Molokai: The Hawaiian Island That Deliberately Stayed Small

Molokai has the highest percentage of Native Hawaiian residents of any island in the state - approximately 60% - and that demographic reality shapes everything about visiting it. The island’s communities have consistently voted against large resort development, casino proposals, and the kind of tourist infrastructure that defines Maui and Oahu. The result is an island that looks more like Hawaii did in the 1970s than anything you’ll find elsewhere in the chain: a two-lane road, a main town with one grocery store, no traffic lights, and a population of around 7,000.

This is not a compromise or a consolation prize. It is the point. If you want the full Hawaiian resort experience, go to Maui. If you want to understand what the islands looked like before they were remade for tourism, and you’re prepared to do without the convenience of a Hilton and room service, Molokai is worth the trip.

Getting There

Molokai has an airport (MKK) with daily turboprop service from Honolulu on Mokulele Airlines (around $80-150 one way, 25 minutes). The ferry from Maui (Molokai Ferry, mauiferryservices.com) runs once daily from Lahaina when operational, taking about 90 minutes and costing around $95 return; check availability as the service has had interruptions. Most visitors fly.

Car rental is essential. There are no Uber or Lyft drivers on Molokai, no bus service to speak of, and distances between points of interest require a vehicle. Budget and Dollar both have desks at the airport. Book in advance - the inventory is small and a sold-out day means no rental.

Kalaupapa National Historical Park

This is the site that most visitors come specifically to see. Kalaupapa is a flat peninsula on the island’s north coast, cut off from the rest of Molokai by sea cliffs that are among the tallest in the world (up to 1,010 metres). Between 1866 and 1969, the Hawaiian government forcibly exiled people diagnosed with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) to this peninsula. Approximately 8,000 people were sent here over a century; the last patient died in 2023. Father Damien de Veuster, the Belgian priest who came voluntarily to serve the exiles in 1873 and died of the disease himself in 1889, was canonised by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

The settlement is still standing. Several dozen descendants of patients live here, and access is regulated by the National Park Service and the state of Hawaii. Visitors must be aged 16 or older and must arrive on a guided tour; independent access is not permitted. Tours are offered by Kalaupapa Rare Adventure (molokai-hawaii.com) and include the descent from the top of the sea cliffs and a full afternoon in the settlement. The descent options are by mule (the famous Kalaupapa mule ride, about 3.5 km on a switchback trail) or on foot via the same trail. Mule tours: approximately $220 per person. Hiking only: approximately $65 for the guided tour component once you’ve descended.

Advance booking is essential - weeks ahead in peak season. The mule ride capacity is limited, guided tours have limited slots, and demand regularly exceeds supply.

Halawa Valley

The eastern tip of Molokai is accessed via Highway 450, which follows the south coast for about 60 km from Kaunakakai. The road ends at Halawa Valley, a broad agricultural valley that was inhabited by Hawaiians for at least 1,500 years and abandoned in the 1940s following a tsunami. Two waterfalls (Moaula, 60 metres, and Hipuapua, 250 metres) are accessible by guided hike from the valley floor, a 4-6 hour round trip through dense forest. The guides are local and required - the land is privately held and the hike crosses private property. Arrange with the Ka Hula Piko organization or local guides advertised in Kaunakakai.

Halawa Beach at the valley’s mouth has a good swimming beach protected by a reef. Check conditions before swimming - the beach faces northeast and can have surge.

Papohaku Beach

On Molokai’s western end, Papohaku is one of the longest white sand beaches in Hawaii: 5 km of sand with almost no one on it. The western shore faces strong trade winds and there’s typically a rip current; swimming conditions are often marginal. But the empty beach in both directions, with the mountains of Oahu barely visible on the horizon, is the right introduction to what Molokai’s scale of quiet looks like.

The road to Papohaku passes the former Kaluakoi resort area, partially developed in the 1970s and now largely abandoned. The Sheraton pulled out in the 1980s; the hotel building is shuttered. The golf course is closed. The condominiums are occupied by long-term residents. It looks like the aftermath of a project that correctly predicted what would happen if you tried to turn Molokai into something it wasn’t.

Where to Eat

Kaunakakai is the only town and has a concentrated row of basic restaurants and food options on Ala Malama Avenue. Kanemitsu Bakery is the most notable: a third-generation family bakery that has been open since 1935, known specifically for its sweetbread and the “bread line” that forms in the evening (from around 21:00) when locals line up at the back door to buy fresh-baked bread with various fillings. It operates as a café in the day and the bakery side is the evening ritual.

Kualapu’u Cookhouse, northwest of town near the coffee fields, serves local plate lunch - kalua pork, laulau, poi, rice and mac salad - for around $12-16. The coffee estate nearby (Coffees of Hawaii) offers tours and sells whole-bean Molokai coffee, one of the few commercially grown coffees remaining in the state.

For groceries, the Friendly Market on Ala Malama is the main option; prices are higher than Honolulu by around 20-30% due to shipping costs.

Where to Stay

Hotel Molokai in Kaunakakai is the main hotel option: 40 bungalow-style rooms above the beach, basic but comfortable, from around $180-220 per night. The bar and restaurant are the social hub for the island’s visitor population and worth checking even if you’re staying elsewhere.

Vacation rentals (through VRBO and local management companies) are the better option for a multi-day stay: cottages and homes from around $100-180 per night with full kitchens that allow you to buy from the farmers’ market and cook local produce. Molokai’s farmers’ market operates Saturday mornings in Kaunakakai from about 07:30.

The island rewards slow travel. A car and three or four days give you enough time to see Kalaupapa, Halawa Valley, and the west end without rushing.