mauicat

Im trying to do alittle budgeting and I have not idea on how much things cost in Lanai. Can anyone help?

alex

What kinds of meals? We stayed at the Lodge at Koele last year and we walked to town for most of our meals. You could eat at Blue Ginger or Tanigawa's for less than $20 for two people for dinner. I think Pele's Other cafe was about $15 for lunch for 2 and about $60 for dinner for 2. None of these restaurants serve liquor but there are some small shops where you can buy what you want and have it with dinner. Dinner at the Lodge's formal dining room was expensive but excellent. I think it was about $250 for 2 with drinks and wine. I had a grilled cheese with fries from room service that was $4.00. We also ate at Henry Clay's which was really good. I think it was about $100 with wine. We rented a jeep for 2 days from Adventure Lanai Ecocentre and went horseback riding. Horseback riding was $75/person.

mauicat

Alex, Thanks for the information about the cost of meals. Also we are thinking about staying on the island for 6 nights is that to long?

travelinandgolfin

Depends on what you want to do.

Off hand, I would say yes, 6 nights is way too long. But if you want to spend time just hanging out and relaxing at the hotel or beach, hey, almost no better place.

If you need to be doing something most of the time, you'll be bored toward the end of your stay.

Check out the Lanai website. Will give you an idea of what you can do.

Mama

Alex, thanks for your great recommendations of places to eat. We are staying in Lanai Hotel in December. Did you reserve your jeep from Adventure Lanai Ecocentre in advance or once you got there? Were you happy with it? May I ask you how much it costs you for two days? I know it is very expensive? Was it around $150 per day? Did you contact them by phone or e-mail? Any unique places to visit but not overrun with groups of day visitors? In your opinion what was the best place for snorkeling? Thanks

alex

We stayed for 8 days and I thought it wasn't long enough. I had just finished a very large and stressful project at work and was looking to relax without feeling like I should be out sightseeing every second of the day. We did go horseback riding, went to Manele Bay one day to go to the beach and also get massages, shopped in the little stores, played on the executive putting course, and rented the jeep for two days and drove the whole island, including the Munro Trail. We read books and hung by the pool. We played games. It really depends on the type of person you are. Good friends of ours did not like Kauai - they thought it was boring because it had no shopping or nightlife. We thought Kauai had plenty of things to do. Just different ideas about how to spend a vacation. After all, it is your vacation time and you should spend it exactly how you want to!

By the way, nightlife on Lanai is pretty limited to the hotel bars, watching the sunset, the small movie theater, a leisurely meal and whatever fun you make on your own.

We did rent the jeep in advance from Adventure Lanai Ecocentre. I think I e-mailed them and then they called me. I cannot remember how much it was but it was cheaper than Dollar. You also had to pay cash in advance. I want to say it was $100/day. I can look it up in my trip journal at home. They let you take the Jeep anywhere you want and load it up with a cooler, snorkel equipment, boogie board, chairs, pretty much they let you take anything they have there. We were mostly happy with it except something broke on the Jeep the second day and we had to hitch a ride back into Lanai City. They never offered us a refund or to use a different jeep and pretty much blamed the whole thing on us (I am firmly of the opinion that we did not do anything wrong - I used to have a Jeep and know when I should be using 4 wheel drive or not which is what they said the problem was). If we had cared more, we may have been more aggressive about it but we were really in vacation mode and did not bother. Also, one thing to keep in mind is that they are VERY casual. If you say you are picking up the car at 9 in the morning, they may or may not be there. You may have to stroll across the square, have some breakfast and come back later. Just something to keep in mind.

We did not go snorkeling on Lanai. We loved Polihua Beach and we were the only people there the day we went aside from a handful of local fishermen. You have to drive through the Garden of the Gods, which is also rally fantastic, to get there.

I would definitely make sure to eat at Henry Clay's in the Hotel Lanai - it is fantastic.