Carsick teen/road to Hana

[calgal]

Similar to Heathpack, we are arriving at Maui 3 nights, 2 days before our timeshare check in next spring break. It would be the perfect time to take the road to Hana and stay overnight there. However, one of my sons (14) gets carsick very easily. How bad is the road for motion sick individuals? My H says we can drug him with scopolamine, but I do not want him to be miserable.
An alternative would be to just drive the first 11 miles or so and then come back, or to skip the road to Hana altogether. Anyone have experience with motion sickness on this road?

 

[DeniseM]

This road would be terrible for someone who has motion sickness - it has 620 curves - pure torture. I would not want to experiment with medication for the first time. If you haven't had good success in the past, I wouldn't do it.

I'm not sure what you mean by just drive the first 11 miles?

 

[calgal]

Someone somewhere said that the prettiest waterfall was just past the mile 10 marker, so I thought we could go that far, see the waterfall, and then retreat. I didn't really verify that, though.

 

[klpca]

Two of my three get carsick. They hate this road. A lot. They have done it twice (the first time they didn't know how bad it would be and the second time they thought it wouldn't be so bad now that they were older, lol) and both say never again. I don't know what to tell you. I feel pretty sorry for the folks on this road who get carsick. It has to be miserable.

 

[DeniseM]

Someone somewhere said that the prettiest waterfall was just past the mile 10 marker, so I thought we could go that far, see the waterfall, and then retreat. I didn't really verify that, though.

11 miles on this road may be too long for someone with motion sickness, because traffic only moves at about 30 miles an hour. You could try it and turn back at the first sign of trouble.

 

[buzglyd]

Half a Dramamine would do the trick although he will probably fall asleep.

 

[lizap]

If your family has never driven to Hana, this would be my choice.

Half a Dramamine would do the trick although he will probably fall asleep.

 

[EileenL]

Give him enough money for multiple movies and send him to the theater - go to the resort and ask if there is a babysit service or activity area for him

 

[csxjohn]

Half a Dramamine would do the trick although he will probably fall asleep.

+1

I first got motion sickness over 60 years ago. Once I discovered Dramamine I have not been affected. I can now go on boats, carnival and Disney rides, and on the worst roads with no ill effects. I used it for boating for years when it hit me that I could use it for amusement parks.

I tested it out on a scrambler, one of the worst and I did not get ill.

They make a non drowsy formula. Give it a try between now and your trip. I'll never pass anything up again for fear of motion sickness.

 

[Chrispee]

My niece gets carsick, and she had great difficulty with the road to hana in a minivan. We switched her to the front seat of our convertible mustang and the problem was solved. Have you tried your son out with fresh air open top driving?

 

[Passepartout]

There is NO sick like motion sick. Spare him the misery. Pass on Hana. The road has been improved, but not straightened. Just de-potholed. If you 'just go the first 11 miles', then turn back, that's 22 miles of avoidable misery. You and the non-carsick family members go to Hana another day.

 

[lizap]

If you have never made this drive, no way would I not try. Try the first 11 miles in the front seat and with dramamine and after the first 11 miles, if he is still having trouble, you can turn around.

There is NO sick like motion sick. Spare him the misery. Pass on Hana. The road has been improved, but not straightened. Just de-potholed. If you 'just go the first 11 miles', then turn back, that's 22 miles of avoidable misery. You and the non-carsick family members go to Hana another day.

 

[falmouth3]

A couple of suggestions, but maybe try them out before Hana. I use wristlets with little pressure point knobs on them. They work great for me on planes, not so well on boats. I used to get sick on nearly every flight and I don't now that I use the wristlets. You can buy them in the drug store in the area where they sell Dramanine.

Try having your son sit in the front passenger seat instead of in the rear seat. That seems to help a lot of people.

Good luck!

 

[keepgoing]

Try a combination of attack and take the Hana Hwy

Myself is a serious motion sickness person. I can't eat in any flight that stay in the sky for more than 3 hours, I can't eat in the Train ride (with flat bed) from Virginia to Florida (those car train), all because if I eat, I would give them out from the same path where it came from. I thought I don't have motion sickness in car, until one day I was sitting in the back of the car, I know I have motion sickness in car too.

So I use Dramamine in plane, in boat (fishing boat or cruise) and in rail. And it works pretty good, not that you won't feel you are sick, but won't be sick enough to throw up. And I was able to not feel so miserable.

I would suggest to try all the suggestion combined. Sit in the front, if it is convertible, even better. Take Dramamine before the trip. And enjoy Hana Hwy. You just can't let motion sickness win all the time. It's time to take back control.

PS, But I still avoid all trip to Asia if possible. Dramamine is not strong enough to combat the horrible smell of the food and seat from the airplane.

