Hawaii Holiday Guide: Which Island, Things to Do, Best Time and Getting There

Hawaii is the 50th US state, about 3,900 km (2,400 miles) south-west of California and roughly halfway between the US and Japan. It is one of the most isolated island groups on earth, which is why so many of its plants and birds are found nowhere else.

There are eight main islands. Visitors mostly go to four: Oahu, home to Honolulu and about two-thirds of the people; Maui; Kauai, the oldest and greenest; and Hawaii Island, always called the Big Island, the youngest and largest, and still growing. Lanai and Molokai are small and quiet; Niihau is private and Kahoolawe uninhabited.

Each island has a wet, green windward side facing the north-east trade winds and a dry, sunny leeward side, which is where most of the beach resorts are.

Waikiki is Honolulu’s resort district: a long, sheltered beach where surfing was popularised, backed by hotels, shops and restaurants. Learn to surf on its gentle waves, then walk or take a trolley to Diamond Head, the volcanic crater at the end of the beach; the trail to the rim takes about an hour and visitors must book a time slot in advance.

Pearl Harbor National Memorial tells the story of the attack of 7 December 1941. Boats take you to the USS Arizona Memorial above the sunken battleship; nearby you can tour the battleship Missouri, on whose deck the Second World War ended, and a submarine. Book the Arizona programme ahead.

The North Shore, about an hour from Waikiki, is the world’s big-wave surfing stage from about November to February, when giant swells break at Waimea Bay and the Banzai Pipeline. In summer the sea goes calm and it’s good for snorkelling. Base yourself in the old surf town of Haleiwa for shave ice and food trucks.

The windward coast: Kailua and Lanikai have some of the loveliest beaches. Hanauma Bay, a flooded crater east of Honolulu, is the classic snorkelling spot (book ahead).

The Road to Hana is the winding Hana Highway, about 64 miles (103 km) from Kahului along Maui’s rainforest north-east coast, with more than 600 bends and dozens of one-lane bridges. The point is the journey, not Hana itself: stop at waterfalls, botanical gardens, banana-bread stands, the black-sand beach at Waianapanapa State Park (entry by advance reservation) and lookouts over taro fields.

Beyond Hana, the Kipahulu section of Haleakala National Park has the Pipiwai Trail, which climbs through a bamboo forest to the 400-foot Waimoku Falls. Start early, allow a whole day, let the locals pass, and don’t try to drive back after dark. Staying a night in Hana makes it far more relaxed.

Haleakala, the 3,055 m volcano that makes up most of East Maui, is famous for sunrise above the clouds. Cars need a sunrise reservation from the national park; book as soon as your dates are fixed, and take warm clothes, as it is near freezing at the top before dawn. Trails lead down into the crater’s red and black cinder landscape.

In the water: boats run out to Molokini, a half-sunken crater with clear water and lots of fish, and green sea turtles are common along the west and south coasts. From about December to April, thousands of humpback whales come to the warm channels between Maui, Lanai and Molokai to breed and calve, and you can often see them breaching from the beach.

Lahaina, the old whaling town on the west coast, was largely destroyed by the wildfire of August 2023. Part of Front Street reopened to traffic in August 2026, but much of the historic town is still being rebuilt; please respect closed areas. The resort areas of Kaanapali, Napili and Kapalua nearby are open as normal.

The Na Pali Coast is 17 miles of fluted green cliffs on Kauai’s north-west shore with no road at all. See it on a boat trip (summer seas are calmer, and you can snorkel), on a helicopter flight, or on foot along the first miles of the Kalalau Trail from Ke’e Beach. Entry to Haena State Park at the trailhead needs an advance reservation.

Waimea Canyon, “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific”, is about 10 miles long and up to 3,000 feet deep, layered red, ochre and green. Drive on to Kokee State Park for views into the Kalalau Valley.

Hanalei on the north shore is a laid-back surf town on a perfect crescent bay, backed by taro fields and waterfalls. The south shore around Poipu is the sunniest part of the island, with calm beaches and turtles and monk seals hauled out on the sand.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the island’s headline. Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has been erupting in episodes inside its summit crater, Halemaumau, since December 2024, sometimes throwing up lava fountains hundreds of metres high and glowing at night. Check the park’s updates before you go. Drive the Chain of Craters Road to the sea and walk through a lava tube.

Mauna Kea, 4,207 m, is the tallest mountain on earth measured from its base on the sea floor. Its summit observatories enjoy some of the clearest skies anywhere; guided sunset and stargazing trips go up by four-wheel drive.

The Kona side is the sunny west coast: snorkel at Kealakekua Bay, visit the ancient place of refuge at Puuhonua o Honaunau, tour a Kona coffee farm on the slopes above, and join a night snorkel with manta rays feeding under lights. North of Kona, the Kohala Coast has white-sand beaches between old lava flows.

The Hilo side is wet, green and less touristy. See Akaka Falls, which drops 135 m into a forested gorge, the gardens and farmers’ market in Hilo, and the Merrie Monarch Festival, the most important hula competition in the world, held in Hilo in the week after Easter.

Green sea turtles bask on the black sand at Punaluu on the south coast.

There are no direct flights from the UK to Hawaii. The usual route is to fly from London to the US West Coast, usually Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, or to Vancouver, and connect to Honolulu (about 5 to 6 hours). Total journey times start at about 17 hours.

Flights also go from the West Coast directly to Maui (Kahului), Kauai (Lihue) and the Big Island (Kona and Hilo), which can save a connection in Honolulu.

A night or two in California on the way out helps with the 10 or 11 hour time difference, and Hawaii also works as a stopover en route to Fiji, French Polynesia, Australia or New Zealand.