Flights to Honolulu, Hawaii (HNL)

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), formerly Honolulu International Airport, serves 27 international and domestic airlines including Delta Air Lines, three inter-island airlines, and four commuter airlines. There are 47 gates in three concourses – Central, Diamond Head, and Ewa –plus inter-island and commuter terminals. Wiki wiki buses provide transportation from the ticketing area to departure gates.

If you have time to kill, check out the Japanese, Chinese and Polynesian gardens and the airport’s collection of public artworks.

Welcoming visitors with floral leis is an airport tradition. Twelve lei stands line the left side of the entry road before the inter-island terminal. Greetings can also be arranged prior to arrival.

In addition to souvenir and duty free stores, shopping options include Burberry, Coach, Kate Spade, M.A.C., Longchamp, Michael Kors, and Salvatore Ferragamo.

Spend the day on Waikiki Beach, soaking up the sun and learning to surf. Stroll the main strip along Kalakaua Avenue and dine, shop, and people watch.

For a more remote beach experience where the marine life is more abundant than people, visit Hanauma Bay State Park.  Located in the cone of a volcanic crater, the bay is an ideal place for swimming and snorkeling.

Hike Leahi, aka Diamond Head, a volcanic crater and one of Hawaii’s most famous landmarks. The moderately challenging trail offers spectacular views of Waikiki.

Visit the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor, commemorating the lives lost in that 1941 attack. Visitors take a boat ride out to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, where they can view the ship’s sunken hull in the water.

Experience the diversity of Hawaii’s cuisine, a creative combination of Polynesian and Asian foods and techniques. Traditional dishes include poke, kalua pig, lomi-lomi salmon, shaved ice, and manapua, a type of steamed bun.

The climate in Honolulu is tropical hot semi-arid, so expect warm temperatures year-round and sunny skies most days. Temperatures don’t vary much in Honolulu, with average highs hovering in the 80s. The hottest months are May through October with average highs in the mid- to high-80s. The cooler months are December through March with highs in the low-80s. Rainfall is heaviest November through March with an average of 2 to 3 inches a month. April through August are the driest months, when the average monthly rainfall is less than an inch. Hurricane season is June through November.