At the risk of sounding like a nagging mother 😂, wear sunscreen and bring snacks and water (for everyone in your group) in your backpacks on this adventure! Even if you drive through clouds on the way up, don’t worry! Haleakalā is the House of the Sun, and there is a great chance that you will break through the clouds and have a sunny experience before you get to the summit! Once you drive into the park, start out at the Park Headquarters Visitor Center to get the lay of the land, ask the park rangers your questions, use the restroom, and buy your souvenirs. (It closes at 4:00, so you might not have time at the end of your excursion if you wait.) Then, take the drive all the way to the summit overlook to the highest elevation at 10,023 feet. Next, head back down a little to the Haleakalā Visitor Center. (This visitor center was closed for repairs when we were there, but there were restrooms and clean water.) When you get there, take the short hike on the Pā Ka’oao Trail to the overlook and then walk into the valley/crater on the longer Sliding Sands Trail. However long you walk into the crater, plan on it taking twice as long to come back up. You’ll need to be in pretty good shape for the hike back up. Side note: on this adventure, it was the only time we spotted a nēnē (the Hawaiian state bird) and the rare silversword plant. Coming back down Haleakalā is a great opportunity to see an amazing sunset, so plan your time wisely. You might get lucky enough to see the sun set into the clouds and then again into the ocean. The drive (up and down) is not for the faint of heart—there are lots of curves and no guardrails! Consider this as you plan your time if you don’t want to drive down once it is dark. That being said, being here is an otherworldly experience and it makes one wonder, When God created Earth, did He start with Maui?

We have done the Sunrise and yes you eed reservations and they are hard to comeby at times of the year, but no reservations are needed for the Sunset and it is absolutely worth it. To watch the sun go down under the clouds is like you are in space. It is magical, then to see the moon that close when it is so dark, the stars up there are brighter than you'll ever see them. Its worth the drive and braving the COLD (bring WARM clothes just for this, coats hat pants and be prepared to enjoy it) Take the drive up and just plan on staying a while. Nature is amazing when you just let it be.

We did a volcano all day tour with kailani tours with grant Mitchell … This guy knows the island and alot about volcanic activities and much more .. The best guide we have had in all our activities on the big island .. we made slot of great stops at black sand beach with turtles and great Kona joes lunch stop best coffee I ever had 👍. Stopped at steam vents and tube fissures and volcano.. He made the trip so much fun with all the stops and followed up by dinner at kileau village restaurant. Then star gazing at night on last stop !! Ask for grant for your tour you will be glad you did 👍👍👍👍

The crater rim is accessible by car and the crater itself is accessible via many walking paths of different length and difficulty. It's easy to spend a whole day here. The crater looks quite different from different vista points - it's recommended to get as many angles as possible due to the immense natural beauty of the place.

This was my second trip up for the sunrise. It wasn't the same spectacular sunrise I saw 8 years before in December when reservations were not necessary, but still beautiful. It was very difficult to get reservations to travel up this time. 5 days of setting my alarm hoping to get a reservation as only 50 are given out and you must be on at 7 am in order to have a chance at getting a spot.

Very lovely! Dress warmly! Several short trails around top. Be sure to visit the top summit view. Weather is constantly changing. Clear one minute and cloudy the next. 10,000 feet high! Do the lookouts on way down.

Make sure you check the weather before you go. I understood the summit was above the clouds so even if weather isn’t good, you can still see. Unfortunately it was raining for the final 1,000 feet and we could see absolutely nothing when we go there. And it was raining and very cold and windy outside of the car. We stayed 1 minute! Did see the sunset eventually as we came down and stopped at a lower lookout under the clouds.

Very memorable sunrise! Overall it was worth the early rise and long drive in the dark, although my two teenagers didn't really appreciate it much (no surprise there). We checked the weather several times the night before and the morning of departure and were pleased that we had partly cloudy conditions. At the summit you are above the clouds and the sunrise is stunning and unique. It is very cold up there so bring all the warm clothes you have plus the blanket off your bed. While we were a little nervous about driving the road in the dark based on other reviews, we thought it was perfectly fine and weren't nervous at all. It probably just depends on what you're used to.

Stunning. Astonishing. Freakishly beautiful ! We didn’t get sunrise tickets but drove up in the morning and it was utterly clear. Clouds rolled in rapidly but the crater was sunny so we walked 3 hours on shifting sands trail. A must do to get down into the crater. The colors, the light, the landscape : all gorgeous. Wear a down sweater or a fleece and a good warm hat. Take a lot of picnic food and at least 2 liters of water. Find a place to enjoy it in the utter peace and solitude of the crater. Every overlook was lovely as well. The rangers were friendly and amazing and told us to go to Hosmers grove trail loop. Short hike WELL worth it. Shady gorgeous trees and hundred of birds. We saw three endangered birds at the overlook. Many many of them: bright red and just fantastic! The drive wasn’t bad for us but we live in the mountains. It was very densely cloudy on the way down and the driver had to “ focus”.

The sunrise is a sight to see! Book tickets early as sunrise tickets are by reservation only and there’s a limited number. The drive up to the top of the crater is beautiful - it’ll be dark obviously on the way up if you watch the sunrise, but just drive slowly. After watching the sun come up, would recommend the Halemau’u Overlook Trail for some great sights of the crater. We packed a light breakfast, coffee, and snacks so that we didn’t feel rushed to leave the park to go eat. Would recommend!