Ep. 152: Best Time to Visit Hawaii for Families: Low Prices and Quiet Beaches (+ 3 Weeks to Skip)

152_Best Time to Visit Hawaii for Families- Low Prices and Quiet Beaches (+ 3 Weeks to Skip)

[00:00:00] Introduction: Planning Your Hawaii Family Vacation

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: Is there really a best and worst time to take your family to Hawaii? I mean, it’s Hawaii, it’s amazing, it’s beautiful. But in this episode, you’ll discover how choosing the wrong week could double your expenses, which months offer families the quietest beaches and best deals, and the three weeks that can turn a trip to Hawaii into not what you expected.

[00:00:24] Bryan Murphy: Aloha and welcome to Hawaii’s Best. The podcast helping Travelers Plan an unforgettable Hawaii vacation with insider tips in featuring local voices. I’m Brian Murphy, a husband dad of three, and certified Hawaii destination expert. Each week I share local insights, travel tips, and up-to-date news, sometimes with guests across Hawaii and sometimes solo.

[00:00:46] Bryan Murphy: All to help you plan your next trip to Hawaii.

[00:00:53] Bryan Murphy: Aloha and welcome to Hawaii’s Best. Today’s episode is all about the best time to visit Hawaii for families. As someone who’s visited Hawaii many times with family, it can be a lot, especially when you’re actually trying to find, you know, lower prices and quieter beaches and activities. So in this episode, you’ll discover which months most families overlook that could save you hundreds.

[00:01:18] Bryan Murphy: Why picking the wrong week could mean packed beaches, overcrowded activities, and hotel occupancy issues. And the three specific weeks that I almost would always recommend to try to steer away from. If you want less crowds and lower prices today, you’ll, you’re gonna walk away with knowing how to pick the right dates to get a more relaxed, affordable trip for you and your family without all the guests work.

[00:01:45] Bryan Murphy: ’cause there’s a lot of information out there. So thanks for hitting play on this episode.

[00:01:50] Understanding Hawaii’s Seasons and Best Times to Visit

[00:01:50] Bryan Murphy: The weather in Hawaii is about as reliable as it gets with temperatures sticking to around the low to mid eighties Fahrenheit most days for families. The real game changer isn’t the weather, though, it’s really about the timing.

[00:02:04] Bryan Murphy: The year in Hawaii is not the typical seasons. The year breaks down into really a dry season, which is April through October, traditionally, and a wetter season, which is around November through March. Both of these seasons are pleasant, but the key factor is to how these seasons line up with crowds and cost, not necessarily the comfort, because pretty much you can visit Hawaii and you’re gonna get probably some good weather.

[00:02:33] Bryan Murphy: Now I realize that Hawaii does get. The occasional hurricane more often, a tropical storm, and it can be wet depending on the side of the island that you are choosing to stay on. Typically, the windward side of the island is gonna be wetter than the leeward side, but visiting Hawaii, definitely year round is better than most places year round, for sure.

[00:02:57] Bryan Murphy: The best value comes down to visiting Hawaii. During, it’s what’s called shoulder season, so that’s late April to early June, in mid-September to early December. Some of the figures I’m gonna be sharing are averages. I realize that your experience, and in my experience, some of the rates have been a lot higher.

[00:03:18] Bryan Murphy: Maybe what you found, they’ve been lower. So this is kind of the average, if you will. So during these shoulder seasons, family friendly hotels average around $214 per night. That’s before the typical hotel resort fee is factored in. During this time there’s more room on the beach and for attractions, and just getting those must-dos booked is usually a lot easier.

[00:03:45] Bryan Murphy: I usually book accommodations two to four months in advance. That might seem pretty short, but for these windows, you know, you’re able to find the best deals and have a a little bit more choice. I usually book around six to eight months in advance, like if we’re gone with the whole family. But if it’s just my wife and I, I usually stick to that two to four months.

[00:04:06] Bryan Murphy: That seem to be pretty good. Ocean conditions are also something super important to talk about as far as visiting with. A family spring and fall bring much more calmer water to Hawaii, especially on the south facing beaches. So think Waikiki is gonna have more calmer waters there as the south facing beach.

[00:04:24] Bryan Murphy: So this makes swimming and water sports a little bit more safer for kids, but always, you know, do that at lifeguard staff beaches. But these times are a little bit more less stressful when it comes to enjoying the beach as a family. During these times, the spring and fall, if you plan on spending a lot of time in the outdoors, these seasons are ideal because rain is less likely and days are still reliably sunny.

[00:04:50] Bryan Murphy: Even shifting a Hawaii trip by a week or two if you can, can have a big impact on price and crowd levels. I’ve seen that the shoulder months reliably give you the best mix of costs, comfort, and a lot more of a relaxed atmosphere if that’s what you’re going after.

