When to Visit Kauai

Based on my experience visiting here and living here, here is my answer to the common question of what to consider when planning the timing of a visit. Tourism is active all year round but there are peaks and low volume seasons. When tourism is up you can count on higher rates and lower availability for lodging and rental cars so expect to plan further ahead and to pay more.

Weather trends are reliable but exactly what the weather will be on a given day seems increasingly hard to predict. Even during the cooler and wetter season it could well be hot and rainless, and vice versa.
Key dates are listed below with understanding that obviously the crowds ramp up several days before and after holidays - i.e. the Christmas / New Year peak season starts around December 20 and tails off after the first week in January.

Christmas - New Year	cool/wet	Very crowded	Busiest time of the year
January - April	cool/wet	Moderately crowded	Busier around holidays
May	moderate	Less crowded	Busier after Memorial Day
June	warmer/drier	Moderately crowded	Busier after schools are out
July - Labor Day	warmest/driest	Crowded	Beaches especially crowded
September - October	warmer/drier	Less crowded	Less busy after school starts
November - December	cooler/wetter	Less crowded	Thanksgiving week is busy

Other seasonal considerations include:

• Hurricanes season in the Pacific runs from summer to fall with September as prime time.
• The Garden Island is colorful all year around but late spring to early summer blooms peak.
• Tropical fruit is especially abundant in the summer time.
• Learn about the Hawaii climate.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
Hi	77.9	77.8	78.2	79.2	81.1	83.0	84.0	84.6	84.8	83.3	80.8	78.6	81.1
Lo	65.0	65.1	66.4	68.2	70.0	72.3	73.5	74.0	73.5	72.0	70.1	67.2	69.8
Rain	5.24	3.61	4.73	2.89	2.63	1.68	2.02	2.00	2.36	4.30	5.18	5.13	41.76

• Source: Average Lihue montyly weather (1950-2005)
• Average Temperatures in Fahrenheit, Rainfall in inches