Hawaii is an island state, and each island is a separate trip: you fly between them and rent a car on each. Oahu, with Honolulu and Waikiki, and Maui, with Haleakala and the Road to Hana, have their own pages with the experiences worth booking. This page helps you choose and combine islands, and adds two reasons to fly on to the Big Island, officially Hawaii Island: Kilauea's eruption, which has fountained in short episodes since December 2024, and the night snorkel with manta rays off Kona.
Late 2026 is a difficult moment for Kauai. Hurricane Lowell struck in early September, and by late October only Haena State Park, gateway to the Na Pali coast, and the first Waimea Canyon lookout had reopened; Kokee State Park, the other canyon lookouts, every campsite on the island and the slips at Port Allen harbour were still closed.
Watch Kilauea erupt in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Island
No booking needed
The place to see a volcano erupt: Kilauea fountains lava inside Halemaumau crater, and the glow is strongest at night.
What it is
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is on the Big Island. Since December 2024 Kilauea has fountained more than 50 times inside Halemaumau crater, in episodes lasting hours and separated by pauses of days or weeks. Episode 55, on 17 October 2026, threw lava up to 720 feet.
How to do it
The USGS publishes a forecast window for each new episode, so check its daily update and the webcams before you drive. The vents lie in a closed area; you watch from overlooks on Crater Rim Drive West, such as Kilauea Overlook and Uekahuna, and the glow is strongest at night. The park is open 24 hours and entry costs $30 per car, card only.
Good to know
Lots fill early in the day. The Kilauea Visitor Center is closed for renovation, so start at the Welcome Center, 1.2 miles past the entrance.
Float above a column of light while manta rays loop through it, feeding on plankton off the Kona coast.
What it is
Off the Kona coast of the Big Island, manta rays feed at night on plankton drawn to underwater lights, and dive operators take snorkellers and divers out to watch them on most evenings. Snorkellers float holding a lighted raft that shines downward while the rays loop through the column of light below; divers settle on the bottom and point their lights up, a set-up known as the campfire.
How to do it
The main sites are Manta Village, off Keauhou Bay in front of the Sheraton Kona, and Garden Eel Cove, also called Manta Heaven, off Keahole Point near Kona International Airport. Trips run all year, and PADI rates May to September as the best months for divers.
Good to know
Numbers depend on the plankton: some nights none appear, others more than a dozen. Do not touch the rays: Kona operators enforce conservation guidelines written to protect them.
For a first trip of ten days to two weeks, pick two islands: Oahu for Honolulu, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor and the North Shore, and Maui for the Haleakala sunrise, the Road to Hana and the snorkelling at Molokini. With a week, choose one and see it properly. Add the Big Island if watching an active volcano matters to you: the eruption is inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, 30 miles from Hilo. Kauai, known for the Na Pali coast and Waimea Canyon, is better left for 2027 unless you check closures first, because it is still recovering from Hurricane Lowell.
How to combine them
You travel between the islands by plane: Hawaiian Airlines and Southwest fly the inter-island routes, and Honolulu is the hub. There is no ferry between Oahu, Maui, the Big Island and Kauai; the only scheduled passenger ferry links Maalaea on Maui with Manele Bay on Lanai, about 1 hour 10 minutes each way. Book flights from the mainland into one island and out of another to save a connection, and rent a car on each island. On the Big Island, fly into Hilo for the volcano, 30 miles and 45 minutes from the park, or into Kona for the manta rays; from Kailua-Kona the park is 95 miles, 2 to 2.5 hours.
When to go
The islands are warm all year, so choose by what you want from the sea. Humpback whales are in Hawaiian waters from November to April. Winter brings big swells to the north-facing shores, Oahu's North Shore and Maui's Honolua Bay among them, while from about May to October those coasts usually calm down for snorkelling. The mountains get more rain from November to March. Storms are a late-summer risk: in 2026 Lala passed in mid-August, Lowell in early September and Nolo in late September, closing state parks for days or weeks. At Hawaii Volcanoes, parking is tightest in December, January, June and July.
What to book first
Several of the best sights run on timed entries for non-residents, so book them before anything else: the Haleakala sunrise on Recreation.gov, released 60 days ahead; the state park slots for Diamond Head, Waianapanapa, Iao Valley and Haena on gostateparks.hawaii.gov; Hanauma Bay, only two days ahead; and the USS Arizona Memorial program at Pearl Harbor, also on Recreation.gov. The two national parks charge $30 per car, card only, and neither is on the 2026 list of parks that add a $100 surcharge for non-US residents.
Questions travellers ask
Which Hawaiian island should you visit first?
In must30's view, Oahu and Maui together make the best first trip: Oahu for Honolulu, Waikiki, Pearl Harbor and the North Shore, Maui for Haleakala, the Road to Hana and Molokini. With only a week, pick one of them. Add the Big Island if you want to see Kilauea's eruption.
Is there a ferry between the Hawaiian islands?
Not between the main islands: you fly, with Hawaiian Airlines or Southwest on the inter-island routes. The only scheduled passenger ferry links Maalaea on Maui with Manele Bay on Lanai, about 1 hour 10 minutes each way.
Can you see lava in Hawaii in 2026?
Often, yes. Kilauea, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, has erupted in short fountaining episodes since December 2024; the USGS forecasts each new episode a few days ahead. Between episodes you may see only a glow at night, so check the USGS daily update and the webcams before you drive.
Is Kauai open after Hurricane Lowell?
Partly. Haena State Park reopened on 15 October 2026 and the Waimea Canyon Lookout on 24 October, but Kokee State Park, the other lookouts and the rest of Waimea Canyon State Park, most other Kauai state parks and all camping on the island were still closed in late October. Check the Hawaii State Parks notices page before you book.
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