Pony Express Tours

We booked our tour last minute. Just 2 hours before the ride actually. They still had openings so we decided to go with it. It worked out and we showed up a a little early but our guide was right on time.
Speaking of our guide… he turned out to be a older salty Frenchman who didn’t hold anything back. «Frenchie» would regale us with his life stories, opinions and tell us about his cocktail drinking chihuahua. Oh, and the occasional interesting tidbit about Maui. He assured us he knew them to be true because he had a book at home.
While Frenchie was a little on the slow side getting us all setup he made up for it by making sure we were out and saw the beautiful scenery for the time were were allotted. And what a beautiful scene it was. Imagine a quiet, windswept pastoral view down into central and West Maui. Not bad for an every day view.
The horses were for the most part very well behaved. They all would stop and eat if you let them but it’s a salad bar out there. I’d stop and eat all the time if there were bacon left about my work place. But the important thing is that they knew the trail and were well trained. I never felt in danger. Check out the Pony Express if you’re looking for a calm easy going ride in Maui!

Pony Express is a wonderful business. Our guide, Lara, was so sweet and made us feel completely comfortable. I am a big horse lover, so at the end of our ride she even let us take an extra short ride to the stables to see the rest of the horses. The trail was beautiful, horses are very well trained, and restrooms were immaculate. By far my favorite activity we did on our trip to Maui along with the bamboo forest on the road to Hana!

Great team of people here! Katherine (I think) was very accommodating! If you want a horse ride make sure this is the company you use.

Really liked our ride and guides. Nice folks who gave us lots of upcountry background and stories. The areas we rode in were beautiful even though we were in rainclouds! I’d go back.

Had such a blast here! Our tour guide was Frank he was awesome, funny and perfect guide. I highly recommend this place if you are in Maui. I rode Logan he was such a stud. The views were amazing and beyond beautiful. It’s also the biggest ranch in Maui. If you are going to go horse riding go here you won’t regret it!

Went today on the best horse ride! Beautiful landscapes and Frank our guide was awesome. Many mahalos to you Frank, Big Boy, and Aj! I will be directing people this way for an unforgettable time!

A party of 6 of us went on the Haleakala ranch tour with Ponyexpress. Jonny was our guide who is extremely nice and experienced, and all of us had great deal of fun and the view is truly breathtaking. No words can even come close to describe the beauty we saw and we are the ONLY group there to see it. In fact, it is THE BEST activity we had for our whole trip.
We are a group mixed with first timer and some well experienced rider. Few horse are on the lazy side, but still we managed okay. This was definitely one of the an unforgettable part of our trip. I would recommend this to anyone as you will see the view that you can not hike to with your feet !
The price for the tour is super reasonable ! In fact, given the time we spent on the horse and the view we saw, it think it is really a great deal we got.
If you are going to Maui and plan to go Haleakala, instead of hike, I would really strongly recommend you to go to this tour after seeing the breathtaking sunrise !

My family of four went on the Pony Express Tour’s Mauka Ranch Horseback Ride Tuesday, March 25^th. Johnny was our guide and he was great, very patient and informative of ranch history and the area. There were eight total in the ride excluding Johnny. My family took the rear and I was assigned the last spot in the ride. As you would expect each horse has its’ own personality and with many first time riders some horses took advantage of riders who did not take control. Since I took up the rear, waiting for others to get their horse walking again was the norm and so I missed out on some of the narration but in exchange it was entertaining to watch others try to manage their animals. As we got more into the ride the horses settled in and we enjoyed a relaxing and very scenic tour.
We began at the edge of a eucalyptus forest on a trail that had numerous surface roots, rock and mud but our surefooted steeds navigated the path well. While riding in the forest I heard what sounded like a prehistoric bird squawk but I never caught a glimpse of it. At the midway point, on the slopes of the up country, we observed both Maalaea Bay to the West, Kahului Bay to the East with West Maui in between. It was a nice clear day and for moments I wish I was a Hawaiian cowboy overseeing a herd of cattle. I could have easily enjoy a five hour trip or make a day of it for that matter. Johnny had us pose for pictures using our own cameras and then we leisurely strolled back to base.
All in all we had a very nice experience and observed some terrific views. I would not hesitate to recommend this tour to anyone.

We did the crater ride on Dec. 18 with Johnny. Great guide, great group, great weather, great ride! We’ve gone horseback riding twice on Maui. Both were good experiences, but Pony Express was our favourite. Very professional, well-​organized, not cheap but good value considering it was a full half-​day of riding down and back up. A really novel experience to be in the crater. I highly recommend it. PS DRESS WARM!

