Hawaii Hopping from Honolulu in 5 Days on a Budget
Five Days: The First Real Island Add-On, Rushed
Five days keeps the same 3-day Oahu spine as the shorter versions of this trip, then adds a first neighbor island: a 35-minute flight to Maui, but only 2 nights, which makes for a genuinely rushed finish on Day 5. It’s the honest budget option if a sixth day isn’t available; if it is, the 6-day itinerary fixes this exact rush with a full extra Maui day. The Hawaii island-hopping guide has the flight-cost math behind this call.
Book these before you go:
- Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial tickets , free program plus a $1 booking fee, released up to 56 days out.
- Diamond Head entry and parking , $5 a person plus $10 a vehicle, reservable up to 30 days out.
- Hanauma Bay entry , $25 a person plus $3 parking, bookable only 2 days out, closed Monday and Tuesday.
- A Waikiki hotel room for the first 3 nights.
- A Lahaina or Kaanapali room on Maui for the last 2 nights.
| From Honolulu to… | Distance / flight time | One-way cost |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond Head (Oahu) | 3 mi, 10 min drive | $5 entry + $10 parking |
| Pearl Harbor (Oahu) | 12 mi, 25 min drive | Free program + $1 booking fee |
| Hanauma Bay (Oahu) | 10 mi, 25 min drive | $25 + $3 parking |
| Kauai (Lihue) | ~25 min flight | $70-120 |
| Maui (Kahului) | ~35 min flight | $70-120 |
| Big Island (Kona or Hilo) | ~45-55 min flight | $80-130 |
Day 1: Land and Settle Into Waikiki
Fly into Daniel K. Inouye International; TheBus routes 20 or 303 reach Waikiki in 45-60 minutes for a $3 HOLO fare, or take a shared shuttle ($18-20 a person) or a taxi/rideshare ($35-50 in traffic). Check in and spend the evening on Waikiki Beach, since the trip stays busy from here.
Day 2: Pearl Harbor and Downtown Honolulu
Book a morning USS Arizona Memorial slot on recreation.gov ($1 service fee, $7 NPS parking, up to 56 days ahead); arrive an hour early. The 45-minute program wraps by late morning, leaving the afternoon for Iolani Palace (self-led audio, roughly $28) or the Chinatown Historic District.
Day 3: Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay
An early Diamond Head slot ($5 a person plus $10 parking, up to 30 days out) covers the 0.8-mile, 1.5-2 hour hike before the crowds build. Follow with Hanauma Bay if your date falls Wednesday through Sunday ($25 a person plus $3 parking, booking window 2 days out at 7am HST); it’s closed Monday and Tuesday, so swap in a Waikiki beach afternoon on those two days.
Day 4: Fly to Maui, Settle Into Lahaina or Kaanapali
A 35-minute flight from Honolulu to Kahului, booked weeks ahead for $70-120 one-way, lands you on Maui by early afternoon. Pick up a rental car at the airport, since Maui’s sights are spread out enough that a car genuinely helps here. Check into Lahaina or Kaanapali and catch sunset on West Maui’s beaches before an early night; tomorrow is the only full Maui day this trip has.
Day 5: A Fast Taste of the Road to Hana, Then the Flight Back
Drive only the first stretch of the Road to Hana, roughly the first 40 minutes to Twin Falls and the Garden of Eden Arboretum, rather than attempting the full 3-hour, 64-mile route; the whole road genuinely needs its own full day. Turn back by early afternoon, return the rental car, and catch an evening flight back to Honolulu (or check whether your mainland flight home can depart directly from Kahului instead of routing back through Oahu).
Is 2 nights on Maui worth the flight for this trip?
Barely, and it’s the tightest day of this whole itinerary. Two nights is the fast end of workable, enough for one real evening and one truncated day, but it leaves the Road to Hana’s better waterfalls and Haleakala’s sunrise both out of reach. The 6-day version removes this exact rush.
Do you need a rental car on Maui?
Yes, more than on Oahu. Maui’s sights, West Maui beaches, the Road to Hana, Haleakala, are far enough apart and thin enough on public transit that a car is close to mandatory rather than optional here, unlike a Waikiki-only Oahu stay.
Book the Maui flight and hotel in the same session as your mainland ticket. Kahului flights and Lahaina-area rooms both tighten up fast in the shoulder-season months this trip is built around.