Although I'm not a morning person at all, this is one of the activities that I'm most excited about - watching the sunrise from almost 10,000 feet (or 3,055 metres for those of us on the metric system!) above sea level.

 

A few tips to consider when adding this to your itinerary:

• If you're planning on driving up in a rental car and want to watch the sunrise you will need to reserve a spot to enter the Summit District between 3am - 7am. The one-day $1.50 sunrise reservation can be made up to 60 days in advance. This is in addition to the park entrance fee which is payable on the day.

Link for reservation: https://www.nps.gov/hale/index.htm

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• Come early - it can take up to two hours to drive the Haleakala Highway (HI 37) and then up the winding Haleakala Crater Road leading to the summit. Try to arrive at the Haleakala Visitor Centre no later than 30mins before the sun rises - according to Google this will probably be between 6am - 6.30am

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• It will be cold!!! Temperatures can often drop to around 3 C (40 F) Remember to bring warm layers, shoes and blankets.

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• BYO food and drinks - the visitors centre won't be open

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• It's not just the sunrise that's amazing. Apparently if you stick around for a little bit afterwards the views will be spectacular!