This Week's Rental and the Road to Hana

"Mosqvich" (mosqvich) 09/08/2013 at 15:45 • Filed to: Maui, travel, on the road, car rental, chevrolet impala, ford focus, lindbergh, planeopnik

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I travel a lot. That's how these Rental Car pieces start. I'm in Maui on a partially for work and partially for fun trip. When I arrived late a few nights ago I was given a really awful 2010 Ford Focus. It was disgusting and literally had bugs crawling all over the inside. Thankfully Dollar replaced it with a 2013 Chevrolet Impala. It's a black 9th gen Impala and while it's what my wife calls "a grandpa car," I've had far worse.

The Impala drives fairly well and the engine is surprisingly powerful. It is dated and I doubt the new Impala will hit the rental fleet right away. It rides smoothly of course and it's actually not terribly bouncy for a current land yacht. However, the seats became increasingly uncomfortable during the 10 hour ride in as we weaved through the curvy 52 miles of the Hana Highway both ways.

The drive is magnificent. This is my fourth trip to Maui in the last 12 months and somehow I've not been able to make the trek, but I'm glad we did this time. It is worth every bit of pain we suffered at the hands of Chevrolet's interior engineers.

This is not a fast drive. There's no hooning on Highway 360. A mistake could cost you your life. No joke. We actually saw a rental car in a ravine with markings on it saying "Abandoned". I couldn't stop to take a picture, but it was sobering. It is a drive of seeing Hawaii's best nature. Waterfalls are everywhere, as one guidebook put it "You'll get waterfall fatigue." It is true, after awhile, you no longer stop, you slow down, admire the waterfall and move on to the next.

The roads are twisty and dotted with 10 MPH one-lane bridges and some stretches of one-lane roads causing some consternation amongst the tourists. At one point we shared a one-lane road with a School Bus. It was a squeaker, but apparently no children were lost in any ravines.

At the end of the Road to Hana, actually past Hana, the intrepid tourist can find the grave of Aviation Pioneer Charles A. Lindbergh. Lucky Lindy wanted to die in a beautiful place in peace as cancer took his life. He found it in Kipahulu, Maui. His grave is placed in a solitary part of a local church's cemetery overlooking the Pacific Ocean. After a life of achievement (including a Medal of Honor), struggles, bad choices (supporting National Socialism for a time), Lindbergh found peace on Maui.

While I would have preferred a much nicer car than an Impala, it provided an acceptable way to see one of America's most beautiful drives, backaches and all.

doodon2whls > Mosqvich 09/08/2013 at 16:37

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B-E-A-Utiful country side there in Maui...

The 2013 Impala ? Not so much - OW, my eyes !

The 2014 Impala is already in the National Rental Car Fleet...

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

desertdog5051 > Mosqvich 09/08/2013 at 16:54

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You lucky dog, you. Get to travel for business and take time for pleasure. So, write off on the trip, or most of it. I assume you are self-employed.

Nice documentaries and your other posts, as well. Look forward to reading them.

Phil Cooley > Mosqvich 09/08/2013 at 16:59

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I recently rented a '13 Malibu with a 2.4L DOHC 4. Around 175 horsepower and got in the low to mid 30s on the highway. If I were looking for a brand new car, it would definitely be near the top of my list.!

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Mosqvich 09/08/2013 at 17:15

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A while back, I was on Hana highway and we were crossing a bridge. Suddenly, some tourists from Japan are slowly rounding the tight turn and scrape the side of their car on the rocks beside them, leaving about three feet in between us. I guess driving on the "wrong" side of the road for one of the first times on such a narrow and treacherous road is pretty challenging, but they were completely unfazed by their encounter with the rocks and just drove off.

Tykehoon > Mosqvich 09/08/2013 at 17:24

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What, no Rainbow Eucalyptus trees?? I did the drive back in 2010 with a good friend of mine and got chastised by him for wanting the "I survived the Road to Hana" t-shirt.

Sn210 > Mosqvich 09/08/2013 at 17:44

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Did the road to Hana last year on my honeymoon. We were in a V6 mustang convertible though. The trip is quite the driving experience; the road is a challenge but the scenery is an incredible reward. Some of the turns you literrally have to honk your horn to let on coming traffic know you're coming around. We got to open the Mustang up a little on a stretch of the cattle road, but most of the time we were only going about 20mph. I remember a local passing the line of tourists on a barely two lane road with a blind corner like it was nothing. Side note: if anyone takes a trip to Kauia, and someone tells you you'll need to rent a wrangler, they're lying. Rent the SS camaro convertible... My only regret from Hawaii

Mosqvich > desertdog5051 09/08/2013 at 18:33

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I work for a scientific research company.

Mosqvich > Tykehoon 09/08/2013 at 18:34

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We saw them. Also beautiful.

lone_liberal > Mosqvich 09/08/2013 at 18:43

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That road is best when you spend the night, or a couple, in Hana so you can get a later start, avoid the day trippers, and take your time and stop along the way. Convertibles are recommended.

Mosqvich > lone_liberal 09/09/2013 at 02:38

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That's what we plan on doing the next time. It's a great little town for sure.

lone_liberal > Mosqvich 09/09/2013 at 12:27

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The hotel can be pricey but it's totally worth it and they're always running specials of one kind or another. The nice thing is that you can spend a good part of the day at the beach(es) and then in the afternoon, when the day trippers are heading back, you can hike down to the pools and have them almost to yourself. The only bad thing is that some of the locals are really hostile toward tourists but they are the minority so it's all good.

Mosqvich > lone_liberal 09/09/2013 at 13:54

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And we always come out in September which is the slowest time of the year and typically the cheapest. Good tip and thanks so much!

cesariojpn > Mosqvich 09/10/2013 at 00:32

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Now you need to go from Kipahulu to Ulapalakua via "the back way." Get some full experience of the "Road to Hana."

Especially to encounter this washout area: