Hawaii | Maui | United States
Get up very early to drive to the top of Haleakalā and see the sunrise and take in the gorgeous views, drive up a little later in the day for just the views, or come at night for stargazing. There are also a number of hikes you can do from the crater area.
We suggest a Haleakela excursion on day two because, if you’re coming from the east, it’ll be easier to get up earlier in the beginning of your trip before you’ve fully acclimated to the time zone change. We think Haleakalā is worth a visit even if not at dawn, and, frankly, we’ve haven’t been overwhelmingly impressed with the hoopla around sunrise. The key to an awesome sunrise experience is for there to be clouds and have the sun rise above the clouds but below you on the summit. If there aren’t any clouds, it’s probably not worth the bother of going at sunrise. If you do decide to do sunrise a few caveats: 1) you need reservations. It became so crowded up there the park service now requires them. You can get them online (Haleakalā reservations) 2) Leave early – it’s an almost 2 hour drive from Napili. You will want to be there a half hour before dawn if trying to get to sunrise and there will be traffic. 3) Dress warmly – likely it will be near freezing at dawn. Many tour operators will take you up the winding road if you’d rather be driven (1h 52m drive from Napili).
If you opt for a more civilized departure time, still go early. By afternoon the mountain is usually cloudy. There are some short walks around the top, but if you have more energy take the sliding sand trail down into the crater (just remember you have to come back up). If you can arrange a shuttle there’s a great 11-mile walk from the top into and across the bottom of the crater then back up to to the Halemau’u Trail trailhead that really allows you to explore this other-worldly crater environment. You could leave your car at this Halemau’u Trail trailhead and try to hitch a ride to the summit. If you do this trip allow all day (or a 2-3+ hours for a trail run). You can also find amazing stargazing at night (they built a big observatory you’ll see on the summit because it is so good for looking at stars).