Best Time To Visit Hawaii
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Flights to Hawaii overview
Going searches for the best fares and sends members deals bookable 1-12 months in advance. Going members save approximately 38% compared to normal flight prices to Hawaii.
Cheapest Going deal
Average price roundtrip
Average Going deal price roundtrip
Best month to fly
Going found the most deals with travel dates in September.
Worst month to fly
Going found the least deals with travel dates in July.
Top tips for finding a cheap flight to Hawaii
Book your flights in the Goldilocks Window
Great deals on flights can happen anytime, but there’s usually a sweet spot before a flight when airfare is cheapest. It’s about 1-3 months before a domestic trip and 2-8 months before an international one. We call this the Goldilocks Window, and it’s when we recommend travelers plan to click that buy button.
Having said that, of course, there are a few situations when you should start looking at flights even further in advance to get the best deal. If you’re traveling during peak season or over a major holiday, for instance, that means booking further in advance will generally mean getting a better deal. Whatever you do, just be sure to book before airlines raise prices on tickets in the weeks leading up to a flight. They typically do so 21, 14, and 7 days before departure.
Try departing from a different airport
While there are direct flights to Hawaii from airports all over the United States, that doesn’t mean the cheapest airfare is going to be out of the airport that’s closest to you. By checking fares departing from other airports, you stand a better chance of finding a great deal.
Flights from NYC’s airports to Maui, for instance, might average more than $950 roundtrip. But rather than throwing in the towel on your vacation plans, zoom out on the map. If you find that there’s a fantastic $124 roundtrip flight to Maui from Long Beach, then even adding a second roundtrip ticket for the $340 flight from New York to California means an overall savings of more than $450. Keep your departure airport options open, and you could save a bundle.
Keep travel plans flexible
One of the best ways to save money on a trip, not just on airfare, is to be flexible. Once you get tied to specific travel dates, you automatically miss out on what might be a cheaper flight a few days before or after. If you travel outside the peak tourist season, you stand a much better chance of finding a cheaper fare.
But peak season is popular for a reason. Summer, for instance, means kids are out of school. If you don’t have the luxury of flexible travel planning, then at least try to avoid flying on the days when flights tend to be more expensive (Fridays and Sundays). Instead, try to fly on the days when tickets are usually cheaper (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays).
Sign up for fare alert emails
Email can be your best friend if you’re hunting for cheap airfare. When you have an itinerary you like, sign up for airfare alerts. You’ll then get an email notifying you when the price of that ticket drops into the range you want. If you have multiple potential itineraries, you’ll have to set up multiple alerts—and we recommend doing this a few months before you want to travel so you can get the best deal. And, if you want to outsource the whole task, join Going, and we’ll do all the research for you.
We’ve found great deals on flights to all of Hawaii’s four major airports, so if you don’t have a specific island you want to visit, then you have a much better chance of finding a deal that suits your travel budget. And even if you don’t see a cheap fare to the island you really want to explore, there are often inter-island flights to be had for $50 roundtrip. As you’d probably expect, most of the deals we find are from West Coast airports, but it never hurts to check other major airports around the country just in case there’s a killer deal on a flight from where you live.
Frequently asked questions about flying to Hawaii
When is high season in Hawaii?
The weather in Hawaii is famously one of its main draws—who doesn’t love the idea of year-round beach weather? There are, however, certain times of year that are considered Hawaii’s peak season, when prices are higher and crowds bigger. These are the summer months, June through August, and the holidays at the end of December and the beginning of January.
When is the best time to visit Hawaii?
The answer to this question depends partly on what you want to do during your Hawaii trip. Weather-wise, the months of September through March are the warmest—but June through November is also hurricane season, so keep that in mind. Surfers love visiting from November to March, the best time of year for great waves and major surfing competitions, and whale watchers aim for December-April. Events like January’s Ka Molokai Makahiki Festival, November’s Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, and October’s Hawaii Food and Wine Festival draw crowds of locals and visitors alike.
How many airports are there in Hawaii?
There are four major airports throughout the Hawaiian islands, along with several smaller airports that are mostly used for inter-island flights and don’t see much service from outside the state. The biggest and busiest airports in Hawaii are, in descending order:
- Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu
- Kahului Airport (OGG) in Kahului, on the island of Maui
- Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA) in Kailua-Kona, on The Big Island
- Lihue Airport (LIH) in Lihue, on the island of Kauai
Which city in Hawaii is the easiest to get to?
Honolulu’s airport sees the largest passenger volume by far—in 2019, more than 10 million people flew into HNL. Maui’s airport saw a little more than 3.5 million by comparison, coming in a distant second place.
Any of these four major Hawaiian airports have enough inbound service that they can all be a good option for your trip. It just depends on where in Hawaii you’re planning to go. We see the deals on flights to Honolulu most frequently.
- Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) on Oahu is a hub for Hawaiian Airlines, as well as some inter-island carriers like Mokulele Airlines. Honolulu’s airport has nonstop service from 35 US airports and 15 countries.
- Kahului Airport (OGG) on Maui is also a hub for Hawaiian Airlines and Mokulele Airlines. There are direct flights to Maui from 25 airports in the US and four Canadian airports.
- Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport (KOA) on The Big Island is a hub for Mokulele Airlines and has direct flights from 15 US airports, two Canadian airports, and one in Japan—Tokyo.
- Lihue Airport (LIH) on the island of Kauai isn’t a hub for any airline but sees frequent inter-island flights as well as direct flights from 13 cities in the US and one in Canada.
What are the rules for traveling with pets to Hawaii?
Hawaii is the only US state that is rabies-free, and they aim to keep it that way. In order to do so, there are very strict regulations for bringing a cat or dog (the only animals you’re even allowed to bring) with you on your trip. All pets must be kept in quarantine after arriving in Hawaii, though the duration varies from 5-120 days. Qualifying for the “Five Days or Less” quarantine program requires at least a four-month process before a trip (not to mention several hundred dollars in fees), so bringing a pet on a vacation to Hawaii is far less common than it might be in other places.
To find out more, check the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Animal Quarantine Branch website.
How long is the flight to Hawaii?
Flight times to Hawaii from the mainland vary considerably, as you’d expect. From the East Coast and Midwest, you can expect flight times of at least 9-11 hours for a direct flight. The shortest flights are from the West Coast, but even the quickest direct flight from California is around five hours.
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* Prices are per person and include all taxes & fees in USD. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing, however, prices are not guaranteed, as airline pricing can change by the minute. Average Going fares are based on average prices of deals found by Going.