NEW Hawaii 2026 Travel Changes Every Visitor Needs To Know

What if the rules changed and nobody told you before you booked your Hawaii trip?

Hawaii's still paradise, but how you visit in 2026 looks different, and missing these updates could cost you time, money, and access to the places you came to see.

👉 Hit play now to get the full breakdown of every 2026 change that'll actually affect your trip, so you can avoid surprises and plan smarter.

If you've ever wondered how to navigate Hawaii's new visitor rules without the guesswork, this episode is for you.

You'll learn what's changed with costs, reservations, vacation rentals, and airlines, plus what to do right now to protect your plans.

In this episode of Hawaii's Best, we walk through the 2026 Hawaii travel changes every visitor needs to know so you can plan confidently and enjoy your trip without unexpected roadblocks.

👉 In this episode, you will:

• Understand the new lodging taxes that'll add hundreds to your hotel bill and how to budget accurately
• Discover which state parks now require advance reservations or entry fees before you arrive
• Learn how to spot legal vacation rentals and navigate the Alaska-Hawaiian merger changes

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Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to get every 2026 Hawaii travel update you need before you book.

🤙Resources mentioned:

• 1-on-1 Hawaii Travel Consultation
• Maui's Housing Bill 9
• How to Tell If Your Rental in Hawaii is Illegal
• How to Save Money in Hawaii
• Free Things to Do on Oahu for Families

🤓Chapters:

• 1:39 Rising Costs: New Taxes and Fees
• 3:19 Reservation Systems: Plan Ahead
• 4:54 Vacation Rentals: New Regulations
• 6:40 Airline Changes: Mergers and New Policies
• 8:43 Maui Recovery and Volcano Updates
• 10:16 Recap and Final Tips

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This Hawaii travel 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

• 2:08 Rising Costs: New Taxes and Fees
• 3:48 Reservation Systems: Plan Ahead
• 5:23 Vacation Rentals: New Regulations
• 7:09 Airline Changes: Mergers and New Policies
• 9:12 Maui Recovery and Volcano Updates
• 10:45 Recap and Final Tips

Transcript

201_NEW Hawaii 2026 Travel Changes Every Visitor Needs To Know

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: If you're planning a Hawaii trip for 2026, there are some important changes going into effect soon that you need to know. The islands didn't suddenly change, but some of the rules around visiting them did In this episode, I'm walking you through the Hawaii travel changes you actually need to know, so your trip goes smoothly in the new year.

[00:00:26] Bryan Murphy: Aloha and welcome to Hawaii's best of podcast, helping you plan an unforgettable trip to Hawaii. I'm Brian Murphy, the host and owner of Hawaii's Best, and thank you so much for joining me today on today's episode. Really, the big picture before we get into the specifics is Hawaii is still Hawaii, the beaches are still beautiful.

[00:00:45] Bryan Murphy: The food is still incredible. The people are amazing. The experiences and culture are still definitely worth the trip. What's changed is how Hawaii is managing visitors, and I think we've seen some of this after the COVID era as far as how Hawaii manages tourism over the last few years. This. State has been way more intentional about tourism.

[00:01:08] Bryan Murphy: That means more structure. There's more rules, and honestly, a lot more planning required on our end for visiting Hawaii. And it's really not to make travel harder, even though sometimes it feels like it. But really it's to protect the places people come here to see and for generations to come. So this episode is about helping you avoid some of these surprises.

[00:01:32] Bryan Murphy: That you might encounter on your next trip to Hawaii. Alright, so let's go ahead and walk through some of those changes affecting your trip.

[00:01:39] Bryan Murphy: Probably starting with the most important I'd say is the cost for visiting Hawaii is going up. One of the biggest surprises for visitors in 2026 is gonna be cost and not because hotels suddenly got fancier overnight or anything like that.

