Beat of Hawaii friend Meredith asked today about how to save on flights to Hawaii, between Los Angeles and Kauai, during the peak summer season. That without breaking the bank. Here’s what we found that may serve as an example of ways all of us can reduce costs on Hawaii vacations.
Save on flights to Hawaii – rule of thumb:
1. While it doesn’t seem logical, airlines frequently charge less if they route you with one or two extra flights, rather than bringing you to Hawaii nonstop.
2. The longer the travel time between your home and Hawaii, the less you’ll generally pay.
Meredith’s dilemma:
“Hi Deal Makers..I’m a senior..live on Kaua’i and travel very little…BUT that will be changing..I am expecting a GRANDDAUGHTER in LA in July 2018…so please…HELP getting to LA or OC before June 24th baby shower..birth..and ???? Mahalo Nui Loa in advance!!”
Beat of Hawaii’s answer:
Meredith can save up to $226 per person with reasonably easy changes to her itinerary. All while traveling during the peak summer Hawaii travel season. Here’s what we suggested.
Her current problem serves as a good reminder to all of us. That is, options do exist, even when Hawaii airfare prices are so high, such as during summer.
In this case, LA is going to start at $707 RT for peak summer travel from Kauai on multiple carriers including Hawaiian Airlines. It probably won’t improve and availability at the end of June may also become a problem.
If saving money is the ultimate goal, here’s what Meredith can do differently.
1. Fly instead to an alternate city, in this case San Diego, for $569 on the nonstop from Lihue on Alaska. Multiple dates are available at that rate.
2. Puddle skip one or both ways between Hawaii and San Diego for as little as $481 or to Los Angeles from $563. That’s from both American and United and will include one or two stops along the west coast first. It will also double the duration en route with extra flights and waiting time between flights.
For testing purposes, we used 6/20 – 6/26 for her travel dates. Other dates are available at similar prices. And lastly, for $621, it is possible to fly nonstop in one direction and puddle skip the other way.
These options all depend on your threshold for pain in either driving to an alternate city or spending an extra six hours traveling in one or both directions.
Do you have any other tips to share to save on flights to Hawaii, especially during high season?
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Love this article. For July 3 we booked a 1 way ticket from Kona to Portland for $187! Then we booked a one way ticket from Portland to Orlando for only $127. This makes our 1 way ticket from Kona to Orlando for only $314! That is compared to the published pices of in excess of $600. Both rates are using United airlines.
Thanks Kay!
Creativity rocks.
Aloha.
How about getting good flights from the East Coast? We will be leaving out of NY in early June and it looks like $1000 RT.
I got a great deal from LA to Honolulu with 1 quick stop on Kona the first week of June with Hawaiian Airlines RT $405. I would not have known how to put multiple stops together like this but I scoured websites daily from different departure cities and this one popped up on Justfly. It takes some time to look at different combinations but I have found them on sites like Justfly, Kayak, etc. FYI I bought my tickets 10 days ago.
I am trying very hard to take my family of 10 on a vacation to Hawaii. I would like to get them on a cruise ship when we get there. This won’t be until possibly December 2019. I’m ok with paying for the cruise, it’s getting them there is my problem. Consequently, I’m looking for cheaper flying rates to Hawaii and back to Maryland. One daughter will be flying from Florida.
Am I looking into this too soon?
You can not book airlines more than 330 days in advance. December is expensive! Try booking 1 ways back to back for a cheaper ticket. That is what I did and saved almost $300!
Pray tell, where is the bay in your photo? And why not satisfy our curiosity by captioning all your beautiful shots as to the island and the beach shown?
Hi Nick.
We’ll try to do a better job of that and thanks for suggesting so. This photo was taken at Kalapaki Beach, Kauai.
Aloha.
I will be flying 1 way to Oahu from LAX on July 23, island hop to the Big Island, and then return to L.A. from Big Island on July 29. I have found airfare: LAX to HNL $339, HNL to Big Island $99, and BIg Island to LAX $399. Do you think I should book or wait?
Thank you 😀
Karen
Hi Karen.
Probably won’t improve for your dates, so suggest booking while the opportunity is there to get flights and seats you want.
Aloha.
Daughter flying into Los Angeles from Kailua Kona apprx. June 5th, returning to Kailua Kona around June 14th, what would be best fares on Hawaiian?? When will flights to Long Beach commence? Thank you for your response
Hi Aspasia.
Currently $604 on Hawaiian. About $25 less to return on 13th. Long Beach starts end of May.
Aloha.