Best Time to Visit Hawaii

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September and October are the best months to visit Hawaii. Honolulu recorded 21.9mm (0.9in) of rain over 7 days in September and 35.3mm (1.4in) over 7 days in October, with highs of 29.9°C/85.8°F and 29.0°C/84.2°F — dry enough that a full beach week is realistic, and a degree or two below August's 30.2°C/86.4°F peak. January is the month to skip: 106.0mm (4.2in) of rain, more than fourteen times August's total, packed into 11 days.

The best months: September, October, and June

Three months clear the bar of "warm enough to swim every day, dry enough that rain doesn't cost you an afternoon."

September — high 29.9°C/85.8°F, low 23.1°C/73.6°F, 21.9mm (0.9in) over 7 days. Seven rain days out of thirty means roughly three-quarters of your days are dry, and 21.9mm spread across those seven days averages about 3mm each — that is a shower, not a storm. Nights bottoming out at 23.1°C/73.6°F mean you can eat dinner outside in what you wore to the beach.

October — high 29.0°C/84.2°F, low 22.7°C/72.9°F, 35.3mm (1.4in) over 7 days. Same number of rain days as September with slightly more water in them, and the daytime high has come down a full degree from September. October is the last month before the rain-day count starts climbing: November jumps to 13 days.

June — high 28.9°C/84.0°F, low 22.6°C/72.7°F, 19.0mm (0.7in) over 10 days. The lowest rainfall total of any month except August, and at 28.9°C/84.0°F it is genuinely more comfortable than August's 30.2°C/86.4°F. Ten rain days sounds worse than it is: 19.0mm across ten days is under 2mm per day, which is drizzle that dries off your towel in twenty minutes.

August deserves an asterisk. It is by far the driest month on record here — 7.5mm (0.3in) over just 2 days, meaning 28 of 31 days had no measurable rain at all. If your only priority is not getting rained on, August wins outright. But it is also the hottest month at 30.2°C/86.4°F with nights that only fall to 23.5°C/74.3°F, so you never get a cool-down, and it lands inside peak summer pricing.

The months to avoid: January, December, and April

January is the clearest "no." 106.0mm (4.2in) fell over 11 days — that works out to about 9.6mm per rainy day, roughly triple the per-day intensity of September. This is real rain that ends a beach afternoon, not a passing shower. Highs of 25.9°C/78.6°F are still pleasant, but lows of 19.7°C/67.5°F are the coolest of the year, and a wet 19.7°C evening in a T-shirt is not what people picture when they book Hawaii.

December is January's warm-up act: 82.4mm (3.2in) over 14 days. Nearly half the month sees rain, at about 5.9mm per rainy day. High 26.3°C/79.3°F, low 20.6°C/69.1°F. You will still swim. You will also lose two or three planned days to weather while paying holiday rates.

April is the sneaky one. It has 21 rain days — by far the most of any month — but only 74.6mm (2.9in) total. That is about 3.6mm per rainy day, roughly what September gets. So April is not a wet month by volume; it is an interrupted month. Seven days out of ten, something falls out of the sky, and almost none of it is enough to matter. If you are hiking Diamond Head or driving the coast, April is fine. If you have booked a single expensive snorkel charter and it has to be Tuesday, April is a gamble.

Shoulder season: cheaper, and still fine

Hawaii's price peaks are mid-June through August and the two weeks around Christmas. The value windows sit just outside them.

Late April and May are the strongest shoulder. May runs 28.0°C/82.4°F by day and 21.7°C/71.1°F at night with 36.6mm (1.4in) of rain — less total rain than October — spread over 15 days. Again, do the division: 2.4mm per rainy day. That is the lightest per-day rain of any month in the table. Fifteen "rain days" in May are fifteen days when a cloud passed over and left less than the water in a shot glass. May is arguably the most underrated month here.

Early December, before the holiday surge, gives you 26.3°C/79.3°F days at low-season rates, at the cost of 14 rain days. Bring a rain shell and accept it.

Late September and the first half of October are the rare case where the shoulder is the best weather: summer crowds have gone, kids are back in school, and the numbers (21.9mm/7 days and 35.3mm/7 days) are as good as the year gets outside August.

March is worth a mention for the same reason as May: 37.9mm (1.5in) over 15 days is 2.5mm per rainy day, with highs of 27.0°C/80.6°F. It looks bad on a rain-days chart and feels fine in person.

What each season actually means on the ground

Summer (June–September): 28.9–30.2°C / 84.0–86.4°F, nights 22.6–23.5°C / 72.7–74.3°F. You will be in shorts and a T-shirt from the moment you land until you go to bed, and you will never once want a jacket. Nights never drop below 22.6°C/72.7°F, so evening layers are dead weight. What you actually need is sun protection and heat management: a wide hat, reef-safe SPF, and more water than you think. At 30.2°C/86.4°F in August with humidity, a midday hike is genuinely unpleasant — do trails before 9am. Air conditioning matters when you book; a place without it in August means sleeping at 23.5°C/74.3°F.

