Top 12 Hawaii Summer Airfare Deals

John Hogle (3 years ago)

Please don’t neglect San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, and, of course, Las Vegas fairs to and from the islands.

Marsha (3 years ago)

I scored a great deal on Alaska, Oakland to Kahului, $169 each way. They start service in November. Can’t wait.

Jeff P (3 years ago)

I just got a great deal from priceline.com. I did the bid on airfare thing and put in $290 for a roundtrip from Baltimore to Honolulu and it ended up coming back with a counter – $309! It was $376 with fees & everything but I almost paid $440 per ticket and one-way was $411! I got the ticket on Thursday at 10pm (eastern) with Delta. Try the bid thing on priceline – it might save you a lot! Your sites great, you’re really making finding airfare and all around traveling a lot easier for people! I know I’ve been on your site just about everyday. Any recommendations for the best way to get a cheap hotel? Thats what I’m working on next.

Aaron (3 years ago)

Jeff-

Would you still suggest waiting if we are looking to go in late October? I am getting married on Maui on Oct 25 and I am trying to give our guests suggestions on when to buy and I had been telling them to wait, but now that gas prices are trending up do you think I should suggest they buy now?

Thanks again

Aaron

Jeff (3 years ago)

Aaron: Where will you and your guests be traveling from? Generally, I’d suggest waiting until fall sales really hit, which is mid to late summer. There are some fall deals already out, but those are mostly from the east coast.

Jeff P: Glad you got that great deal! Just out of curiosity, what are your travel dates. Bidding is also a great way to get the best Hawaii hotel deals, as you may have seen in our recent piece on Hawaii Prince for $79. Check biddingfortravel.com and see what other people are getting and to help steer clear of bidding’s pitfalls.

John Hogleon: I write about good deals from all major departure points only when they exist, including all of the bay area airports. If you search our site, you’ll see them there historically. Las Vegas is of interest for Hawaii residents, but unfortunately, we have very little traffic in the other direction.

Aloha Kakou, Jeff

Aaron (3 years ago)

Jeff-

I actually have people coming from all over including the east coast. Our departure cities are LA, Reno, San Antonio (or Austin), Boston, NY, DC, Dallas, Miami, Milwaukee (or Chicago). I have been following your blog religiously for the last couple months, but I haven’t seen any fair deals that extend into October yet. Did I just miss it?

Aaron

Jeff (3 years ago)

Aaron,

I checked all of your cities to OGG as well as HNL, and the deals are only fair right now, not great. There were deals earlier in the year that went through the airlines’ end of schedule (including your dates), but those are gone now.

Unless something unusual happens then, late summer will still be the best time to buy, under almost any circumstance.

I’ll keep watching.

Thanks, Jeff

Aaron (3 years ago)

Great thanks so much Jeff…Ill keep checking regularly, but I’ll continue to advise everyone that waiting is still the best option.

Jeff P (3 years ago)

The dates which I got the tickets for $309 were from August 6th – 20th. That website biddingfortravel.com is a big help too. Thanks!

Shara (3 years ago)

Looking for airfares in January from Vancouver, BC or Victoria BC.
thanks everyone – love this site.

Jeff (3 years ago)

Hi Shara,

I’ll keep an eye out. Keep in mind though that early January is still high season. Otherwise, hopefully we’ll see more Winter deals appear over the next few months.

Aloha, Jeff

Kris (3 years ago)

Jeff: I plan to go from TPA to OGG on 9/6, return on 9/14. Checked out your tip on Contin. $289 r/t for travel Mon-Thurs, but found nada. Travelocity is showing a $584 r/t w/ 2 stops thru Delta. Looks to be the cheapest. Should I pounce now or wait for rates to fall in mid-July? You say don’t cave…but also to leap if a great one comes along. I’m confused!

Jeff (3 years ago)

Hi Kris,

As far as the Continental $289 (LA-HNL), I just checked again, and its open and available. Your specific date includes a weekend, which as I noted isn’t included, so it’s just slightly more ($309).

As for TPA/OGG, the LA deal isn’t going to really help. Further, it is just too early to expect wide-spread Fall deals. They’ll definitely be coming, albeit later. If it makes you too nervous (which I certainly understand), then buy now. Otherwise, expect to have to wait as late as mid-July or even mid-August to see better pricing.

Hope that helps!

