Aloha and welcome to our Hawaii, Big Island New Year’s Eve Guide! We are in the process of updating this page as venues announce their events for the upcoming New Year’s Eve. We usually hear those announcements in November to early December, however, we have already confirmed a few events. For any event for the upcoming holiday, we note it with bold blue 2026/2027. While we are updating this page, we are keeping last year’s events listed as both a placeholder and for you to get an idea of what might be repeated again for the upcoming New Year’s Eve.
The Big Island is gearing up for a festive holiday season. It’s a fantastic place to be anytime of year, but the holidays are extra special!
We’ll be searching for public fireworks shows this New Year’s Eve. However, even if there are no organized, public fireworks shows, look to the local neighborhoods and you’ll see fireworks, perhaps even some that might rival a professional display.
New Year’s Eve Dining, Fireworks & Entertainment
– Outrigger Kona Resort hosts their Feast & Fire luau on a New Year’s Eve dinner.
– Hilton Waikoloa Village presents a fireworks show over their saltwater lagoon at 9:00 p.m. (Note that some people reported that this free fireworks show was a bit underwhelming last year.) 2026/2027
– Hawaii Calls restaurant at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott hosts a New Year’s Eve buffet dinner and live music.
– Guests of the Four Seasons Resort Haulalai can take part in an oceanside New Year’s Eve Celebration with a buffet dinner and a fireworks display. See this link for more information. 2026/2027
– Guests of the Mauna Lani Auberge resort can enjoy several dinner and festive options including a fireworks show from the beach. The New Year’s Eve Luau looks like a fun option. See this link for more information. 2026/2027
– Guests of Mauna Kea Beach Hotel can participate in a beachfront New Year’s Eve Celebration from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
– Kona Village Rosewood Resort hosts New Year’s Eve fireworks and festivities for their guests. See this link for more information.
Luau Companies Operating on New Year’s Eve
With a luau including dinner and an exciting show, it would be a great way to enjoy the last evening of 2025. A luau typically lasts about three hours. The following luau companies are operating December 31, 2025:
- Hilton Waikoloa Village Luau – Under the Stars is operating their luau. This luau gets 3.8 stars out of 5.0 on TripAdvisor. 2026/2027
- Feast & Fire Luau at OUTRIGGER Kona will be operating their luau on New Year’s Eve. This luau has earned a TripAdvisor rating of 3.3 out of 5.0. Here are their seating options:
- Ali’i Preferred Seating 2026/2027
- General seating 2026/2027
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Notes:
– We anticipate adding more events.
– Be prepared for your holiday time on the Big Island by learning everything you need to know for a December vacation in Hawaii.
– Other luxury resorts may be hosting special events, possibly with fireworks. These events are typically not widely advertised so that the venues can reserve the space for guests of the hotels. Check directly with your resort and/or concierge for further information.
– Most Big Island resort restaurants are open on New Year’s Eve. Many will have special menus to celebrate the coming new year. A great place to check for both reservations, reviews and restaurant information is at OpenTable.com. Use the dropdown menu at the top, along with the options on the left side to customize the time and size of your party.
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We wish you a Hau’oli Makahiki Hou, which is how you say Happy New Year in Hawaiian!
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Note to journalists, bloggers, etc. – we do ALL our own research with many hours invested in this work. If you are referencing this page for an article you are creating, kindly provide credit to GoVisitHawaii.com
29 comments
Looking for New years eve event for my two sons who will be visiting 21 &25.
Kathleen – we’ll be updating this page in December, when venues announce what they’re offering. Usually the same venues offer very similar New Year’s Eve celebrations year after year, but with a price increase. So, there will likely be the same events this year. If any of these events appeal to your sons, that’s great, but if they are looking for something else, they should pick up a copy of the local newspaper when they’re on the island to check for other events/parties/celebrations.
Sheila, anything happening on the big island near the volcano Kilauea? Maybe a midnight walk to see Kilauea’s glow and a celebration toast? Is there anything going on near volcanos national park?
Not to our knowledge.
You might want to check with the Volcano House hotel to see if they have anything special planned.
The Lava Lounge up in the park is having a New Years Eve party tonight. Check out the website.
