Maui Revealed Drive Tour

We already had the guidebook -- Maui Revealed, The Ultimate Guidebook -- so we didn't know how beneficial the driving guide would be. Answer: very beneficial. As we drove around Maui, the author gave a narrative of places where we were. Some of the narratives were just like the book's text, but hearing it while driving was much better than trying to read it and being unable to see what we were driving past. Many of the narratives were punctuated with descriptions and stories that are not in the guidebook. And driving tips were nice, too. For example, as we approached a highway intersection, the author would tell us which way to go -- For example, go straight to go to Kahului and turn right to go to Haleakala. This app is well worth the price.

We had the book 10 years ago during our first trip to Maui and felt like we were on a treasure hunt finding the sights. So, this time we were excited to see the app version and enjoyed having a tour guide everywhere we went. The navigation was on point and added value to our drive around the island. It also helped prioritize stops calling out must sees, places to skip, and places that we might not have been prepared for like a hike or more challenging trail. This was especially helpful since we had our 8 year old with us. The road to Hana there seem to be new no parking signs in the turnoffs that deter sightseers from stopping in places the app says would be a great place to stop. The “secret” spots from our trip 10 years ago are no longer a secret, and that made it difficult to see some things because all the legal parking spots were full. I’m excited so many can experience this beautiful place and what it has to offer, and maybe it was the time of day/year we visited, but we had to skip a few things for these reasons. We also saw police with a tow truck on the route, so they weren’t messing around with parking violators. We tried to stop again after we turned around (we only went half way) to go back but didn’t have any luck. It was still a great trip, but we were bummed that we couldn’t stop everywhere we wanted to.

I was genuinely blown away with how much this app helped my trip to Maui. The geolocation and narration, especially in parts of the island which had no cell service (such as Road to Hana), genuinely made me feel safe and comfortable as Andrew pointed out which stops on the island were worth our time and which weren’t. This saved me a lot of time and logistical planning. There were many times where the app would effectively “predict” what I was thinking (e.g., “You’re probably wondering why the road is so windy here”) and then provide useful information and background. I learned a lot about Maui / Hawaiian culture just having the app on in the background of my car and I will definitely be downloading the other audio apps for other Hawaiian trips in the future!