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.

As we went to press, go! airline (tel. 888/IFLYGO2; www.iflygo.com) announced the signing of a "memorandum of understanding" with Mokulele Airlines (a small charter service airline on the Big Island) to provide service from Honolulu to Molokai under the name go!Express on their new fleet of Cessna Grand Caravan 208B planes. Currently go! offers the best rates among Hawaii's airline carriers.

Commuter airlines Pacific Wings also started operating a discount airline, PW Express (tel. 888/866-5022 or 808/873-0877; www.flypwx.com), with 14 daily nonstop flights between Molokai and Honolulu and four daily flights between Kahului on Maui and Molokai. Their discount airfares are substantially cheaper than the twin-engine planes flown daily by Island Air (tel. 800/323-3345 from the mainland, or 800/652-6541 interisland; www.islandair.com), with eight direct flights a day from Honolulu on a twin engine plane. I must tell you that I have gotten less than sterling service from Island Air; either their reservations system (or customer service, depending on who is blaming whom) has left me stranded midroute -- not once, but twice.

Molokai Air Shuttle (tel. 808/545-4988), which the local Molokai residents use, is inexpensive, but they only take reservations 1 month in advance. Anther small commuter air service is George's Aviation (tel. 866/834-2120; 808/834-2120 from Honolulu, or 808/893-2120 from Maui; www.georgesaviation.com); they have "on-demand" charters every day from Honolulu and Maui 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. 800/275-6969 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 90-minute journey from Lahaina to Kaunakakai daily; the round-trip cost is $85 for adults and $43 for children ages 3 to 12. Or you can choose to tour the island from two different package options: Cruise-Drive, which includes round-trip passage and a rental car for $191 for the driver, $76 per additional adult passenger, and $38 for children; or the Alii Tour, which is a guided tour in an air-conditioned van plus lunch for $191 for adults and $134 for children.

Visitor Information

Contact the Molokai Visitors Association, P.O. Box 960, Kaunakakai, HI 96748 (tel. 800/800-6367 from the U.S. mainland and Canada, 800/553-0404 interisland, or 808/553-3876; www.molokai-hawaii.com), or stop by their office in The Moore Center, 2 Kamoi St., Suite 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.

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 -- Rental cars are available from Budget (tel. 808/567-6877) and Dollar (tel. 808/567-6156); both agencies are located at the Molokai Airport.

Taxi & Tour Services -- Molokai Off-Road Tours & Taxi (tel. 808/553-3369; www.molokai.com/offroad) offers regular taxi service, an airport shuttle ($34 for 1-4 people one-way to Molokai Ranch Lodge; $27 for 1-3 people one-way to Kaunakakai), and island tours (the half-day Molokai highlights tour is $95 per person).