Is November a Good Time to Visit Hawaii?

Free Guide: Visiting Hawaii in November

Can November actually be a good time to visit Hawaii, or will you end up stuck in rain and crowds?

If you're planning a Hawaii trip and wondering whether November is worth it, you need to know the truth about shoulder season timing, weather patterns, and how to avoid the Thanksgiving rush.

👉 Hit play now to discover why November offers some of the lowest prices and smallest crowds of the year, plus island-by-island weather breakdowns you won't find anywhere else.

If you've ever wondered how to plan a Hawaii trip that delivers sunshine, savings, and stress-free vibes without the summer chaos, this episode is for you.

You'll learn exactly when to visit in November, what weather to expect on each island, and which special events happen only during this month.

In this episode of Hawaii's Best, we break down November travel in Hawaii island by island so you can plan a trip with lower prices, fewer crowds, and still-warm weather.

👉 In this episode, you will:

• Discover why the first three weeks of November see 75% fewer visitors than peak season, with hotel rates at their lowest and flight deals you can actually use
• Learn island-specific weather patterns, from Maui's dry west side to Oahu's North Shore winter swells, plus exactly what to pack for each microclimate
• Access November-only experiences like the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, Triple Crown of Surfing, and the first humpback whale sightings of the season

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Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to plan your November Hawaii trip with insider timing, weather intel, and money-saving strategies that work.

🎧Related episodes:

• Best Time to Visit Hawaii for Families
• Best Time to Visit Hawaii

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💻Related blog posts:

• Ultimate Guide to Hawaii in November
• The Best Time to Go to Hawaii

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🤓Chapters:

• 1:39 Travel Updates and Federal Shutdown Impact
• 3:01 Weather and Crowds in November
• 8:05 Island-Specific Weather Insights
• 11:14 Events and Activities in November
• 13:16 Thanksgiving and Holiday Celebrations
• 13:50 Maui's Recovery Update
• 15:23 Conclusion and Final Tips

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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.

Edge of the Ocean, Stick Figure (w/ permission)
Ukulele and Chill, Coby G (w/ permission)
Talk Story, Hawaiian Style Band (w/ permission)

Chapters

• 1:39 Travel Updates and Federal Shutdown Impact
• 3:01 Weather and Crowds in November
• 8:05 Island-Specific Weather Insights
• 11:14 Events and Activities in November
• 13:16 Thanksgiving and Holiday Celebrations
• 13:50 Maui's Recovery Update
• 15:23 Conclusion and Final Tips

Transcript

190_Is November a Good Time to Visit Hawaii

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: Can November actually be a good time to visit Hawaii? Well, if you've ever wondered this, maybe you're worried about if you might get too much rain, it's too crowded, or just the wrong time a year to go. Well, this episode is for you because today you'll discover the truth about visiting Hawaii in November and had to plan your trip so you still get sunshine.

[00:00:20] Bryan Murphy: Savings and those stress-free Hawaii vibes.

[00:00:28] Bryan Murphy: Welcome to Hawaii's Best, the podcast helping you plan an unforgettable trip to Hawaii. Here you'll get practical tips on what to know before you travel. For my 20 plus years of traveling to Hawaii in over. 30 trips. I'm Brian Murphy, and this show exists for one reason, helping you have an incredible Hawaii trip without all the usual stress and mistakes that go along with it.

[00:00:51] Bryan Murphy: And today we're talking all about November in Hawaii and probably on the surface. November doesn't sound like an exciting time to visit Hawaii. It's not summer, it's not the holidays. Well, maybe towards the end, but it's just November. But uh, that's exactly why it is great because we're gonna break down the weather island by island.

[00:01:12] Bryan Murphy: Talk about the crowds, really honestly, the lack of crowds, and show you how to save some serious money by traveling during this time of year, during the shoulder season in Hawaii. And I'll share some of my experiences along the way and activities that you can only get during this time of year in Hawaii.

[00:01:29] Bryan Murphy: Plus, gonna give an update about Maui, what to expect if you are visiting on the valley aisle, and a lot's happening there with the recovery. So if you're visiting, especially West Mau, we'll talk a little bit about that.

