# Molokai and Lanai Tours



## slip (Jun 21, 2018)

Looking for some recommendations for Tours of these two islands. 

I just booked my flights tonight and we had our resort reservations for months already. We’re staying at Maui Schooner from 1-19-19 to 1-26-19 then we go to the Pono Kai for a week. We got good deals on our flights, $850 round trip out of Madison Wisconsin. That’s pretty good for Madison and the times were good too. 

We are taking friends with us to Maui and they are already doing a tour for the road to Hana. The day they do that we were thinking of flying to Molokai for a day tour. Then on another day we were thinking of a day tour of Lanai with our friends. For that one we were thinking of taking the ferry and then doing a tour. 

Any recommendations on companies you have used in the past and enjoyed. It looks like they have half day and full day tours. I was thinking full day but open to suggestions. We wouldn’t snorkel on these. We will do that at local spots on Maui and one friend will not snorkel but will enjoy some time on the beach. On these tours some walking would be fine but long hikes would be out.


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## artringwald (Jun 21, 2018)

We really enjoyed the Trilogy tour of Lanai. We saw plenty of whales and dolphins while sailing over, and had a local van drive give us a tour of Lanai City.


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## slip (Jun 21, 2018)

artringwald said:


> We really enjoyed the Trilogy tour of Lanai. We saw plenty of whales and dolphins while sailing over, and had a local van drive give us a tour of Lanai City.



Did they leave out of Lahaina?


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## Luanne (Jun 21, 2018)

I don't have a personal recommendation, but for Molokai I would suggest finding a tour that allows you to visit Kaulapapa.  We stayed on Molokai and took a "fly in" tour.

Check out this one, they do fly from Maui.

http://www.fatherdamientours.com/


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## Luanne (Jun 21, 2018)

slip said:


> Did they leave out of Lahaina?


Yes.  I took this tour years and years ago before the big hotels were on Lanai.  I can't say enough good things about Trilogy.  We started off with homemade sweet rolls, snorkeled in the morning, had a bar be que lunch, then in the afternoon we could either tour the island or more snorkeling.  We opted for the tour, which was given by people who lived there.


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## artringwald (Jun 21, 2018)

slip said:


> Did they leave out of Lahaina?


Yes. I should mention that Lanai isn't always good for snorkeling. It was pretty choppy when we went. Not many of the group went in. I did, but choppy water usually means cloudy water, too. Their lunch included BBQ chicken and delicious gecko egg salad (macaroni and peas). Here's some pictures from our 2009 trip:

https://artringwald.smugmug.com/Travel/2009-Lanai/


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## slip (Jun 21, 2018)

Thank you both for your replies. I don’t think we will snorkel on either of these trips. We wants to focus on seeing the islands. These look like good candidates. 

Art, your pictures are great!!


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## Luanne (Jun 21, 2018)

slip said:


> Thank you both for your replies. I don’t think we will snorkel on either of these trips. We wants to focus on seeing the islands. These look like good candidates.
> 
> Art, your pictures are great!!


As I said, I went on the Trilogy trip years ago.  I wonder since the big hotels are there now if there might be an option, instead of snorkeling in the morning, to spend some time at one of them.


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## controller1 (Jun 21, 2018)

I also recommend Trilogy for the trip to Lanai.  It's slightly more than half a day. Catamaran from Lahaina to Lanai starting with homemade cinnamon rolls and juices. Once on the island you have your choice of an island tour or going directly to the beach. The island tour lasts maybe 30 minutes and after the tour you are taken to the beach.  There you can swim, snorkel (equipment provided by Trilogy), play beach volleyball, relax and enjoy chips and homemade salsa. After the beach you go back to the marina where you will enjoy a wok-cooked meal of chicken, noodles and vegetables. Adult beverages will be served on the sail back to Lahaina.  www.sailtrilogy.com


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## Luanne (Jun 22, 2018)

controller1 said:


> I also recommend Trilogy for the trip to Lanai.  It's slightly more than half a day. Catamaran from Lahaina to Lanai starting with homemade cinnamon rolls and juices. Once on the island you have your choice of an island tour or going directly to the beach. The island tour lasts maybe 30 minutes and after the tour you are taken to the beach.  There you can swim, snorkel (equipment provided by Trilogy), play beach volleyball, relax and enjoy chips and homemade salsa. After the beach you go back to the marina where you will enjoy a wok-cooked meal of chicken, noodles and vegetables. Adult beverages will be served on the sail back to Lahaina.  www.sailtrilogy.com


