Lanai Island Overview

The tiny island of Lanai, with its 141 square miles and its population of 2,500, is the smallest and most undeveloped of the major Hawaiian islands. Rent a jeep and explore this quiet island.

The entire island of Lanai was purchased in 1922 by entrepreneur Jim Dole for the then steep cost of $1.2 million. For many years, this island was the heart of Dole’s pineapple operations. In more recent years, however, high labor and transportation costs have made pineapple production uneconomic on this island paradise. By 1994, Dole ceased virtually all of its pineapple production on Lanai and moved it to Thailand and the Philippines. Other businesses, such as cattle ranching, have emerged to take its place, but the future of this island clearly is tourism, although on a much smaller and more laid back scale than you will find on the other islands. In fact, there are only three hotels on the entire island (the island of Niihau, which is still owned by the Robinson Family, is even smaller and less developed, but it is difficult to gain access to it).

You do not have to spend the night in one of these hotels to enjoy a visit to this beautiful little island. Many of Lanai’s visitors arrive for the day via a 45 minute shuttle boat from Lahaina in Maui, which is just 8 miles away across Au’au Channel. Once you reach Lanai, you can go no further than one of its great beaches, or you can rent a four-wheel-drive vehicle and explore the island’s unspoiled up-land (higher altitude) back-country and its miles of secluded, hard-to-reach beaches.

While Hulopo’e Bay near the shuttle drop-off point has great swimming and snorkeling (Hulopo’e Bay and Manele Bay are part of a protected Marine Conservation District), we recommend you explore the island because it will give you a sense of what the other islands once looked liked before the developers moved in. If you get bored with the driving, you can always park yourself on your own private beach and enjoy the rest of the day in peace and quiet. After a few minutes of doing this, you will understand why Lanai is nicknamed "The Private Island."

Quiet And Laid Back
A few things you will soon encounter once you have landed on Lanai will prove to you that you are on a small island. First of all, the few cars make the single gas station sufficient and traffic lights unnecessary. Also, you will find that there is only one town, Lanai City, and that it’s handful of small shops can be explored in about 15 minutes. You will find, however, that most of the basics are covered. For example, Lania does have an ATM machine (just one!) located at the only bank on the island.

Friendliness is certainly one of Lanai's attractions: everyone you walk by will say hello to you, and everyone you pass on the road will wave to you, even if it is obvious that you are in a rental vehicle and they have never seen you before. We also liked the fact that neither of the large hotels will mind if you come in and help yourself to a thorough tour of their fabulous facilities. Of course, as a matter of courtesy, please don’t go into one of these nice hotels if you are covered with mud from your four-wheeling experiences on the island.

Varied Climate
Lanai has a sunny and relatively dry climate. The island is sheltered from rainy weather by the islands of Molokai and Maui, so the leeward side of the island receives as little as 12 inches of rain per year, and the windward side receives about 40 inches per year, far less than the windward sides of the other islands. As small as Lanai is, it still has some great contrasts in temperatures. On average, the air is 10 to 12 degrees warmer at sea level Manele Bay than it is in Lanai City, which sits a 15 minute drive away at an altitude of 1,645 feet. Temperature differences of 40 degrees are not unusual. Bring a jacket, and don’t think too much about the cooler weather since cool "mountain" weather in Lanai City is a lot better than nice weather back at the office, right?

Plan Your Trip
Convinced that the island of Lanai is the place for you? Visit our list of articles about Lanai for all kinds of tips about what to see and what to do. And don't forget to use our convenient travel services for saving money on your hotel reservations, rental car reservations, and airline reservations!

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