How Will the Federal Shutdown Affect Hawaii Travel?

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With headlines everywhere creating confusion, many travelers are unsure what's actually open, what's closed, and how this impacts their carefully planned Hawaii vacation.
If you're traveling to Hawaii during the shutdown or have upcoming reservations, this episode cuts through the confusion with facts, not opinions. Learn exactly what's operating and what backup plans will save your itinerary.
In this episode of our travel podcast, we break down the current federal shutdown's real impact on Hawaii travel, from airport delays to national park access.
👉In this episode, you will:

• Know exactly what's open and what's not—from TSA operations to Pearl Harbor's nonprofit sites that remain accessible.
• Plan with confidence using official sources and smart backup options for Haleakalā, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and other federal sites.
• Cut through confusion with facts from the 2018 shutdown and reassurance about essential services continuing normally.

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Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to learn exactly what's open, what's limited, and the simple swaps that will keep your Hawaii itinerary on track.
🤙Sources:

• https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/09/30/how-federal-government-shutdown-impacts-hawaii
• https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5530414-government-shutdown-funding-bills
• https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/government-shutdown-national-parks-00123456
• https://www.doi.gov/shutdown
• https://crsreports.congress.gov
• https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/
• https://www.gohawaii.com
• https://www.nps.gov/state/hi/index.htm
• https://www.recreation.gov

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🤓Chapters:

• 1:41 Current Situation and Immediate Effects
• 3:37 Travel Logistics During the Shutdown
• 4:30 State and County Parks Status
• 7:02 Federal Parks and Museums: What to Expect
• 9:10 Lessons from the 2018 Shutdown
• 10:17 Planning Tips and Final Thoughts

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This Hawaii podcast is for travelers looking to plan a trip to Hawaii. Discover travel tips, itineraries, and traveling tips & hacks with guides to help you explore Hawaii. Whether you’re planning a Hawaii vacation to the islands, dreaming of a Hawaiian getaway, or visiting Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, Oahu, or Big Island we’ll help you travel with aloha.

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Ukulele and Chill, Coby G (w/ permission)
Talk Story, Hawaiian Style Band (w/ permission)

Chapters

• 1:41 Current Situation and Immediate Effects
• 3:37 Travel Logistics During the Shutdown
• 4:30 State and County Parks Status
• 7:02 Federal Parks and Museums: What to Expect
• 9:10 Lessons from the 2018 Shutdown
• 10:17 Planning Tips and Final Thoughts

Transcript

186_How Will the 2025 Federal Shutdown Affect Your Hawaii Trip-final

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: Will the federal government shutdown affect your Hawaii trip? And that's really the big question right now. And in this episode, we will be answering that. We'll cover what's open right now and what's likely to be closed or limited, and how it could impact your reservations and travel plans. And we'll discuss what we can learn from the last shutdown, which was in 2018, so you have a better understanding of what to expect.

[00:00:26] Bryan Murphy: Welcome to Hawaii's Best, the podcast helping you plan an. Unforgettable Hawaii vacation with practical tips and the latest in Hawaii travel news. If you listen to the episode yesterday, I know I mentioned that I'm gonna be going back to weekly episodes during the fall, during the shoulder season in Hawaii.

[00:00:45] Bryan Murphy: Honestly, I woke up this morning thinking about you. If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, or maybe you're in Hawaii right now, and hearing the news about the federal shutdown, I thought about. Those who are planning to travel to Hawaii. Hawaii during this time is a beautiful time. During October, I wanted to get this episode out and I've been researching most of the morning with UpToDate info, and I'm gonna cite all of my sources.

[00:01:12] Bryan Murphy: I'm not just gonna give my opinions here. I will interject where necessary, but I'm gonna give you facts and what is current and what we know right now. I'm gonna list all that in the show notes. This is a topic that can get political pretty quickly, and I am not gonna go down that route. I simply just want to report how this could and will affect anybody who is in Hawaii right now, especially those who are traveling for vacation.

[00:01:41] Bryan Murphy: So if you're planning a trip right now, you've have probably seen the headlines, or if not, maybe this is your news source to this, but the federal government has officially shut down. It's not the first time. We're gonna talk about a little bit what 2018 was like and how we can learn from that and kind of expect what to expect because of that.

[00:02:03] Bryan Murphy: So what does that mean for you and your trip if you've got tickets to say Pearl Harbor or if you're hoping to catch, you know, sunrise at Halakah National Park. You know, are the national parks open or are they closed? And really the honest answer right now is, well, it depends, which is kind of frustrating.

