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I’ve got good news for you…there’s no BAD time to go to Hawaii ; )

But depending on what you’re after (low crowds, best weather, low prices, WHALES), then some times are definitely better than others.

The Best Time to Go to Hawaii

And I know these days most people are planning their vacations around work/school/holiday schedules and generally have an idea about when they’re going to go, but if you’re wide open and trying to pick the best time to go to Hawaii, here are a few things to think about:

Weather

As far as weather goes, Hawaii is pretty temperate year round, but their seasons technically match ours on the US mainland. Our summer is their summer and our winter is their winter.

“Winter” is a relative term in Hawaii, but what it mostly means are big waves and more rain.

Winter is the wet season in Hawaii so while most resort areas on the Hawaiian islands occupy the leeward (dry and sunny) side of the island, if you’re venturing to the north shore or any jungle areas, you’ll likely experience more rain in the winter months. It’ll also be much lusher and greener and you’ll see more waterfalls ; )

The winter months also bring big swells and surf competitions (on Oahu) and many stellar snorkeling spots (Honolua Bay on Maui, Waimea Bay on Oahu, and Tunnels on Kauai) aren’t snorkelable (is that a word??) in the winter.

The difference between “winter” and “summer” is a bigger deal to locals than tourists though. Unless you’re visiting the higher elevation areas of Maui and the Big Island, you aren’t likely to notice much of a difference in the temperature (air or water). Just remember, winter generally means more rain. But if you’re staying in the resort areas (Waikiki and Ko Olina on Oahu, Wailea/Kihei and Lahaina/Kaanapali on Maui, Kona and Kohala on the Big Island, and Poipu on Kauai) you’re going to be pretty good on the sunshine.

And while hurricane season in Hawaii is technically June-November, hurricanes are pretty rare.

Whale Season

Whale season usually stretches from mid December through mid April. Of course the whales aren’t quite aware of the thousands of tourists in Hawaii waiting for their arrival, so they come when they want to.

The first arrivals could start showing up as early as late October, but they’re few and far between. The end of December through January is when they reallllly start to arrive with February being PEAK whale season.

By mid April, the majority have already started their migration back to Alaska (where they feed), but there could be a few stragglers that hang around into May.

If you’re planning your trip with the main goal of seeing humpback whales…make it February, and make it Maui.

Read more about whale watching in Hawaii here.

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The Cheapest Time to Go to Hawaii

Well, it’s not when kids are out of school ; ) Whenever kids are out of school is high season…the summer and the winter holidays are booming, ESPECIALLY around Christmas and New Years.

Airfare skyrockets around Christmas and you’ll pay a premium at every resort and condo in the islands. If you’re traveling on a budget, avoid Christmas! I would block out the last two weeks of December and the first week of January.

June, July, and the first half of August are when summer crowds flock to Hawaii. Though nothing like Christmas in terms of crowds and prices, the summer months still attract a fair number of visitors and airfare prices sometimes reflect that. If you’re working with some kind of external factors (school schedules, ability to take vacation days from work, etc.) summer is still a good time to plan a trip to Hawaii.

You may not find airfare or accommodations at their rock bottom, but you can still find plenty of deals during this time of year.

So the VERY best time to go to Hawaii in terms of low crowds and therefore low(er) prices is during shoulder season in the spring and fall.

I’ve been to Hawaii pretty much all times of the year and I’m constantly monitoring prices on flights and hotels and I consistently find mid April through May and mid August through mid October to be the cheapest time of year to go to Hawaii.

You can find great airfare bargains during this time and hotel prices are generally as low as you’ll ever find them. Kids are either just wrapping up school and have a lineup of events (prom, graduation, etc.) or they’ve just started back to school so no one is skipping school for vacation.

Also, while these are transition seasons, you’ll have mostly summer weather. Late spring has the perk of everything still being super green from all the winter rain, but early fall has the perk of warmer air and water temperatures on the coattails of summer (both are relative though because Hawaii is pretty much always “green and lush” and “warm and sunny.”

(an end to the busy summer travel season) and holiday travel hasn’t started yet so it’s a nice little lull.

