Flying to Molokai and Kalaupapa

[barbg]

We're trying to figure out the best way to spend a day on Molokai. I read previous posts about flying to Molokai from Maui but there was also a posting about flying directly to Kalaupapa from Maui. We will be in Ka'anapali so if there is a flight from Kapalua that would be ideal.

Would love to hear from anyone who has flown to Molokai or Kalaupapa from Maui. Maybe tell me who to talk to regarding flights.... We want to make it a one day trip with the main reason to see Kalaupapa, but are open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

 

[daventrina]

We've flown over twice. The last time we were unable to make arrangements to leave the airport.
We haven’t done it in a while so the rules may have changed. You used to have to get a permit and if I remember right it required 10 days notice. It isn't always possible to pick the exact dates that you will fly so the coordination can be problematic . Wonder if one could get a permit for a number of days and use the one with the right date.

We fly with Maui Aviators ( http://www.mauiaviators.com/ ). Not an inexpensive experience, but very unique and amazing.

http://www.mauiaviators.com/fly_molokai.html [FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]1 - 1.5 hrs. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]$230 - $345[/FONT]

By Air: The park can be reached by air from O'ahu, Maui, and Ho'olehua, Molokai. Scheduled small aircraft serve Kalaupapa Airport (LUP) daily from Oa'hu through Makani Kai Air (877.255.8532 toll free) or (808.834.5813). Charter air service can also be arranged through Makani Kai, Molokai Air Tour (808.553.5296), Molokai Outdoors (877.553.4477 toll free) or (808.553.4477), and Hawai'i Expedition and Adventure Company (808.349.3006). [SIZE=-1]
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http://hawaii.gov/lup/overview
Access to the park will be denied to anyone who has not made prior arrangements with the Hawaii Department of Health or Damien Tours. The commercial tour company arranges the permit for their customers. No children under the age of 16 years of age are allowed to enter Kalaupapa. Reservations are required for commercial tours of the settlement, mule rides on the trail and air flights.

http://www.nps.gov/kala/index.htm
Permits

http://www.nps.gov/kala/planyourvisit/permits.htm

Molokai Sea Cliffs

hi08-728flyD 473 by dntanderson, on Flickr

Kalaupapa

hi08-728flyD 421 by dntanderson, on Flickr

Kalaupapa Airport

hi08-728flyD 438 by dntanderson, on Flickr

 

[jkrich]

Our first trip to Molokai was direct from Kapalua to Kaluapapa with a local tour company. It was a small six person plane.

They drop you off at the airport, where you see a short film and then the bus comes by to pick you up for the tour.

I don't recall who we used, but the only one I see online now is Tom Barefoot's tours. It's five hours from takeoff to the return to Maui in a nine person airplane. This would be convenient but current pricing is about $350 per person.

Alternatively you could go from Kahalui to the main Molokai airport on Mokulele Air. I know a lot of people dislike this airline, but they have nonstop flights between the two islands and are inexpensive. The only issues then are using the Kahalui airport, you have to get a rental car on Molokai and either ride the mules or hike down to Kaluapapa. This would work best with an overnight on Molokai.

If you are really going to do just a day trip and Kaluapapa is the main attraction for you, I'd suggest the tour from Kapalua.

Jerry

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

When we did the "island orientation" at Ka'anapali Beach Club this week they mentioned an option to do Kalaupapa via ferry to Molokai and mule ride.

Another option to consider.

 

[barbg]

wow! This looks much more complicated than I anticipated! So glad I posted a question! Thanks for all the good info!

 

[AKE]

I don't think that its really worth it. We went 15 years ago but it still sounds the same. We actually hiked up and down the cliff (had a permit) and met the tour company at the bottom who told the story (which we already knew) and then we walked around the settlement. Even then most of the inhabitants were long gone and the few remaining ones there were old (as it was no longer required for them to be isolated - it was their choice).

 

[jlr10]

If you mail goal is just to see Kaluapapa I recommend the flight directly there. Unless you are an experienced hiker or horseback rider the trail down and back is very tiring. DH and I went a few years back, he hiked and I did the mule ride. I enjoyed the day but would never do the mules again. (Don't buy the "We match you to the perfect mule" line. I had never even been on a horse before and they gave the me mule that was racing down and up the trail, passing other mules on a very narrow cliff trail. I aged a few years during that ride!) DH thought the hike was hard (which it is) but surprisingly found the hike down much harder, as the trail has inset stones and boards to give footing to the mules. These same stones and boards were very hard for people's feet and knees.

The tour is a very low key tour. I liked Kaluapapa, but I like historical sights. We stayed on Molokai for 5 days, which was more than enough time. We enjoyed the trip, but not so much for the island but for the people. Some of the friendliest people I have ever met, and very willing to share their island - as long as their ways and privacy were respected.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

If you mail goal is just to see Kaluapapa I recommend the flight directly there. Unless you are an experienced hiker or horseback rider the trail down and back is very tiring.

I disagree about needing to be an experienced horseback rider if taking the mules. DW and I went down on the mules with another couple, all four of ranging from 55-65 years of age; two of us had only scant experience with horses in our teen years; the other two had never been on a horse in their lives. We all had a great time and no problem with the mules.

