Island hoppin'

[Wegian]

Erik,

My wife and I visited both Lanai and Molokai as well as other islands. Regarding snorkeling, I thought that Lanai was better than Molokai, but the Kona Coast of the Big Island is the best.

We enjoyed Lanai and found the people we met were very friendly. We only stayed for three days, but we were able to explore most of the island by renting a jeep (a little pricey). The jeep was needed because there are very few paved roads on the island. Monroe trail is beautiful and winds through the mountains. We were lucky because it was not raining. If it rains, the rental company will caution you against driving the trail. We also drove north through the Garden of the Gods on our way to a completely empty beach (forget the name right now) that must have been a mile long. Fantastic! When we were there we stayed at the Hotel Lanai. It was a bit more affordable than the resorts. I recommend their restaurant, but keep in mind that the entire island shuts down early, so plan on having dinner early.

We’ve visited Molokai during our last two visits to Hawaii and plan on visiting again this winter. We completely love the place. It is probably the least developed island, and its main “city” looks like a town right out of an old spaghetti western. It has a little more to offer than Lanai, and the people are just as friendly, if not more so. We love evenings at the Hula Shores lounge (at the Hotel Molokai) where they have pool/ocean side entertainment. Get there early for the Saturday afternoon Kapuna gathering. On Thursday evenings we visit the Kualapuu Cook House when they have a special dinner menu (nui ono!) and the some of the locals gather with whatever instruments they play, and we all have a great time. On northern tip of the island are the world’s tallest sea cliffs. With permission you can hike the trail to the peninsula below and the town of Kalaupapa. You could also schedule a mule ride down. It will save you the grueling hike back up. Kalaupapa is the place where the Hanson’s Disease sufferers were once sent. Even though it is a bit heartbreaking, I recommend the guided tour of the town. The people sent there suffered tremendously. The western edge of the island has a two-mile long beach. You will often see less that 10 people on the entire beach. The eastern end of the island is a beautiful bay. Don’t be surprised if you find that you have the beach to yourself. I could ramble on and on, so maybe I’ll just end it here. If you want more of my blather, send me an email.

Enjoy your visit,

Fred

fgsnps@comcast.net

[.E.]

Lucy:
We will have 8 days of pleasure on the BI and I don’t want to waste time by searching for beaches that don’t have much to offer. So the URL’S you sent us should save us lot’s of time searching for the best beaches. Thank you.

Hello Pam Jones:
Funny that you brought up Cozumel, as that was our other choice for our getaway this year. We live in Seattle and heading to Mexico is an easy flight, but since we have an agenda on our hands in Hawaii, it was an easy choice to make. I’ll save your suggestions and check them out next year.
Thanks

Wegian:
Great info, I was leaning towards Lanai because of the better snorkeling, but it sounds like Molokai has way more to offer in the way of sightseeing and the like. I appreciate all your help.
Thanks
Erik

[John S. Rabi]

Well, since my name was mentioned in this thread more than once I better chip in. Yes, I have visited both Molokai and Lanai more than once. Lanai is the ultimate R&R island, there is really nothing much else to do there but pamper yourself. Both resorts, the Lodge and the Manale Bay Resort, are expensive. (They both are Four Seasons now.) There is a small hotel in Lanai City, the Hotel Lanai. Molokai is totally different. It has a lot to offer but the locals are not very friendly towards the visitors. It's called the "Friendly Island" but that's far from the truth. Oh, BTW, I do not snorkel, I limit my water activities to the bathtub and the shower.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, ABR,CM,CRB,FHS,PB,RB
http://www.JohnRabi.com
Typically Tropical Properties
75-5870 Walua Road, Suite 101
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
(808)327-3185

[lkrider]

Aloha all,

Will put my 2 cents in here since I've spent a little time on both Moloka'i and Lana'i.

I'd echo John's thoughts on Moloka'i. My very haole husband and I went there with a bunch of my mainland teenage-at-the-time cousins (all Hawaiians) and got a lot of stink eye and even hassled by the cops. But the ten-mile beach is awesome and taking teenagers to the 'Phallic Rock' is an experience not to be missed <hee hee> My little girls had to stay in the van with an auntie! They're grown-ups now and are still p-oed they couldn't go see.

I camped on Lana'i in the pineapple fields in the 80's with Meteor Group Hawaii (which is still active if anyoneis interested). We had special permission and the skies were awesome. We beached it during the day and ate all the pineapples we wanted fresh from the plant. The best beach was Hulopoe (sp?) totally unspoiled and dolphins came one pm to swim w/us. Now the Manale Bay Resort is there. Some locals came up to observe with us and everyone was so friendly. I have not been back because of the changes and the very expensive/exclusive lodgings which are way outta my teacher budget. Good snorkeling on both islands but best is on the Big Island.

BTW, I'm on island now teaching at Pahoa High/Int and am so looking forward to the next Punatic gathering to meet some of you folks!

Linda in HI

[.E.]

Thanks John and Linda for your input on the two islands.
I’d have to say that I’m a little disappointed with what you saw/felt when you were on Molokai, and it’s not the first time I heard that too!!! Several people here on the mainland that I asked said basically the same thing. They never felt threatened while visiting Molokai, yet they didn’t feel appreciated either. I think I may take another look at my plans, because right now, spending all of my two weeks on the BI drinking tall cold frosty adult beverages sounds much smoother on my soul.
Pahoa here I come!!!
Erik

[Lucy]

Erik, that was a good thread, lots of folks gave some great answers. Now we all know mo betta'!