You’ll have mostly summer weather although October is usually a transition month.

Avoiding Crowds

I’ve already mentioned Christmas and the general busyness of summer, but another window to be aware of is Japan’s Golden Week.

Japanese tourists flock to Hawaii year round, but their prime travel time (comparable to our winter holidays) is Golden Week. This week at the end of April/beginning of May (April 29-May 5, 2025) is a stretch of four national holidays over the span of seven days. So it’s a major travel time.

While I don’t think you necessarily see more crowds in general during this time in Hawaii (because it’s the low season for US travel), it’s a higher concentration of Japanese travelers and sometimes that means higher prices at resorts and hotels. This is mostly on Oahu, but you may notice it a bit at the high end resorts on the outer islands too.

I don’t think this is something to reschedule a trip around, but if you’re wide open you may find better prices (and slightly fewer crowds) by avoiding these days. Just something to look into.

That being said, if you like Japanese culture, I think sometimes the hotels/shops/restaurants put our special offerings that cater more to Japanese guests during this time and that could be attractive.

For example, at Disney’s Aulani Resort on Oahu, character meet and greets, merch, and snacks that vibe with things that are popular with Asian visitors (namely fan favorites like Duffy, Shellie May, and Olu Mel) are featured more plentifully during this time of year. Read this post if you have no idea what I’m talking about ; )

There may be more shopping collections and opportunities at places like the Ala Moana geared towards Japanese visitors too. Basically, don’t miss the Hello Kitty merch.

And I would also be aware of the IronMan World Championships which are hosted in Kona (Big Island usually towards the end of October (October 26, 2024 this year). This event brings a LOT of people to the island and congestion around Kona in particular. Can you avoid it if you’re staying on another part of the island? Yes, but have a good plan.

Side Note: If you’re looking for a rental car for your trip, I LOVE Discount Hawaii Car Rentals. They’re seriously the only company I ever use. They’ll give you the very best prices, you don’t have to reserve with a credit card or pay until you show up, you can cancel and re-book anytime if you find a better rate, and they usually have a special that adds additional drivers for no fee. It’s a no brainer. Click here to check rates for your trip.

Special Events in Hawaii

Sometimes it’s fun to plan your trip to coincide with a special event. Here are some big ones throughout the islands:

Merrie Monarch Festival (Hilo, Big Island in March 31-April 6, 2024)

Honolulu Marathon (Oahu on December 8, 2024)

Made in Hawaii (Oahu on August 23-25, 2024)

Made on Maui (Maui on November 1 and 2, 2024)

May Day (All Islands on May 1)

Hawaii International Film Festival (October 2-13, 2024)

Prince Lot Hula Competition (Oahu on July 20, 2024)

King Kamehameha Celebration (All Islands from June 7-15)

Hawaii Food & Wine Fest (Big Island, Maui, and Oahu in October)

Kona Coffee Cultural Festival (Big Island on November 1-10, 2024)

Kapalua Wine & Food Fest (Maui on June 6-9, 2024)

Kauai Chocolate & Coffee Festival (Kauai on October 20, 2024)

My Favorite Times to Go to Hawaii

Like I said, there’s never a bad time to go to Hawaii, and I’ve tested that out ; )

But here are the times of year I keep coming back to…

Shoulder Season in April/May and September/October

I am a hotel/resort person so I always have a list of places that I want to stay. And I consistently find the best rates in either late April through May or late August through October. So that is very attractive to me. The only downside about visiting during these times is that it’s the best part of the year weather wise where I live. So escaping home for a trip to Hawaii just isn’t as appealing as it is in…

February

This brings me to my FAVORITE time of year to go to Hawaii. February is not necessarily the cheapest or the least crowded (it’s also not the most!), but there is NOTHING more luxurious than escaping the long, cold, dark winter where I live for a trip to Hawaii.

I will pay a little bit more as a “winter tax” and while visiting Hawaii anytime is a treat, visiting Hawaii during the winter is my ultimate treat. Plus, there are whales ; )

Here’s one more really important thing you need to know before your Hawaii trip…

Reservations You Need to Make BEFORE Your Hawaii Trip

You’ve got your airfare, hotel, rental car and your big activities booked, so you should be good to go, right? Wrong!

