drive the back way instead of backtracking through Hana and around with all the traffic. Once you leave the National Park, it’s less than an hour and a half drive to Kula (back to civilization). I personally don’t like to be on the road after dark at all, but once I make it to Kula (really even Ulupalakau), it’s fine driving back in the dark. 

And to finish with my most solid argument…if a big tour bus can drive the backroad to Hana, so can you ; )

ALL OF THIS BEING SAID…if this makes you nervous, if you’re not an easy driver, if you’re not used to trail driving or driving outside of a city, if you have an overwhelming fear of heights or significant anxiety, if your rental car agreement expressly forbids it, or if you question the safety for ANY reason, it’s always best not to go!

P.S. One of the reasons I’m able to travel to Hawaii so often is by using credit card points. And right now my go to travel card has a GREAT limited time sign up offer.

If you sign up for this Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll get 100K bonus points to use on travel. 

These are my favorite kind of travel points because they’re so flexible. You could…

Transfer them to Southwest or United to book round trip tickets to Hawaii.

Transfer them to Hyatt to book a stay at the Andaz Maui (such a great luxury resort!)

Transfer them to Marriott for a stay at one of my favorites like the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Royal Hawaiian, or Ritz Carlton Turtle Bay. 

Or book a hotel through the Chase travel portal with a cash value of $1250. 
The 100K bonus point offer is just for a limited time, so if you’re looking for the best travel card, sign up >> here.

P.P.S. Here’s one more really important thing you need to know before your Hawaii trip…

You’ve got your airfare, hotel, rental car and your big activities booked, so you should be good to go, right? Wrong!

Travel is BOOMING in Hawaii and a lot of state and national parks have instituted reservation systems at some of the island’s most popular spots to help manage the crowds and make things a little more sustainable. 

That means that there are now over half a dozen sites (beaches, trailheads, etc.) that require advance reservations. And some sell out well before you arrive on the island so you really need to have some sort of a plan. 

I recently saw somebody in a Hawaii travel group post in a panic that they didn’t know they had to make reservations for things in advance…they thought they could just show up and “go with the flow.” I was tempted to say, well, “as long as the flow doesn’t take you somewhere that requires reservations, you can!” ; )

But I don’t want YOU to be that person, so I’ve pulled together a list of all the places you need to reserve entry in advance (plus all the details on booking windows, price, links, etc.) and a handful of popular tourist hotspots that book out really far in advance too. 
Get that info >> HERE