Is April a Good Time to Go to Hawaii? Yes, just avoid THIS one week

Is April actually one of the best times to visit Hawaii, or are you walking into a crowd and cost trap without knowing it?

April sits in Hawaii's shoulder season, and most travelers either skip it entirely or accidentally book the one week they should avoid.

👉 Hit play now and get the exact breakdown of April weather, crowds, costs, and events so you can plan a smarter, more affordable Hawaii trip.

If you've ever wondered how to time a Hawaii trip to get good weather without the summer crowds or holiday prices, this episode is for you. Bryan Murphy lays out what April in Hawaii actually looks like, week by week, so you know exactly what to expect before you book.

In this episode of Hawaii's Best, we break down visiting Hawaii in April so you can avoid the costly mistakes and make the most of one of Hawaii's least crowded months.

👉 In this episode, you will:

• Understand why the second half of April delivers the best shoulder season conditions
• Discover three April-only events
• Learn the early April whale watching window when mother and calf humpback pairs are still in the island

Scroll up ⬆️ and hit play now to nail the timing of your April Hawaii trip and avoid the one week that changes everything.

🎧Related episodes:

• Spring Break in Hawaii
• Best Time to Visit Hawaii
• Best Island for First-Time Visitors

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 💻Related blog posts:

• Hawaii in April Guide
• Spring Break in Hawaii Guide

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 🤓Chapters:

• 0:21 Shoulder Season Explained
• 1:54 April Weather Breakdown
• 2:45 Rain Tips and Best Shores
• 4:07 Crowds and Easter Week
• 6:15 Costs and New Taxes
• 8:14 April Festivals and Events
• 10:30 Whale Watching Window
• 11:14 Wrap Up and Resources

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About Your Host: Bryan Murphy is the founder of Hawaii’s Best Travel & a Certified Hawaii Destination Expert through the Hawaii Tourism Authority, since 2020. An HVCB member since 2019, he helps first-time & repeat visitors plan unforgettable Hawaii vacations w/ clear, practical advice & authentic cultural insight.

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Hawaii travel podcast helps you plan a trip to Hawaii with clarity. Discover practical travel tips, island itineraries, & local insight to help you explore Oahu, Maui, Kauai, the Big Island.

Edge of the Ocean (w/ permission)
Ukulele and Chill (w/ permission)
Talk Story (w/ permission)

Transcript

222_Is April a Good Time to Go to Hawaii Yes just avoid THIS one week

[00:00:00] Why April Is Ideal

[00:00:00] Bryan Murphy: April in Hawaii is actually one of the best kept secrets for the best time of year to visit Hawaii. In this episode, I'm breaking down exactly what you can expect if you're heading there In April, we're gonna talk about the weather, the crowds, the costs, the events, and some things you'll want to know before you book anything.

[00:00:17] Bryan Murphy: But there's that one week you gotta avoid. So let's talk about it.

[00:00:21] Shoulder Season Explained

[00:00:21] Bryan Murphy: Welcome to Hawaii's shoulder season

[00:00:28] Bryan Murphy: Loha, and welcome to Hawaii's Best. I'm Bryan Murphy, Hawaii, destination expert in your personal guide to planning an unforgettable trip to Hawaii. So first, what is April and Hawaii really like in Hawaii? In tradition the year really? Blitz into two main seasons, kinda wet and dry. So the two seasons are called holo, which is the wet, the cooler winter months.

[00:00:53] Bryan Murphy: And then there's ca ooh, which is the, the drier, warmer month. So April sits right in between of these two seasons. So you're getting really the tail end of that. You know, the winter, all the man, all the rains that just hit those Kona. Low storms that just hit and rolled through all the islands and gonna give you update on that and how you can help, if that's in your heart, gonna talk about that in a couple days.

[00:01:17] Bryan Murphy: And then you're starting to slide into the dry, sunny stretch that summer's known for. So it's kind of the best of both worlds. You got fewer crowds in summer, better rates than the holidays weather that's comfortable most every single day. So it's really not a, a compromise. You get some great weather, typically some really great, uh, rates are available and fewer crowds.

[00:01:38] Bryan Murphy: It's really not a compromise. It's really a sweet spot. I would also lump in May as well in early June if you plan to write, but that'll be another episode. Most people don't figure this out until after they've already planned and then they come back in April on purpose.

[00:01:54] April Weather Breakdown

[00:01:54] Bryan Murphy: So let's talk about weather.

[00:01:55] Bryan Murphy: 'cause this is actually, I get a lot of questions about what weather in Hawaii is like during April and it can change because it is in that in between time of winter and summer. So typically. Daytime highs are in the low to mid eighties, and nights are around low seventies, so it's warm as comfortable during the day, pleasant evening.

