Maui’s Private Guide

My husband, my sister and I were going to Hawaii following her cancer diagnoses. I contacted Bryan and set up the Road to Hana tour from our cruise ship. Pre-​tour communication was great and we met up to begin the day. I can not say enough nice things about our tour. From the beginning to the end it felt as if we were spending the day with a friend. Bryan took us to beautiful places and unique areas we would have never seen on our own. He was so helpful and made sure my sister could experience everything possible (including getting her up and down to a waterfall). I can guarantee we will be seeing Bryan again on our next visit to Maui!

Absolutely loved our tour! I’ve done the crowded bus tour to Hana in the past, and absolutely hated it. This is so much better, and worth every penny. We did a reverse full loop and avoided any traffic. Laura was a wonderful guide and had me doing things I wouldn’t imagine myself doing! (swimming in caves and waterfalls!) I loved it. Highly highly recommend. This is the ONLY way to do the Road to Hana!!!
–Melissa, the «honeybee»

Excellent !!! Laura was our guide, so glad we had her with our 8 year old twin boys. She has traveled the world, she has taught English in different countries and she kept our boys fascinated with all the facts and interesting anecdotes about Maui and all the islands. She swam with the boys and my husband she jumped off the rocks, she was careful with my family, we hiked through a bamboo rain forest very short walk very interesting. She tailored the tour for our family which was excellent. She had a genuine interest in our family. We stopped for the best banana bread I have ever had, aunt sandy’s banana bread, she gave us choices for lunch we went to a food truck Brudda Huts, that was out of this world and then stopped for ice cream on my way back. Enough breaks and stops to make a 10 hour trip wonderful and not tiring or boring, she is a wealth of knowledge and kept us all entertained and informed.
To Brian the owner of the company we would like to hire her as a nanny (jk) the boys keep asking about her, they want to go back on the tour.
I did not compare prices to other tours, this was a little pricey however it was Tailored to our family of four, I cannot imagine sharing a bus with 12 other people and doing what we did definitely worth the money we spent.
Another thing that the owner of the company recommended was that if we did a tour his or any other that we did it early on in the trip because you learn so much about the island and you can apply it to the rest of your vacation. Highly highly recommend this tour with this company.
I will try to post photos later

We took the Road to Hana tour in January 2016 and it ended up being one of our fondest memories from our trip to Maui. Registration is very easy as the owner, Bryan, is very helpful with questions you may have and provides a nice writeup of what to expect on the tour.
Our guide, Laura, was ready to pick us up in the morning and instantly established great rapport with us. The minivan we rode in is spotless and very comfortable. There is a big cooler in the bag to store food and provide plenty of water for the guests. In the beginning of the drive, she outlined the different options we could take for the tour and the pros and cons of each. She also continued giving different options throughout our trip.
Laura gave a fantastic tour as she both described sights along the way and was present minded in veering off topic when the situation arose. One example was when she found and gave us jackfruit and ulu and wrapped that back to how extensive the range of natural foods is on the island. It was a blessing to learn so much about the history and culture of Hawaii on this tour when most other tours would likely just drop you off at a site and limit communication to telling you when to get back to the bus.
You can eat lunch at one of the BBQ stands along the path but a better option may be to buy and pack food. Laura knew a very good spot to picnic and just kick back and enjoy the weather.
As far back as I can remember, this is the best tour I have ever taken. Laura is not only an amazing tour guide but is (more importantly) very warm and personable. We saw her chat up and even help other travelers and tour guides along the way. She also gave great suggestions for the rest of our stay as we wrapped up our tour. She truly embodies the Aloha spirit! On a road that can have some rough weather and conditions, there is no better tour company to lead the way.

We went to Maui on our honeymoon and were prepared to drive the Road to Hana in our rental car… until we started talking to people who had done it (a popular joke is: «the road to Hana is a honeymoon, the road back is a divorce»).
We are so glad we went with the private guide, because you can really enjoy the sights (without endangering anyone’s life) and we learned SO much. As a couple, it was also pretty awesome to have someone who can take photos for you! (Our camera battery died and Bryan kindly supplemented it with his own– which he immediately uploaded to dropbox for us the same day!)
Bryan is not only a wealth of knowledge, but a great storyteller as well. His passion for Hawaiian history was evident (and contagious… I’m currently reading Michener’s «Hawaii» on his recommendation… perfect way to prolong the trip!) He knew every local on the Road to Hana and where to stop. But he also knew each person’s story. If I were bringing my children on vacation it would be a great example to spend a day with Bryan and really show them what Hawaiian culture/​history is about. He should write a book!
Our absolute highlight (as others have mentioned) was the secret cave diving at the State Park. It was definitely a bucket list item (scary at first — but WORTH IT). I learned so much on the drive, I’m still soaking it all in. Yes, it’s pricey but in my opinion, you can’t put a price on knowledge (and feeling like a local when you’re traveling somewhere new). He can take up to six people in a van, so it’s perfect for families or couples traveling together.