[00:02:21] Bryan Murphy: Some reports say the parks are closed, others like. One from Politicos say that they'll stay as accessible as possible. We saw that in 2018. I don't wanna get ahead of myself, but we'll talk and unpack what that means and in Hawaii, Hawaii News now is reporting that the staff at Pearl Harbor walked out yesterday not even knowing if they'd be back in on October 1st, which is at the time of this recording today.

[00:02:47] Bryan Murphy: But this is coming out on the second, so if you're wondering which one it is, you're not alone. That's exactly what we're gonna be unpacking today, and we'll start with what we know for sure today as October 1st, the first day in the shutdown, we will look at what's likely to be limited, and finally, I'll share what happened during the last shutdown in 2018 and how that impacted travel in Hawaii.

[00:03:10] Bryan Murphy: To make this all easy for you, I put this in an all this information condensed into a free PDF guide, and I'll include that with live links to official sources like the National Park Service, Hawaii Tourism Authority. And so you can have all the latest updates really within that guide, and you'll find that in the very first link in the show notes below where you can grab it after this episode.

[00:03:34] Bryan Murphy: So let's start with the basics of what we know right now.

[00:03:37] Bryan Murphy: Well, flights are still running to Hawaii and TSA officers and FAA staff are considered essential. Thank goodness, though they're not getting paid right now, but they're still at their posts, and that means your flights to Hawaii or between the islands is going ahead as schedule.

[00:03:57] Bryan Murphy: Now, here's something to kind of keep in mind. During the 2018 shutdown, a lot of TSA officers started calling in sick because, well, they weren't getting paid. Now, when that happens in large numbers, it leaves checkpoints, short staffed, and creates long lines at the airports. So this week, TSA officials told HNN, again, that's Hawaii news now that if the shutdown continues, travelers should be prepared for that kind of slowdown again.

[00:04:28] Bryan Murphy: What about the parks and activities?

[00:04:30] Bryan Murphy: And really the good news is that state and county parks are open, so places like Diamondhead, YME Canyon, yal Valley on Maui and the Nepal coast on Kauai are all operating normally. And same goes for your hotel restaurants, luaus and snorkeling tours, et cetera. These don't rely on federal funding.

[00:04:53] Bryan Murphy: The Hawaii Tourism Authority even put out a reminder that state parks, beaches, and private businesses are still open. As usual, Pearl Harbor is where things. Get a little bit more complicated. It's been really hard to try to find a straight answer. According to HNN, the center is staffed by National Park Service and those workers are furloughed during a shutdown.

[00:05:16] Bryan Murphy: What's important to note is that the Battleship Missouri and the Boin Submarine Museum and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum aren't. Federal. They're managed by Pacific Historic Parks, a nonprofit organization, and they've already said that they are gonna remain open. Getting into the weeds just a little bit, because I know a lot of people who are in Hawaii listen to this podcast as well.

[00:05:41] Bryan Murphy: So for residents who depend on benefits, social security, Medicare, those are all still active. They're considered essential. So payments keep going out. Interviews with a RP, Hawaii h and n reported that new applications and customer service could take longer than usual. VA medical centers are also open because they're funded in advance.

[00:06:04] Bryan Murphy: Now, I wanna pause here real quick because as I was doing research, I saw on H and n, they reported about. 20,000 Hawaii residents would lose their Obamacare subsidies because the fiscal year ended. I've fact checked that and I couldn't find that to be accurate. So if this affects you, this is what I found, and you can do your own research as well.

[00:06:26] Bryan Murphy: The Congressional Research Service confirms that the Enhanced Affordable Care Act a CA subsidies, which help lower premiums are in place through the end of 2025. I also found that on. The Kaiser Family Foundation, which says the same thing. So standard a CA, subsidies are permanent and the temporary enhanced subsidies don't expire until December 31st, 2025.

[00:06:52] Bryan Murphy: So all that to say, if you know someone is on a CA coverage, you don't need to worry, at least from my research, and I encourage you to do your own research.

[00:07:02] Bryan Murphy: Finally, probably the biggest question, let's talk about the National parks, the Department of Interior's official plan. Says Parks will stay as accessible as possible, and I'll make their PDF available.

[00:07:16] Bryan Murphy: Also, somehow below in the show notes, this is what they officially put out. They're gonna remain as accessible as possible. So in practice that means you might still be able to enter a park or walkie trail. But visitor centers, restrooms, ranger programs, and trash collections stop unless the park has fee money.