[00:05:09] Avoiding Peak Travel Weeks for a Better Experience

[00:05:09] Bryan Murphy: Now, as promised, there are three weeks. I would highly recommend if you can, I realize as I’m going through this, we’re in a season where we have a high schooler and their schedule is a lot.

[00:05:21] Bryan Murphy: More dependent on that traditional, you know, they get the Christmas break and the Thanksgiving and the traditional, you know, summer months off. I get if that’s the time you’re able to go, that’s just what it has to be. And, but there’s three weeks. I want to highly recommend if you can, to skip if you want quiet and definitely a more affordable visit.

[00:05:42] Bryan Murphy: The first week is Christmas and New Year’s. Now, I will say that we did visit one year, Christmas through New Year’s, and I don’t know if we got lucky, but we visited, well, we started on the big island in Hawaii and it wasn’t that busy. And then we hopped over to Oahu. This was after New Year. So after New Year’s on Oahu wasn’t.

[00:06:02] Bryan Murphy: That busy. But yeah, it felt pretty calm. But traditionally, based on stats, this week is super busy. Hotel occupancy routinely spikes past 85%, and rates often run 40% higher than average during this period. Typically, every popular beach and attraction is packed, so unless you’re set on. Holiday festivities is worth planning around this window.

[00:06:28] Bryan Murphy: The second week to avoid is definitely during 4th of July, Hawaii gets up to around 30% more visitors compared to a typical week in June and July, and the demand drives up both accommodation and flight prices. I always suggest, if you can, to be able to shift your dates, even by a week to avoid this holiday rush, to keep the vacation as relaxed as possible.

[00:06:51] Bryan Murphy: But if you’re up for it again and you want to, you just know it’s gonna be busy, it’s gonna be packed. Kind of think like Disneyland rules. If you’ve ever been to Disneyland, you know, like 4th of July is gonna be packed, Christmas is gonna be packed. Thanksgiving week is gonna be packed. If you’re at least aware, you’re not gonna be surprised when you get there and it’s, it’s packed.

[00:07:09] Bryan Murphy: And if you’re trying to book last minute activities. It’s gonna be a lot harder. You try to book last minute reservations for that restaurant you want to go to, it’s gonna be a lot harder. So that third week, as I mentioned, is Thanksgiving week. Hotel rates climb around, um, 25% above the norm, and popular resorts fill up quickly with families on break.

[00:07:29] Bryan Murphy: But again, if you can move travel even slightly, like the week before or after, you’ll notice a big difference in both price and availability. Spring break might be something else to consider, but spring break now is so spread out as far as when people take their spring break and when spring break is offered, even based on the.

[00:07:47] Bryan Murphy: Different, you know, school districts, most of what I’m talking about is accommodation and also getting your activities. You wanna do the luaus, you wanna do the reservations for dinner. A lot of that is based on what I’m talking about, but a big thing to consider is airfare.

[00:08:06] Booking Tips: Flights, Accommodations, and Activities

[00:08:06] Bryan Murphy: You gotta fly to Hawaii unless you wanna do the a cruise of Hawaii flying midweek.

[00:08:11] Bryan Murphy: Is usually less expensive than weekends, and early morning flights often have the lowest fares I’ve been booking. I don’t know how many trips we’ve done to Hawaii, and that is one of the things that I found to be the most accurate. And like if there’s any hack, it’s gonna be. If you can book midweek, especially, I think it’s Tuesday or Wednesday, is typically the least expensive day to fly.

[00:08:35] Bryan Murphy: And if you can fly early morning, I’m talking about like 7:00 AM not too early, but once you, you start going a little bit later, like that 10:00 AM flight seems to be a little bit more expensive. So this is something that I’ve found personally in booking. I, I usually. Search in a private browser. So if I’m on Google Chrome, I always open up a private browser to avoid the cookies and the dynamic pricing that is, you know, the tracking that happens on websites.

[00:09:02] Bryan Murphy: I also set up fair alerts. Using Google Flights or Hopper has been helpful as well. So when a good deal comes up, it’s best to book quickly. It’s good to kind of play around like if you know you’re visiting. Hawaii maybe next year or, or even in two years if you’re planning, this is good to kind of play around and just to see how the rates fluctuate over the, the weeks and the months and the time of the flight.

[00:09:28] Bryan Murphy: So, you know, you know, when you’re looking at a good deal, sometimes you’re like, this sounds good, but I’m not sure. It’s good to kind of just see how it all pans out and how the ebbs and flows. That’s why having alerts on Google flights is helpful, but also once you know you have a good deal, it’s best to just book that flight as quickly as possible.

[00:09:48] Bryan Murphy: I’ve been checking the, as I’m going to bed and then I see, I remember one time I, I saw, we always fly Hawaiian Airlines and I saw it was at a certain mile point, I think it was only 17,500. Which is crazy low, and I saw that and I, I just got outta bed and booked it right away. So using points or companion fairs, like on Hawaiian Airlines and airline credit cards is also helpful as well, especially when you’re booking families.