Aloha Sheila,
My name is Tammie, I’m the PR Manager at the Sheraton Kona. Thank you for featuring our resort in the Go Visit Hawaii NYE article. I noticed that the above information for our resort is outdated. I’d love the opportunity to send you our holiday and NYE events for 2015/2016. We have an assortment of activities taking place to celebrate the holidays and New Year. I can be reached at tammie.carpenter@sheraton.com. Happy holidays!
Aloha Tammie, what you previous saw hadn’t been updated for this new season. It has now been updated for New Year’s Eve 2015/2016.
How about a general fireworks show for the community? In Kauai they have one at Poipu for everyone free of charge at about 9:30. Does anything like that exist here?
Not to our knowledge this year.
Aloha,is there any firework shows happening in Kailua Kona?
Nothing official that we are aware of.
Hi!
Where are the best New Years’ eve fireworks in Hawaii? We’re planning out our itinerary and are keen to watch the fireworks as our 2 year old daughter loves them!
Please do advise.
It’s difficult to say which fireworks display is best for a number of reasons. At this point, we don’t have confirmation from all the usual venues as to if they will be hosting fireworks this year or not. Sometimes funding for fireworks shows in Hawaii can be iffy even days or weeks in advance. Chances are there will be fireworks somewhere on each island, whether organized or informal. Check back in December when more of the venues will have announced what they plan to offer.
Anything going on on the Hilo side? My boyfriend and I are 30 and want to check what’s happening in the area.
Hilo side is more laid back than the Kona side. There may be special New Year’s Eve events going on on the Hilo side, but we are currently not aware of any big events. Check with your host/concierge and also pick up a copy of the local paper when your on island.
Fireworks at 12pm launched from Coconut Island on Hilo Bay. Lasts about 15 min. Very nice. Free.
Unfortunately we’ve not been able to confirm a Hilo fireworks show for December 31, 2024.
Do you have to attend the parties to enjoy the fireworks? Is there anywhere you can just go to enjoy the fireworks without having to pay for it?
There aren’t any organized, professional fireworks displays planned for the general public for New Year’s Eve this year, unfortunately.
By the way, all beaches in Hawaii are open to the public. Finding parking can sometimes be a big challenge, though.
I like heading up the hill into Waikoloa Highlands where you can watch 3 different displays from the nice hotels up there.
what about new years options for the big island for 2018/2019?
They NYE dinner at the Canoe House and the NYE party and fireworks are not open to the public, it’s for hotel guests only.
Ok, thanks for letting us know. We’ve made a note of it.
Any chance you could please update this list for 31 December 2024/1 January 2025?
We typically begin updating this page in November and into December when the venues announce what they’re hosting. We recommend you subscribe to our free email newsletters so that you will know when this page has been updated. Our newsletters are usually issued twice per week and they’re filled with helpful Hawaii vacation news, deals and travel advice. You can subscribe by carefully entering your email address here: https://govisithawaii.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ff2ac3a235f8da3d2131ef4c7&id=f471f8c491
Where can you see the New Year’s Eve fireworks at 9:00 without going on a cruise or going to a resort? I keep seeing that fireworks are going to be at 9:00, but where? Can you go to a beach to see them?
It’s hard to say for sure where you can watch the 9:00 p.m. fireworks show over the Hilton Waikoloa lagoon from elsewhere. Most fireworks go 100 to 200 feet or more in the air. So, if you can get a distant vantage point that allows you to view over buildings and palm trees, you might be able to see them.
The nearest beach, Anaeho’omalu, is within Waikoloa Beach Resort. You might be able to see the fireworks from there, but we can’t say for sure.
To ring in the 2025 new year, the Hilton Waikoloa show lasted 4 minutes. They all appeared to be electrically ignited near the waters edge breakfast buffet area and did not reach much height to even see it well while sitting on property, let alone viewable while off property.
Given how short and underwhelming the “show” was, guests were left wondering if the show was cut short due to an injury or technical issue- or if they should wait for more fireworks. Sharing this detail for those who may be considering making the drive to the Hilton in the future. The fireworks hardly seemed advertisement-worthy and I’ve seen larger home shows over a lake/river than this one unfortunately.