One of the best days of our lives! The tour was an absolute blast! From swimming in freshwater pools and black sand beaches to tasting delicious coconut ice cream and the best ribs I’ve ever had, this tour had it all! Laura was an amazing tour guide who is incredibly friendly, funny, informative and just overall awesome! She tailored the trip to EXACTLY what my wife and I were looking for and had some fantastic suggestions for every aspect of the tour. She took us to spots off the beaten path that only a local would know. If you want the insider Road to Hana experience, this is the only way to go! Thank you again Laura for giving us one of the best days and experiences of our lives!

What an easy reservation to make. Our trip was a wonderful day. It was just perfect thanks to Kellen, he was so knowlegable and was attentive to what we wanted to do. It wasn’t a rigid tour; it was tailored to our needs. What a kind soul he is and he made our trip to Hana unforgetable. Ten stars to Kellen!

Pure awesome! Setting up the reservation was the best communication I have ever experienced with Bryan. And the tour itself was awesome.
We had a young child and older people in our group so we couldn’t do all the fun stuff other reviews here have raved about and it was still a great tour and so worth it. We did the whole coast from the south and the guide, Kellen, was great all the way. Our guide also interacted very well with our child, and with the older members of our group. He was very knowledgeable with the area and we all felt very comfortable with him driving the car. The black sand beach and the waterfalls were amazing but Coconut Glenn’s, tree arboretum, and beautiful peaceful south coast drive were equally great.
100% recommend!

Maybe this is happening to you and that’s why you are reading this review.
Husband and I rented a Jeep when we arrived on Maui thinking we were going to drive the Road to Hana. However, after driving what we now refer to as «the bus» for a few days, neither one of us really wanted to commit to driving it 8+ hours around a bunch of windy curves and over one-​lane bridges. So then we decided not to do the Road to Hana. But then we kept hearing how awesome it was — and who knows when we’d be back on Maui — so I decided to see if we could hire someone to do the dirty work of driving and just let us sit back and enjoy the day.
Cue me emailing Bryan about 36 hours before when we wanted to do the drive — this was Tuesday night. Amazingly, he arranged for Kellen to meet us in Kehei at 8:00 am on Thursday morning in a beautiful new van filled with cold waters, towels, and most everything you might need for the Road to Hana — even a first aid kit!
If I wrote out all the things we did, this review would be too long. We did the reverse full loop so we saw so much more of the island. I am not much of a hiker, but I am so glad we let Kellen lead a short hike to what he called the Secret Waterfall — it was so special! Another highlight was jumping off the ledge at Ching’s Pond while we were the only ones there — it was like our own private oasis. We stopped for homemade banana bread and ice pops that were the perfect midday treats! We saw resting sea turtles on the beach — we swam in the Princess Cave — really it was just a fabulous day.
The stops were all perfect for us — and just as important, there weren’t too many of them. We left from Kehei at 8:00 and were back around 5:15. Just as we were getting tired, we got home.
Kellen is full of information and answered all of our questions. He knows his history and the ecology of the island. He seems to know the route by the back of your hand as he is always making suggestions for stuff about to come up on the road.
Anyway, if you are hesitant about spending a little bit more for a private guide — stop thinking about it and just email Bryan! We got to do only the stops we wanted and spend as much time there as you like. You can also do a snack or bathroom stop whenever you need :)
Tip — bring or wear Keens or Teva hiking sandals because walking on the rocks around the swimming holes would otherwise be brutal on your feel. You can wear flip flops for the other stops if you want (I did!)