[00:01:39] Bryan Murphy: But first, a quick travel update if you are traveling right now. The biggest news as it relates to travel is the federal shutdown is still in effect, which started on October 1st, and I know it was probably not.

[00:01:55] Bryan Murphy: The right timing if you're planning a trip right now. But, um, actually, here's kind of what's going on your Hawaii vacation right now. It's, it's fine. Flights are running, TSAs are working. So be nice if you go to the airport because a lot of them, from what I understand, are working without a paycheck right now.

[00:02:13] Bryan Murphy: I don't know a lot about the actual details of the shutdown, but my job is just to help educate you because last time there was a shutdown, things started getting, uh. Pretty long as far as the security lines, especially as we get into the holiday season. So probably the big question is what should you do?

[00:02:34] Bryan Murphy: Well, you're gonna wanna get to the airport earlier than usual. Security lines might be longer depending on when you're traveling and if the federal government is still shut down. And if you're planning to hit any, you know, national parks, just check ahead. Some visitor centers might have reduced hours or activities.

[00:02:51] Bryan Murphy: Don't panic, just plan accordingly. Things are running pretty much as usual right now during this federal shutdown, and hopefully that doesn't change anytime soon.

[00:03:01] Bryan Murphy: Alright, so now let's go ahead and get into why November is so special in Hawaii. One of the things, I might give you some actual data that I got from the HVCB, which actually I'm a, I'm a member of, so I'm able to access a lot of this data, and I want to bring it to you because it's as accurate and as up to date as possible because we're talking about what November of 2024 looked like.

[00:03:25] Bryan Murphy: November is actually one of the slowest tourism months in Hawaii, and that's not a bad thing. That's really the whole point of why you might want to consider visiting in November. So, you know, kids are in school. Summer vacations are long over the big holiday rush hasn't hit yet, at least not, you know, Thanksgiving tours.

[00:03:45] Bryan Murphy: The end of the of the month, what happens, you know, you get Hawaii without a lot of the big crowds. And in November of 2024, Hawaii saw 770. Thousand 940 visitors. That's 75% of what pre pandemic November looked like. So translation and all that. It's busy enough that everything is open and running smoothly, but it's not so packed that you're having to fight for space like maybe you would on the beach and Waikiki during July.

[00:04:16] Bryan Murphy: Now, as I kind of already alluded to, there's one exception and that's Thanksgiving week. It gets busy. If you want a quieter experience, definitely would recommend the first three weeks prior to Thanksgiving week is gonna be your best bet. Basically anything. Like mid October, all the way through that third week of November.

[00:04:38] Bryan Murphy: That's really one of our favorite times to visit. But we're in a season now that we are having to visit at, you know, quote normal times because the way our school schedule works for our girls. So we're planning a trip actually coming, uh, this January around the first of the year. And that's kind of been one of our times that we've been visiting pretty regularly.

[00:04:59] Bryan Murphy: And then Allie and I and my wife will probably get away at least one time per year. We try to just us get over to Hawaii. Let's talk about pricing in Hawaii. As I mentioned, November is shoulder season in Hawaii. And basically what that means that, you know, you got lower prices across the board. So hotel rates are some of the lowest.

[00:05:19] Bryan Murphy: Of the year, you'll find package deals. You know, you might get like, you know, stay four nights, get the fifth night free offers across some of the hotels. You'll probably get a little bit more opportunity with resort credits that are get thrown in step. That usually doesn't exist in July. You'll find some of these opportunities in November.

[00:05:39] Bryan Murphy: Flights can be cheaper too. Again, it's those first three weeks of November you're gonna find a bit cheaper. Flights, airlines run false sales. I don't know if you subscribe to Hawaiian Airlines, but I constantly get stuff around this time of year about cheaper flights to Hawaii. So with fewer people traveling, prices drop.

[00:05:59] Bryan Murphy: But the catch again is that Thanksgiving week, those flights spike. You see it all over the news that Thanksgiving week airports are crowded and it's crazy, and you're gonna find that flying to Hawaii as well. But my advice is if you can visit from anytime between November 1st and the 20th, and you're bound to save us, definitely some money during that time.

