Lanai suggestions? (Lanai City: rental, hotel, house)

[newUHprof]

I'll be spending a long weekend on Lanai next week (Sat - Tues).

Suggestions for things to see & do?

[Futuremauian]

[quote=newUHprof;26707570]I'll be spending a long weekend on Lanai next week (Sat - Tues).

Suggestions for things to see & do?[/quote

The beach, just a short walk from the harbor has great snorkeling. It is the destination for Trilogy Catamaran trips, 6 days a week (or was?). They don't go there Saturdays, as it is reserved for locals that day. Give it a shot!
If you have a rental Jeep, the drive to Shipwreck Beach is moderately entertaining, and we saw large turtles sunning on the beach. The water was really clear there too! Aside from these things, there wasn't much going on either time I visited, even on July 4th. It seems to be a good place for relaxation. Hope you enjoy it!

[whtviper1]

Are you staying in Lanai City - or Manele Bay?

I was there a few days about a month ago -

We did,

Cathedral Dive

Horseback riding (the stable is by the Four Seasons Lodge) - they've also got a petting zoo on the property

Dinner at the Lanai Grill (expensive)

Drove to the Garden of the Gods (the landscape is like Mars) - recommend a 4 wheel drive vehicle

Tried to drive to Shipwreck Beach - never made it, almost got stuck in sand and to turnaround

Hung out at the Four Seasons Lodge (the grounds are nice, although it seems like something that belongs in Kentucky or Vermont)

Did a beach day at Manele Bay

Listened to music at the Lanai Hotel

Went to the Cat Sanctuary near the airport - a must see if you like cats

You definitely need a jacket or sweator for the nightime in Lanai City

[newUHprof]

Thanks for the responses so far.

We're staying at Hotel Lanai (in Lanai City).

We've booked a snorkel sail with Trilogy on Monday morning. (We haven't been diving in over a year, and it's such a short trip that we're worried about booking a dive and then flying. We'll just snorkel this time, I think.)

Definitely dinner at Lanai Grill. Do we need reservations?

Trilogy also does a kayak tour of the north side of the island. Has anyone done that? I can't find any reviews of it, but it sounds like fun.

And what about Munro trail? Worth it? Should we rent a 4WD for more than one day?

[McFrostyJ]

One day will be plenty for the Jeep rental. I thought the road to Shipwreck Beach was easy compared to the road to Lopa Beach. Once you get past Keomuku Village you start running into to these long deep spots of what seems like a brown powdered sugar! So, I would recommend turning around at Keomuku Village. Also, if you decide to drive to Polihua Beach, stop just past the Garden Of The Gods and check the sky. If it looks like rain, DON'T GO! Those packed red dirt roads turn into worse than ice with just a little rain. The Munro Trail was closed to travel with the Jeeps when we were there earlier this month. So you have to either hike or take the ATV tour. We didn't do either, so I can't comment on it.
If you play golf, both the Experience At Koele and the Challenge At Manele are awesome! However, they are both expensive. There is a great 18 hole putting course at The Lodge at Koele that is free and they also have free lawn bowling and croquet. If you have your own clubs with you, there is the free 9 hole Cavendish Golf Course.
The Orchid house at the lodge is also free to walk through and beautiful. You can have a light dinner at the lodge bar during happy hour where the drinks are half price and the food is really good! Our favorites were the Mahi Sliders and the Bruschetta. They also have nice entertainment there including The Singing Cowboy during happy hour.
Our favorite place in town to eat for lunch or breakfast was the Blue Ginger Cafe. Their fresh baked cookies were AMAZING!
Another wonderful place for lunch was The Challenge At Manele Clubhouse. Sit outside and it overlooks the golf course and has wonderful ocean views. Their Makai Salad was my favorite!
If you want to grab something on the go and like Spam Musubi, stop at the Pine Isle Market. Mmmmmmm....
As Whtviper1 said, bring a light jacket because it can get cool at night up near the lodge.
Have fun!

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by newUHprof

Definitely dinner at Lanai Grill. Do we need reservations?

Should we rent a 4WD for more than one day?

I recommend a car all of the days you are there. I didn't need reservations at the Lanai Grill - but since it is right in the Hotel Lanai, maybe that would help with preferred seating (there will be music Saturday night).

There are 2 grocery stores in town - both close at 7 (I think). I highly recommend you stock up on things from the store. If the store isn't open, the lone gas station does have a much more limited selection.

[newUHprof]

Thanks again for all the rec's. Just got back. Here's a quick rundown of what we did... it was a great trip!

Day 1: Arrived, lunch at Blue Ginger, tried to snorkel at Manele Bay but it was too rough. Instead hiked (well, walked) the trail at the east end of the beach up to the lookout by Sweetheart Rock. Dinner at Lanai City Grill was great.

Day 2: Back to the bay for a more successful snorkel in the morning. Then the Fisherman's trail hike (this one really was more of a hike) at the west end of the beach. Ended up at the golf course clubhouse for lunch. Clean up, rest up, then sunset (un-spectacular... thanks a lot, vog!) and dinner at the Manele Bay resort.

Day 3: Snorkel sail with Trilogy. Yes, they're more expensive than similar trips on other islands. But it's Lanai... everything is more expensive. These guys were great... six guests and three crew on a catamaran. We went to shark's fin cove, which was all funny funny until I actually saw a shark about 1 foot away from me. Eeep! Tons of dolphins on the way out and flying fish on the way back. It was a great trip, and I would definitely go out with those guys again. Anyway, then back to the room to clean up, and hanging out in town for the afternoon... shops & galleries. Dinner at Pele's Other Garden.

Day 4: Jeep rental. We did Shipwreck Beach, then all the way down that road to Lopa beach and on past it to Naha and the fish pond. stoping several times along the way, picnicking at Lopa. There were a couple of sketchy parts in the road (brown sugar is right), but we powered through and it was fine. We then wen to Garden of the Gods and on to Polihua. We didn't have a lot of time there because we wanted to be back in plenty of time to make the flight. But we got to stroll along it a bit at least. We were super early for the flight (but better than late on the last flight of the day), so sat in the airport and watched election results roll in.