Maui Vacation Packages

LLTMF asked:


I’m going to Maui for the Halloween party in Lahaina. I’ve never been to Molokai or Lanai. Which Island would be best for a day trip on the ferry?

2 Responses to “Traveling to Molokai and Lanai?”

1. marge p Says:
   June 26th, 2009 at 4:17 am

   I would suggest Lanai. Molokai has no beaches, and not much to see.

2. Beckee Says:
   June 28th, 2009 at 5:11 am

   I lived on Molokai for four years, and used to travel to Lanai about twice a month for business.

   The trip to Lanai is smoother, shorter and cheaper. You should have a good view from any seat, as the ferry is built for tourists and enclosed in glass. It lands at Manele Bay, where there’s a Four Seasons and a few things to do. You have an opportunity as soon as it lands to take a bus to the one town to rent a car, shop, eat in one of several restaurants, or play golf.

   Lanai is a company town. The company used to grow pineapple, now it exists for tourists. Just over half the population is Filipino in ethnicity, and many of them were born in the Philippines. What always strikes me about Lanai is that it is very neat, and very…corporate. It is the kind of place where Nike buys shoes and uniforms for the sports team at the local school (yes, there’s only one school) because they had their corporate retreat at the Four Seasons this past year. Bill Gates rented every hotel room at both hotels and bought every plane ticket when he got married.

   The ferry to Molokai is more expensive. You have the option to stay inside with no view, but you can also take your chances with the waves and the diesel soot by staying up top. Sometimes the channel gets very rough. My friend took the ferry in November, and described it as being like “A Perfect Storm”. I took it in 16 foot seas once, but I kept a breeze on my face and my eye on the horizon, and I did not lose my lunch.

   The ferry arrives at the end of a half-mile causeway, about three quarters of a mile from downtown Kauanakakai, the largest town on the island by far. If you make arrangements ahead of time, you can be met by a taxi van or a rental car company.

   There are two grocery stores in town. The lunch wagon called “My Little Grass Shack” serves excellent fish tacos and fried ice cream, and sometimes soul food specials. Molokai Fish and Dive rents and sells equipment and leads snorkeling and various expeditions. Molokai does have some fabulous beaches, but they are not convenient to town. The largest tourist attraction on the island is what was historically called a leper colony.

   Here’s the thing about Molokai. Molokai is not particularly interested in catering to the whims of tourists. You have to take it on its own terms. Molokai does not want to see anything like Kihei or Lahaina pop up on its shores. It wants to preserve Molokai for the people who live there, and for those who remember what Hawaii used to be like.

   The community is tight. About three-quarters of the school kids have some Native Hawaiian ancestry, and many of the residents qualify for Hawaiian Home Land kuleana with more than half Native Hawaiian ancestry. They are proud of being able to live off the land and the sea.

   They organized to stop the island’s largest private employer from selling 200 two-acre luxury home lots in a development that would leave a larger footprint than Kaunakakai and take water away from Hawaiian Home Lands agriculture. And because of it, the island lost 100 jobs and gained a hike in utility rates from the Asian company that now owns the Molokai Ranch.

   Some folks see the people of Molokai as the last line of defense against rampant overdevelopment. Some see them as fools who deserve what they got. How you feel about their choices will probably affect your decision about which place to visit.