The Best Beaches in the Outer Islands of Hawaii: Molokai, Lanai, and Beyond

The Islands That Tourism Forgot

Hawaii gets 10 million visitors a year. Almost all of them go to four islands: Oahu, Maui, the Big Island, and Kauai. Molokai and Lanai -- the two smallest inhabited islands in the main chain -- split roughly 100,000 visitors between them. Molokai has no stoplights, no building taller than a coconut tree (by law), and one hotel that operates more like a large house. Lanai has one luxury resort that effectively owns the island's tourism economy. Together, these islands represent what Hawaii looked like before the jets arrived.

Getting to these islands requires a small plane or a ferry, and the logistics alone filter out most casual tourists. What remains is a pace and a quiet that the big four islands can't offer anymore. The beaches reflect this -- long, empty, unmarked, often requiring dirt-road drives or hikes to access. They're not better than Maui's or Kauai's beaches in any objective sense. But the absence of people changes the experience completely.

Papohaku Beach, Molokai

Papohaku is three miles long, making it one of the longest white sand beaches in Hawaii. It faces west, directly into the Kaiwi Channel between Molokai and Oahu. On most days, you can see the high-rises of Honolulu shimmering on the horizon 26 miles away -- a visual reminder of everything Molokai has rejected.

The beach is almost always empty. Not quiet-for-Hawaii empty. Actually empty. You can walk the full three-mile length and encounter five people on a busy day, zero on a slow one. The sand is white and fine, the sunsets are direct-west and magnificent, and the wind blows steadily from the trades, keeping the heat manageable. For official planning information, see Go Hawaii.

The Catch

The water is dangerous. Papohaku faces the open channel, and strong currents, shore break, and rip currents make swimming risky except during the calmest summer months (June through August). Even then, conditions can shift quickly. This is a walking and watching beach, not a swimming beach, for most of the year. There are no lifeguards. A small county park at the south end has restrooms, picnic tables, and a campground ($20/night, permit required from Maui County).

Molokai's South Coast Fishponds

The south shore of Molokai is fringed by the longest continuous reef in the United States -- 28 miles of barrier reef that creates a calm, shallow lagoon between the shore and the open ocean. Within this lagoon, ancient Hawaiian fishponds -- stone-walled enclosures built 600-800 years ago to farm fish -- line the coast. Over 60 fishponds were originally constructed. Several are being restored by community organizations, including the Alii Fishpond near the Kaunakakai wharf.

The south shore isn't a beach destination in the traditional sense. The shoreline is muddy in places, rocky in others, and backed by dense coastal vegetation. But kayaking along the reef at high tide, exploring the fishpond walls, and snorkeling in the shallow lagoon among green sea turtles and reef fish is a profoundly quiet experience. Molokai Fish & Dive in Kaunakakai rents kayaks ($45/half day) and can advise on conditions and access points.

Hulopoe Bay, Lanai

Hulopoe Bay is Lanai's marquee beach and one of the best in all of Hawaii. A crescent of white sand fronts a marine preserve where spinner dolphins come to rest in the mornings. If you're on the beach by 7 AM, you can watch pods of 30-50 dolphins spinning and leaping in the bay, sometimes as close as 50 yards from shore. New federal regulations (effective since 2022) prohibit swimming within 50 yards of spinner dolphins, so keep your distance, but the show from the beach is extraordinary.

The snorkeling at Hulopoe is excellent, particularly along the rocky left side of the bay where tide pools give way to a reef wall. Convict tangs, Moorish idols, parrotfish, and the occasional whitetip reef shark patrol the area. The water clarity routinely exceeds 80 feet. There are no equipment rental shops on the beach -- bring your own or rent from the Four Seasons.

Access and Logistics

Hulopoe is a public beach, even though the Four Seasons Lanai looms directly above it on the cliffs. The resort does not restrict beach access, but parking is limited to a small lot with about 30 spaces. Day-trippers from Maui on the Expeditions Ferry ($30 each way, 45 minutes from Lahaina) can walk to Hulopoe from Manele Harbor in about 10 minutes. The beach has restrooms, showers, picnic tables, and a campground ($30/night, permit from Lanai's Department of Parks).

Shipwreck Beach, Lanai

Shipwreck Beach (Kaiolohia) runs along Lanai's north shore, an 8-mile stretch of windswept sand littered with the rusted hulks of ships that ran aground on the shallow reef. The most visible wreck is a WWII-era liberty ship that sits about 200 yards offshore, its hull slowly dissolving into the reef. On clear days, you can see Molokai across the channel.

The beach is reached by a dirt road from Lanai City (about 25 minutes). Four-wheel drive is recommended but not strictly necessary in dry conditions. The sand is coarse, the wind is relentless, and the swimming is inadvisable due to strong currents and the shallow, reef-studded bottom. Beachcombing is the draw -- the currents deposit shells, driftwood, glass floats, and miscellaneous ocean debris along the entire length. Hawaiian petroglyphs are carved into rocks near the Kaiolohia trailhead at the east end of the beach.

