Traffic on Oahu

[Karysa]

How is the Traffic in Oahu? Is there a rush hour time that is best avoided?

[sptrout]

How is the Traffic in Oahu? Is there a rush hour time that is best avoided?

 

There sure is and it is nasty. About the same times that you would expect anywhere else. BTW - - There are rush hours on the other Islands as well, but Honolulu is especially exciting.

[greatlakesgirl]

Honolulu is bad, yes. Once you are outside the city, it's not too bad.

[Astro Flyer]

Earlier this year USA Today ranked the worst cities in the US for traffic & Honolulu was 2nd worst only behind LA.

 

It's even worse with construction of the light rail system which hopefully will alleviate some traffic congestion. Whenever I think traffic is bad on Maui, I watch the Honolulu traffic reports & know that it could be much worse.

 

Based on stats I read, Honolulu has 40% of Oahu's residents so that's a lot of vehicles on the road. Maui only has 15% of the population of Oahu & that's why our traffic isn't nearly as bad.

 

As 'greatlakesgirl' posted, Oahu's traffic is not as bad when you get away from the Honolulu area. :)

Edited July 9, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[rakuroda]

How is the Traffic in Oahu? Is there a rush hour time that is best avoided?

There sure is and it is nasty. About the same times that you would expect anywhere else. BTW - - There are rush hours on the other Islands as well, but Honolulu is especially exciting.

Honolulu is bad, yes. Once you are outside the city, it's not too bad.

Aloha :D

 

Yes, Karysa, Oahu has rush hour traffic, as differentiated from its normal heavy downtown traffic. WikiTravel "Normal weekday rush hour in Honolulu is 5AM to 8AM going inbound and 3PM to 6:30PM going outbound."This is going into and out of Honolulu. Considering that there are almost one million people on the island of Oahu (44miles long and 30miles wide), and most of the traffic is concentrated in an area 12 miles long and 3 miles wide, there is almost alway a good amount of traffic. In addition, to try to minimize traffic accidents, most of the city streets have a speed limit of 25 miles per hour, slowing traffic more than most mainland cities. WikiTravel "If coming from the mainland, speed limits on roads in Honolulu are generally lower than you may be used to. For example, six-laned King Street is 25-30 miles per hour for its entire length. Most streets are no more than 25 miles per hour. In addition to this, many people disregard the speed limit, instead driving slower, which may be frustrating."

 

In 2008, there was an article in a local newspaper http://archives.starbulletin.com/2008/06/18/news/story02.html A couple of search terms using Google are "Honolulu+rush+hour" and "Honolulu+carmageddon"

 

I have driven on Oahu for 48 years. I have been a delivery man, work commuter, surfer, family chauffeur. Personally, I do not drive in the Honolulu area before 9am or after 2:30pm. If I have to drive in the evening, I don't drive in the Honolulu area until after 7pm.

 

Additionally, during the winter surf season, the single road around the north shore can be a parking lot. It can take 3 hours to go from Haleiwa to Sunset Beach (7 miles).

 

However even with the traffic on Oahu, if you plan the driving part of your visit around the traffic, it is possible to see a lot of the really good stuff if you have a car. And as "'greatlakesgirl' posted and Astro Flyer reminds us, Oahu's traffic is not as bad when you get away from the Honolulu area."

 

Aloha :D

Edited July 9, 2015 by rakuroda

[Karysa]

I figured there would be a rush hour but 2nd busiest to LA in the states. That traffic is legendary it's hard to believe hat Honolulu would be next.

 

Thanks to all of you for he great information. :)

 

Our first day is Sunday so I would think that it shouldn't be too bad and if we head out at 4 or 5 the next morning for the sunset and arrive back around 3 we should be ok. Am I right about this?

[rakuroda]

Our first day is Sunday so I would think that it shouldn't be too bad and if we head out at 4 or 5 the next morning for the sunset and arrive back around 3 we should be ok. Am I right about this?