 

[Luanne]

Years ago when I was a kid my parents took my sister and I on vacation and they decided to drive Route 1, along the California coast. I had tendencies towards motion sickness, so what I would usually do was fall asleep. My mom was so irritated with both my sister and I as we both fell asleep on the drive. Her comment was "We did that drive for the two of you." So, who are you doing the drive to Hana for? Yourself, or your kid?

 

[csxjohn]

Years ago when I was a kid my parents took my sister and I on vacation and they decided to drive Route 1, along the California coast. I had tendencies towards motion sickness, so what I would usually do was fall asleep. My mom was so irritated with both my sister and I as we both fell asleep on the drive. Her comment was "We did that drive for the two of you." So, who are you doing the drive to Hana for? Yourself, or your kid?

Closing your eyes is actually one of the best ways to combat motion sickness.

It was explained to me years ago that when I'm in a boat that is anchored and going up and down with the wave and I go below or just look down, the motion sensors in my body send conflicting info the my brain and sickness is the reaction.

What happens is my inner ear senses that I'm moving, my eyes tell me that I'm not. This makes perfect sense to me because I have many times gone below and just closed my eyes, sometimes falling asleep.

Once my eyes are closed I can still feel the boat moving but no longer feel ill.

I did this on the ferry back and forth to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas with great success. At the time I was using bonine instead of dramamine and it was OK for a calmer ocean, it did not work on the ferry.

 

[lizap]

Also laying down. We were on a cruise once between Chile and Cape Horn in very rough waters- passengers were instructed to return to their cabins and lay down if they were experiencing motion sickness.

Closing your eyes is actually one of the best ways to combat motion sickness.

It was explained to me years ago that when I'm in a boat that is anchored and going up and down with the wave and I go below or just look down, the motion sensors in my body send conflicting info the my brain and sickness is the reaction.

What happens is my inner ear senses that I'm moving, my eyes tell me that I'm not. This makes perfect sense to me because I have many times gone below and just closed my eyes, sometimes falling asleep.

Once my eyes are closed I can still feel the boat moving but no longer feel ill.

I did this on the ferry back and forth to Ft. Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas with great success. At the time I was using bonine instead of dramamine and it was OK for a calmer ocean, it did not work on the ferry.

 

[redslp]

Dramamine

The 1/2 of a Dramamine worked for my 11 and 13 year olds on the Road to Hana. They tend to get motion sicknesses on winding roads but the Dramamine coupled with leaving early so we could drive at a slow pace and pull over frequently seemed to help.

If curves at any speed bother your teen, you may want to skip the Road to Hana. Good Luck and let us know how it works out!

 

[calgal]

Thank you all for your responses. Our trip is not until next March, so I will have enough time to try out meds. It would be good if he acquires a technique that allows him to experience motion comfortably. However, this road may be more than he needs to experience. I think I'll move towards plan B, which is a couple of nights in Wailea/Makena (since our timeshare is up in Kahana).

 

[Mauiwmn]

Another option-Bonine

My pediatrician recommended Bonine for motion sickness before we went on a cruise years ago. Our entire family used it and it worked well. It doesn't cause the sleepy side effect like Dramamine. Another plus is that it is chewable and you only need 1 tablet a day.

I continue to use it myself as I suffer from horrible motion sickness in a car, boat and plane.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[DeniseM]

I use Bonine too, and this is the best method:

At bedtime, the night before, take one dose.

Stay hydrated - avoid alcohol (not an issue with a child, but for others.)

In the morning eat a light breakfast, with Carbs, but avoid fatty and spicy foods.

Take another dose about 1 hour before you get in the car.

This works really well for me, even on rough boat trips.

 

[ww1aerofan]

I would stay away from Hana

Our little girl was in misery on our trip to Hana!


It is also unpleasant to have the smell of vomit in your rental
car for the remainder of your stay in lovely Hawaii. That is
one order that does not go away easily!

 

[loosefeet]

A teen is already miserable being in a car with the family-and motion sick on top? As a Mom of 3 teens, I have to agree to letting him sit out. There is not much for him. I have done the trip w/ my family a couple of times, no real reason to go. Pretty, my yes. But many cars, no good food, not much in Hana etc. the best time I had was young w/ my spouse (then boyfriend) and we jumped in all the waterfalls we could.

 

[BocaBoy]

11 miles on this road may be too long for someone with motion sickness, because traffic only moves at about 30 miles an hour. You could try it and turn back at the first sign of trouble.

The first 11 miles are not the pretty part. Going only 11 miles would not give you much "Road to Hana" flavor.

 

[sfwilshire]

I get serious motion sickness, but I don't recall having any problem riding in the front seat on the Road to Hana. There is much stopping and starting as you meet other cars and we stopped often to take pictures. You don't really go fast enough to generate a lot of motion.

It has been a few years, so maybe I just don't remember, but we'll be there again in a week or so. I'll try to remember to report back.

Sheila