Lāna‘i (usually spelled outside Hawai‘i as Lanai) is sixth largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the "Pineapple Island" from its history as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island is somewhat circular in shape with a width of 18 miles in the longest direction. The land area is 140 sq. miles (367 sq. km). It is separated from the island of Moloka‘i by the Kalohi Channel to the north, and from Maui by the ‘Au‘au Channel to the east.

History

Lāna‘i was first seen by Europeans on 25 February 1779 by Captain Clerke, with HMS Resolution on the James Cook expedition. Clerke had taken command of the ship after Capt. Cook was killed at Kealakekua Bay on February 14, and was leaving the islands for the North Pacific.

In 1922, James Dole, the president of Hawaiian Pineapple Company, bought the island of Lāna‘i, and developed a large portion of it into the world's largest pineapple plantation.

Tourism

Tourism on Lāna‘i started more recently as the growing of pineapple has slowly been phased out in the Islands. On Lāna‘i, you can commune with nature and feel the mood of rural Hawai‘i. Unlike nearby O‘ahu, the only town (Lāna‘i City) is small and lacking traffic and shopping centers. The main tourist activity is relaxation.

There are two resort hotels on Lāna‘i — the Manele Bay and the Lodge at Koele , the latter a rather unique resort in Hawai‘i in that it is in the cool hills nowhere near the beach. There is also a small hotel in Lāna‘i City used primarily for people visiting Lāna‘i residents. Both resorts have world-class golf courses.

In 2004, travel to and from Lāna‘i became very difficult due to problems with inter-island airlines. With Hawaiian Airlines threatening to cease its daily jet service to the island, the smaller Island Air became set to control all flights to and from the island on small turbo-prop aircraft.

See Tourism (Lāna‘i)