When I was trying to plan my first trip to Lanai, I really had a difficult time trying to determine the most direct way to get there.  I knew Lanai was very close to Maui, so I assumed it would make sense to fly into Maui’s Kahului Airport (OGG) from the mainland and then get a an inter-island flight from there to Lanai (LNY).  I had assumed that there would be several direct flights from Maui to Lanai since it was less than ten miles away.  Well, my assumption was wrong.  There were no direct flights to Lanai from Maui.  Almost all of the flights from Maui to Lanai connect in Honolulu and that makes the total flight time at least 2.5 hours or more.  The costs of the roundtrip flights from Maui to Lanai were tallying up near $250 per person.  So, I marked that plan off my list as it didn’t seem like an efficient use of time or money. 

Another alternative to get to Lanai from Maui that I researched was taking the Maui-Lanai Expeditions Ferry.  The ferry goes from Lahaina Harbor on Maui to Manele Bay Harbor on Lanai.  (Note: ferry departures from Maalea Harbor have recently been added.) This alternative had logistic problems, too.  The first hurdle is timing the flight arrival with the ferry departure times, which would have been a bit tricky.  The next hurdle was arranging transportation from the Maui airport in Kahului to Lahaina Harbor.  If you pack very light (e.g. one medium-sized suitcase, duffle bag, or carry-on bag allowed, no larger than 22”Hx14”Wx9”L), you can use the Maui bus system to make your way to Lahaina.  Using the Maui bus will save a lot of money, but requires transfers.  The other alternative to get to Lahaina was to get a shuttle or tax, with a brief look into that I started hearing the sound of “kaching, kaching” in the background racking up the costs.  Though taking the ferry to Lanai is feasible if you can work out the logistics, one thing to bear in mind is that you are responsible for carrying your luggage on the ferry. I quickly decided that this alternative wasn’t a good use of time and money.

So, at this point I had two strikes.  I was nearly ready to scrap my vacation plans to Lanai, but then I got a second wind.

Next, I looked into flying in to Honolulu (HNL) rather than Maui and then flying onwards to Lanai.  Ah, success at last!  This option ended up being the most direct option.  It reduced our overall travel time and it turned out to be the cheapest, too.  So, if you are planning a vacation to Lanai, my recommendation is to get there via Honolulu.  It’s the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way.