Aloha :D

 

If you provide a little more information, I may be able to help you develop a plan and figure out when to drive, like where are you coming from? Where are you staying? How many are you? How many days do you have? What age range are we talking about? Have you been to Oahu/Hawaii before? Do you think you might return to Oahu/Hawaii? Have you read online like TripAdvisor or Yelp and have an idea of what you want to do and see?

 

Aloha :D

[Karysa]

Aloha :D

 

If you provide a little more information, I may be able to help you develop a plan and figure out when to drive, like where are you coming from? Where are you staying? How many are you? How many days do you have? What age range are we talking about? Have you been to Oahu/Hawaii before? Do you think you might return to Oahu/Hawaii? Have you read online like TripAdvisor or Yelp and have an idea of what you want to do and see?

 

Aloha :D

 

I am just starting my research so no I don't have any idea of what we want to see just yet but thank you for the offer. I am the planner and so far a photography tour is what I was thinking. Since rush hour is bad, leaving town at 5 and returning at 3 is sounding pretty good to me. I may just stick to having someone else do the driving but I still would like to do research and find places that we would like to visit. We will only be in Oahu for part of Sunday and until 5 or 6 on Monday. We have never been before and we will likely return to Hawaii. Besides the cruise we are staying in Kauai for 7 or 8 nights. From what I have read other than the east side of Kauai there is not too much traffic congestion. Do you know if this is true?

[rakuroda]

I am just starting my research so no I don't have any idea of what we want to see just yet but thank you for the offer. I am the planner and so far a photography tour is what I was thinking. Since rush hour is bad, leaving town at 5 and returning at 3 is sounding pretty good to me. I may just stick to having someone else do the driving but I still would like to do research and find places that we would like to visit. We will only be in Oahu for part of Sunday and until 5 or 6 on Monday. We have never been before and we will likely return to Hawaii. Besides the cruise we are staying in Kauai for 7 or 8 nights. From what I have read other than the east side of Kauai there is not too much traffic congestion. Do you know if this is true?

Aloha :D

 

The thing about Kauai is that there is only one main road that covers most of the island (there is no road around the entire island). The rush hour traffic on Kauai is considered insignificant by Oahu drivers. In the little tourist areas, there may be some traffic congestion as people try to find parking or the commuters try to get to and from work in the different resorts and shopping areas. The thing most non-locals notice when driving in Hawaii is that there is very little horn honking (very polite people), and locals tend not to cut other drivers of (considered very rude). This is because after several generations, many people are related to a large number of people in a given area (so you could be flipping the bird to you aunty, and wait until the next family gathering).

 

Just remember that the speed limits in Hawaii are much lower than on the mainland. Lots of 25 mph areas and little old ladies and men driving around, and remember, the counties have been trying very hard to keep traffic fatalities down, so the police will ticket speeders and people not wearing seat belts.

 

Some non-local drivers get frustrated when locals slow down and give other drivers opportunites to change lanes or turn. I always figure to leave early and take my time. Where am I going that I need to be in such a big rush? It's an island for goodness sake!

 

Also read my posts, I've been writing about some of the things I like to see in Hawaii. With your limited time on Oahu, you need to be really selective. If you head east from Waikiki towards Diamond Head instead of west toward Pearl Harbor, you won't run into the heavy morning rush hour traffic trying to get into downtown Honolulu. For example if you want to go to Pearl Harbor, figure on going there in the late morning or early afternoon, visiting some of the east side spots in the morning and driving over the mountain to Pearl Harbor in the late morning. You could catch the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) along the way.

 

Aloha :D

Edited July 9, 2015 by rakuroda

[Karysa]

Thanks Rakuroda. I love the tips from locals and I will be reading the past threads here for tips that you just don't get in guide books.

 

I'm thinking that perhaps we will just rent a car and explore Kauia on our own as we hope to have at least a week there and look into hiring guides on the other islands.