Tom’s Tips – Inter-Island Day Tours from Oahu

Aug 31, 2021 | Activity Information

You have so many inter-island tour options departing from Oahu and most require a really full day to take the whole experience in. One of the exceptions is a tour that leaves from Oahu about 9 am and returns about 4 pm. This is not an abbreviated tour by any means that will be cutting any corners, In fact you will be spending all your time exploring everything that you will find at your arrival destination. This tour is of course the tour from Honolulu to visit Father Damien’s Leper Colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula on the island of Molokai.

This tour is ‘destination specific’ with a landing at the ‘Colony’ but it is also an air tour that will have you viewing the towering Molokai sea cliffs and valleys where you will see the ‘highest free-falling waterfalls that descend into the ocean’ in the world. Your return flight will take you over the southern portions of Molokai and its amazing coral reefs with a view of many of the huge and ancient stone built fish ponds that the Hawaiians used years ago to catch and breed large quantities of fish.

The epic moments of this tour are however going to be found on the 4 to 5 hours spent down on the Leper Colony itself. The colony is small but it is immensely beautiful as it is surrounded on one side by a wall of emerald cliffs descending 2000′ from the ‘top side’ of Molokai and by thundering waves breaking on the lava rock of the peninsula on the other side. It’s extreme remoteness was why it was chosen as a leper colony to begin with. Your day will be spent being toured via bus between the various historical churches, hospital and other structures at Kalaupapa. By day’s end you will have fully taken in the whole story of one of the most interesting locations to be found anywhere in Hawaii.