[00:02:16] Bryan Murphy: So, you know, you wanna play on a light jacket though, especially if you're spending time in upcountry, uh, Maui or at higher elevation, like on the big island. Will it rain? It might, so don't come after me. If a, a big storm does come through, it can rain march. You do have a better chance of getting rain, but April that starts to taper off.

[00:02:37] Bryan Murphy: So it may rain. The rainy season technically wraps up in March, but it doesn't just stop cold because. It's Mother Nature.

[00:02:45] Rain Tips and Best Shores

[00:02:45] Bryan Murphy: There are brief showers usually at night or on the windward side. Northeastern sides of the islands might get a little bit more wet than the drier sides. Think like Kona on the big island.

[00:02:57] Bryan Murphy: Poipu on Kauai and Colina area on Oahu. And then, oh, you got, uh, on Maui Ka Nepali. Those are all kind of the drier sides of the islands that we're probably not gonna get. Much rain during April, and as the month goes on, chance for rain does start to, uh, taper down. Hawaii's rain is localized though usually the trade winds push most of the moisture against the mountains.

[00:03:22] Bryan Murphy: It rains on that side of, of each of the islands. So one of the first tips there, right? If you want to have a better chance of avoiding rain, is book on the west or south shore. If you want a better chance of getting more sun, more of that beach weather, if that's more of your priority. OSHA temps run between 75 to high seventies degree Fahrenheit, and by the end of April you're getting closer to 13 hours of daylight, which is really cool.

[00:03:50] Bryan Murphy: The later you can book into April will be better, but it depends on Easter. So we're gonna talk about that. That's that one week you want to try and avoid as possible. But I know it's hard because spring break is a thing and most everybody is off.

[00:04:07] Crowds and Easter Week

[00:04:07] Bryan Murphy: But crowd wise. This is a section that I think surprises people the most.

[00:04:11] Bryan Murphy: April is typically the second, least crowded month to visit Hawaii, just behind September and I, I really think September, October is hands down my favorite month to visit. If you've been to Waikiki in July, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a lot of people. It's crowded. The energy is high and, and it's exciting.

[00:04:32] Bryan Murphy: Summertime in Hawaii is a thing and it's, it's fun, but if you want something more relaxed and you're not. Really looking for that. April is generally different, but there are two crowd windows you need to know about. Easter in 2026 falls on April 5th, so that first week is gonna be busy. Obviously families, college students, the whole thing.

[00:04:53] Bryan Murphy: But spring break in Hawaii is different. It's not that huge. College. Think you know, Cancun, it's not that huge party scene. There might be a little pockets of that in Waikiki, but typically across the islands, spring break isn't a huge party. I did a whole episode about spring break in Hawaii and I'll link that below.

[00:05:12] Bryan Murphy: It goes into more detail if you are planning to visit that week. Before or after Easter. So that week, that first week is, it's gonna be busy. Our girls this year are off the week before Easter, but there's other schools that'll be off next week. Again, I did a full breakdown. I wanna, I don't wanna get into the specifics of spring break in Hawaii.

[00:05:31] Bryan Murphy: I did a. Full episode about that, what to expect, how to plan around it, what to know if you are going and visiting Hawaii in spring break and how to find the best deals and it's still how to make it the trip that you've dreamed of and planned for. The key takeaway is really simple though. Aim for the second half of April if you want the truest shoulder season experience.

[00:05:52] Bryan Murphy: Now, having said that, sometimes Easter does fall late in the month, so the first week of April might be your best bet. Basically, you want to give yourself as much buffer room. If you care about finding the best deals and having the least amount of crowds you want to give yourself a least a week buffer room away from Easter.

[00:06:15] Costs and New Taxes

[00:06:15] Bryan Murphy: Now money-wise, there is a change for 2026. Talked a little bit about it, um, a few months ago, but I think it's still worth mentioning talking about Hawaii's new green bill. Senate Bill 1396, uh, took effect this January 1st, 2026. And basically what it does is it raises the transient accommodations tax by 0.75 percentage points to 11%.

[00:06:38] Bryan Murphy: Statewide. So basically to do some math on a $400 per night room, that's about $3 extra per night. Not dramatic, but you will see it coming on your bill. The original plan also included 11% surcharge on cruise fairs. This actually got blocked. A federal appeals court issued an injunction back on December 30.

[00:07:02] Bryan Murphy: First, the night before that, it was supposed to go into effect, and that cruise portion is still tied up in court. So if you're cruising to Hawaii, that fee currently isn't being collected. There's also been a lot of talk about state parks and entrance fees, so non-residents are paying $5 per person, plus $10 per vehicle at 14 state parks across the islands.