NICK IS HANDS DOWN THE BEST PRIVATE GUIDE IN ALL OF MAUI!!! So my husband and I were on our belated honeymoon in Maui. When our Lanai snorkel tour got cancelled we were debating if we should just drive to Hana ourselves. After much thought we decided we needed a private guide so we could really enjoy the trip and get to really see Hana. We are super glad we did! We booked our tour and Nick was super punctual and even arrived super early to get a refresher on some HANA facts that he wanted to share with us during our trip. He was super friendly and professional. He shared life stories and provided us with interesting facts during the entire trip! It was so cool to learn abut Hana and he was very informative, patient and made us feel super safe. He took us to most the areas we wanted to see but also let us know that some areas were private property or not safe to go because we might slip. It was a bummer but he took us to the best spots anyways so it didn’t really bother us much. We stopped for banana bread, ice cream, brittle candy, and the most delicious backyard barbecue ever! If we ever go back and Nick is still available, we would ask to have him as our guide again!

Wow great experience and I cannot recommend enough. Our guide was Laura and she had a great blend of knowledge and enthusiasm. Even my husband, notoriously picky, had a great time. I loved that we were offered many options and were able to spend more or less time where we wanted. Laura gave good advice and her recommendations were spot on! We took the full route around Haleakalea and it was definitely worth the extra drive time. Several of our other tours were with larger groups and I am very glad we did this one with a private guide — worth the extra cost. Only thing is that I wish we had done this earlier during our visit — Laura had so many other good tips that I would have loved to take advantage of!

So glad we utilized Maui’s Private Guide! My husband Jeff and I had done the Road to Hana once before, on our own. Certainly fun, but the driver of the car has to focus mostly on the road, not allowing for a relaxing experience. After reading the great reviews, we decided to give Bryan’s service a try.
Kellen was our guide, as a native of Maui, he provided wonderful commentary and context to the trip. He definitely made the day special, determining our interests so he could plan accordingly. We started with those beautiful Painted Bark Eucalyptus, then proceeded to the Keanae Peninsula, sampling warm Banana Bread from the Keanae Landing Fruit Stand, Ching’s Pond — where Kellen was patient when I worked up my courage to jump from a rock into the icy, refreshing pool, which was our own, for the half hour we spent there!
More driving, brief stops here and there to check out a waterfall or roadside stand. Kellen pointed out vegetation and folklore along the way, he was knowledgeable without being overwhelming and seemed to read our vibe so he could set the proper agenda and pace.
We had a delicious lunch at «Troys at Koki Beach, eating our Coconut Shrimp lunch plate in a Tike style outdoor dining room and also taking in that beaches red sand and lovely rock formation.
Then it was off to Wai anapanapa State Park, where Kellen and Jeff dove in some enormous waves — it was fun to watch them act like kids in the water! We then hiked into the Princess Cave, where Kellen filled us in on the folklore of a Hawaiian princess named Popoalaea, who fled from her cruel husband, the Chief Kakae and hid in the cave with her attending maid. She was killed by her spouse and as the story goes, red shrimp show up, and red markings on the cave symbolize her blood. Spooky but cool to partake — jumping in, sitting on the princess ledge, seeing the cave and swimming into some nooks and crannies with Kellen’s handy water proof flashlight — truly memorable!
We then headed to Coconut Glen’s Ice Cream stand, a magical place, colorful and friendly, complete with a VW van that transported the owner to his destiny woven into the vegetation. Coffee Toffee, Lilokai and Coconut ice creams were sampled — wonderful!
A final stop at Ho’okipa Beach Park, where surfing and windsurfers move around the waves like dancers and we witnessed large sea turtles basking in the sun.
A totally awesome adventure, which will provide lovely memories for years to come!

My husband and I did Road to Hana on our own back in 2009 when we came to Maui for our honeymoon. This time around, we were bringing my mom and my two sisters and I wanted to make sure it was gonna be a fantastic tour. I searched and search and found this small private tour company, booked through Bryan, and had the tour on 9÷11÷15 with Laura. I have to say it was the the best thing we did on Maui this year!
We toured in Brutus, a dodge caravan stocked with ice cold water bottles, beach towels, sunscreen, bugspray, etc. We didn’t need to bring anything except ourselves, and some change of clothes for later. Very comfy. Laura was a great driver! Let me tell you, it is NOT easy to drive those windy roads to Hana. Laura was also very knowledgeable about the Hawaiian history and the significance of different landmarks and the whole ride was like a big story time. Fascinating and very engaging.
The tour was customized to what we wanted to do. My sisters wanted to do more adventurous things so we focused more of our time swimming and playing. We loved stopping by Ching’s pond and jumping off rocks. We also put some shampoo flower nectar in our hair (never would’ve known about these flowers if it wasn’t for Laura!). We drank out of coconuts we picked up on the way that Laura opened up for us. We also went CAVE diving. That was probably the most exciting thing we all ever did. We still talk about it and it’s been 2 weeks since we did this! We jumped into a freshwater cave and swam in pitch dark cave tunnels! It was scary, cold, but so much fun. Laura brought a flashlight and showed us the way. We ate at Braddah huts BBQ (so good!) and we had TWO stops at Coconut Glen’s for ice cream (on the way in and on the way out). YUM.
There are many beautiful beautiful stops on the way to Hana and many of them are hard to find on your own. I highly recommend Bryan or Laura who are experts that will make sure you see all the beautiful things on the Road to Hana!