Autumn (October–November): 28.0–29.0°C / 82.4–84.2°F. Still full beach weather, but November's rain-day count rises to 13 (25.7mm / 1.0in total — light, but frequent). Pack a packable rain shell you can stuff in a daypack. Surf on the north shores builds through this period, which means great watching and worse swimming there; the south and west coasts stay calm.

Winter (December–February): 25.9–26.3°C / 78.6–79.3°F, nights 18.5–20.6°C / 65.3–69.1°F. This is the only time of year you will want a layer. February's low of 18.5°C/65.3°F is the coldest figure in the entire table, and after sunset, wet and 18.5°C in beachwear feels cold. A light fleece or long-sleeve is not optional. Days are still swimmable — 26°C/79°F water-adjacent weather is fine — but you should plan indoor or flexible alternatives for two or three days of a week-long January trip. Notably, February is much drier than the months around it: 42.3mm (1.7in) over just 6 days, versus January's 106.0mm over 11. If you must travel in winter, go in February.

Spring (March–May): 26.8–28.0°C / 80.2–82.4°F. The showers-and-sun season. Expect to see rain most days and be affected by almost none of it. Shorts, a T-shirt, and a shell in the bag covers everything. Rainbows are frequent for exactly this reason: brief rain plus strong sun.

Month-by-month

• January — 25.9°C/78.6°F high, 19.7°C/67.5°F low, 106.0mm (4.2in) over 11 days. Wettest month of the year, and the rain is heavy when it comes. Avoid.
• February — 26.3°C/79.3°F, 18.5°C/65.3°F, 42.3mm (1.7in) over 6 days. Coolest nights of the year but only 6 rain days — the best of the winter months by a wide margin.
• March — 27.0°C/80.6°F, 20.3°C/68.5°F, 37.9mm (1.5in) over 15 days. Frequent, trivial showers; warming up. Good value.
• April — 26.8°C/80.2°F, 20.7°C/69.3°F, 74.6mm (2.9in) over 21 days. Rain on 7 days in 10, but light. Fine for flexible plans, bad for fixed bookings.
• May — 28.0°C/82.4°F, 21.7°C/71.1°F, 36.6mm (1.4in) over 15 days. Lightest rain per rainy day all year, warm, pre-peak pricing. The best-value month.
• June — 28.9°C/84.0°F, 22.6°C/72.7°F, 19.0mm (0.7in) over 10 days. Near-dry and not yet at August heat. Excellent.
• July — 29.4°C/84.9°F, 22.9°C/73.2°F, 25.5mm (1.0in) over 9 days. Hot, dry, expensive, crowded.
• August — 30.2°C/86.4°F, 23.5°C/74.3°F, 7.5mm (0.3in) over 2 days. Driest month on record here by a huge margin. Also the hottest. Peak prices.
• September — 29.9°C/85.8°F, 23.1°C/73.6°F, 21.9mm (0.9in) over 7 days. Summer weather without summer crowds. Best month overall.
• October — 29.0°C/84.2°F, 22.7°C/72.9°F, 35.3mm (1.4in) over 7 days. Cooling slightly, still dry, still cheap.
• November — 28.0°C/82.4°F, 21.7°C/71.1°F, 25.7mm (1.0in) over 13 days. Rain days double from October, but the totals stay small.
• December — 26.3°C/79.3°F, 20.6°C/69.1°F, 82.4mm (3.2in) over 14 days. Second-wettest month plus holiday pricing.

FAQ

What is the cheapest time to go to Hawaii with decent weather?

May, and it is not close. Highs of 28.0°C/82.4°F, lows of 21.7°C/71.1°F, and 36.6mm (1.4in) of rain — less than October gets — before the mid-June price jump. The 15 rain days look off-putting on a chart, but at 2.4mm per rainy day that is the lightest rain of the year. Late April is a second option if you can tolerate 21 days with some rain in them.

Is it always raining in Hawaii?

No, and the rain-day count misleads people. April has 21 rain days but only 74.6mm (2.9in) total — about 3.6mm per rainy day, which is a five-minute shower. Compare that to January: 106.0mm over 11 days, or 9.6mm per rainy day, which is actual sustained rain. Count the millimetres, not the days. August had rain on 2 days all month.

Is Hawaii too hot in August?

It is the hottest month at 30.2°C/86.4°F, with nights that only fall to 23.5°C/74.3°F, so there is no overnight relief. For beach and water days that is fine. For hiking, it is not — start before 9am or skip it. If you want August's dryness without the heat, June (28.9°C/84.0°F, 19.0mm/0.7in) is the better trade.

When is the worst month to visit Hawaii?

January. It has the year's highest rainfall at 106.0mm (4.2in), the coldest nights at 19.7°C/67.5°F, and rain that is heavy rather than passing. December is a close second at 82.4mm (3.2in) over 14 days with holiday pricing on top. If your dates are locked into winter, move them to February — 42.3mm (1.7in) over 6 days is a completely different trip.

Figures are 2025 measurements for Honolulu (Oahu's leeward south shore). Windward coasts, Hilo on the Big Island, and Kauai's north shore are consistently wetter than these numbers — sometimes several times over. Use this as a baseline for Waikiki and the south and west sides, and check your specific island before you pack.

Decided when to go? Here is the Hawaii packing list for those exact conditions.