Hawaii travel tips

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About

NOTE: This page is a daughter page of: Travel


So I've actually never been to Hawaii before! I'm from Australia and was living in San Francisco for many years, but in Nov 2020 (during the pandemic) I decided I should try to visit Hawaii at last. Here's any notes I find.

WARNING: This is early days, so I'm still building this article.


Tips for a Hawaii Trip

Traveling During Covid

From early 2020 until Oct 15, visitors had to quarantine for 2 weeks else face a ($5000 + 2 years in jail) fine. Yup they take it seriously! After Oct 15 2020, you can simply show up with a Negative COVID test result *BUT* it's not quite all that simple... the test has to be by an approved testing partner and within a certain time of your arrival. Details here:




Decide on an Island (or two)

I created this graphic to summarize what you need to know:


I've summarized the different islands and what they are good for (and their popularity among tourists).


Videos

  • Vacation Travel Guide | Expedia: Feel good videos which cover most islands:
    • Honolulu (Oahu Island) - big city, popular Waikiki beach, downtown, barracks, Pearl Harbor, the zoo and more.
    • Maui - the "most beautiful island" with watersports, galleries, rent a car to drive to Hana.
    • Hawaii's Big Island - feel good overview of the main island, and attractions like the volcanos, painted church, captain cook monument and more. They also have videos for:
    • Kauai island - 30 minutes from Honolulu, the garden island with stunning waterfalls and scenery. No building can be taller than a coconut tree.


Car Rental

It appears there are pretty resonable car rentals on most islands. You can use a service like Expedia to look across multile rental agencies and might get as good as ~$30 a day for a midsize SUV if you book a few days. You'll probably want a pickup and drop-off from the airport... so for instance for Maui you'd probably want Kahului Airport (OGG).


Accommodation

Depending on how long you stay, there can be a few good deals floating around. Instead of just using AirBnB, you should also try VRBO for Hawaii.


Acknowledgements: Zzina for sharing some of these links so I can finally get my act together and come visit! Also Natalia for seeding the idea of Hawaii in the first place. :)


Weather

Always remember to check the forecast ahead of your trip. Weather in the Hawaiian Islands very consistent and warm throughout the year. There are only two seasons in Hawaii: summer (kau) from May to Oct and winter (hooilo) from November to April. The average daytime temperature at sea level is 85° F (29.4° C) during summer and 78° (25.6° C) during winter. Temperatures at night are ~10° F lower than daytime. The wettest months are from Nov to Mar, but winter rains do not generally disrupt vacation plans, since the weather is very localized. This means that if it is raining where you are, there is almost always a sunny spot to be found around the coast. Most of the rain falls in the mountains and valleys on the windward (northeastern) side of the islands. It is this weather phenomenon that creates Hawaii’s rich, green, tropical environment.


Cutsie version of different islands.

See Also

Links