[00:10:15] Bryan Murphy: Multiple seats. Sometimes we’ll break it up. We’ll use our companion fair. My wife will take one of our kids and we’ll be able to use a companion fair on their ticket, and then I’ll book the other two kids on my ticket with points or however it pans out. Activities like lut, owls and boat tours often sell out, especially during school breaks.

[00:10:35] Bryan Murphy: So I book these right after my flight and lodging are confirmed. So right after those two things are booked, I’ll go to my activities and do that. But if you wanna play things loose and you just kinda wanna go relax and just kind of go on the pace of the island. That’s typically how we like to do, and if there’s something that we wanna do last minute.

[00:10:54] Bryan Murphy: Sometimes a lot of local tourism sites have a list of discounts or last minute offers, but you know, some of the best memories, I would say a good majority of the best memories come from those days with nothing on the schedule itinerary. And we just wanna see where the island takes us and where the day goes.

[00:11:10] Saving Money on Your Hawaii Trip

[00:11:10] Bryan Murphy: If you’re looking to save even some more money for you and your family, try splitting your stay between different parts of an island or between a hotel and a vacation rental. I know that can be a little cumbersome getting up and moving halfway through your trip, but I found a few nights at a resort for the pool in amenities combined with a rental for extra space and a kitchen can balance out that luxury and budget.

[00:11:35] Bryan Murphy: Shopping at local grocery stores and packing snacks for a beach day goes a long way in keeping costs in check, especially with kids. I totally get that. Shopping at a local grocery store might not be actually within budget. Luckily, there are Costcos on every major island, so there is that option as well.

[00:11:53] Bryan Murphy: I think most islands have a target now, but when you can shop local, for sure. Transportation is also another area to consider. I definitely would recommend running a car van because the public transportation on the neighboring islands of Oahu aren’t that good. And even on Oahu, once you get outside of Waikiki Honolulu area, it is also not.

[00:12:16] Bryan Murphy: The best. So renting a car, even maybe for the day, if you want to do an excursion. If you’re on Oahu, you want to do an excursion up to the North Shore, that’s something that you also want to factor into the cost. So I always reserve as early as possible. Then double check the rates closer to the trip. I.

[00:12:32] Bryan Murphy: Sometimes re-booking can save money if prices drop. But for families open to alternatives using local shuttles. I know a lot of the major resorts offer that. I think Ani does that still. There used to be a shuttle that would go from the Daniel Kanoi airport, the Honolulu airport, out to Collina. A lot of families stay out there.

[00:12:53] Bryan Murphy: I don’t know if that shuttle is still running or not, but that’s something to look into. Ride shares are also another option, or even biking if you’re in Waikiki. Staying in Waikiki with a family, getting a couple bikes, if your family is old enough, can definitely cut costs and let you skip the parking hassle of Waikiki and the busy beaches of Waikiki.

[00:13:12] Bryan Murphy: I always recommend just having a. List of musts. You know, we, we ask our kids like, what are the things you gotta do? Like once you get home, you’re like, I really wanna do that, but I didn’t say anything. So get those lists of musts for you and your family, but just let the rest of the day unfold day by day.

[00:13:28] Final Tips and Conclusion

[00:13:28] Bryan Murphy: The balance is really the key to making the most out of a Hawaii family vacation, good weather, less stress, and real quality time together and making those memories is really what it’s about. So to sum it all up, the sweet spot, in my opinion and what I’ve experienced for families is to visit in late spring or early fall.

[00:13:47] Bryan Murphy: Our favorite is late September and October in avoiding those three peak weeks, if you can. Christmas to New Year’s, 4th of July and Thanksgiving week in booking the big pieces early, the flights, the hotels. Lodging is one of those places where a little extra preparation definitely pays off, and that’s probably why you’re tuning in today to this episode.

[00:14:10] Bryan Murphy: And it’s to help you have a more relaxed time at the beach with family making those memories. And that’s really what it’s all about. So if you found this episode helpful, the best way to support me and the podcast, it’s a simply hit follow on Apple podcast or on Spotify, wherever you’re listening to this episode right now.

[00:14:32] Bryan Murphy: Thanks for listening. I can’t wait for you and your family to get to Hawaii and to make those memories. Because it’s some of those most special memories that I look back on and am just so thankful and grateful for. So until next time, as always, live with Aloha

[00:14:55] Bryan Murphy: Mala for listening to this episode of Hawaii’s. Best to stay up to date on future episodes. Hit follow on your podcast app. Hawaii’s Best is a production of Shore Break Media Group. With editing by easy podcast solutions and music courtesy of our friends stick figure.