Thread: Hawaii - best time of year

What is the best time of year to cruise to Hawaii. And any preference for departure port ?

Tony, my personal preference is somewhere between Dec and May.
And if you speaking of a west coast departure, I would say LA. (Long Beach).
Just me though. Others may like cruising out of the PNW.

The tradewinds tend to die back in September and October which can increase the temperatures a bit and boost umidity but other than that I can hardly think of a "bad" time to go to Hawaii. Not having sailed from all the west coast ports I cannot speak to that issue.

Tony, you are more likely to see whales if you cruise between November and April. They will have migrated from Alaska during those months. The waters around the islands will be a little rougher between December and March...that's when the big waves are produced that you see in pictures of folks surfing the "big one"

We have been there twice in September, once in October and once in May. Loved em' all! Sailed from Ensenada (not my first choice) Los Angeles and San Diego. San Diego was the easiest port for us to sail out of...we have sailed from there numerous times doing repositioning cruises.

Thanks Everyone. Friends of ours just came back having cruised there from Vancouver in October. They had such srtong headwinds on the first day out they could only make a few knots, the pitch was so much the props exited the water and couldn't thrust. It took a whole day longer to get there so they missed one port of call. They thoroughly enjoyed the trip otherwise.

Originally Posted by Char

Tony, you are more likely to see whales if you cruise between November and April. They will have migrated from Alaska during those months. The waters around the islands will be a little rougher between December and March...that's when the big waves are produced that you see in pictures of folks surfing the "big one"

We have been there twice in September, once in October and once in May. Loved em' all! Sailed from Ensenada (not my first choice) Los Angeles and San Diego. San Diego was the easiest port for us to sail out of...we have sailed from there numerous times doing repositioning cruises.

Charlene

Which of your crossings had the calmest sea state going to Hawaii ?

Originally Posted by tonylinsdell

Charlene

Which of your crossings had the calmest sea state going to Hawaii ?

Tony, I seem to remember that our September sailings were the nicest weatherwise on the crossing over and back. You will get a bit of rough seas for about a day off of the California coast due to the currents there, but the Pacific lived up to the name otherwise.

Of course, you could encounter bad weather any time of the year depending on the particular climate conditions at the time you sail.

Originally Posted by Char

Tony, I seem to remember that our September sailings were the nicest weatherwise on the crossing over and back. You will get a bit of rough seas for about a day off of the California coast due to the currents there, but the Pacific lived up to the name otherwise.

Of course, you could encounter bad weather any time of the year depending on the particular climate conditions at the time you sail.

Thanks Charlene.

Originally Posted by tonylinsdell

Thanks Charlene.