How to Find Cheap Flights to Hawaii

Flights to Honolulu combined with Waikiki hotel deals might bring the best value. (Photo: honolulu, waikiki beach from diamond head image by Robert Young from Fotolia.com )

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Airfare to Hawaii is notorious for being consistently expensive, which is due in part to the state s popularity as a vacation destination. However, finding cheaper flights to Hawaii is possible if you have some flexibility with your schedule and the patience to do flight comparison research. In the end, you might find your best deals by combining flights with hotel deals in order to lower the overall cost of your Hawaiian getaway.

Step 1

Schedule your vacation to Hawaii for the off-peak travel season. Fares are typically lower between October and February, despite the fact that Hawaii is still warm during those months that are coldest on the mainland. However, avoid flying around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year s, as many students and family members who are originally from the islands fly home during those times, causing airfare prices to skyrocket.

Step 2

Schedule your flights to arrive and depart midweek. Mondays and Fridays are the busiest days, and the airlines take advantage of the high volume by putting high price tags on tickets for these days. In the book Pauline Frommer s Hawaii, the authors point out that Those who fly midweek and midday and who stay over a Saturday night generally pay far less than those who travel at popular times. The authors also mention that booking your flight in the wee hours of the morning, like at 3 a.m. might increase your chances for a lower-priced ticket.

Step 3

Use cost-comparison websites such as Bing, Kayak and Fare Finder. Bing uses a low-airfare calendar to alert you if the cost of your ticket will be lower if you fly a couple of days earlier or leave a couple of days later. These websites make it easy to change your search in order to play with the dates of your vacation to see when it will be most affordable to fly to Hawaii.

Use your frequent flier miles. According to the Budget Travel article Go on sale, dammit! (Why Hawaii s airfares defy gravity), Rick Seaney, CEO of the website Fare Compare, explains, The bulk of people who fly to Hawaii are people cashing in their frequent flier miles. If you have miles to use, use them wisely by putting them toward a trip to Hawaii rather than using them toward cheaper trips within the continental United States.

Book your hotel and flight together. Hotels in Hawaii have seen a decline in occupancy and there are frequently low-priced packages that bundle airfare and accommodations, which can significantly bring down the overall cost of your vacation. If you have a wealth of frequent flier miles, look into your airline s reward policy to see what air and hotel deals it might offer. Websites such as Expedia and Priceline and the Hawaiian agency Panda Travel also are excellent resources for comparing Hawaiian vacation packages.