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We've lived in Oahu and Big Island before...where we hanged out with local folks...so we really never paid attention to the comings and goings of tourists. Everyplace we have traveled to (worldwide) seems to have a peak season...and a low (or slow) season. Peak season is when tourists come in throves to vacation...hence, the most expensive time of the season. Then there is a season where you won't find too many tourists...that's the low season, when the prices for everything are at the lowest. Does Hawaii have something like this? Since we are not subject to school or work schedules....we are free to go anywhere at anytime. We were thinking that if we travel to Hawaii say, the Fall...September, would that be a good time? We want to avoid the season when the price of hotels and other services (and goods) are at its highest. Thanks...appreciate any info we can get about the best time to visit Hawaii.
Visitor arrivals by month, 2013 (record year) - they've been consistent in this trend the past 30 years.
January: 663K Peak is New Years - and Pro Bowl when it is here
February: 650K Peak is Presidents Day
March: 746K Spring Break
April: 637K Very slow month, unless Spring Break falls in this month
May: 641K Peak is Memorial Day
June: 716K Summer High Season
July: 757K Summer High Season (July past 30 years is the busiest month)
August: 746K Summer High Season
September: 582K Peak is Labor Day - generally the cheapest airfare and hotel prices.
October: 611K Very slow month
November: 604K Slow month, except for Thanksgiving
December: 705K Peak is Xmas to New Years. And, Honolulu Marathon.
Last edited by whtviper1; 05-03-2014 at 04:58 PM..
For many tourist destinations the peak tourist seasons are summer and winter, with "shoulder" seasons in spring and fall when many seasoned travelers prefer to travel. Hawai'i is no different. April-May and September - November are generally the slowest and lowest months.
As OWS pointed out, the two peak seasons in Hawai'i have different dynamics... summers are when kids are out of school so there's a lot of family travel going on. Popular destination tend to be crowded. Paradoxically there are lots and lots of package deals offered, so it's not necessarily the most expensive time of year for particular kinds of traveling. But if you like hot and crowded, summer's your season.
Snow season... roughly Mid-December through March... is when weather, rather than marketing, drives people to Hawai'i... sometimes on an annual basis, sometimes on an "I'm soooo sick of this snow!" impulse.
What visitor arrival stats don't show is that in some parts of Hawai'i this snowbird season is the most expensive time of the year. Many of the folks on the Maui forum here have been sharing (ok, bitching) about how much more expensive housing is during the winter there. And here on the Big Island, on the Kona Coast the winter has traditionally been the High Season, when hotel rates and airfare are the highest of the year, at least partially because the rainy season pattern is the reverse of the rest of the state... for most of Hawaii the rainiest time of year is winter, while in Kona it's summer, and winters tend to be much drier than the rest of the state.
Anyway, the tradeoff in traveling on the shoulders of normal tourist patterns is that with some research you can find the lowest prices, and least congested attractions, but you'll also generally find more limited choices. Many tourist related business, like various tours and activities, are seasonal, scaling back their offerings between summer and winter peaks, or shutting down completely.
Detailed research is your friend. And pay particular attention to specific dates at specific places you wish to visit. For example, here on the Big Island the famous Merrie Monarch hula festival in Hilo every spring is so popular that hotels in the area get booked solid a year in advance. The same is true for the Ironman Triathalon in Kona every November. And every April the Japanese Golden Week brings a flood of travelers. Each island has specific "crunch" weeks throughout the year, so check the calendar carefully.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We're planning a trip in November, and were surprised to find the best deals are packages from Coscto. We found 8 days at a Maui resort with airfare and a full-size rental car for $2,500 (from Seattle). The best we could do piecing it together or with other packages was $3,600.
What visitor arrival stats don't show is that in some parts of Hawai'i this snowbird season is the most expensive time of the year. Many of the folks on the Maui forum here have been sharing (ok, bitching) about how much more expensive housing is during the winter there.
Interesting observation.
I wonder why record room rates were set in July in Maui? Hmmm, because that is the most tourists?
"Maui hotel room rates reached a new record for the month of July, an 8.6 percent increase to $304.02 for the month"
I wonder why record room rates were set in July in Maui? Hmmm, because that is the most tourists?
I don't know. Perhaps you should ask all the folks who have been posting their complaints in the Maui Forum about the situation. It's been quite noticeable this winter.
Visitor arrivals by month, 2013 (record year) - they've been consistent in this trend the past 30 years.
January: 663K Peak is New Years - and Pro Bowl when it is here
February: 650K Peak is Presidents Day
March: 746K Spring Break
April: 637K Very slow month, unless Spring Break falls in this month
May: 641K Peak is Memorial Day
June: 716K Summer High Season
July: 757K Summer High Season (July past 30 years is the busiest month)
August: 746K Summer High Season
September: 582K Peak is Labor Day - generally the cheapest airfare and hotel prices.
October: 611K Very slow month
November: 604K Slow month, except for Thanksgiving
December: 705K Peak is Xmas to New Years. And, Honolulu Marathon.
Viper,
These "visitors by months" stats don't tell the whole story because they don't account for the length of stays during these months. As I've pointed out before, a family taking a summer vacation is likely to spend a week, maybe two. Whereas "snowbirds" often stay two weeks, a month, even longer. (I've met Canadaians that stay the entire winter... so long they find it's cheaper to buy a car while on the island, then sell it beore they leave.) One person staying a month=four people staying a week each.
Granted, these people in condos and homes are less likely to dine out for every meal like those staying for a week at a resort, but they are here. Since their stay is extended, they're also less likely to be doing "touristy" things every day they're here.
If the average length of stay is 50-100% longer, that easily makes up for a 14% increase in "arrivals" when comparing January and July.
As far as the room occupancy stats you're turning to, do they include condo/home rentals (both on and off the books)?
Our experience renting out our South Maui condo (and that of our management company and all the condos/homes they manage is as follows:
Busiest - Dec-Mar
Next busiest - Jun-Aug
Slowest - everything else
I think the correct answer to the original question is more like "More people are coming and going during the summer and staying in hotels, but winter time has as many longer-term visitors on the island at any one time and they're typically staying in rentals."
I'm not sure why you won't agree to a more nuanced answer.
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