Haleakala Tour or Shuttle

May 29, 2023 5:31 PM

I'll be traveling to Maui for the first time this summer. I want to see the sunrise at Haleakala but I'd prefer to go with a tour bus or shuttle. Any recs?

I'll be traveling to Maui for the first time this summer. I want to see the sunrise at Haleakala but (1) I'm nervous about driving mountain roads and (2) I'd prefer to go with a tour bus or shuttle to help reduce the environmental impact. I'll probably be going alone because no one in my family is as excited about this as I am. =) Does anyone have experience with a reputable and/or enjoyable tour service? I'll be staying on the west side of the island.

posted by johnxlibris to Travel & Transportation (2 answers total)

Another reason to have a tour is that if you go by yourself you have to have a reservation. I don't have a rec (having only gone up by rental car, long ago), but if you don't find enough answers here the "visitingHawaii" subreddit is generally supportive and decently moderated.
posted by LadyOscar at 9:12 PM on May 29, 2023

We drove up for sunrise in November and I didn't find the roads particularly daunting even in the pre-dawn dark. As LadyOscar said, the major advantage of taking a tour or shuttle is that you don't have to deal with making a reservation yourself, which has to be done 60 days in advance. Before we decided to take our rental car up we looked at Hawaii Tours as an option. They were well reviewed and it looks very nice, but it's spendy.

Watching the sun rise on Haleakala was one of the highlights of our trip and I'm so glad we got up in the middle of the night and trekked up there. Your family will be missing out if they decide to skip this one.
posted by fancypants at 10:37 AM on May 30, 2023