Road to Hana Small Group Tour, 6 to 8 Passengers

What this road to Hana small group tour covers

Eight passengers maximum, unless you book as a group, in an air conditioned 14 seat bus. The company is Hawaiian owned and operated, licensed as PUC 4865-C, and was voted Best Small Group Road to Hana Tour by US News & World Report in 2024. The posted day is 8 to 10 hours, from $282 per adult, rated 4.6 ★ (1092 reviews).

Slow driving is the whole point of the schedule: the operator counts 617 curves and 54 one lane bridges along the coast, which is why the day is blocked out for 8 to 10 hours. Stop lengths vary from 10 minutes at the Hookipa overlook to 45 minutes at Keanae, 45 minutes at Puaa Kaa and a full hour inside Waianapanapa State Park, with swim breaks at the waterfall pools and the black sand beach when conditions allow.

Food comes with the ticket. Continental breakfast is pastries baked on Maui in tropical flavors with fresh Maui fruit; lunch is a hot made-to-order Hawaiian BBQ plate with several plates to choose from, and vegetarian plates need 48 hours notice. Water runs all day, local tropical fruit drinks come with lunch, and there is a selection of Maui potato chips in between.

Read the restrictions before you book: no alcohol on board and no drinking during the tour, no luggage or large bags beyond what fits under a seat, and no wheelchairs, motorized scooters, walkers or crutches. Gratuity is not included.

One more thing worth knowing in advance. The route is meant to go all the way around Haleakala, but at the time of writing the road is closed to commercial vehicles at Alelele Point, so the loop cannot be guaranteed and the bus may turn around after Hana. The National Park Service has also closed access to the pools at Oheo Gulch indefinitely.

