Molokai is the fifth largest Hawaiian Island. Compared to Lanai it’s a bit more developed and populated, but similar to Lanai, it doesn’t have a single traffic light on the entire island. Molokai looks like a less developed Maui, maybe Maui 50 years ago.

First thing on the agenda – Kalaupapa lookout. Exploring the peninsula is only possible with an organized tour which takes at least half a day – not our cup of tea. In the past, people with leprosy were exiled to the isolated Kalaupapa town. We were satisfied with a view from above.

On the way to Hotel Molokai, we stopped at the first beach access and saw a calm and super shallow beach. Later we learned that most of the south coast is bordered with fishponds – not swimmer friendly.

On the first day, we drove all the way to the end of the road on the east side of the island to Halawa Valley. The road becomes a one way road closer to Halawa Valley, which makes driving a bit intense. We checked out at all the beaches we noticed on the way.

On the same day, we drove to the drier west coast (1.5 hrs from east to west), where we stopped at Kepuhi and Dixie Beach.

On the second day, we went for a hike to Pelekunu lookout. It’s a slow 10 mi dirt road to Waikolu lookout. From there the quality of the road deteriorates drastically so we hiked the last 2.5 mi until we reached the start of the trail.

After another mile on a narrow slippery boardwalk we reached the viewpoint only to find it covered in clouds.

It was a bit challenging finding decent food on the island. Everybody was raving about the hot bread from Kanemitsus Bakery, which is served starting 7 pm. We got the strawberry and cream cheese and were not impressed. On the last day we finally found something more acceptable at Kualapu’u Cookhouse.