Jeff

Nathan (3 years ago)

Hi Jeff,

My fiancee and I are getting married on September 6, and leaving for Maui on the 8th through the 18th. I haven’t booked anything yet as rooms and airfare are still quite expensive. During these times in Maui, do prices normally drop a bit (since the kids are back in school)? Or should I expect prices to remain what they are? With all of these summer deals, I would think that hotel room rates and airfare would drop after summer. Is this too presumptuous?

Jeff (3 years ago)

Hi Nathan,

Congratulations! Yes, there will be cheaper airfares and also room deals, but it is generally way to early to see them. I know it is really nerve wracking, but normally Fall deals don’t appear until anytime from mid-July to mid-August.

I’m assuming you’ll be flying from the Bay Area, and will definitely keep my eye out for both air and hotels.

Aloha,
Jeff

Nathan (3 years ago)

Jeff, thank you so very much!!!

Alice (3 years ago)

what can I expect to see for prices for flights from LAX to Maui OGG in late August?

Jeff (3 years ago)

Hi Alice,

Good question. I’d expect to see only slightly (perhaps $50) better than the $363 currently available from Delta. If you’re dates are set, I’d book now.

Hope that helps.

Jeff

Kris (3 years ago)

Jeff:

Thanks for the advice about waiting to book my Sept. trip. If Nathan can wait, so can I! –I’m just going to Maui for a best friend’s 50th Birthday bash on the 11th. I’m the only one in the group who’s coming from Fl. The others, from AZ, have it easier & have already booked; I’m the last holdout.

Please keep an eye out for deals from TPA. I’ve bookmarked your site & recommended you to my office buddies.

-Kris

Katie (3 years ago)

Hi Jeff,

Would you say that the July 4th weekend deals are as good as I can get now ($700 per person, air + Hilton Prince Waikiki for 3 nights), or should I wait further to see more deals?

THanks much

Jeff (3 years ago)

Hi Katie,

I’m not sure what deal you are referring to, nor where you are traveling from. Is it NYC?

What I can say is that most of the good deals are gone for the moment, and while $700 isn’t a good deal, it isn’t a bad one either.

The likelihood of more deals for July 4 isn’t great.

Hope that helps.

Jeff

Mateo (2 years ago)

Hi Jeff,

You commented earlier that Fall sales hit “mid to late summer”. Which month specifically would you say? I’m traveling from Fresno to Lihue for a wedding in late September, and have been following fares for a while, and I’m getting a little jumpy at every promising fare. Is it worth it to hold out longer? I am willing to leave out of San Jose, but I have two small children and leaving directly from Fresno is easiest. My target total fare is $500, I don’t know if that’s wishful thinking or not, but I’m getting concerned because I’m finding tickets for $531 (down from $601 for the longest time) from Fresno to SF to Lihue. We are flexible in leaving during the last week of September.

Thanks so much for your help!

Jeff (2 years ago)

Hi Mateo,

If I knew more precisely, I’d tell you. Two years ago most of the deals came out in late July and early August. Last year they came out about a month later.

I saw the lower prices to Fresno over the weekend, $531 for mid-week travel, but didn’t mention them because they are just okay, not fantastic. When it gets nerve-wracking however, sometimes you have to buy even if it isn’t the very best deal. I do the same thing and consider the time and stress cost of constant monitoring for a better deal.

Aloha, Jeff

Pam (2 years ago)

All these comments are helpful, thanks to all. I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and looking for flights to Kona for late September. Any tips for flying out of the midwest? Is it cheaper to leave from Chicago?

When you bid on priceline, I thought that you don’t see flight details until the offer is accepted. Is that still the case?

Thanks!

Jeff (2 years ago)

Hi Pam,

I don’t have experience with bidding for flights on Priceline, so perhaps someone who does will chime in. I’m getting really proficient at hotels and car rentals however. As for where cheap flights from the midwest will originate, there is no way to know. We watch for all cities.

Anny (2 years ago)

Jeff,
Do you think that I should continue waiting to see the Fall fare sales will offer anything from EWR to HNL for travel at the holidays? Our travel dates are 12/17 thru 1/4. I am a bit anxious as we are almost always booked by mid February. This time around we decided to wait to see if the fares will come down… now I am not so sure we should have done that. I can still see that there are plenty of seats available and that is what makes me want to wait… what are your thoughts?
Thanks,
Anny

Jeff (2 years ago)

Hi Anny,

Fares are in the $700+ range right now. They will definitely come down, but because your dates are in high season, you may still not get relief. If it were me, I’d probably wait at this point. But it is a crap shoot either way.

Sorry I can’t help more. Let me know how it turns out, okay.

Aloha, Jeff