[00:01:54] Bryan Murphy: It's because Hawaii's lodging taxes went up. Of course. They went up kind of quietly and they add up fast. Starting January 1st, 2026, Hawaii added a new 0.75% green fee to the state's transient accommodations tax. So that pushes the state hotel tax to 11% up from. 10 point 25%. What that means is when you stack in county surcharges, in the general excise, tax visitors are now paying roughly 15 to 18.5% in lodging taxes, and that's before resort fees.

[00:02:33] Bryan Murphy: As I'm talking, excuse my voice, I feel like I'm getting sick, but I'm gonna get through this episode for for you because these are important things to know. Anyway, I, I did an example of kind of what it looks like in real numbers. A $5,000 hotel stay in Waikiki or wherever across the islands now comes to about $825 in taxes alone.

[00:02:54] Bryan Murphy: And, and that's before a resort fee gets added. Usually a nightly destination fee or wifi charges parking, which is often, you know, around, you know, another 30 or $50 a night. So the takeaway is simple. Uh, when you're planning your Hawaii trip in 2026, always budget off the total price after taxes, not the nightly rate you see necessarily on like a booking site.

[00:03:19] Bryan Murphy: The second biggest change is that you can't just show up anymore. We saw this this past year in the, in the year prior, but this is another big shift that we're seeing. A trend coming in 2026 is, you know, a lot of places in Hawaii that used to be casual stops now have systems in place, reservation systems.

[00:03:39] Bryan Murphy: The places that already required reservations before 2026 still do. So you got Diamondhead, an Elma Bay, Pearl Harbor. Hana State Park on Kauai y, an APA State Park on Maui and Halala Sunrise. So going into 2026, here are some of the new reservations to be aware of, and some of them have fees as of late 2025 and into 20 26, 14 or more.

[00:04:06] Bryan Murphy: State parks and natural areas now charge non-resident parking or entry fees. Recent additions include Rainbow Falls and boiling pots on the big island of Hawaii. Near Kona ua River State Park on

[00:04:24] Bryan Murphy: Kahu. Usually you're gonna see about $5 per person and $10 per vehicle at some of these spots. Really, that's a lot. Where the frustration lies is that people assume everything is still first come, first serve, and it's free, but a lot of places just aren't anymore. So the big takeaway here is if a place matters to you, if it's on your list that you want to visit, check ahead, go to the website, um, find out if it needs reservations or if it's just a fee, and just plan for that.

[00:04:54] Bryan Murphy: The third big change is where vacation rentals are gonna be more regulated. Hawaii didn't suddenly ban Airbnbs, but counties across the islands are tightening the rules and starting enforcing them way more aggressively. On Maui, for example, the county just passed a bill Bill nine, and this is eventually gonna phase out 6,200 short-term rentals in apartment zone areas.

[00:05:19] Bryan Murphy: This uncertainty alone is causing some units to disappear from booking sites. But for a full update, because this just happened, I wrote a quick article on the website and I'm gonna link that down below in the show notes so you can read more about it. It's not as alarming as the headline sounds, so go ahead and check that out after this episode.

[00:05:41] Bryan Murphy: Now on Hawaii Island, the big island. All short-term rentals are now required to register with the county in enforcement of that ramps up in 2026. So what this means for visitors is, is pretty simple. Some listings you see online today may not be legal for your travel dates. Here's how you're gonna protect yourself at that if you're in this boat only book.

[00:06:04] Bryan Murphy: Vacation rentals that clearly display Hawaii General excise tax and transient accommodations. Tax license numbers. If a listing does not show those, that's a huge red flag. So if you want the least risk, definitely would recommend stick to hotels, resorts, um, licensed condos or rentals in resort. Zoned areas.

[00:06:28] Bryan Murphy: And uh, by the way, I actually did a full episode on this called Illegal Hawaii Vacation Rentals. What Every Traveler Needs to know, and I'm gonna link that episode below as well in the show notes.

[00:06:40] Bryan Murphy: The next change is, is news that that was huge earlier this year, and that is regards to Hawaiian Airlines on paper.