I lived in Seattle/Bellevue for 8 years, after college. I always loved to sail anywhere around there on the water! Used to fish in the sound with some guys from Bellingham. Orcas never did tip us over, but we did all catch some winks in the boat, as to really get out there you had to get up early! Left in '86 to move to Honolulu. Married my husband there and left the ex back in Bellevue. I always thought that I would miss Seattle/Bellevue and really liked it there, but found now 20 years later, I would not go back, at least not yet. (Maybe Squim) I don't think that I could ever take the clouded over conditions, since everywhere else in the country except the PNW can be bright and sunny even in winter it seems!
I can see where snorkeling in the warm water can be so stimulating and such a good feeling after living in the PNW, that you would really look forward to it. That is how I was then too.

Linda too Funny!

I never thought of going to that island for that rock!


I always thought with Molokai, that they give the stink eye, so as to keep others from moving there. I guess, so cause it seems to have worked, that and nothing much there to buy! I have read a few accounts written up on websites, of people who have loved it! More usual though for most folks to pass it by it seems.

ALoha,
Lucy

Having another Great day in Paradise, Wherever that Maybe!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLanai

[Kelena]

A belated reply to this thread: Molokai is an acquired taste, but if you acquire it, no other Island may be good enough for you. I went to Molokai almost by accident. We were supposed to go to Kauai, but it was flooding there, and my partner fuh-reaked. I called Hawaiian airlines to ask for a refund. They said no refund, but you can go to another island. So, I said, okay, uh, send me to eeeny-meeny- miny molokai!

It was my first ever trip to Hawaii. I am proud to belong to an infintesimal minority of people who visit Molokai first.

I was there 20 minutes before I knew that I HAD to live in Hawaii. The airport is open air. The dirt is red. The sign at the airport famously says "slow down,it's molokai". The former Sheraton there is in a breathtaking locale with a view of Lanai from, well, I guess the lanai! The weather is extraordinary every single day (I watch it on the web every single day). It's like strawberry fields -- nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about.

Were you looking for an island that makes you feel like you are on an island? This is the one! The east is jungly and slightly damp; the west is dry as a bone with foreever ocean views. The three mile long sand beach is dangerous except in summer (it tried to kill me -as you approach it, at least in the winter time you can hear the sound of the waves EXPLODING on the shore, ka-BOOM), but it is gorgeous and completely uninhabited. So uninhabited that it will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, as if you had been thrust back in Eden. I also found a horeshoe shaped semi-secret beach where the water was very warm and the view was forever.

The locals get together and strum ukuleles at the Hotel Molokai on Fridays I(when I was there). As for the locals, I wouldn't say they are unfriendly. I would say that they feel somewhat invaded and sometimes show it in an understated way. They live in Paradise. They saw what happened to Lanai -- you have to be a multi-millionaire to live there. No locals can own property on Lanai. The locals are in a state of servitude to some of the ritziest hotels on earth.

Molokai has kept a balance, so far, of allowing more people to partake of its quirky paradise, without allowing enough people in to build that first Costco.

Chains do not do well. The KFC folded. There is a Subway, but you will search in vain for any other sign of civilization. My cell phone didn't work there, and after day three, I was kind of happy about that.

Molokai cannot actually be recommended to anyone. I literally saw daytrippers from Mauai SCOWLING at how they had been tricked into the experience.

But it worked for me. After I came back to California, I underwent a religious experience, started shotting shakas at everyone, bought a ukulele and started singing along with it, learned how to say "aloha" without an accent (you don't say it....you exhale it), and then started hunting for property.

As for property, Molokai has it, but I could not get my partner to agree to live there. Molokai bored him to tears.

[Hanalei]

Glen, we love Molokai for its isolation and peacefulness. We did not get stink eye when we were there. Actually the girl that worked at the ice house invited us to the highschool graduation party on the east side. We were touched as we just stopped there for fish a few times. However we declined because of the long drive to return to the west side rental. I would love to have property there but it is so expensive compared to Puna. I wish I own the Paniole Hale unit or something similar on the west side.

[Wegian]

If one approaches Molokai with the right attitude, it can be a wonderful experience. I can never seem to get my thoughts into words, but Glen, you described Molokai perfectly – the “ka-boom” of the waves crashing on the beach at Papohaku County Park, Friday’s Kapuna gathering, Molokai’s opposition to change, the airport (I especially enjoy watching first-time visitors search for baggage area), and its quirkiness. Like you said, it is an acquired taste, and my wife and I acquired it. That is why we are counting the days until our next visit (just 122 more days!).

Hanalei, we never got the stink-eye when we visited either. Actually, during our most recent visit, it took us an entire afternoon, more than 5 hours to do a little grocery shopping. We met the most interesting people in Kaunakakai…

[mella l]

OK Glen come clean you were a travel writter in another incarnation of your life right?

Your story is so compelling, I enjoyed it so much and copied it so when I have the opportunity to go to Molokai I will bring your love of the island with us! Aloha

mella l