Lanai?

Maggie and I are going to Maui (and staying for a day at the Hana treehouses, thanks to Chris) and we're going to visiting Lanai for an as-yet-to-be-determined duration. We're roughing it with backpacks for most of the trip. Does anybody here have first-hand experience with Lanai? It's kind of hard to get info if you're not staying at one of the ridiculously expensive hotels there, so I thought I'd ask here...

Resurrecting this post from long ago.

T and I are headed to Lanai in a couple of weeks.

Any Tiki there or reports from those who have been there?

Mahalo.

Aloha,

Arty

[ Edited by: stentiki 2006-05-29 19:06 ]

Hi, I visited Lanai several (way too many!) years ago with a friend and really enjoyed it. I stayed at the small Hotel Lanai - http://www.hotellanai.com which was far more appealing and much more affordable than the two giant resorts (camping is also possible, but I believe its limited to one area).

You can have a really quiet couple of days there, with a very different feel than the other islands. Some of the roads were closed due to a bunch of rain before we arrived, but we rented the jeep and were able to drive down along the Shipwreck Beach area and to Polihua Beach (which turned out to be the place I'd been going in my mind all those years whenever I heard "Pacifica"). Very cool views, with Maui & Molokai visible, and the ocean ripping through in between.

It's not the place to go for nightlife, but if you want a beautiful place to relax & explore and have an amazing beach all to yourself, that's the spot. I also had my first - and by far best - Lava Flow in the Hotel Lanai restaurant. It's great to fly in, in the tiny plane, and see the cliffs as you approach; but then when we left, we took the ferry across to Maui, which was also a fun little trip and gave another prespective of the islands. We kind of got a kick out of it when a fire truck dropped a fireman off at the ferry with us in Lanai, and then another engine picked him up at the dock in Maui - just one of those little bits of everyday local life you don't always get to see when on Vacation. I recommend it!

hey bama,

thanks for the tip.

we will be coming to lanai via ferry from maui and we're really looking forward to that trip.

we'll check out the lava flow and the beaches.

it's one of the only islands we have not explored with exception of molokai and kahoolave, of course.

if we find any tiki we'll give TC a holler.

I meant to say, I don't remember there being much in the way of actual Tiki, but there are some cool old sites - the Garden of the Gods, petroglyphs, heiaus, etc. Unfortunately I didn't get to see as much as I would have liked due to the washed-out roads. The little town is really tiny, so there wasn't much for shopping when I was there either. But it was a very nice few days!

Aloha!

Just saw this post, and wanted to chime in on why Lanai is my favorite island in Hawaii. I've been to all the islands, and Kauai was my favorite until I stayed a week on lanai a few years back. We liked it so much I encouraged my entire family to spend Christmas there last year. Do I love the island for the big expensive resorts? Heck no! We always stay in a bed and breakfast when we visit (our next trip we will be staying in the historic Lanai Hotel). I love lanai because it is a snapshot of what life was like in Hawaii 50+ years ago. Small town rural aloha at its best. Absolutely amazing plantation houses. I love eating at the Blue Ginger and talking story with the locals. I love walking up "Haole Hill" to see the amazing homes that were lived in by the plantation managers (and are now lived in by a number of Rupert Murdock's (sp?) employees). The hiking is fabulous, and the snorkeling (at the resort on the water - no need be a guest to use the beach!) is superb. Not much in the way of "tiki", but plenty of Aloha and unspoiled beauty.

VanTiki

Aloha Van,

You pumping me up, man!

Me likes the snorkeling and we look forward to that old time aloha spirit.

Mahalos for the tips. If we find tiki we will let all know but just being there is tiki enuff for we.

Four daze and counting...

On 2006-06-06 20:11, stentiki wrote:

but just being there is tiki enuff for we.

Someones Love/Heart is stronger!!!!

You took the words right out of our mouths!!

" Just Being There...."

Have a safe trip be-atch's! Enjoy! Will ya?!!

We know you's will!!!

You feelin' me, Ben?

The heart is strong now and we's gonna enjoy to da max!

See yous when we get back.

13 hours and counting...!

Arty is da man!

You's enjoy every second!

We know you's will's!!

RELAX!!!

Okay,

All this Lanai talk prompted Ms. Tiki to book a 4 day getaway to the best little island in Hawaii for 4th of July weekend! Whoo! Will be staying at the Lanai Hotel (in the cottage for two nights, and a room for 1).

For those who are looking to score one of my TikiCoins (www.geotiki.com), I will be leaving one here:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=bee846a2-204d-49a2-af6b-940945b09ef8

and here (if I can find this one - tried last Christmas and failed!):

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=e7902e09-3d86-43ea-8b85-4ef915a4b160

VanTiki

I stayed in the cottage at the Hotel Lanai, too - fun choice!
(This Geocaching sounds like a fun idea, too - I knew nothing about that before.)

Enjoy your trip!

We had an amazing experience on Lanai!

It's perfect if you really want to get away from it all. No traffic lights, maybe 2 main roads at the most, great hiking trails, ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs, a wonderful little town square that takes you back in time and of course, beautiful beaches with pods of spinner dolphins leaping out of the ocean in Manele Bay. Truly an awesome experience!

Here are a few of our pix of our experience.

Approaching Manele Bay and Pu'u Pehe (Sweetheart Rock) by ferry from Lahaina.. Legend has it that a Lanai Warrior fell in love with a princess from Maui and kept her in a cave to keep others from taking her away. One day, the weather changed and a storm filled the cave with the sea, drowning the poor princess. The Warrior was so distraught that he carried her body to the top of the rock with the help of the gods. He buried her and then jumped to his death from the rock into the sea.

The rugged volcanic coastline of Lanai.

We were very fortunate to stay at the Four Seasons, Manele Bay. My wife actually won our trip from one of those business card drops! Here is the view from our Lanai. Each day, a pod of 40 or so spinner dolphins swam by with several leaping out of the water!

Looking out to the bay and the beach.

In Lanai City -- there are only 5 places to eat and 3 grocery stores and all the little A-frame buildings are painted in different bright colors. Perhaps this was how Hawaii was many years ago.

Great plate lunches at the Blue Ginger Cafe. Two scoop rice, one scoop macaroni salad!

The Dis 'n Dat shop looks better on the outside than it does on the inside. No Tiki!!!

In case you're wondering, we did find 2 Tikis gracing the Luau grounds at the Four Seasons, but other than that, not much else. We were disappointed to learn that there was no regular Luau schedule. The grounds are reserved only for private parties. Still, we felt good that Tiki was nearby. :)

If you are staying at the Hotel Lanai, be sure to visit the other two hotels on the island, the Manele Bay and the Lodge at Ko'ele -- both Four Seasons Resorts. There is a shuttle that can take you there if you don't have a car.

The Lodge is a Five Star Plantation style resort -- very interesting and very beautiful.

Manele Bay is simply just a fabulous resort. You can walk the trail from the pool area down to the beach for incredible snorkeling. The lounge chairs and snorkel equipment are limited to guests, but the beach is open to everyone. You can also belly up to the outdoor bar by the pool and sample one their tropical drinks. They make a mean mojito and the Lanai margarita is infamous (I know, I know, but sadly, their Mai Tai is a disappointment).

Whatever you do, you're certain to have an incredible time on Lanai as we did.

Aloha,

Arty

[ Edited by: stentiki 2006-06-22 17:41 ]

What tha...? How do I get there from here? Are these my glasses???