Deciding how many islands to visit on your trip to Hawaii can be overwhelming. You’re likely taking a long flight and want to see as much as you can while you’re there. So what’s the best way to do that??
decide how many days your visit will be
You first want to determine how many days you have in Hawaii. Remember, if you have a long travel day that will cut into your days off, as well as the time difference (could be helpful!)
If you have 4 days or less, considering staying on one island the whole time. Flight is short but no doubt the journey will take around 4 hours between the airport time and getting to your destination. That’s if things go smoothly!
If you have 5/6 days, island hopping to another Hawaii island isn’t so bad! You can enjoy 2/3 days per island. However you could easily spend that whole time on one island exploring or just relaxing.
If you have 7/8 days, you could hop around to 3 islands, but 9 days for 3 islands would be ideal as that would give you ~3 days per island.
Inter-island flights
Booking flights through Hawaii Airlines is the way to go. Another option is booking with Makani Kai/Mokulele Airlines. Because flights can get delayed or cancelled between the islands, we recommend booking through the larger Hawaii Airlines carrier as you’ll likely have more options with rebooking if there are any issues.
You can redeem points for these inter-island flights as they can get pricey!
Check out this article by Upgraded Points on the best ways to redeem points for Hawaii Airlines
Getting around
Getting around the Hawaii islands can be tough without a car. Unless you plan on hanging at the beach the whole time (nothing wrong with that!!), renting a car can allow you to see the most during your time on the islands.
Hawaii as a whole can be pricey, and rental cars are no exception. This is a great place to use any free car rental days you may have or rental coupons from your preferred rental car company. Our 2 go-to car companies are Avis and National. Save your free rental car days for Hawaii. If you don’t have a preferred rental car company and have a Chase Sapphire card, book your car rental through the booking portal. You can use points or better yet pay for the car with the card and get the extra points through the card.
We don’t recommend packing too much in and trying to squeeze in as many islands as possible in a short amount of time. Enjoy the Hawaii life and hang loose, relax!