[00:07:37] Bryan Murphy: To keep them running for visitors, that often means the park won't feel fully open, obviously, even if the gates aren't locked. So here's where we stand today. In all of this, flights are operating. State parks and beaches are open. Nonprofit museums like Pearl Harbor are welcoming visitors, social security, VA services, and a CA.

[00:08:02] Bryan Murphy: Subsidies continue. But Hawaii National Parks are in a great zone, accessible, but without the services most people expect. Other National Park service sites in Hawaii also fall into this uncertain category that includes p.

[00:08:21] Bryan Murphy: And the Al Kaha Kai Trail. None of these have put out a clear shutdown notice as of now. But based on the plan, you can expect reduce or no services. Just like in 2018 when some of these places were left open without staff. If you're planning to visit a wildlife refuge, the rules change a little. The Fish and Wildlife Services plan says refuges are closed unless they don't get staff for public access.

[00:08:48] Bryan Murphy: That means visitor centers and lighthouses like. Kilo point on Kauai are very likely close trails that don't need staffing. Might still be accessible, but really don't count on any facilities there to be open and really to understand what this might mean for you if you're traveling to Hawaii or if you're in Hawaii right now.

[00:09:10] Bryan Murphy: It helps to look back at the last major shutdown in 2018 that lasted for 35 days. That's the longest in US history. Back then, about 300,000 federal workers were furloughed without pay, including many in Hawaii. According to HNN, travelers noticed it most at the airports, so with few screeners showing up, security lines got longer and longer, and the whole process became more stressful.

[00:09:38] Bryan Murphy: National Parks were another area where the impact showed up. Hawaii's Volcano National Park stayed open to visitors, but services were cut. The National Park Service reported that roads were closed. Ranger led hikes and volunteer programs were canceled and facilities weren't maintained. The Congressional research service later noted that parks left open without staff solved trash pile ups, closed bathrooms, and even damage to cultural and natural resources in Hawaii.

[00:10:06] Bryan Murphy: Pearl Harbor also showed reduced operations while nonprofit partners kept some sites open. The uncertainty around visitor centers created confusion for many travelers. Kind of what we're seeing right now.

[00:10:17] Bryan Murphy: Alright, so kind of take a deep breath and you know, after hearing all of this, you might be wondering, what does it mean for your trip?

[00:10:26] Bryan Murphy: How do you plan with these things that feel uncertain? And you're like, Brian, you just made. More confusing. I hope I didn't, but this is what is current. It is confusing. Really. The first thing to check before you go is the National Park Service and Hawaii Tourism Authority are updating their websites best as they can.

[00:10:46] Bryan Murphy: So you can go to nps.gov/. Hi for Park updates or go to go hawaii.com for broader alerts. And you know, always check in monitoring those during your visit or leading up to your visit to Hawaii. And second, have a backup plan. If you're hoping to visit Halala or Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the visitor centers are closed, maybe swap that day for a state park or beach.

[00:11:12] Bryan Murphy: If you're on Oahu, you got Diamond Head. Ka got Ban Canyon, Maui. You know you got Al, Al Valley. You know, all of those are open. The third thing to keep in mind is expect fewer services inside federal parks if you do get in. So if you find that the gates are open, but don't expect restrooms to be clean, ranger programs to be running or trash to be collected.

[00:11:37] Bryan Murphy: So all the more, it's important to pack out what you bring in the fourth thing outta five that. I hope to clear up is look, private experiences where you can, so Lou Owls, snorkeling trips, food tours, cultural programs are all operating normally. This is another great chance to support local businesses while you're enjoying your trip and finally, stay flexible.

[00:12:00] Bryan Murphy: That's really the key that really gets kind of the key to visiting Hawaii is be flexible. A government shutdown doesn't mean your trip to Hawaii is. Ruined most of the experiences visitors come for, you know, the beaches, culture, food, and really the aloha spirit are still in Hawaii. You may just need to adjust if a park or visitor center isn't open the way you expected.

[00:12:22] Bryan Murphy: And again, I have all of this info and with the live links for these official sites to stay up to date. You can just get that PDF in the show notes below first. Link and if you found this information helpful, would love it if you just took a few seconds and left a review. If you are listening on Apple Podcasts or if you're on Spotify, just go ahead and leave a rating.

[00:12:45] Bryan Murphy: Take you a couple seconds to do that. Really appreciate it. Again, thank you for listening, and until next time, next Wednesday, unless something else comes up, I will see you then and until then. Live with Aloha

[00:13:01] 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.