Americas

Hawaii

Volcanoes, waterfalls, and island-hopping without leaving U.S. waters.

Overview

Sailing Hawaii

Hawaii is the one place you can island-hop by ship without a passport or an international flight, no passport required at all for U.S. citizens. One ship sails purely between the islands. Every other line runs it as a longer voyage from the West Coast with a few sea days each way.

Best time to sail: Year-round

Where to Sail

The routes within Hawaii

Only one ship can sail purely between the islands. Here’s how that route differs from the rest.

Inter-Island Hawaii

The only ship that can island-hop Hawaii without leaving U.S. waters. 7 nights round-trip from Honolulu, often docking overnight instead of rushing back to sea.

Honolulu, OahuKahului, MauiHilo, Big IslandKona, Big IslandNawiliwili, Kauai

West Coast to Hawaii

A longer voyage from the West Coast with a few sea days each way, usually with a stop in Mexico along the route.

Los Angeles or San Francisco (embark)Honolulu, OahuMauiKauaiEnsenada, Mexico

Did You Know

Why Hawaii is worth it

1Hawaii is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands, and it's still growing. Active lava flows on the Big Island have added new land to the coastline within the last few years.

2Kauai's Nāpali Coast has no road access at all. The only ways to see its cliffs are by boat, helicopter, or a serious multi-day hike.

3Maui's Road to Hana packs hundreds of curves and dozens of one-lane bridges into about 64 miles, one of the most famous scenic drives in the world.

4Honolulu's Waikīkī Beach is almost entirely artificial. The original beach eroded away decades ago, and sand has been trucked and shipped in ever since to maintain it.

A Closer Look

What Hawaii actually looks like

Waikīkī Beach, Honolulu
Diamond Head crater rises right behind the hotels, an easy hike if your ship has an overnight or a full day in port.

The Nāpali Coast, Kauai
No road reaches this coastline. Most people see it exactly like this, from a boat, on a sunset excursion out of Nawiliwili.

A waterfall along the Road to Hana, Maui
One of dozens of roadside stops on the drive, most with a short trail down to a swimming hole at the base.

Photos: Frank Schulenburg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jeff P, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · James Brennan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

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