Hawaii: Molokai Ranch rodeo Sept. 28-29

The rural island of Molokai is host to some of Hawaii’s most traditional celebrations and special seasonal events. Next month, The Lodge & Beach Village at Moloka’i Ranch will host the Paniolo Heritage Rodeo & Festival on Sept. 28-29. Not only are the rodeo events, such as bull riding and roping, free to the public, but so are the live music shows by Hawaiian recording artists, paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) exhibits and cultural craft exhibitions taking place during the festival.

Deal: A four-night stay at the Moloka’i Ranch in a standard beachfront “tentalow” during the festival (Oct. 18–22) costs $346.09/person, including taxes and fees. The luxury safari tents are equipped with full, open-air baths and are mainly solar-powered. Rates include three chef-prepared meals a day. Lodge rooms at the Molokai Ranch typically start at $228/night, excluding taxes and fees, but no rooms were available during the festival weekend when I checked earlier today.

Any tips for visiting Molokai? Tell us by posting in the Comments section below.

More…details: If you want to add on a compact rental car (which is a necessity if you want to explore Molokai) to your hotel stay, it’ll cost you $35.50 extra per day, but that doesn’t include the usual car-rental company taxes and surcharges. The hotel’s airfare packages won’t save you money either, as I was able to beat their best flight+hotel combination by $50 with an Orbitz flight instead.

When: The Paniolo Heritage Rodeo & Festival takes place at Molokai Ranch on September 28-29, 2007.

Why Go: Island rodeos shows off an exciting side of Hawaii’s mixed cultural history.

Why Not: If you’re not really up for a cowboy hoedown, the Molokai Ranch is also the place to watch the wahine (women) launch traditional outrigger canoes to race from Molokai to Oahu on September 23, 2007.

Critique: Staying at the Molokai Ranch is an all-inclusive experience that largely insulates you from the local community. Although it’s fantastic for outdoor activities (all charged a la carte), you’ll have to make an effort to drive off the ranch (which takes up most of the western half of the island) to visit other beaches and historic sites, such as the Kalaupapa Peninsula.

Connect/Disconnect: The beach village tentalows don’t have Internet access, but the lodge rooms have high-speed data ports.

Contact: Molokai Ranch, (808) 660-2824, (888) 627-8082
Molokai Cowboy Connection, (808) 552-2900

Related Los Angeles Times links:
EXPIRED Hawaii: July 4th rodeo extravaganzas
Hawaii: New go! flights to Molokai & more
Hawaii: Alternative B&Bs on Maui

– Sara Benson, L.A. Times Travel Deal Detective

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 9:37 am by Sara Benson and is filed under Fall, Family & Kids, Festival, Hawaii, Islands & Beaches, Molokai, Outdoors & Adventure, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.