Landing at Molokai Airport in Molokai gives you an easy home base, with the whole island, its sea cliffs, and its empty beaches close by. Molokai is the Hawaii that time mostly skipped. There are no traffic lights, no big resorts, and no building taller than a coconut palm, and the island is proud of it. Most residents are Native Hawaiian, the pace is slow, and visitors are expected to match it.

Highlights on Molokai: - Look down on Kalaupapa and the world's tallest sea cliffs from the overlook at Palaau State Park - Take a guided hike into Halawa Valley to the waterfalls at the east end - Walk Papohaku Beach, three miles of sand on the west end with almost nobody on it - Line up for hot bread at Kanemitsu Bakery after dark in Kaunakakai - See the ancient Hawaiian fishponds along the south shore - Mail a coconut home from the Post-A-Nut program at the Hoolehua post office - Tour Purdy's macadamia nut farm and crack a few yourself - Join the Ka Hula Piko festival in May, celebrating the birthplace of hula

Molokai is an island with no bridges and no car ferry, so everything beyond its shores is reached by short flight. Honolulu is about 25 minutes by air, Maui is similar, and Lanai sits just across the channel. On the ground, Kaunakakai is the one real town, with a wharf, a Saturday market, and a main street of old storefronts. Sunday is quiet, hunting and fishing are a way of life, and a wave from a passing truck is standard. If you want Hawaii without the crowds, Molokai is the place.