Travel is BOOMING in Hawaii so a lot of state and national parks used the closure and reopening to institute reservation systems at some of the island’s most popular spots to make things a little more sustainable.

That means that there are now over half a dozen sites (beaches, trailheads, etc.) that require advance reservations. And some sell out well before you arrive on the island so you really need to have some sort of a plan.

I recently saw somebody in a Hawaii travel group post in a panic that they didn’t know they had to make reservations for things in advance…they thought they could just show up and “go with the flow.” I was tempted to say, well, “as long as the flow doesn’t take you somewhere that requires reservations, you can!” ; )

But I don’t want YOU to be that person, so I’ve pulled together a list of all the places you need to reserve entry in advance (plus all the details on booking windows, price, links, etc.) and a handful of popular tourist hotspots that book out really far in advance too.

Haleakala National Park (Maui)

To visit Haleakala National Park for sunrise at the summit, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are required to enter the park gates between 3AM and 7AM (sunrise hours).

Online reservations are $1 per reservation/vehicle PLUS you’ll pay the park entrance fee of $30/vehicle when you arrive (National Park annual passes are also accepted at the gate).

The reservation booking window opens 60 days in advance at 7AM HST. There are also a limited number of tickets released two days before.

You can make one reservation every three days with the same account. So if you want to make reservations for back to back days (in case of weather/conditions), you’ll need to do so with separate accounts (email addresses).

If you can’t get reservations for sunrise, you can enter the park anytime after 7AM without reservations. The summit is spectacular during the day and you don’t need reservations for sunset.

I strongly recommend creating an account before and making sure you’re logged in at 7AM HST because it’s not uncommon for reservations to sell out quickly.

Waianapanapa State Park (Maui)

To visit Maui’s famous black sand beach at Waianapanapa State Park on the Road to Hana, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are required to visit the beach and are distributed in windows from 7AM-10AM, 10AM-12:30PM, 12:30PM-3PM, and 3PM-6PM. And they are pretty strict about exiting by the end of your window time (you can arrive anytime within your window).

It’s $5/person to enter plus $10/vehicle to park and those fees are paid when you book your time slot.

Reservations open up 30 days in advance.

Iao Valley State Park (Maui)

To visit the lush, green mountains and hike at Iao Valley State Park, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are offered for 90 minute time slots beginning at 7AM and ending at 6PM. They ask that you arrive within the first 30 minutes of your time slot.

Entry is $5/person plus $10/vehicle to park.

Reservations open up 30 days in advance.

Diamond Head (Oahu)

To hike to the top of Waikiki’s famous Diamond Head, you must make reservations in advance here.

Reservations are offered in two hour increments beginning at 6AM (6AM-8AM, 8AM-10AM, etc.) and ending at 6PM. If you’re parking onsite, they ask that you arrive within the first 30 minutes of your reservation window.

Entry is $5/person plus $10/vehicle to park.

Reservations open up 30 days in advance.

Tip: I recommend booking one of the first two time slots because there isn’t much shade on this hike and it gets pretty hot.

Hanauma Bay (Oahu)

To snorkel at Oahu’s pristine Hanauma Bay, you must make reservations in advance here.

Entry times are staggered in 10 minute increments from 7AM to 1:20PM with roughly 1000 slots being assigned in advance every day.

Reservations can be made two days in advance and they open at 7AM HST. They’re usually gone in minutes (if not seconds).

If you’re unable to get an advanced reservation, you can try for a day of, walk in ticket. They open at 6:45AM and they only have a limited number available. Everyone in your group needs to be present when you purchase your tickets in person.

There are no reservations for parking and it’s first come, first serve. $3/vehicle.

It’s $25/person to snorkel at Hanauma Bay (12 and under, active military, and locals with HI ID are free).

The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is open Wednesday through Sunday (CLOSED MONDAY AND TUESDAY) from 6:45AM-4PM. Last entry is at 1:30PM, the beach is cleared at 3:15PM and you have to leave the facility by 4PM.

Jellyfish patterns can also affect whether or not the bay is open so double check the day before/day of.

USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor (Oahu)

If you want to take the boat tour at Pearl Harbor out to the USS Arizona, it’s recommended to make advance reservations here.

Online reservations are guaranteed a specific boarding time to go out to the USS Arizona. If you’re unable to get an advance reservation, you can wait standby when you arrive. The line could be short (15 minutes or so) or long (hours) and it just depends on the day (if they’re having problems with the loading dock sometimes they don’t take many from the standby line) and the time of day.

Reservations are supposed to open up 60 days in advance, but keep an eye on your exact dates, because lately they’ve actually been opening up about 57ish days in advance???

They also release a small batch of tickets the day before.

The boat ride out to the USS Arizona is free, but it’s $1 to make the reservations online.

They recently started charging $7/vehicle for parking at Pearl Harbor.

Haena State Park / Kalalau Trail (Kauai)

If you want to hike Kauai’s famous Kalalau Trail, you must make advance reservations here.
You’ve got three options here:

1) Parking & Entry: This is the most flexible option and also the most limited. THESE RESERVATIONS SELL OUT IN LESS THAN A MINUTE. There are three time slots available: 6:30AM-12:30PM, 12:30PM-5:30PM and 4:30PM to sunset. You can purchase multiple time slots if you want to stay longer. It’s $10/timeslot (parking) plus $5/person and you have to reserve every person when you initially book. Everybody has to arrive in the same car and your ID needs to match the reservation.

2) Shuttle & Entry: If you can’t get parking at the trailhead, there’s also a shuttle option. Shuttle reservations are $35/person (16+), $25/person (ages 4-15), 3 and under can ride free. The shuttle runs every 20 minutes 6:20AM to 6:40PM.

3) Entry Only: If you’re a Hawaiian resident (with HI ID) or someone WITH a Hawaiian resident, you can purchase entry only for $5/person with no advance reservations. Also, if you’re walking or biking to the trailhead you can do this option. But there is NOWHERE to park in the area to walk in. So this really only works for those with bikes or who are staying close enough to walk. They will tow your car if you park outside the designated areas.

The reservation window opens 30 days in advance at 12AM HST. The parking & entry option usually sells out in a minute, but the shuttle availability will last longer.

There are a TON of FAQs here including the possibility of snagging a canceled reservation.

Other Things to Book in Advance

Hawaii is a busy place these days! Besides the state and national parks above, here’s a handful of miscellaneous things you should make reservations for in advance (if they’re on your radar):

Mama’s Fish House (Maui): The iconic spot is the most popular restaurant in Hawaii and dinner reservations usually start filling up about 6 months in advance (they open up bookings 18 months in advance). Make reservations through their website and if the dates you want are already booked, you can join a waitlist. Most people have pretty good success getting in on the waitlist (even if it’s for lunch).

Old Lahaina Luau (Maui): Honestly, any luau you’re planning to attend you should book early, but most people are usually shocked how far out the Old Lahaina Luau books out. Book it as soon as you know your dates (I think they open at the six month window). They also have a waitlist.

Kualoa Ranch UTV Tour (Oahu): Everybody loves Jurassic Park so getting to ride UTVs where they filmed the movies is very popular. The ranch offers a lot of different tours but the UTV tours usually book out a couple of months in advance.

Spa Reservations: If you’re staying at a resort with a spa (or planning on visiting one), don’t wait until you arrive to make your reservations. I’d make them at least a month in advance.

Tee Times: Same for golf, reserve your tee times well in advance.

Dining Reservations: Any “fancy” or resort restaurant is likely to be booked up these days so if you like having a nice dinner every night, make your plans in advance.

P.S. Thanks for sticking around and reading this whole post! If you have ANY questions about planning your trip to Hawaii, you can join my free Facebook group here. I’m there answering questions every day and there are 7500+ other friends who have a ton of Hawaii information to share!

Also, if you want to follow along on my travel adventures in real time, you can follow me on Instagram (@caitylincoln). My post captions are full of travel tips and I have a ton of story highlights and videos with great info. And please share my account with your friends that are headed to Hawaii! Your support really helps me keep this blog running!