[00:07:28] Bryan Murphy: So that includes Diamond Head, Wyman Canyon, and many others. So those do add up, you know, on an active itinerary, average hotel rates still sit around $425 per night. That's island wide. Um, AHU is the most affordable at around $275 per night. Maui is the most expensive at around roughly $560. Per night. On top of that, don't forget about daily parking.

[00:07:55] Bryan Murphy: Uh, many hotels do charge 20 to 50. I've even seen like 70 sometimes per day. If you are planning on doing Waikiki, you might not necessarily need to get a car or at least for the whole time, but if you are doing the neighboring islands from Kauai, Maui, and Big Island, you definitely, I would highly recommend doing a rental car.

[00:08:14] April Festivals and Events

[00:08:14] Bryan Murphy: If you're lucky enough to be heading to the islands this April, I want to give you some events to be aware of, and these are events that do happen annually, but I'm gonna give the dates as they are for 2026. So the biggest one happens on the big island in Hilo, and it's the Mary Monarch Festival. This year is the 63rd Annual Mary Monarch Festival, and that happens April 5th through the 11th.

[00:08:41] Bryan Murphy: Basically, this is the world's most prestigious. Hula competition. And I just wanna be clear because a lot of people hear hula competition and picture something touristy and it's not. This is deeply serious, deeply moving cultural event that honors King David Kalakaua, who's credited with reviving Hawaiian culture after it was suppressed.

[00:09:02] Bryan Murphy: On April 11th through downtown Hilo, the Royal parade goes through and it's free to watch. If you're staying on the big island. More often than not, you're staying over on Kona side. Maybe if you want to stay a few nights in Hilo, you definitely have to book early. If you want to check out Mary Monarch Festival, because those hotels fill up almost a year in advance, volcano Village is a good backup.

[00:09:24] Bryan Murphy: Or like I mentioned, if you're staying in Kona, you just make the drive. Another event mentioning happens on April 18th, and that's the 30th annual East Maui Tarot Festival in ha. And it's free. It's at the Hana. Ballpark rain or shine. It celebrates kalo Tarot, one of the most culturally significant plants in Hawaiian history.

[00:09:45] Bryan Murphy: And the last event I wanna put in front of you, this is one I haven't been to yet. I've always wanted to. To go to the spam jam. It happens every year. This year. It happens on April 25th. It's in Waikiki. It's a street festival, is from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM and it's a local top restaurants creative dishes happen, and this year there's gonna be a drone show and all that.

[00:10:09] Bryan Murphy: The proceeds go to benefit. Hawaii Food Bank. So it's, uh, these restaurants and these local spots kinda showcasing some of their dishes and being creative with spam. So this is something that, um, it just sounds too much fun. I, I've always wanted to go to this one. Haven't made it yet. So if you happen to be there, please let me know how it is.

[00:10:28] Bryan Murphy: Let me know how it goes.

[00:10:30] Whale Watching Window

[00:10:30] Bryan Murphy: Another thing I think that is important for you to know if you're visiting in April is that humpback whale season runs technically December through April. The peak activity is during January and February, but by April most males have headed north, but early April is really your best window for mother and calf pairs.

[00:10:52] Bryan Murphy: So there is that. Option. The best spot is gonna be on Maui. The channel between Maui, Malkai and Lena is really the spot, but the further into April, it gets the less reliable sightings become of whales. So if whale watching is on your list, don't wait. The first two weeks of the month is gonna be your best bet.

[00:11:14] Wrap Up and Resources

[00:11:14] Bryan Murphy: Alright, so to just kinda wrap it all up, April in Hawaii, you got good weather, manageable crowds outside of Easter week. You have some really cool events to do that are unique to April, but it's one of those months that if you can make it happen, April in Hawaii is a great choice. So two resources just to put in front of you as you are planning your trip.

[00:11:36] Bryan Murphy: If you are doing a spring break trip, I'm gonna drop that episode below. And also on the website I have a, a comprehensive guide of visiting Hawaii in April. It goes a lot more in depth island by island events, packing tips, all that good stuff. So both of those will be available in the show notes below.

[00:11:53] Bryan Murphy: Alright, so until next time, my friend as always live with. Aloha

[00:12:01] Bryan Murphy: Mahalo for listening to Hawaii's Best. If you found today's episode helpful, make sure to hit follow on your podcast app so you don't miss future episodes. You can find all links and resources mentioned today in the show notes below. Hawaii's Best is produced by Shore Break Media Group. Edited by Easy Podcast Solutions and with music by our friends.

[00:12:20] Bryan Murphy: Stick to you.