I haven’t done a full blown trip to Lanai yet (it’s on my list!) but I’ve been twice on a day trip from Maui: once on a sailing excursion and once on my own via the ferry.

Maui and Lanai are actually the only two islands you can “hop” between via ferry in Hawaii since they’re so close.

How to Visit Lanai as a Day Trip from Maui

There are THREE ways you could visit Lanai as a day trip from Maui.

This post may contain some affiliate links, which means I’ll make a little money on anything you choose to purchase. But of course, I only recommend my absolute favorites to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that make HulaLand possible.

Take the Ferry

The most economical way to visit Lanai for the day is by taking the ferry. I STRONGLY encourage you to read the updates on the ferry’s website as the situation is very fluid post fire.

But currently, the ferry is running out of Maalaea Harbor with 3 round trips a day, 7 days a week. And it takes about 1.5 hours from Maalaea Harbor to Manele Harbor (on Lanai).

Round trip tickets are $65/adult (12+) and $40/child (2+).

If you take the early ferry (6:30AM) and come back on the late ferry (5:30PM) that gives you a really decent day on Lanai.

You could arrange to pick up a rental car to explore the island on your own or do an excursion, but if you only have one day on Lanai, I would stick to spending the day around Hulopoe Beach.

There’s a general store in the harbor where you can buy drinks and snacks right where the ferry docks and from there, it’s an easy ¼ mile walk to the beach.

This is a NICE beach to spend the day. You’ll need to bring everything with you though. Take chairs, towels, snorkel gear, and a cooler if you want the full beach experience although there are picnic tables and plenty of shade.

The snorkeling right off the beach is excellent and there’s a short hike past the tide pools and along the cliff to view Puʻu Pehe rock.

The Four Seasons Lanai sits at the southeast end of the beach and you can go up to the hotel for lunch and drinks if you don’t want to pack a picnic.

If you’re there for the full day and you only want to spend a few hours at the beach, you could arrange to take a taxi up to Lanai City to look around. Rabaca’s taxi service offers trips and tours but you have to call – (808) 559-0230 – since they don’t have a website.

Fly to Lanai

You can usually fly round trip to Lanai for about $120. Yes, it’s on a tiny plane. Mokulele Airlines offers multiple flights per day and they leave from Kahului Airport (OGG) but it’s from the commuter terminal so you don’t have to deal with the TSA and you just show up about 30 minutes before your flight.

I would only fly though if you’ve got a tour or specific excursion lined up (or if you’re going to rent a car and do sightseeing instead of a beach day) as you’re more limited with what you can bring with you.

Trilogy’s Discover Lanai Tour

On my last trip to Maui, I finally did Trilogy’s Discover Lanai Tour. It’s their most popular tour, and I’ve been wanting to check it out for a while.

Trilogy has a big legacy on Maui…they were the first company to offer sailing excursions on Maui and they just celebrated their 50th anniversary.

While they offer a bunch of different snorkel and whale watching tours around Maui, their flagship tour is their day trip to Lanai.

There are other companies that take you to spots off of Lanai to snorkel, but Trilogy is the only tour operator that actually lands on the island. And they’ve put together the PERFECT itinerary for a day of fun in the sun.

There are four options for this tour every day (an early morning and a late morning departure from both Kaanapali Beach and Maalaea Harbor).

Since I was staying in Kapalua (and still running on mainland time), I picked the early morning tour leaving from Kaanapali Beach.

The tour leaves from Kaanapali at 7AM, but you need to arrive by 6:30AM to check in.

They’ll validate your parking if you park in the Sheraton garage (you’ll still pay about $15), but at this hour it’s pretty easy to get one of the free parking spots in the public parking section of the garage (not the main section and you won’t go through a gate to park).

We met on the beach in front of the Sheraton (right near the public beach entrance) and got loaded up on the boat quickly and after getting settled and a quick safety spiel, we were off!

*This tour loads from the beach which means you have to wade through knee deep water to get to the boat’s ladder. They time each person’s entry with the waves so you shouldn’t get wet but I usually like to take off my shorts just in case.

It took just over an hour to cruise over to Lanai and it was smooth sailing. We were served warm cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, and coffee pretty quickly after we boarded and then just before we got to Lanai, they brought out warm breakfast croissant sandwiches.

When we got to Lanai, we docked at Manele Harbor, gathered our things and did the quick walk (about ¼ mile) to Hulopoe Beach. The crew also had some golf carts if you’re not able to walk that far.