 

[Luanne]

I don't think that its really worth it. We went 15 years ago but it still sounds the same. We actually hiked up and down the cliff (had a permit) and met the tour company at the bottom who told the story (which we already knew) and then we walked around the settlement. Even then most of the inhabitants were long gone and the few remaining ones there were old (as it was no longer required for them to be isolated - it was their choice).

Totally disagree with this statement. I went with my dd. We were staying on Molokai and did the fly in/fly out option. Very moving experience. Once of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen. Sorry you didn't appreciate it.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Totally disagree with this statement. I went with my dd. We were staying on Molokai and did the fly in/fly out option. Very moving experience. Once of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen. Sorry you didn't appreciate it.

I concur with Luanne. There isn't a lot to do on Molokai, but Kalaupapa would be worth the trip no matter what island it was on.

Oftentimes there is one moment in an event that hits you in the gut, and stays in your memory almost forever. One of those moments in my life was seeing the holes in the floor of the church, made to accommodate parishioners with tuberculosis. To me that hit me with some combination of humanity and pathos that I don't think I've ever since encountered.

 

[AKE]

Totally disagree with this statement. I went with my dd. We were staying on Molokai and did the fly in/fly out option. Very moving experience. Once of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen. Sorry you didn't appreciate it.

It was interesting to see as it was a part of the Hawaiian history but there are many equal or more beautiful places in Hawaii, As well, having a bunch of tourists gawk (or maybe trying not to) at disabled people living there (but also I would think benefitting from these tourists because of their disabilities) is not something that I would recommend. Years prior we had flown over Molokai and Kalaupapa which peaked our interest in climbing up and down the cliff. However, to hike the cliff (and this was good) we had to tie it into a tour (i.e. once we were down there we had to join the tour group and the tour was informative). Now things obviously have changed since our visit but when compared to the rest of Hawaii, a fly-in tour would not be on my recommended list of top ten things to do. We hiked the same trail that the mules were on - I would tend to agree that the mules going down the cliff are more precarious than hiking down and we did see them slip on a number of occasions.

 

[Luanne]

It was interesting to see as it was a part of the Hawaiian history but there are many equal or more beautiful places in Hawaii, As well, having a bunch of tourists gawk (or maybe trying not to) at disabled people living there (but also I would think benefitting from these tourists because of their disabilities) is not something that I would recommend. Years prior we had flown over Molokai and Kalaupapa which peaked our interest in climbing up and down the cliff. However, to hike the cliff (and this was good) we had to tie it into a tour (i.e. once we were down there we had to join the tour group and the tour was informative). Now things obviously have changed since our visit but when compared to the rest of Hawaii, a fly-in tour would not be on my recommended list of top ten things to do. We hiked the same trail that the mules were on - I would tend to agree that the mules going down the cliff are more precarious than hiking down and we did see them slip on a number of occasions.

You may be saying this based on the fact that you've already done it and wouldn't choose to do it again. But for someone who has never been to Molokai, and more importantly Kalaupapa, I still think it is something that should be done if you have the slightest interest.

 

[BocaBoy]

You may be saying this based on the fact that you've already done it and wouldn't choose to do it again. But for someone who has never been to Molokai, and more importantly Kalaupapa, I still think it is something that should be done if you have the slightest interest.

I agree 100% with this statement. I love Hawaii but found Molokai to be totally uninteresting with one exception--Kalaupapa. You do not need to see it twice but one time is a great experience.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

You may be saying this based on the fact that you've already done it and wouldn't choose to do it again. But for someone who has never been to Molokai, and more importantly Kalaupapa, I still think it is something that should be done if you have the slightest interest.

I agree 100% with this statement. I love Hawaii but found Molokai to be totally uninteresting with one exception--Kalaupapa. You do not need to see it twice but one time is a great experience.

I agree regarding Kalaupapa. Though if I were on Molokai again I might go to Kalaupapa for the sake of doing the pali trail on foot. But even then, I probably wouldn't do the tour.

The trail is a worthy hike on it's own, comparable to many hikes on other islands. I would just enjoy the beach at the bottom of the trail, then ascend. Also, I would spend more time on the eastern side of the island, retaining one of the local "guides" to enjoy some of the interior waterfalls.

Other than those items, Molokai is pretty much just a place to hang out for a week. If you want a beach to yourself, where you can just be alone and relax, Molokai might fit the bill.

When we were there, we were with another couple who had never been to Hawaii before. They came to the islands before us, and spent three nights in Waikiki before we met up with them and headed to Molokai. One of those days we took the first morning ferry to Maui, where we rented a car and did some sightseeing there. On the ferry it was interesting to see the number of Molokai residents who were taking the ferry to Maui to get to work - most of them appeared to be women working in housekeeping at west Maui resorts.

 

[tfalk]

Kalaupapa tour is not the same since Richard Marks passed a few years ago... he really made the tour enjoyable. Now, they have to find one of the residents who feels like driving the bus and giving the tour on any particular day... the last tour guide we had didn't quite have his heart in it like Richard did but at least he was funny and made it enjoyable.

Having done the mule ride as well as flying in from Kapalua, I would only do the fly in/out now... The mule ride is an experience by itself but we found it too exhausting. We did the 'drive Molokai' thing a few years back and there's just not that much to see in my mind to make it worth staying there anymore. As always, YMMV...