Best Cheapest Time To Book Travel To Hawaii

Two of the most common questions we get from travelers are "When is the best time to travel to Hawaii" and "When is the best time and day to buy airline tickets to Hawaii". So let's address these common questions right here so we can try and save you some money on your Hawaiian vacation.

When Is The Best Time To Visit Hawaii?

There is no one single answer to a question like this and a lot has to do with how flexible your plans are, where you're coming from in the world, and if you have kids and school to deal with.

For many families, dealing with kids in school seriously limits the available times of the year they can visit Hawaii. Usually this means summer break, fall break for some, winter break, and spring break. Because so many families with kids are in that same boat, the prices for airfare, car rentals, and hotel rooms tend to go up. It's simple supply and demand.

With all of that in mind, let's cover what are often the best and cheapest times to travel which are:

+ Mid April through early June
+ Late August through mid November
+ Mid January through late February

The logic works like this: Most spring breaks are in March or early April, so once that period is over travel becomes cheaper. On the flip side, most schools let out at the end of May or beginning of June so you want to travel before that happens if possible. If you have kids and must travel around summer vacation, consider traveling the day they get out of school for best results in beating the crowds.

Later in the year, after summer is over, most schools are starting back up in late August or early September so travel prices tend to go back down around this time. They'll often stay low until just before Thanksgiving week in November, at which point they'll rise up because many people travel around Thanksgiving time as well as around Christmas and New Year's times.

Once Christmas (see Christmas In Hawaii) and New Year's are over you have a decent period in January that runs into February before spring break starts up that can offer some decent deals.

A newer wildcard here is October break or Fall break which is becoming more and more popular with schools that let kids out for a week sometimes in the October or November time frame. So you may see certain times during these months where prices go up a bit.

When Is The Best Time To Buy Airline Tickets To Hawaii?

And the second part of that question is also "How far in advance should I buy them?" There are tons of studies done on this question so let's first start with the day of the week. The best day of the week, historically speaking, to buy plane tickets is:

#1 Sunday
#2 Saturday
#3 Tuesday

So, whenever possible, shoot for a Sunday for the best chance of nabbing some lower cost tickets. That doesn't mean Sunday is always the lowest, it just means that based on many quotes Sunday is, on average, the best time to buy tickets for both domestic and international flights.

Curious about the worst days to buy tickets? For domestic it's Monday and Friday, for international it's Friday and Thursday.

Moving on to the second part of this question, research has shown that it is often best to buy domestic plane tickets 57 days in advance and international plane tickets about 170 days in advance. These numbers are averages so day 57 isn't necessarily what you're waiting for, but around that time which is about 2 months in advance.

Once booked, you now have plenty of time to use our free Hawaii Travel Planner to plan out every detail of your vacation to maximize your fun! Speaking of planning, be sure to also read What To Do When Your Hawaii Plane Flight Is Canceled, 12 Things You Should Know Before Traveling With Young Kids, and our Top Tips For A Great Flight.

Best & Cheapest Time To Book & Travel To Hawaii

When Is The Best Time To Visit Hawaii?

When Is The Best Time To Buy Airline Tickets To Hawaii?