Best time to travel to Hawaii
Winter: By the time winter is in full swing, the "high season" has begun on the islands. This term of course brings back up the debate about defining "low" and "high" season. While the tourism authority in the islands, using 2005 data, will show the second highest number of visitors arriving in December of each year, it’s important to note that most of these visitors are showing up for about a week - Christmas through New Years. This is always a very busy time in the islands and can almost single-handedly make this the "high season" for accommodations. Thus, on average, the prices are higher and occupancy rates are higher. Bottom-line: expect to pay more in winter months. As noted in the introduction, Christmas is a time that anyone who dislikes crowds should avoid coming to the islands.
The high temperature remains a comfortable average of near 78 degrees. Water temperatures are often around 74 degrees during this period, and swimming can be rough as a result of the higher surf. If you’re coming to Hawai'i to see any surfing events, then this is definitely the time to come - especially on Maui and Oahu. During the winter months, this is one of the only places in the world you can come play in the snow (on the Big Island and occasionally Maui) and swim in the (warm) ocean in the same day. In our opinion, winter is usually the least desirable time to visit the islands. Despite the waterfalls usually being more active due to the rain, the combination of higher prices, wetter weather in general, and cooler temperatures has never sat well with us when you can easily visit during the spring or fall for much cheaper prices and better weather.
Before we end this section we want to stress again that this "low" or "high" season classification changes on a year to year basis, so that predicting the visitation rates season to season becomes more and more difficult. Several factors, including the economy and weather, can affect travel to and from Hawai'i. The same is true of natural events (like flooding, earthquakes, etc). During the span of one week in August 2007, the Big Island was faced with a 5.4 earthquake, a Category 3 Hurricane, and a Tsunami warming after a earthquake off the coast of Peru. On a personal note, despite all of that, we still enjoy the Big Island the most. As we say in the islands, "There's never a dull moment living here."
Hawaii Tourism Statistics
If it's numbers you're looking for, then the information on our Hawaii Tourism Statistics page should be of interest to you.
More Information: Hawaii Weather page or Selecting a Hawaiian island to visit
The high temperature remains a comfortable average of near 78 degrees. Water temperatures are often around 74 degrees during this period, and swimming can be rough as a result of the higher surf. If you’re coming to Hawai'i to see any surfing events, then this is definitely the time to come - especially on Maui and Oahu. During the winter months, this is one of the only places in the world you can come play in the snow (on the Big Island and occasionally Maui) and swim in the (warm) ocean in the same day. In our opinion, winter is usually the least desirable time to visit the islands. Despite the waterfalls usually being more active due to the rain, the combination of higher prices, wetter weather in general, and cooler temperatures has never sat well with us when you can easily visit during the spring or fall for much cheaper prices and better weather.Before we end this section we want to stress again that this "low" or "high" season classification changes on a year to year basis, so that predicting the visitation rates season to season becomes more and more difficult. Several factors, including the economy and weather, can affect travel to and from Hawai'i. The same is true of natural events (like flooding, earthquakes, etc). During the span of one week in August 2007, the Big Island was faced with a 5.4 earthquake, a Category 3 Hurricane, and a Tsunami warming after a earthquake off the coast of Peru. On a personal note, despite all of that, we still enjoy the Big Island the most. As we say in the islands, "There's never a dull moment living here."
Hawaii Tourism Statistics
If it's numbers you're looking for, then the information on our Hawaii Tourism Statistics page should be of interest to you.
More Information: Hawaii Weather page or Selecting a Hawaiian island to visit
Page 3 of 3 pages for this article < 1 2 3
Topic Views: 8880
Author: J.C.Derrick
Destination Expert on
71°F
ALOHA AND MAHALO
Est6her and Tony Zimmermann