Once we got to the beach we had about 2.5 hours to spend on the island. They have a great set up on the beach with chairs, mats, plenty of shade and a snack and drink station.

The snorkeling is right off the beach and the crew is there to help you get your gear and time your entry in between waves. There are also a couple of crew members further out on surfboards to keep an eye on everyone.

I was actually pretty impressed with the snorkeling…I think it’s one of the better spots I’ve been to in Hawaii.

But what I really LOVED about this setup is that you can snorkel for however long (or little) you want and when you’re done, you’re on one of the best beaches in Hawaii.

There’s also a short hike you can do up past the tidepools for a great view of Pu’u Pehe Rock.

The time flew by (I could’ve stayed here all day) and a little before 11:30AM we packed up our things and walked back to the harbor for lunch.

If you’ve ever done a snorkel tour, most of the time “lunch” consists of a sandwich and bag of chips, but this is a BBQ lunch in a large pavilion overlooking the harbor.

We had salad, rolls, kiawe-wood grilled chicken, corn on the cob, and stir fry noodles all served at the table. And there was plenty for seconds!

They have adirondack chairs and corn hole set up on the lawn plus the general store down below has a great gift shop (with Trilogy and Lanai merch).

After lunch, we loaded back up on the boat to sail back to Maui. They opened the bar up plus we had ice cream sundaes just before we landed.

And we saw dolphins!

We were back on Kaanapali Beach by 2:30 PM and spent the rest of the afternoon shopping at Whalers Village and hitting Monkeypod for happy hour. What a great day!

Let’s Talk Numbers – Is It Worth It?

By now you’re probably thinking “sign me up.” But let’s talk numbers first…it’s definitely expensive. Everything in Hawaii is expensive now.

The tour is $289/adult ($255/teen, $190/child, 2 and under are free) before tax and tip. And it’s a little bit more if you leave from Maalaea.

For a family (even a couple), that’s a lot of money.

So is it worth it?

Everything is relative, but I would emphatically say YES. This is a HIGH VALUE excursion.

First of all, it’s 8 hours. In comparison, my other favorite snorkel trip on Maui is $279/person for a 3.5 hour trip.

Also, they’re basically feeding you all day. We had cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, coffee and juice  plus hot breakfast sandwiches on the boat over to Lanai. On the beach, they had water and popcorn set out (plus reef safe sunscreen to use). Lunch was pretty extensive (salad, bbq chicken, stir fry noodles, corn on the cob). And there was a top shelf open bar on the boat ride back (plus ice cream sundaes).

And the service is top notch. This really is a luxury cruise. You’re never standing in line at a buffet…everything on the boat and at lunch in the pavilion is served to you and they are ON IT.

But honestly, the biggest selling point here is the flexibility to do what you like to do. Because the snorkeling on this trip is all done from the beach, you can get in for as long (or as little) as you want and there’s plenty else to do.

Actually quite a few people on our boat didn’t even go out to snorkel at all. So if you have a mix of people in your travel group (some older, some younger, some who want to snorkel, some who don’t) everybody can just do what they want to do. Whereas when you go out on a snorkel boat to an offshore location, if you don’t want to snorkel you’re just stuck sitting on the boat.

And like I said, the beach here (Hulopoe Beach) is spectacular and there’s plenty of shade plus a great short hike if you’re not the type who likes to sit still.

So I would really think of this like an excursion to another island that also happens to have great snorkeling instead of just a snorkeling trip.

Trilogy’s marketing campaign for this tour says that “Discover Lanai is sure to become your favorite day of vacation!” and you know what? It was!

Is a Day Trip to Lanai “Worth It?”

I LOVE going to Lanai for the day and I think it’s a major selling point for a trip to Maui that you can easily island hop like this.

And I really do think that Hulopoe Beach is one of the nicest beaches in Hawaii (soft sand! great snorkeling! shade! views for days! close to the Four Seasons beach bar!).

But is it a “must do?” Here are some things to consider:

If this is your first trip to Maui and you’ve got a week or less, I’d lean towards skipping it and saving it for a return trip. It’s lovely, but there’s sooooo much to see on Maui that I’d probably prioritize first.

If you’re a bucket lister and you’re checking islands off your list, go for it!

If you’ve heard it’s hands down the best snorkeling in the Maui area and that’s why you’re wanting to go …eh, I don’t know that it’s significantly better than most places on Maui. I don’t think I’d go out of my way just for the snorkeling…it’s more about the overall experience.

If you have the funds, I’d definitely do the trip with Trilogy over taking the ferry on your own. It’s just SUCH AN EASY AND NICE DAY.