Reference
Hawaii reservation timeline
7 bookings in Hawaii have to be made before you arrive. They open at wildly different times, from eighteen months out to two days, and here is the order to make them in.
Nothing here is a rule we invented. Each entry links to the page it was taken from, and carries the date somebody last checked it. These rules change without much notice, so if you are reading this a long way from that date, click through to the source before you plan around it.
The list runs longest lead time first, which is also the order to book in. If you only do one thing: Hāʻena is the hard one, and the shuttle is the way in.
- 547 days ahead
Mama's Fish House
Maui
A table for lunch or dinner at Pāʻia, on Maui’s north shore.
- Opens
- 18 months ahead
- Cost
- No booking fee. The meal is the cost, and it is a special-occasion price.
- How hard
- Hard Not a scramble, a queue. Nothing is released at a set moment; the calendar simply runs 18 months out and the good evenings are taken by people who called first.
- The only entry here that is a restaurant, and it earns the place: 18 months is the longest lead time on this page by more than a year.
- Phone only. Their own site says reservations can no longer be booked through OpenTable, so any guide still sending you there is out of date.
- They will not honour a reservation bought from a third party. Booking through a reseller means being turned away at the door.
- You do not need 18 months. You do need to call before you book flights if a particular evening matters, rather than after.
Book at Call (808) 579-8488, 9am to 9pm HST Source: Mama's Fish House Checked August 20, 2026
- 60 days ahead
Haleakalā sunrise
Maui
Entry to the summit between 3am and 7am. Sunset and daytime need no reservation.
- Opens
- 60 days ahead, 7:00am HST
- Second chance
- A second batch releases 2 days ahead, also at 7:00am HST
- Cost
- $1 per vehicle, plus the park entrance fee
- How hard
- Hard The 60-day batch goes quickly. The 2-day batch is the real second chance and far fewer people set an alarm for it.
- The reservation is separate from the park entrance fee. You need both.
- The name on the reservation must match ID shown at the gate.
- One vehicle reservation per person every three days.
- Sunrise is the only window that needs one. Going up for sunset instead avoids the whole problem.
Book at Recreation.gov Source: National Park Service Checked August 16, 2026
- 56 days ahead
USS Arizona Memorial
Oʻahu
The film and the boat out to the memorial at Pearl Harbor.
- Opens
- 8 weeks ahead, 3:00pm HST
- Cost
- $1 reservation fee. The memorial program itself is free.
- How hard
- Manageable Tickets can go within minutes, but the rolling daily release means there is a new batch every afternoon.
- Released one day at a time on a rolling 56-day schedule, so check daily rather than once.
- Five tickets per reservation.
- Recreation.gov is the only official channel. The walk-up line no longer exists.
- The rest of the Pearl Harbor site, including the museums, needs no reservation.
Book at Recreation.gov Source: National Park Service Checked August 16, 2026
- 30 days ahead
Diamond Head State Monument
Oʻahu
Entry and parking at the crater. Out-of-state visitors only; Hawaii residents are exempt.
- Opens
- 30 days ahead
- Cost
- Entry per person, parking per vehicle
- How hard
- Manageable The easiest of the six. Early slots go first because they are the cool ones, but something is usually available.
- Parking is booked in two-hour slots from 6am. Walking or being dropped off uses one-hour slots.
- Last reservation is 4:00pm and you must be through the gate by 4:30pm.
- Hawaii residents do not need one, but visitors traveling with them still do.
- Book the earliest slot you can stand. The crater has no shade and it is a stair climb.
Book at Hawaii State Parks Source: Hawaii Division of State Parks Checked August 16, 2026
- 30 days ahead
Hāʻena State Park
Kauaʻi
Kēʻē Beach and the Kalalau Trail trailhead. Entry, plus either parking or the shuttle.
- Opens
- 30 days ahead, 12:00am HST
- Cost
- Entry, parking and shuttle are priced separately
- How hard
- Brutal Parking routinely sells out by 12:01am, one minute after release. This is the hardest booking in the state.
- The park is capped at 900 visitors a day. That cap, not demand, is why this is so hard.
- The shuttle is sold roundtrip and includes park entry, and it is regularly available when parking is not. Take the shuttle.
- Cancellations reappear in the morning. Checking around 7 to 8am is the single best trick here.
- Parking is sold in time slots. Staying longer means buying more than one.
Book at Go Hāʻena Source: Hawaii Division of State Parks Checked August 16, 2026
- 30 days ahead
Waiʻānapanapa State Park
Maui
The Pāʻiloa black sand beach near the end of the Road to Hāna. Entry and parking both required.
- Opens
- 30 days ahead, Midnight HST
- Cost
- Entry and parking charged separately, non-residents only
- How hard
- Hard Released one day at a time at midnight, so the date you want appears exactly 30 days out and not before.
- There is no same-day purchase at the gate. Turning up without one means turning around.
- You need an entry reservation and a parking reservation. They are not the same thing.
- Sold in time slots, and you can buy consecutive ones to stay longer.
- Book this before you plan the rest of the Hāna day. It fixes your arrival window.
Book at Hawaii State Parks Source: Hawaii Division of State Parks Checked August 16, 2026
- 2 days ahead
Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve
Oʻahu
Entry to the bay for snorkeling, including the orientation film.
- Opens
- 2 days ahead, 7:00am HST
- Second chance
- Booking admission with transportation opens up to a month ahead
- Cost
- Entry per person, plus parking
- How hard
- Brutal The admission-only window is two days and the popular slots go quickly. It is only unplannable if you use that route: booking admission with transportation opens a month ahead, and there are walk-in tickets at the gate.
- There are three ways in, not one. Admission on its own is the two-day scramble. Admission with transportation books up to a month ahead on the same city site. Walk-in tickets are handed out at the gate.
- Open Wednesday to Sunday, entry 6:45am to 1:30pm. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays so the reef gets two undisturbed days, and closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
- Booking opens at 7:00am for the date two days later. For a Thursday visit, book Tuesday at 7:00am.
- Slots are not always gone instantly. The city keeps them open until they fill or until 11:59pm the night before, so it is worth looking again later in the day.
- Walk-in tickets are first come, first served from when the parking gate opens at 6:45am, and every person in the group has to be there to collect one.
- Everyone watches the orientation film every visit. Having seen it before does not let you skip it.
- Hawaii residents with photo ID enter free without a reservation. That does not extend to non-resident friends or family with them.
Book at City and County of Honolulu Source: Honolulu Parks and Recreation Checked August 20, 2026
What does not need a reservation
Almost everything else. Every beach in Hawaii is public, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has no entry reservation, and the Road to Hāna itself needs nothing beyond Waiʻānapanapa. Most of the snorkeling people book Hanauma Bay for is available on any leeward coast without a booking at all.
The longer version of all this, including what to do when you miss a slot, is in the reservations guide. If you have not picked dates yet, start with when to visit.
Using this page
You are welcome to quote or screenshot any of it with a link back to hawaiitravelers.com/reservations. If you spot something that has changed, tell us and it gets fixed and re-dated.
Download this as CSV, every window with the operator page it came from and the date it was checked. It is one of six datasets published as files.