Planning a Trip

Arriving

By Plane -- Molokai has two airports, but you'll most likely fly into Hoolehua Airport, which everyone calls "the Molokai Airport." It's on a dusty plain about 6 miles from Kaunakakai town. Twin-engine planes offer daily service. Commuter airlines Pacific Wings serves Molokai (tel. 888/575-4546 or 808/873-0877; www.pacificwings.com) with one daily nonstop flight between Molokai and Honolulu and one daily flight between Kahului, Maui, and Molokai (there are three direct flights from Honolulu and two from Kahului daily into Kalaupapa). Another inexpensive air carrier is go! Express (tel. 888/I-FLY-GO-2 [435-9462]; www.iflygo.com). Go! has 6 to 10 flights a day from Honolulu to Molokai and 3 to 5 flights a day from Maui to Molokai. Another interisland carrier is Island Air (tel. 800/323-3345 from the mainland or 800/652-6541 interisland; www.islandair.com), with 5 to 10 direct flights a day from Honolulu. I must tell you that I have gotten less than sterling service from Island Air; their reservations system (or customer service, depending on who is blaming whom) has left me stranded in midroute, not once, but twice!

George's Aviation (tel. 866/834-2120 or 808/834-2120 from Honolulu, or 808/893-2120 from Maui; www.georgesaviation.com) will provide charter flights from any island to Molokai.

By Boat -- You can travel across the seas by ferry from Maui's Lahaina Harbor to Molokai's Kaunakakai Wharf on the Molokai Princess (tel. 877/500-6284 or 808/667-6165; www.mauiprincess.com). The 100-foot yacht, certified for 149 passengers, is fitted with the latest generation of gyroscopic stabilizers, making the ride smoother. The ferry makes the 1-hour-and-45-minute journey from Lahaina to Kaunakakai daily; as we went to press a round-trip ticket cost $113, including a fuel surcharge for adults (half price for kids 3-12, free for kids 2 and under). Be sure to check what the current fuel charge is before you go.

Visitor Information

Contact the Molokai Visitors Association, PO Box 960, Kaunakakai, HI 96748 (tel. 800/800-6367 from the U.S. mainland and Canada, or 808/553-3876; www.molokai-hawaii.com), or stop by their office in the Moore Center, 2 Kamoi St., Ste. 200, Kaunakakai. The staff can give you all the information you need on what to see and do while you're on Molokai.

Fast Facts

Molokai and Lanai are both part of Maui County. For local emergencies, call tel. 911. For nonemergencies, call the police at tel. 808/553- 5355, the fire department at tel. 808/553-5601, or Molokai General Hospital, in Kaunakakai, at tel. 808/553-5331.

Downtown Kaunakakai has a post office (tel. 808/553-5845) and several banks, including the Bank of Hawaii (tel. 808/553-3273), which has a 24-hour ATM.

Daylight Saving Time -- Since 1966, most of the United States has observed daylight saving time from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. In 2007, these dates changed, and now daylight saving time lasts from 2am on the second Sunday in March to 2am on the first Sunday in November. Note: Hawaii does not observe daylight saving time. So when daylight saving time is in effect in most of the U.S., Hawaii is 3 hours behind the West Coast and 6 hours behind the East Coast. When the U.S. reverts to standard time in November, Hawaii is 2 hours behind the West Coast and 5 hours behind the East Coast.

Getting Around

Getting around Molokai isn't easy if you don't have a rental car, and rental cars are often hard to find here. On holiday weekends, car-rental agencies simply run out of cars. Book before you go. There's no municipal transit or shuttle service, but a 24-hour taxi service is available.

Car-Rental Agencies -- Car-rental options on Molokai include the privately owned Island Kine Auto Rental (tel. 877/553-5242 or 808/553-5242; www.molokai-hawaii.com); Alamo Rent a Car (tel. 877/222-9075 or 808/567-6381; www.alamo.com), located at the Molokai airport; and National Car Rental (tel. 877/222-9058 or 808/553-3596; www.nationalcar.com), which has a rental desk at the Hotel Molokai.

Taxi & Tour Services -- Molokai Outdoors Activities (tel. 877/553-4477 or 808/553-4477; www.molokai-outdoors.com) can shuttle you from the airport to Kaunakakai (for $14 per person), and it offers a full range of island tours. Midnight Taxi (tel. 808/658-1410) also offers transportation from the airport to Kaunakakai for $30 per taxi.