Sounds like the tours have changed a bit since I took it. Back then I think was just one per day, the one that left at 6:30 a.m.  It did start with homemade cinnamon rolls, fruit and juice.  Once you got to the island everyone went to snorkel.  They had instruction if you wanted/needed it.  After snorkeling we went back to the marina for the bar be que lunch.  Then after lunch we had the choice of more snorkeling or the island tour.  I remember the tour as being more than 30 minutes (but again this was years ago).  After returning to the boat we sailed back.  We didn't get back until around 4:00 p.m.  Now it sounds like you get back much sooner.  I also do not remember any adult beverages being served.


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## LisaH (Jun 22, 2018)

We also had the delicious BBQ chickens. Adult beverage was served on the boat from what I remember. The highlight for me was the trip to and from Lanai. We saw so many dolphins and whales. Snorkeling was decent but not great when we went in Feb. Lanai as an island probably is my least favorite among all the Hawaiian islands I have been to, but it was just a 30 min bus tour which only provided a glimpse of the island.


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## slip (Jun 22, 2018)

It looks like there are half day tours and full day tours. I’m still looking but all this information is great. Thanks everyone!!


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## burg1121 (Jun 22, 2018)

We have take the Trilogy to Lanai lots of fun. We just spent a week om Molokai in April. Going to Kaulapapa is a must. It's beautiful and quite moving. Ask for the tour guide with the great singing voice he is amazing.


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## taffy19 (Jun 23, 2018)

artringwald said:


> Yes. I should mention that Lanai isn't always good for snorkeling. It was pretty choppy when we went. Not many of the group went in. I did, but choppy water usually means cloudy water, too. Their lunch included BBQ chicken and delicious gecko egg salad (macaroni and peas). Here's some pictures from our 2009 trip:
> 
> https://artringwald.smugmug.com/Travel/2009-Lanai/


We enjoyed the Trilogy boat trip very much but were disappointed that we didn’t sail that day but there wasn’t enough wind.  You were lucky to experience that. 

It was difficult to get past the big swell or surge but they helped us getting over that and then snorkeling was easy but not as good as on the Big Island near Captain Cook’s Monument. 

The crew was fabulous and had a good time too while they were busy spoiling us with food and drinks.  We came back when the sun was setting so had a long enough day.


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## controller1 (Jun 23, 2018)

On our last Trilogy cruise to Lanai, the crew set a line at the back of the ship.  Apparently they do this most of the time.  However, this time they caught an Ono.  To say the crew was excited would be an understatement.  Prior to serving us lunch they offered sashimi to all takers.  It was great!  Probably the freshest fish I'd ever eaten.


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## slip (Jun 23, 2018)

burg1121 said:


> We have take the Trilogy to Lanai lots of fun. We just spent a week om Molokai in April. Going to Kaulapapa is a must. It's beautiful and quite moving. Ask for the tour guide with the great singing voice he is amazing.



What was the name of the company for your Kaulapapa tour?


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## Luanne (Jun 23, 2018)

slip said:


> What was the name of the company for your Kaulapapa tour?


I think there is just one company that does the tours as that is the only way you can gain access.  I could be wrong.  The one I linked you to before was the Father Damien tours.


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## taffy19 (Jun 24, 2018)

Luanne said:


> I think there is just one company that does the tours as that is the only way you can gain access.  I could be wrong.  The one I linked you to before was the Father Damien tours.


I believe that you are right, Luanne.  They gave us the choice to take the van and visit Lanai City or stay on the beach and go snorkeling or swimming again or walk up to one of the resorts.  We took the van and enjoyed the tour as the guide gave the history of the island, etc.

Again, I would highly recommend this tour but we will have to do it again to see if it is still as pleasant as it was before. 

We booked this tour on the main street in Lahaina in combination with another tour that we also enjoyed.  It had nothing to do with a timeshare presentation that we had to take and it was well worth the money to us.