[00:06:47] Bryan Murphy: This is the Alaska Hawaiian merger. It's not really a merger. I, the, the more I've have dealt with it. Firsthand it, it is a takeover. Alaska bought Hawaiian. Hawaiian is just keeping, its branding all that stuff in real life. What it feels like is confusion. I, I have felt this firsthand. I'm gonna try to be as, um, unbiased as possible.

[00:07:12] Bryan Murphy: I love Hawaiian Airlines. Flown Hawaiian Airlines nearly 25 years, Hawaiian Airlines. Didn't disappear, but it's no longer operating the way it used to. Flights now are booked through Alaska's system flight numbers. They look different. And the old Hawaiian miles program, or is, has been now folded into what is called Atmos Rewards.

[00:07:33] Bryan Murphy: So that's the, that's the rewards program for both Hawaiian and Alaska. I've been tripped up by this. I've seen other people trip up. Even the CEO of Hawaiian Airlines eventually address the frustration, especially with the Atmos rewards transition. So the biggest thing to know is don't assume that your old perks work the same way, and don't be caught off guard when you go to book Alaska Flight.

[00:07:59] Bryan Murphy: Or Hawaiian flight that it might be a little clunky as they're saying. They're still working the kinks out. Come 2026 in other airline news, Southwest is changing a little bit too. Starting January 27th, 2026, Southwest is moving away from open seating and switching to a. Signed seating, and that's really a big shift if you're used to lining up early or grabbing seats together as a family.

[00:08:26] Bryan Murphy: So before you book flights for 2026, if you're going through Southwest or Alaska, Hawaiian, whatever, just take a a few extra minutes, get to know how the airlines are operating and what's changing, and I'll link some of the resources below as well.

[00:08:43] Bryan Murphy: Real quick note about Maui. Not a lot has changed as far as the Laina area.

[00:08:48] Bryan Murphy: There's still huge, uh, recovery effort happening. A lot of. Those areas are still closed off. It's obvious what is closed. So if you're visiting Maui, please visit Maui. I feel like every Maui local I talk to is not begging, but nearly begging, like, please still visit Maui. Maui is completely open except for some of the areas within Lana on the west side.

[00:09:10] Bryan Murphy: So continue to support local businesses on Maui and, um, just understand and, and just be aware of those places that are still off limits. The last thing is what made huge news this past year was the eruptions on Hawaii Island, and those eruptions aren't always predictable, but this past year we have seen some of the most active eruptions that we've seen in a long time.

[00:09:35] Bryan Murphy: But just because of that, lava viewing isn't always guaranteed. There's ongoing construction, occasional area closures. So before you go check the National Park Service alerts for the morning of your visit, they're really good about updating what is going on on their website. And I also love following them on their Instagram as well.

[00:09:55] Bryan Murphy: But if Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is on your top to-do list on Hawaii Island, which it is on for a lot of people, maybe just have a backup plan if you're gonna be over on that. Side of the island in case the park is closed, or you just never know. So just plan for the unexpected. Have a backup plan when visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

[00:10:16] Bryan Murphy: So just a quick recap. Costs are higher, unfortunately, but there's a lot of free things that you can do still in Hawaii. I actually did an episode on that that only below just about some ideas to do that are completely free. Reservations matter more than ever. Vacation rentals are more regulated and airline rules and loyalty programs have changed.

[00:10:39] Bryan Murphy: If all of this is kind of making your head spin, I do offer some planning resources for. Those of you who want some one-on-one help, I do offer consultations. So if you wanna book a time with me, I'll drop that link in the show notes as well. You know, just everything, just go to the show notes. I always post, um, links for everything I mention within the episode.

[00:10:59] Bryan Murphy: So go ahead if you want to book a copy. Honored more than happy to sit down with you face to face via Zoom and discuss your trip help. Plan your trip. And, uh, it's gonna be great. So thanks for making this far in the episode. And until next time, my friend as always, live with Aloha

[00:11:22] 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.