January in Hawaii/South Pacific weather?

[jow623]

I am looking at the 11 day cruise from Honolulu to Tahiti aboard the Ocean princess on January 8th. I am concerned about the rainy season in Hawaii. Any comments or help would be appreciated.

[bigchid]

We've taken 6-8 trips to Hawaii, mostly land trips, all in January and very little problem with rain. One trip it was so dry that there were little if any waterfalls on the big island. Another trip to Maui they had a large brush fire that blocked the hiway to the North half of the island.

[Toddy709]

I only have one experience with Hawaii in January. It was January 2008 and the weather was amazing!! Sunburn on our first Island of Maui. We only had a brief downpour in Kawaii, and then light drizzle in Hilo. Other than that, it couldn't have been more perfect.

[2bretired]

My experience is that the rainy season in Hawaii is May\June, so you should be good to go in January. Not sure about the South Pacific Islands, but it could be similar.

[shepp]

Individuals' experiences really don't mean much in the scheme of things. I've been in Hawaii on winter days when the weather was totally glorious, on days punctuated by short period of "liquid sunshine," and others when our plans were wrecked by "short, warm" tropical torrents. January is the middle of the rainy season. Kauai boasts the wettest spot on Earth. If you go, you risk some bad weather. But even on a single island, one side can be in a deluge, while the side in the rain shadow can be dry.

 

My advice, based on historical figures: expect some rain, hope to be pleasantly surprised.

[shepp]

My experience is that the rainy season in Hawaii is May\June, so you should be good to go in January. Not sure about the South Pacific Islands, but it could be similar.

 

Not to seem argumentative, but in most of the state, May/June/July is the driest part of the year.

 

http://www.hawaiigaga.com/weatherguide.aspx

[Jasperdo]

I had a bit of bad luck with a Hawaii cruise in January. We had to miss both Kauai and Maui because of bad weather. The harbormaster at Nawiliwili closed the port due to high winds that would have made the tight turn too dangerous for a large cruise ship. The next day, we had to skip Lahaina as well. There had been a bad rain storm the day before, and there were numerous mud slides on the island. The harbormaster at Lahaina couldn't even get to work that morning to open the port. Even if he could, there was so much mud in the harbor, that the tenders wouldn't have been able to operate. We still had a great cruise, though. Princess quickly put together a full schedule of activities for those 2 days.

 

This was an extremely rare event, but I wanted to mention it to you, since it did happen to us in January. Our other 2 port days in Hilo and Honolulu had fabulous weather.

[polynesia]

jow623,

You are welcomed to write on our message board for the Jan 8th cruisers.

We exchange ideas,information and tour plans for the different islands.

Betty

[Aloha 1]

Since we live on Maui half the year, I can tell you that the temps never vary by more than 4-5 degrees year round. January can be absolute paradise.. and can also have "liquid sunshine". It is toward the end of the rainy season which starts in November and runs to March, but it all depends where you are in the islands. I have been at Kapalua where it rained 5 days straight while it was totally dry down at Wailea. Go for the cruise, see the sites. The weather will be what it will be.

[avalong]

I am looking at the 11 day cruise from Honolulu to Tahiti aboard the Ocean princess on January 8th. I am concerned about the rainy season in Hawaii. Any comments or help would be appreciated.

 

If I were you I'd be far more concerned about the high humidity in Tahiti that time of the year. The temperature is always pretty much the same in Tahiti, but the humidity & rainfall are much greater during our (northern hemisphere) winter months.