The Road to Hana gets all the press. But for a drive that is truly white knuckle-inducing, head to the West Maui Mountains on the Kahekili Highway. The road passes numerous photo-worthy stops, including the stunning Olivine Pools and hair-raising cliff drop offs. But it’s the drive itself that will give you the biggest thrills: hairpin turns, no shoulder, gravel top (at times) and a single lane that winds alongside the mountains. At times you’ll have to pull over to accommodate an oncoming motorist…that is, if you can find a postage stamp-sized ledge on which to perch. Otherwise, one of you will have to back up until the road widens. This may be the scariest road you’ll ever drive (note: some car rental companies will not allow you to take their vehicles here–check your policy!).
If you make the trip, be sure to try Maui’s famous banana bread at any of the roadside stands. I highly recommend the idyllic stop at the 10 mile marker, where they’ll slice open a fresh coconut so you can sip its cool water while digging into that warm, homemade banana bread and enjoying the panoramic view.
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Charish Badzinski is an explorer, food-lover and award-winning travel and food writer. When she isn’t working to build her blog: Rollerbag Goddess Rolls the World, she applies her worldview to her small business, providing strategic communications, media relations and writing support to individuals and organizations.
Find Charish on Twitter: @charishb
Rollerbag Goddess Rolls the World by Charish Badzinski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at rollerbaggoddess.wordpress.com.
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