The nine miles of the Au'au Channel towards Maui create a 50-year divide just a $190 flight from Honolulu. Most of Lanai is still poor, rural, dry and unearthly, and Lanai City's small wooden homes still hold most of the island's nearly 3,000 residents who live without a single traffic light where things are simple. One volcano built the island. There's one major harbor, Kaumalapau and one major road with the same name connected to Lanai City with one 135-seat movie theater, but no traffic light. There used to be just one hotel with one TV in the lobby, and the rich red island earth raised only one crop, pineapple.
Historically, the island was settled late by Hawaiians who, with considerable European help, killed each other off in the late 1700's. Latter Day Saints settled in, sugared and irrigated until about 1900. Then James Dole, of Dole Pineapple fame, bought the island for a million dollars and change, and set up the world's largest pineapple patch. These days, pineapples grow for less in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.
The major industry is now the double dose of rich tourists who come into either the very upscale Lodge at Koele up on the central highlands, or the shoreline Manele Bay and play one of the two championship golf courses. For most, these fall into the 'if you have to ask you can't afford it' class with wonderful upscale restaurants serving local produce, venison and fish and incredible deserts. The Lodge runs to British country house with wide verandahs, white wicker, horseback riding and croquet with an 18-hole Greg Norman Golf course. Manele Bay is upscale POSH Hawaiian in architecture, aquatic in ambiance, and about twice as large. Jack Nicklaus designed its 18-hole course.
At the affordable end, lodgings are either the old quaint Hotel Lanai built for Dole visitors or B&Bs. A couple of rental homes do offer savings for four to 10. Restaurants simplify too, and the Blue Ginger Café -- killer macadamia nut pancakes with coconut sauce, and great simple fish and other dishes -- is a best buy.
While guides and tours are available mostly from the big hotels, those with skills to dive, snorkel, hike or swim on their own love it here as after a jeep trip or hike you can easily find an isolated beach like 8-mile long Shipwreck on the north shore at the bouncy end of Keomuku Road.
In spite, or because of the roads, eco-tourism is picking up some slack too. Lanai offers a birder's delight; dry forest habitats in the Islands and the only decent lowland stretch for miles. You can even still see, and smell the sandalwood trees here. There's still traditional hunting for pheasant, quail, deer, pigs and other introduced species; there's even a sporting clays course.
Horses ($40 an hour) and hiking are politically correct ways to get up to the top of Mount Lana'ihale from which you can see every other Hawaiian Island but Kauai, but it's an eight hour trip. Most would do better to 4WD to Shipwreck Beach but watch swimming; it's rocky and rough.
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