I would highly recommend choosing Maui Private Guide and Bryan to anyone wishing to make the trek to Hana. We found Bryan’s knowledge of the local history and traditions very helpful in understanding not only the culture but left with a deep appreciation for the people of Maui. Bryan took great care of our entire family. He made special efforts to make sure we were comfortable and took us to areas of special interest to us. This Road to Hana was the highlight of our stay here in Maui. An added bonus, where else could we have found the best coconut ice-​cream and banana bread?! Book with Bryan and you won’t be disappointed! This tour exceeded our expectations!

The only road to Hana tour to book is with Bryan!
Truly a once in a life time experience but we will back next year for sure. Bryan was so knowledgable and easy to relate to our mixed generation group (my calm collected 84 y.o. down to a hyper 7 y. o relatives) an easily accommodate all of us with the just the right amount of comfort and adventure.
Bryan was on time with the Van pristine and even had extra clean towels in case we forgot ours.
We got to swim in secret pools just off the road to Hana with a beautiful waterfall only «locals» would know about and even dive under neath a famous cave where a princess once swam to hide from her captors. My 7 year old niece still gushes about it.
We ate, we laughed, and we discovered more about the culture in that one tour than we did in the 7 days we were there on our own. Thanks for the wonderful memories and be sure to tip your driver!

I booked a Road to Hana tour with Bryan for myself and my husband the first week of May. The reservation process was easy and Bryan is very quick to respond to all emails.
I highly recommend taking this road with a private guide. It is a day geared exactly to what you want to do and they know a lot of places to go swimming and jumping off rocks into pools filled by waterfalls that you would never find on your own. It was worth every penny of the price we paid. We were picked up at 8 am from the hotel and dropped off around 6 pm happy, relaxed and ready for a great evening.
We actually had Laura show us the road as Bryan was called away for an emergency. Laura did all the adventurous stuff we were looking to do. She even took my husband through an underwater cave to a hidden cavern– she brought an underwater flashlight so he could swim towards the light after she went through first.
Laura is a wonderful person and I really enjoyed spending the day with her. She always made sure we were safe… making sure we didn’t bonk our heads while we were watching our feet on steep pathways up or down… jumping in the water first and showing where the rocks were and where the deep water was…
Laura is also really quick to spontaneously take advantage of some new thing that happens along. We passed a guy on the other side of the road with a half dozen huge Macaws and she asked if we were interested. She turned around and it was a great experience! She had never seen this on the road side before. Apparently Bud Clifton takes his birds out here in the morning sometimes and for a $ 20 donation he poses the you with the birds… all highly trained birds who have been in hundreds of TV shows and movies. This was really amazing check out the pictures!
If you are going to Maui, let Laura or Bryan give you a day you will never forget!

My husband and I took the road to Hana Tour with Bryan. We can only agree with all the other reviews… it was a wonderful day and excellent tour. Money well spent for all we saw and learned. We highly recommend you take a day away from the sun and hire Brian for a tour. It is really special. Well worth your time and money.

Definitely as good as it gets! Bryan gave me the best experience on Maui that I could have hoped for. Secret waterfalls, hiking, beaches, upcountry, the road to Hana, and snorkeling were wonderful with Bryan’s expert knowledge and warm personality. I will definitely call Bryan the next time I plan a trip to Maui.

Five big stars for Bryan! He was a great guide with lots of knowledge, enthusiasm and love of Maui. We learned a lot and had a great day. Will book a tour with him again!

My experience with Bryan was something that every customer would value, HONESTY! We went to meet Bryan to go on a hike to Hana from Lahiana. The weather was great in Lahiana when we left but the weather was horrible on the road to Hana. Instead of Bryan just taking the money and doing the hike knowing that the weather was horrible, he recommended staying in Lahiana and enjoying the sun. He actually drove out of his way to tell us face to face.
If your looking for someone who is honest and enthusiastic about taking you on a tour of Maui, call Bryan! He is awesome.