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## Luanne (Jun 24, 2018)

taffy19 said:


> I believe that you are right, Luanne.  They gave us the choice to take the van and visit Lanai City or stay on the beach and go snorkeling or swimming again or walk up to one of the resorts.  We took the van and enjoyed the tour as the guide gave the history of the island, etc.
> 
> Again, I would highly recommend this tour but we will have to do it again to see if it is still as pleasant as it was before.
> 
> We booked this tour on the main street in Lahaina in combination with another tour that we also enjoyed.  It had nothing to do with a timeshare presentation that we had to take and it was well worth the money to us.


I think you were referring to the wrong post I made.

When I said there was just one tour company, that was for the Kaulapapa tours on Molokai.

Sounds like you were talking about the Trilogy tour from Lahaina.


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## taffy19 (Jun 24, 2018)

Luanne said:


> I think you were referring to the wrong post I made.
> 
> When I said there was just one tour company, that was for the Kaulapapa tours on Molokai.
> 
> Sounds like you were talking about the Trilogy tour from Lahaina.


OK, I see that now, Luanne. 

Slip, have you considered a mule ride down?  The scenery is spectacular but it is not for people who have fear of heights or are scared of horses or mules like me.  I fell off a horse one time so didn't dare to do this but my mother did when she was in her 70's and she absolutely loved it.

I remember that we started to go down the trail but the moment I saw a small group of mules coming up, I didn't want to go any further so we had to go back.  I am still mad at myself for not having done this tour.

I don't know if they would let people do this today when they are over a certain age and if it is even possible all in one day?  You can read more about it here.  

http://visitmolokai.com/wp/attractions-what-to-see-on-molokai/


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## Luanne (Jun 24, 2018)

taffy19 said:


> Slip, have you considered a mule ride down?  The scenery is spectacular but it is not for people who have fear of heights or are scared of horses or mules like me.  I fell off a horse one time so didn't dare to do this but my mother did when she was in her 70's and she absolutely loved it.
> 
> I remember that we started to go down the trail but the moment I saw a small group of mules coming up, I didn't want to go any further so we had to go back.  I am still mad at myself for not having done this tour.
> 
> ...


When my daughter and I (she was 16 at the time) did the tour we saw the options of hiking in, mule in, or fly in.  She looked at me and we both said "fly in".  The flight is very short and one of the advantages of doing that was that we got to view a short film on the history of Kaulapapa while we waited for everyone else to get there.  There seemed to also be an option when yu could hike in and fly out.  I don't know if the same option existed for the mule ride.  It was not something that appealed to me at all.


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## slip (Jun 24, 2018)

I have heard of the mule ride. I am scared of heights so that wouldn’t be for me. I was looking at the fly in option.


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## 1Kflyerguy (Jul 3, 2018)

Curious if anyone has ever visited the Lanai Cat Sanctuary?

http://lanaicatsanctuary.org/

We are headed to Maui in September, and thinking of a day trip over to Lanai.

Thanks


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## ljmiii (Jul 5, 2018)

1Kflyerguy said:


> Curious if anyone has ever visited the Lanai Cat Sanctuary?
> 
> http://lanaicatsanctuary.org/
> 
> We are headed to Maui in September, and thinking of a day trip over to Lanai.


That actually sounds quite interesting. Are you chartering a boat? Or is there an air taxi out of Kapalua Airport to Lanai City?


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## 1Kflyerguy (Jul 5, 2018)

ljmiii said:


> That actually sounds quite interesting. Are you chartering a boat? Or is there an air taxi out of Kapalua Airport to Lanai City?



I found a tour that includes a boat trip from Maui, a visit to the Cat Sanctuary, then a tour of Lanai and back to Maui.  

https://lostonlanai.com/product/lanai-cat-sanctuary-and-half-day-tour/

My wife really enjoys visiting the cat colonies in Waikaloa, but this place looks really big,  so thought it might be fun.  Plus we have never been to Lanai..


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## slip (Jul 5, 2018)

1Kflyerguy said:


> I found a tour that includes a boat trip from Maui, a visit to the Cat Sanctuary, then a tour of Lanai and back to Maui.
> 
> https://lostonlanai.com/product/lanai-cat-sanctuary-and-half-day-tour/
> 
> My wife really enjoys visiting the cat colonies in Waikaloa, but this place looks really big,  so thought it might be fun.  Plus we have never been to Lanai..



Thanks, I’ll have to take a look at this one.


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