Waikiki Travel Forum

I´m going to Hawaii in January 2009 and was wondering if it´s good to go at that time? Or should I go some other time? This is our (my and my wifes) dream tripp so we want it to be perfect.

There is never a bad time to go to Hawaii.

I arrived on February 16th and stayed for a month. It was mostly perfect weather except for a few cloudy days. But I was told that it was raining quite a bit in January. So if you can delay your trip for a month or two you'd heighten the chances for things to be "perfect".

Robert

About all there is to add to what everyone has said is the winter time is when you would see the huge waves on the Northshore.

I agree with trvlrtom - there is no bad time to go. That said, there are some things to keep in mind: As others have noted, it tends to be rainier in the winter, but no guarantee and also the really big waves happen in the winter on the north shore. Good for watching, not so good for swimming. Also, the humpback whales are in Hawaii in the winter, until around March. In some places, you can even see them from shore.

But there are also more tourists around this time which means flights and hotels are more expensive and activities & restaurants could be very crowded. We've been to Hawaii twice in July and once in April. In April it was downright quiet! A little busier in July due to school vacations, but still a wonderful time! No big waves in July - the water was fairly tame, even on the north shore.

Here is my experience over the last 5 trips:

Mid-October 2006: Rained EVERY day over entire islands. We were on Kaua'i for 8 nights, Moloka'i for 3, and Maui for 3. We had rain everyday on all parts of each island. No escape from it as in past trips. Oh yeah, and one earthquake, too!

Early March 2005: On Maui for 7 nights and O'ahu for 3. First 4 nights were in Kahana area and it rained everyday. But a short drive down to Lahaina gave us blue sky. The trades were bringing clouds over the West Maui mountains and dumping it on us only in Kahana. Last three nights were in Hana and all the rain fell inland from us. O'ahu was perfect!

Late September 2002: On Big Island for 7 nights (3 Hilo-side and 4 Kona-side). Had the usual rain in Hilo, but Kona was perfect.

Mid September 2001: On Big Island for 7 nights and Kaua'i for 7 nights. Some rain, but overall was great.

Late January 2000: On Maui for 5 nights, Moloka'i for 3, O'ahu for 3. Perfect weather on all islands.

As you can see, it varies and the "norms" do not always pan out. There is also the fact that it will almost certainly rain on the north or north-eastern shore of just about all of the islands when the trades are blowing.

We will be on the Big Island next month (mid-to-latter) for 9 nights. Hope the weather is good. This will be our first April trip to Hawai'i. So we'll see.