Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
planning a holiday trip, make your
reservations as early as possible, expect
crowds, and prepare to pay top dollar
for accommodations, car rentals, and
airfare.
The
off season,
when the best bar-
gain rates are available and the islands
are less crowded, is spring (mid-Apr to
mid-June) and fall (Sept to mid-
Dec)—a paradox, since these are the
best seasons to be in Hawaii, in terms
of reliably great weather. If you're
looking to save money, or if you just
want to avoid the crowds, this is the
time to visit. Hotel rates and airfares
tend to be significantly lower; good
packages and special deals are often
available.
Note:
If you plan to come to
Hawaii between the last week in April
and early May, be sure you book your
accommodations, interisland air reser-
vations, and car rentals in advance. In
Japan, the last week of April is called
Golden Week,
because three Japanese
holidays take place one after the other.
Waikiki is especially busy with Japan-
ese tourists during this time, but the
neighbor islands also see dramatic
increases.
Due to the large number of families
traveling in
summer
(June-Aug), you
won't get the fantastic bargains of
spring and fall. However, you'll still do
much better on packages, airfare, and
accommodations than you will in the
winter months.
CLIMATE
Since Hawaii lies at the edge of the
tropical zone, it technically has only
two seasons, both of them warm.
There's a dry season that corresponds
to
summer,
and a rainy season in
win-
ter
from November to March. It rains
every day somewhere in the islands
any time of the year, but the rainy sea-
son sometimes brings gray weather
that can spoil your tanning opportu-
nities. Fortunately, it seldom rains in
one spot for more than 3 days straight.
The
year-round temperature
usu-
ally varies no more than 15°F. At the
beach, the average daytime high in
summer is 85°F (29°C), while the
average daytime high in winter is 78°F
(26°C); nighttime lows are usually
about 10°F cooler. But how warm it is
on any given day really depends on
where
you are on the island.
Each island has a leeward side (the
side sheltered from the wind) and a
windward side (the side that gets the
wind's full force). The
leeward
sides
(the west and south) are usually hot
and dry, while the
windward
sides
(east and north) are generally cooler
and moist. When you want arid, sun-
baked, desertlike weather, go leeward.
When you want lush, sometimes wet,
junglelike weather, go windward.
Hawaii is also full of
microcli-
mates,
thanks to its interior valleys,
coastal plains, and mountain peaks.
Kauai's Mount Waialeale is the wettest
spot on earth, yet Waimea Canyon,
just a few miles away, is almost a
desert. On the Big Island, Hilo is the
wettest city in the nation, with 180
inches of rainfall a year, while at
Puako, only 60 miles away, it rains less
than 6 inches a year. If you travel into
the mountains, the climate can change
from summer to winter in a matter of
hours because it's cooler the higher
you go. So, if the weather doesn't suit
A Place in the Sun
Your best bets for total year-round sun are
Waikiki Beach
and the
Ko
Olina
(southwest) coast of Oahu, the Big Island's
Kona-Kohala Coast,
the
south
(Kihei-Wailea)
and west
(Lahaina-Kapalua)
Maui coasts, and
Poipu
Beach
and the southwest coast of Kauai.
Tips
