Moloaa Bay. Filming location of the Pilot & first episode
1st Season Island: Sandy Cay
2nd & 3rd Season Island: Coconut Island
Hanalei & Moloaa Bay Map
Kapaa Map
Beach 1
Beach 2
Beach 3
Did you ever have an urge to visit the film site of Gilligan's Island?
There were actually a few different locations used, and we'll show you each
and every one of them so you can take the trip yourself and check 'em out!
Don't forget your camera's!
Moloaa Bay was the filming location, and the scenes
were shot in only four days from November 19th through to 22nd, 1963.
If you are lucky enough to visit the filming site of Gilligan's Island, please
send us a report and tell us how you enjoyed your stay. Many folks have been
married there, and are sure to be the envy of all Gilligan's Island fans
worldwide! Have a great time, and "Smooth Sailing."
The pilot and the first episode were filmed in Kauai located in the Hawaiin
islands. The crew had looked at locations in Los Angeles and Catalina Island
but found them to be useless. Los Angeles had no tropical settings and
Catalina didn't have any palms trees. They finally found their island....
Kauai!
(Note) The first episode proceeding the pilot was filmed at Zuma Beach near Malibu,
California, mixing in a little footage from Kauai.
When they arrived in Kauai on November 15 1963, Bob Denver and the crew
stayed the night at the Coco Palms Hotel on the east side of the island in
Wailua next to Kapaa. Elvis also stayed there while filming "Blue Hawaii." That
resort has been closed since Hurricane Iniki, but people are allowed to tour it by
special arrangement, usually with a tour or wedding.
The next day, they moved to a location closer to the film site at the
Hanalei Plantation Resort in Princeville, overlooking Hanalei Bay (where
South Pacific was filmed). In fact, the production designer of South Pacific
designed the Hanalei Plantation and its cottages. The Hanalei Plantation
consisted of a large main building with a series of small cottages leading
down a steep hill to Hanalei Bay. The main building was for the crew, and
the small cottages were for the cast and executives. The land which held the
Hanalei Plantation Resort became a Club Med for a few years. The Club Med
eventually closed down and was torn down. Someone started to build condos
there, but lost their financing after pouring the foundations. It is now
totally vacant except for those foundations. Two years ago, Disney tried to
buy the property, but a deal was never put together.
While on Kauai, they realized that they needed a boat (the S.S. Minnow).
Since they couldn't find a suitable boat on the island, they had to look
elsewhere, and finally found a boat in the Honolulu Harbor. Once the Minnow
was towed to Kauai, the suits got to work and punched some holes in the hull
using a couple of sledge hammers. There were four Minnow's used on the show,
this one seen beached on the island. After filming was complete on Kauai,
the crew relocated to the Honolulu Harbor where they rented a boat (S.S.
Minnow number 2) and filmed the crew boarding and sailing it out of the
Honolulu harbor. Another Minnow was used when it fell apart from Gilligan's
pancake syrup glue. The last Minnow was used during the opening theme of the
second season sitting in the lagoon and was constructed just for CBS Studios
in Burbank California.
The island you see in the distance at the beginning theme of the second and
third season is an actual island called Coconut Island or
Mokuoloe. It is located in Oahu's Kaneohe Bay and is the home of the Institute
of Marine Biology. The 1st season island seen in the distance is an island in the
Bahamas called Sandy Cay.
The best way to see the site where Gilligan's Island was filmed in Kauai is
to take a tour. Bob, the President of Hawaii Movie Tours has a great package! They'll
take you to the filming location of Gilligan's Island and even bring out TV's and show you
exactly where each scene was shot! Amazing! They supply food and a lot
of fun as well! You will also be shown other movie spots such as Jurassic
Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Donovan's Reef, Outbreak, Fantasy Island, Blue
Hawaii and South Pacific.
The second and third season opening were filmed at beautiful
Marina Del Rey located in Los Angeles. Not quite sure at what basin it
was filmed from though.
Here are a few good-looking Hotels at Hanalei Bay. These are:
Hanalei Colony Resort
The Princeville Hotel
Hanalei Bay Resort
Go to their home pages and you'll be amazed at how beautiful they are! Moloaa
Bay is just about 10 miles away!