[00:06:23] Bryan Murphy: Weather in Hawaii during November is. It's still warm. Daytime highs are, you know, from the low to mid eighties that's Fahrenheit and evenings drop depending on where you're at, which island you're on, which side of the island you're on. It drops anywhere between the sixties and 70 degree Fahrenheit, and the ocean is still perfectly swimmable, stays around 75 to 80 degrees, and during November, it is the start of rainy season, which.

[00:06:50] Bryan Murphy: Sounds worse than it is honestly. You'll get brief showers usually at night or quick, quick afternoon, sprinkles that pass in a few minutes, but it's usually typically not rain all day. And one of the best parts is hurricane season officially ends in November. So by. Mid month of November, it's you. You have a lower risk of tropical storms, basically almost zero.

[00:07:15] Bryan Murphy: So the one thing to watch out for though is winter swells do start up hitting the North shore. So you got big waves on the beaches like pipeline and Sunset beach. They're incredible to watch. But if you have snorkel on the North Shore during the summertime. Please do not get in the water during the wintertime on the North Shore, especially, you know, Oahu, uh, any in the North facing beaches in Hawaii, you're not gonna want to do that.

[00:07:43] Bryan Murphy: Waikiki, south Shore, relatively still pretty calm, but definitely cool to take a trip up to the Northshore, especially if you're on Oahu, you're gonna get some professional surfers out there catching some of the, the first winter swells happening. I mentioned a little bit about it depends on what island you're staying on, what side of the island you're staying on.

[00:08:05] Bryan Murphy: So I want to dive a little bit deeper into weather because a lot of people, at least when I look at my analytics on the website, a lot of people are searching about weather. So I do want to dive into that. We'll start with Oahu, 'cause we're just talking about Oahu. So Waikiki and the Leeward side stay typically sunny and dry.

[00:08:23] Bryan Murphy: So that's like South Shore and all the way out to, uh, Ana. You got Colina. Out there as well. The Hava Pro Surf competition kicks off mid-November. So if you're into surfing, you just wanna watch the pros, this is your time to head up to the North Shore on Oahu. But again, don't get in the water. Listen to the lifeguards.

[00:08:43] Bryan Murphy: There's plenty of videos out there of swells that come up and take people, um, by surprise, even on shore. So let's go over to Maui. Maui's a bit different. This is really the driest island during the wintertime. Maui is so west and south Maui are sunny and warm. So if rain is a concern, Maui is usually your safest bet.

[00:09:09] Bryan Murphy: What's really cool about Maui during this season, what we got to experience when Allie and I were there was this is when you start. Spotting the first humpback whales as they make their migration from Alaska. So by late November, around Thanksgiving, hopefully maybe a little bit earlier, you might spot your first whale.

[00:09:28] Bryan Murphy: And Maui sees about 75% of all of Hawaii's humpbacks. But, uh, one warning though, if you are doing halala sunrise, it's cold up there. So bring warm layers, make reservations again with the federal shutdown. You wanna make sure that you check the National Parks website about any of that. They're really good at putting up to date alerts on their website and on their social media.

[00:09:55] Bryan Murphy: Now the garden aisle, Kauai lives up to its name. It's lush, it's green, the north and east side. Do get more rain than the south shore. The south shore you got, um, Poipu, which is drier, the Nepali coast. See some big swells up there. So hit south for commerce, snorkeling, just green. A light rain jacket. So the big island of Hawaii.

[00:10:17] Bryan Murphy: It's kind of a split personality, really. That's the big island year round. But in November especially, Kona side is hot and dry, and it's actually the driest time of year. During this time in Kona, the Helo side, the east side, the side is wetter and upcountry gets. A lot cooler, so pack layers, ocean conditions on the west side.

[00:10:37] Bryan Murphy: They're excellent for snorkeling and diving. If you are doing Hawaii Volcanoes, national Park or Mon Kea, definitely want to make sure that you are packing layers and being aware of. Weather and all that good stuff. And kind of back to Maui County real quick. Molokai and Lanai, uh, wanna talk about those because some people do visit those islands.

[00:11:01] Bryan Murphy: Molokas west side is sunny and dry, and Lanai is dry year round with mild weather. Doesn't really matter what time of year it is, but both are quiet and perfect if you want to escape the crowds.