On a recent trip to Maui, my husband and I booked Pony Express to take us down on horseback into the Haleakala crater. I had never been on a horse before (unless you count numerous carousel horses), and am generally uncomfortable when I am not solidly on the ground (i.e. roller coasters and flying), but I decided to suck it up and agreed to go on the trail ride. I am so glad I did, it was an incredible experience. The views from the crater are unlike anything I have ever seen, and although I was expecting to be afraid of the steep slope, I was too wowed by the view to be nervous. The horses are walking downhill for the first few hours, and you have to steady yourself in the saddle. I got used to it pretty quick, but I also feel that being in reasonably good physical shape went a long way in making me comfortable on the horse.
The staff at Pony Express were quick to answer emails when we were concerned that the national park closures might affect our ride (they re-​opened in time), and very friendly at check-​in. We were provided email instructions to the ranch at the base of Haleakala and had no problems following them. Our trail guide (Bruce) was excellent. He warned me ahead of time that my horse got a little lazy and would stop, and when she decided to just stop in the middle of the trail at the beginning of the ride, he quickly rode back and helped me out. I actually ended up doing the whole ride with him leading my horse when I told him it made me a lot more comfortable, and it was great. He answered questions I had about the area, and was wonderful to talk to, but allowed enough silence that I could take it all in.
Lunch was provided (and very delicious, they even made a special sandwich for my husband without mayo), and we also stopped at the bottom of the crater for a rest. There aren’t any bathrooms along the trail, but there is a large bush at the bottom of the crater that most of our group used for cover as a bathroom. Our whole ride took about 5.5 hours, and the guide said the length varies depending on the group. Take water, and don’t forget to put sunscreen on the backs of your hands — I got a wicked burn from holding the reins on the way up. The trail ride was really special, and totally worth any fear or uneasiness I had going into it.

The horseback riding tour provided by Pony Express was my best horseback riding experiences ever! We did the 2 hour ranch tour at 8:30 am immediately following the sunrise viewing at Haleakala. This was the most convenient since the ranch is located on the way back down the dormant volcano. The owners are very kind! We requested a white horse and we got a white horse. The ranch tour is beautiful! We were beginner riders and the trail was easy and very relaxing. We have beautiful pictures with memories that will last a lifetime. Thank you Pony Express!

I have one word to describe this place: RUDE!
Please read the below response COPIED from an e-​mail I received from the owner herself:
«I am the owner of Pony Express along with my husband Doug and we have been doing this for 32 years.
I took the reservation from Kyle and briefed him on the directions to get to the ranch. I re-​emphacized
two times not to use the GPS system to get there as they have been mistakenly sending people to
the national park, instead of to the ranch. So I reviewed the directions, mentioning that he should get
a map and follow the road directions I gave him manually; he also received those road directions on
the confirmation email that was sent, which specifically outlined driving 2.5 miles up hwy 378 and we
are on the left next to the zipline.
So somehow you did not follow the instructions and you missed the ride. We graciously allowed you
to go on the next ride even though you had all the instructions. Wow… and now you are asking for
the $ 11.24 difference owed in the rides.
So I have issued the credit for you and advise you next time to listen to the instructions given to
you both over the phone and in the confirmation email. Thank goodness 99.9% of the people
follow instructions correctly.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Smith
Pony Express»
I believe the above note explains it all. The ride itself was OKAY at best. The views and horses are well maintained and easy to ride. The guide however was too chatty and didn’t pay attention to the needs of her riders. Since there are many other places to ride in Maui, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.

Our guide Laura took us on a most enjoyable ride which revealed views of both north and south Maui. We went through trees and into grassy grazing land. I recommend Pony Express for horseback riding. It is adjacent to Skyline EcoAdventures (zip lines!) and Maui Lavender, a trio of red buildings on Crater Road.

No description is honestly going to prepare you for how magnificent the Sliding Sands tour is. The terrain is other worldly, like something out of Lord of the Rings. I hadn’t been on a horse in maybe twenty years and it was even longer for the mister. This didn’t seem to be a problem as our guide was experienced and the horses even more so.
It was a truly different side of Maui from the beaches and the Road to Hana. This was an unforgettable part of our trip. I would recommend this to anyone. Bring a camera!

I read about Pony Express Tours in the guidebook, Maui Revealed. After doing some research, I booked the tour for our visit in December and was not disappointed. It is expensive, but it was really worth the cost. Our guide, Doug, was very knowledgeable and would stop and give us information. The beauty of the crater was magnificent. Riding the horse was fine. These horses have been on the trail so many times that they are on auto pilot. Lunch is provided and was great. It was a huge lunch-​croissant sandwiches, Maui style chips, pineapple fruit cup, cookies, and juice.

We took the crater tour on a windy day. The view was fantastic. The guide was friendly and helpful. Our horses were cute and well maintained. The tour is a bit pricy but it worths every penny.
Cons: paperwork was done at 8:30am in a ranch office at the hill foot — then you drive to the summit for the tour. So if you want to see the sunrise on the same day (like we did), you will have to drive to the summit twice in one day.
But anyways, it is a must-​do in Maui. I would highly recommend.