Kalaupapa, Molokai

Kalaupapa is a flat peninsula on Molokai's north shore, ringed by black sand beaches and backed by 1,600-foot sea cliffs -- the tallest in the world. From 1866 to 1969, it served as a forced exile colony for people with Hansen's disease (leprosy). A few former patients still live there by choice. The entire peninsula is a National Historical Park, and access is tightly controlled.

Getting There

There are three ways in: a guided mule ride down the 2.9-mile cliffside trail (26 switchbacks, $209/person), hiking the same trail on foot (free, but you must have a tour reservation with Damien Tours to enter the settlement), or a small plane from Molokai's topside airport ($50-100 round trip on Makani Kai Air). There is no driving access. The trail drops 1,700 feet in under three miles and is steep, narrow, and muddy. Mules are sure-footed but the experience is not for those with a fear of heights.

The beaches at Kalaupapa are secondary to the historical significance of the place, but they're remarkable -- empty black sand coves beneath towering cliffs, with no one else in sight. Swimming is possible in calm conditions at the small beach near the settlement, but currents along the north shore are unpredictable. Guided tours ($70, including the mule ride or hike) cover the churches, graveyards, and remaining structures of the settlement, including the church of Father Damien, the Belgian priest who lived and died among the patients.

Why These Islands Stay Uncrowded

Molokai's Resistance to Development

Molokai has actively fought tourism development for decades. The Kaluakoi Resort on the west end closed in 2001 and has never reopened -- locals protested every attempt to revive it. The community has blocked cruise ship port calls, rejected large hotel proposals, and maintained building height restrictions that keep the landscape low and open. The island's economy runs on subsistence farming, fishing, and small-scale agriculture. Tourism is tolerated but not courted.

This means visitor infrastructure is minimal. There are no resort hotels. The Hotel Molokai (a beachfront property with 40 rooms starting around $200/night) is the primary accommodation option, along with vacation rentals and a handful of B&Bs. Restaurants are scarce -- Kanemitsu's Bakery in Kaunakakai is famous for its hot bread ($8 for a loaf, available from the back door after 8 PM), and Paddler's Restaurant serves decent plate lunches ($12-15). Grocery options are limited and expensive due to shipping costs.

Lanai's Four Seasons Monopoly

Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, purchased 98% of Lanai in 2012 for $300 million. The Four Seasons Lanai at Manele is the island's only major resort -- rooms start at $1,100/night in high season. The Four Seasons controls most of the island's hospitality infrastructure, employment, and tourism revenue. There's also a small cluster of budget accommodations in Lanai City (the island's only town, population 3,200), including the Hotel Lanai ($250/night) and a few vacation rentals.

The result is an island with extremely polished luxury at the top end and very little in between. Budget travelers can day-trip from Maui on the ferry and spend the day at Hulopoe Bay for the cost of the boat ticket, but staying overnight on Lanai without spending heavily is difficult.

Inter-Island Logistics

Flights

Mokulele Airlines and Southern Airways Express operate small turboprop flights between Honolulu, Maui (Kahului), Molokai, and Lanai. Flights are 15-30 minutes and cost $80-150 one way. The planes seat 9 passengers. Book early -- flights sell out, especially on weekends. Weight restrictions are strict: one carry-on and one checked bag, total weight limit 40 pounds per passenger. Overweight bags are charged $1-2 per pound over the limit.

Ferry

Expeditions Ferry runs between Lahaina (Maui) and Manele Harbor (Lanai) five times daily. The crossing takes 45 minutes and costs $30 each way for adults, $20 for children. The channel between Maui and Lanai is rough in winter -- humpback whales breach alongside the boat from December through April, which is spectacular, but the swells can make the crossing miserable for those prone to seasickness. Take Dramamine 30 minutes before departure.

There is no longer a ferry to Molokai. The Molokai Princess ceased operations in 2016 and no replacement has been established. Air is the only option from Maui or Oahu.

Rental Cars

Molokai has one rental car agency -- Molokai Car Rentals, which operates out of the airport. Rates start at $60/day for a basic sedan. Demand exceeds supply, especially on weekends -- reserve weeks in advance. On Lanai, the Four Seasons operates Lanai Jeep Rentals (4x4 Jeep Wranglers, $175/day), which you'll need for any beach beyond Hulopoe. The island's interior and north-shore roads are unpaved and require four-wheel drive.

• Molokai's best beaches are on the west end (Papohaku) and accessible by paved road
• Lanai's remote beaches (Polihua, Lopa) require 4x4 and take 30-60 minutes on dirt roads from Lanai City
• Gas stations: one on Molokai (in Kaunakakai), one on Lanai (in Lanai City). Fill up before heading out
• Cell service is unreliable outside the main towns on both islands. Download offline maps
• Bring snacks and water -- there are no stores or vendors at any beach on either island except Hulopoe