[00:11:14] Bryan Murphy: So now I wanna talk a little bit about some events that you can experience in Hawaii during November that you typically can't experience any time of year.

[00:11:22] Bryan Murphy: One of those is in Kona. On the big island is the Kona Coffee Cultural Festival, and it runs for 10 days. In early November, you can experience farm tours, coffee tasting. Barista competitions, parades, cultural performances. It's Hawaii's oldest food festival and a great way to experience local culture and just to get out and see what life is like for those who live in Hawaii.

[00:11:48] Bryan Murphy: Again, on the island of Oahu, you got the triple crown of surfing. It's a world class surfing contest on Oahu's North Shore. If you're not wanting to see watch surfing, this is kind of something that we didn't check and learn from. Our mistake. We wanted to go. Eat at the beach house and we were, it was in December and we were heading up to the North Shore, just going to the beach house.

[00:12:12] Bryan Murphy: And once we hit that traffic, it was like, oh, okay. We knew that something was going on, and sure enough, there was a surf contest going on. So if you're not wanting to get stuck in. Contest traffic. Just check that out before you head up and you'll be good to go. Sunset Beach also has events so you get some of the best surfers in the world competing for massive waves.

[00:12:34] Bryan Murphy: It's, it's free. You just drive up to the North Shore, be patient and you'll find a place to park and just watch from the beach and have a good time. Get some, you know, get a food truck or whatever. Go see the guys over at Sunrise Shack. Huge shout out to those guys. They were the very first guests on this podcast back, you know, six or seven years ago.

[00:12:54] Bryan Murphy: Pretty cool to see what they've built since then. So heading over to Maui, you got the Hula Cheki event, which is a children's hula competition on Maui. And then on Kauai you have the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar Festival. That is just a beautiful event. So both of those are some good events to get some some cultural experiences.

[00:13:16] Bryan Murphy: If you do happen to be traveling and visiting Hawaii during Thanksgiving, you do get a treat. There are things, some Thanksgiving events. Most resorts do host a special luau Turkey alongside of Kaa Pig and Poque. You just want to check your resort, your hotel, wherever you're going, see how they're celebrating because there's typically Thanksgiving events.

[00:13:38] Bryan Murphy: Same thing for Christmas. There's usually celebrations and Christmas events. So even though that time of year is super crowded to visit. Been there. I've done that, but it, it was still very special. All right.

[00:13:50] Bryan Murphy: A quick update about Maui's recovery. As I'm sure you're well aware, in August of 2023, the devastating wildfire swept through la haa and the loss of life was tragic.

[00:14:03] Bryan Murphy: Loss of history, property, the destruction. Was massive. The tensions were real, and the community is still healing over on West Maui or all of Maui. All of ye really, but West Maui has opened to tourism and even parts of Laa have opened to tourism. I've mentioned this on a few other episodes. And I've talked to some locals as well about what is open.

[00:14:29] Bryan Murphy: What's really encouraging is that Maui was seeing a downward trend of visitors and visitors spending, but that has since bounced back up, and visitors spending is back up. More resorts and visitors have open. And, uh, again, I wanna give a shout out to Old Laa Luau, which has reopened. So, if you are staying on Maui, maybe in the Cotton Nepali area, and you want a great luau, definitely would highly recommend old Laa luau.

[00:15:00] Bryan Murphy: Whenever I talk to someone from Maui, the biggest thing is to just, if you visit West Maui, just do so with sensitivity and respect. There still are some parts of Lena closed off. It's obvious what is closed off. You're not just gonna walk in, oh, I didn't know that was closed. It's, it's obvious what is marked and what is.

[00:15:21] Bryan Murphy: And isn't open.

[00:15:23] Bryan Murphy: So I think that pretty much wraps up a good snapshot of what November in Hawaii is like. You got fewer crowds, lower prices, still great weather. The key is timing. So visiting the first three weeks of November is gonna be, you know, your quietest experience and you're visiting Maui, especially West Maui.

[00:15:42] Bryan Murphy: Just travel with aloha like you would anywhere but. Just extra heightened. And if this episode has been helpful for you, I would just ask you to hit Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you're listening. And until next time, as always, live with Aloha

[00:16:03] 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.