The views were amazing, and we would have never been able to hike down into the cater by foot. However, the guide was the WORST I have ever experienced in any activity or tour. He was sarcastic, and reprimanded anyone who had difficulties with their horse. He was very rude to my 11 year old when her horse passed the horse in front of her who was stopped and refused to move. He told her that if it happened again that she’d have to dismount and walk! Keep in mind this was her 2^nd time riding a horse, and she was by no means an «experienced» rider. Another rider had altitude sickness on the way up and had to get off the horse and couldn’t get back on. He never got down from his horse to help her, and told her that if she couldn’t get on her horse by herself she’d have to walk.
We took a lot of pictures, but couldn’t wait to get away from him. He seemed to hate his job and dealing with tourists that don’t know how to ride. It was very unfortunate that he really spoiled our family trip down the crater.
Pony Express is the only company that has rights to go down the crater, so I think they have forgotten about customer service. It wasn’t cheap, and I expect at least moderate level of customer service, but I never expected to be reprimanded and insulted.

Why 4 stars and not 5? This is a review of the Pony Express Tours as a whole. On the way up the 10,000 ft, you have to go to the check-​in point to sign papers, etc. The guy gave my husband and I water (which is good because you should be hydrated) but we shouldn’t have consumed as much as he recommended because by the time we reached the top, I went to the restroom probably about 5 times before we even got on the horses. AAAAND I had to use the bathroom for most of the 2 hrs down the crater. I definitely would never take back the experience, but OUCH – that was a painful experience.
Thankfully the view, the experience and the memories trumped what happened with me potentially having a UTI. Both my husband and myself were able to relieve ourselves at our lunch stop in the middle of the crater (and we did NOT have water with our lunch). When we made the 2 hr ride back up the crater, we were able to fully enjoy our surroundings. Sometimes it was tricky trying to take pictures and hold the reigns especially if the horse was going up or going down a steep area but I didn’t mind.
It was a first-​time for both my husband and myself in regards to riding horses – it all went well. The horses were very well trained. My husband got «Bubba» and I got «Lucy». Those horses deserve so much pampering – they do a lot of work going up and down the crater.
I have a little fear of heights, but I was completely fine. I think I just really trusted my horse and I was too amazed by the views.
It’s a bit pricey, but I’m so happy we can look back and say we did this.

Having looked at pictures of Haleakala Crater Floor, I always wanted to see it in person. I put it on my bucket list and everything. So given the chance on this trip to Maui I booked us on the adventure. BAD ME, I didn’t read the other reviews first and since I am a severe acrophobic I realized quickly on the tour that I was in trouble with a capital T.
This ride is really REALLY scary, especially if you have trouble with heights. I used breathing techniques and avoidance (closed my eyes and prayed) to get past most of the decent. I don’t know what I was thinking, I knew we were going to start at 10,000 feet and decend 2700 feet, did I not realize that meant high spots??? What a dummy. The decent is treacherous about 90% of it is scary as hell, the other 10% is fun. Going up is MUCH MUCH easier and not as scary.
Ok, that was my personal BS that got in the way of one of the most amazing adventures you can ever have. The crater is beautiful, it looks like a lunar landscape. You really feel as if you have traveled far from anything earthly. The horses are very well trained and did not ad to my anxiety at all; can’t say the same for the idiots on the tour with us. Our guide RA is one of the best guides I have ever had. He is a Park Ranger normally and has worked in Yosemite, Yellowstone etc. He does this on the side.
If you are a thrill seeker, ad this one to your list. It’s worth seeing a landscape that you can’t see anywhere else.
**** Forgot to tell you, they have another ride that isn’t scary. I did that one on a previous trip to Maui. It’s a ranch ride, it’s really fun and the landscape is beautiful. You go through a forest, up green hillsides and can look down most of Maui. They are a top notch horse company and worth working with.

This was one of those vacation changing experiences. There are many things in Maui that will wow you. This is on the top of that list. It is not to be missed.
My advice is to wake up early the day of the ride. We woke up around 4am. Make your way up Haleakala to watch the incredible sunrise. Be sure to bring warm clothes as it is very cold up there. You will have about 1 – 2 hours after the sunrise before the tour starts. Get some rest in the car while you wait. You’ll thank me for it.
The ride down to the crater is about 4 hours. We didn’t think there were any scary parts. Unless you are deathly afraid of heights I think you’ll be fine. Breathe the fresh air and oh yeah I forgot the horses’ fart is sometimes mix with that too. Ra, our guide, had plenty of interesting stories along the way. We even got a chance to gallop along some flat portions of the ride. Made me feel like I was Genghis Khan for a moment there.
Don’t forget to book on their website. They offer a 10% discount.