Hawaii is a wonderful destination any time of year, but being in the Hawaiian Islands around the holidays is even more special! Hotels, shops and restaurants decorate to create festive environments. In addition, we’ve observed that Hawaii residents really seem to “go all out” to celebrate holidays. So, it’s no surprise that the Aloha State would attract the most visitors around holiday periods. Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Thanksgiving, Easter and July 4th are the most popular times to visit Hawaii. (See our analysis of Hawaii hotel trends. Though the data is from years ago, the seasonal trends remain the same.)
So, if you tend to be organized, plan an itinerary
, and want to get the most out of your Hawaii holiday vacation, you’ll appreciate the following planning tips.I can’t emphasize this one enough — especially at Christmas and New Year’s Eve! For those winter holidays, restaurants, park reservations, and some tours will book up weeks in advance. Rental cars are likely to be fully booked as well.
Most parks and tours are open and operate everyday except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. So, if your vacation falls over those holiday periods, not only will there be more people contending for the limited options, there will be less days available to book those options.
Earlier this year, we wrote a series of articles on where you should consider making reservations for your Hawaii vacation. Those articles apply for visiting anytime of year, but are even more so important when visiting around holidays. Here’s that list of articles:
What reservations do you need to book before your Oahu vacation?
What reservations do you need to book before a Maui vacation?
What reservations do you need before a Kauai vacation?
What reservations do you need before a Hawaii (Big) Island vacation?
As we previously mentioned, Hawaii loves to celebrate holidays. So you can find special events to enjoy that you wouldn’t find any other time of year.
We create and update some popular holiday articles for some of the most popular holidays and islands. Here are those articles:
If that list doesn’t cover your needs, a couple of easy ways to find out what’s going on is:
In summary, holidays in Hawaii are special. Additionally, holidays are quite a popular time to visit Hawaii. So, a little pre-vacation planning can help you make the most of your holiday experience.
Mahalo to Elizabeth and Dan Van Os for these Aloha Friday Photos. They took these…
May 1st is Lei Day in Hawaii, though some folks can and do celebrate the…
Mahalo to Kinga Fekete from Manchester, England for this lovely Aloha Friday Photo. Kinga tells…
- Costco Travel has a "Hot Buy" for a Maui vacation package which includes accommodations…
Mahalo to Margaret Whip from Scotland for sharing this lovely Aloha Friday Photo with us.…
We curate the most comprehensive lists of the islands' top cultural events so that you…