Lanai is small, quiet and almost entirely private. For most of the 20th century it was the world's largest pineapple plantation; today it is mostly owned by one man and known for two luxury resorts, empty red-dirt tracks and some of the clearest water in Hawaii.
From pineapples to resorts
In 1922 James Dole bought almost the whole island and turned it into a pineapple plantation that, at its height, produced most of the world's pineapples. The plantation closed in 1992, and tourism took its place. Since 2012 about 98 percent of the island has been owned by the tech billionaire Larry Ellison.
Lānaʻi City, the only town, sits in the cool uplands among Cook Island pines planted in plantation days, with a village green, small shops and old plantation houses.
Hulopoʻe Bay
Hulopoʻe Bay, on the south coast, is a protected marine preserve with a wide white-sand beach and excellent snorkelling. Spinner dolphins often rest in the bay in the morning; enjoy them from a distance and do not swim out to them. A short walk away stands Puʻu Pehe, also called Sweetheart Rock, a sea stack with a sad legend.
Garden of the Gods and Shipwreck Beach
Keahiakawelo, the Garden of the Gods, is a lunar landscape of red earth and scattered boulders on the island's dry north-west, at its best in the soft light of late afternoon. On the north-east coast, Shipwreck Beach takes its name from the rusting hull of a ship grounded on the reef, visible from the shore. Both are reached on rough dirt roads that need a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
Getting there and around
Lanai has a small airport (LNY) with flights from Honolulu, and a passenger ferry crosses from Maui; check the current schedule and harbour before you go. There are only a few paved roads, so to go beyond town and the resorts you need to rent a jeep, and to respect road closures after rain.