What the day looks like, stop by stop

1. Kahului
   After pickup at your accommodation or meeting point, the day starts in Kahului, the island's most populated town and its commercial hub, in the valley between Kahalawai, the West Maui mountains, and Haleakala.
2. Paia
   The route passes through Paia, an old plantation era town on the north shore.
3. Hookipa Beach Park 10 min
   Photo stop at the overlook above Hookipa, a white sand beach with the wind and waves that bring windsurfers here from around the world.
4. Keanae 45 min
   Keanae sits on a peninsula formed by an old lava flow, with Keanae Congregational Church, built in 1860 of lava rock and coral mortar. Honu, Hawaiian sea turtles, sometimes come into view along the shore.
5. Aunty Sandy's Banana Bread Stand 10 min
   Ten minutes at Aunty Sandy's stand in Keanae for hot banana bread straight from the oven, the stand that featured in the Road to Hana episode of Gordon Ramsay's Uncharted.
6. Puaa Kaa State Park 45 min
   Two small waterfalls and pools in the forest, with a swim break here.
7. Hanawi Falls
   Hanawi Falls drops 200 feet into a freshwater pool next to the Hanawi Falls Bridge, completed in 1926.
8. Waianapanapa State Park 60 min
   An hour at Honokalani Beach, the black sand beach in Waianapanapa State Park, where the sand is small smooth lava pebbles below lava cliffs. A small sea arch, sea caves and seaside lava tubes sit right on the beach, reached by an ancient Hawaiian footpath, with green jungle on three sides and blue water at the foot of it. Swimming is possible here.
9. Hana Bay
   Hana Bay, Uakea, is another black sand beach, and local Hana outrigger canoe clubs often practice here.
10. Koki Beach 30 min
    From the Koki Beach overlook you look at Ka Iwi o Pele, the bones of Pele, a red eroding cinder cone, and straight offshore at Alau Island, a seabird sanctuary with a 150 foot summit topped by coconut palms above a small red sand beach. This is a photo stop.
11. Hana town 20 min
    Twenty minutes at Tropical Flowers of Maui in Hana to rest, use the restrooms and do a little shopping before the road again.
12. Hana: whether the loop happens
    The tour goes all the way around when the road is open. At the time of writing the road is closed to commercial vehicles at Alelele Point, so if it is still closed on your date the bus turns around after Hana. You still get the black sand beach and the waterfalls, including the swim breaks; what drops out is Lindbergh's grave, the bridge over the Pools of Oheo, which is permanently closed, and the photo stop across from Wailua Falls. There is no hike to the falls on this tour.
13. Oheo Gulch, currently closed by the National Park Service
    Oheo Gulch, often called the Seven Sacred Pools, sits in the Kipahulu area of Haleakala National Park and in fact holds closer to twenty four pools. A one mile loop trail runs down to the pools and the ocean and back up to the parking area. The National Park Service has closed access to the pools indefinitely, so this stop depends on that closure as well as weather, safety and timing.
14. Kipahulu 5 min
    Photo stops in Kipahulu for rainforest, waterfalls, pools, mountain valleys and ocean views.
15. Wailua Falls 15 min
    Wailua Falls is an 80 foot cascade into a plunge pool and the most photographed waterfall on Maui. Fifteen minutes for photos.
16. Kaupo 5 min
    The Kaupo district is rough coastline and unpaved road, with short photo stops along the way.
17. Kula 10 min
    Restroom stop in Kula, the upcountry district on the western slopes of Haleakala between 1,600 and 3,600 feet, with wide views across Maui and the Pacific. The landmark here is the white octagonal Holy Ghost Church, a gift from the king and queen of Portugal to the island's Portuguese plantation workers in 1894 and recently restored.
18. Charles Lindbergh's grave 15 min
    The aviator spent his last days on the Hana coast and lies at Palapala Hoomau Church in Kipahulu; the limestone coral church next to it was built in 1857. It is a working church, so the stop is not possible during a service or when the caretaker is away.
19. Back to Kahului
    The day ends back in Kahului after the circle around Haleakala, with drop off at your hotel, condo or meeting location.
20. Stops depend on conditions
    All stops are subject to weather, safety, timing and unexpected closures. The road is currently closed to commercial vehicles at Alelele Point, so the bus returns in the direction it came from.
21. Makawao
    Makawao, on the rural northwest slope of Haleakala, is the hub of upcountry Maui, an area of farms and ranch land, and an old paniolo town. A paniolo is a Hawaiian cowboy.
22. Saint Joseph Church
    St. Joseph Catholic Church is one of the oldest churches on Maui, established in 1862 by missionary Catholic priests for a community of Native Hawaiians, ranchers, fishermen and farmers.

What is included

Meeting point and pickup

• Meeting point: give your hotel, condo or vacation rental as the pickup and drop off location. Maui County statutes do not allow pickups in residential neighborhoods, so the operator will arrange a convenient meeting point with you. Kahului is standard for guests staying Upcountry or east of Kahului.
• Pickup is available from all hotels and most condos. If your accommodation is not on the list, enter its name or address when you book.
• Vacation rentals, bed and breakfasts, private residences and addresses east of Kahului may need a meeting point instead of a door pickup.
• Pickup times run from 6:50 a.m. at the earliest to 8:10 a.m. at the latest. The operator messages you to confirm the time and the place.
• Keep your phone on and with you so the driver can call, and be ready on time: the driver cannot wait longer than 15 minutes.
• Ages: infant 0–2, child 3–7, youth 8–14, adult 15+, senior 65+

Other small group Road to Hana tours compared

This page is the smallest passenger count among the tours on this site, 8 guests maximum with hotel pickup, from $282. The Adventure Tour with Pickup & Lunch starts at $210 with 3642 reviews and works for value hunters and cruise passengers; the Luxury Tour at $385 runs 10 hours with individual leather captain's chairs and a choice of lunch at checkout; the Farm to Table Adventure, 9 to 11 hours from $259, includes Waianapanapa State Park admission and a farm to table Hawaiian meal.

Tour details from the operator's listing, checked 22 October 2026. Prices and times can change; the booking page has the current ones.

More ways to plan your visit

Waianapanapa black sand beach

The stops in order along the Hana Highway

Weather and road conditions