To be honest, one of the reasons I was dying to visit Maui was to watch the sunrise over Haleakala. It was definitely a bucket list item, and it more than lived up to the hype. It was pretty epic.
Since this was one of my favorite parts of our honeymoon, I felt like it warranted it’s own post. I did a good amount of research to make sure we were fully prepared for our morning adventure, and hopefully this will help ya’ll out if you’re making the trip!
Our morning started bright and early – 2:30 AM! I highly recommend taking advantage of any jet lag and doing this sunrise adventure the first morning of your trip. 2:30 AM really felt like 8:30 east coast, so it wasn’t TOO difficult to roll out of bed. As crazy as it sounds…..
We gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the summit just in case there was any traffic. I’d say if you’re coming from Wailea or South Maui it’s best to leave about two hours for travel time, and at least 30 minutes before the sun actually comes up. The ETA for the sunrise on the day we went was about 5:30, and we arrived a little before 5:00 which was perfect!
The Four Seasons definitely helped us out majorly the morning of our trip. Not only did they have coffee and muffins set out so that we could load up on snacks prior to the drive up, they also packed our jeep with blankets, ginger chews, and water bottles. All proved to be crucial!
Haleakala is over 10,000 feet above sea level, so it was COLD at the top. Trust me on this one, bring a sweatshirt/jacket, scarf, pants, etc. I even underestimated the temperature and was thankful to have our blankets to wrap around us. It was definitely below freezing….
Also to note, there isn’t anywhere to stop once you get to the national park. Make sure to have water and snacks because it really is a long morning. The drive itself was slightly scary, and I was more than happy that Myles was the driver. Picture one lane roads, twisting and turning on the edge of a mountain…in the dark. Once again, ginger chews for the WIN!
I will say though, as nervous as I was I couldn’t get over how beautiful the sky was driving up the mountain. I’ve never seen so many stars in my life….
Unfortunately, we didn’t arrive early enough to park at the top summit. Apparently people get there hours prior to secure a space- how crazy is that? We ended up parking at the visitor’s center and walked about 1/4 mile to a more secluded overlook. Which was perfect.
Also, make sure to reserve a ticket to visit the summit before your trip. I booked ours a few weeks in advance, since they tend to sell out fast. The ticket costs about a dollar or so, but it’s the only way you can enter the park. Without a ticket, you won’t be able to gain access to the park and that would be such a bummer!
The sky starts putting on a show at least thirty minutes prior to the sunrise itself. Dark blue, deep orange, red, and yellow……it was so beautiful. Hard to believe Maui is just below those clouds and the rest of the world was asleep….
As the sun started to peak over the clouds, I think everyone around us was mesmerized. It truly was one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen. We tried to capture a little bit in the video below- can you hear the chanting and the music in the background?
The pictures once again don’t even do the sunrise any justice. It was one of those moments that didn’t even feel like real life. I think it’s safe to say we knew our time in Maui was going to be a good one after this morning….
It was so hard to get back in the car after soaking up our time above the clouds. But nonetheless, we were ready for breakfast and to take on our day!
The trip down from Haleakala was so pretty. Since we drove up in the dark, we had no idea what was around us. Now that it was light, we could see everything and Maui below! I tried to video a little bit of our drive, but I definitely need to practice using the video feature on my DSLR. Still, I think this gives a cool picture of how high up we truly were.
We arrived back at our hotel around 8:00, after making a few stops. I highly recommend adding the sunrise at Haleakala to your bucket list. This was a morning I’ll never forget <3
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