Your choices for flights to Kauai are not as limited as they once were. Until relatively recently, you had to land at Honolulu Airport on Oahu if you were coming from anywhere off the islands. Then you would need to transfer to an inter-island flight to fly to Kauai—a short commuter hop of about 25 minutes that has the added bonus of being both thrilling and very scenic.
Lihue Airport
Today there are nonstop flights to Kauai from the West Coast of the U.S. mainland, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, and Phoenix. These airports can provide cheap Kauai flights if you spend a little time doing your research. The direct flights are convenient if you consider that getting to Hawaii at all from outside the U.S. often meant your airfare to Kauai used to consist of the cost of as many as four or five separate connections before you finally made it to the Garden Isle of Kauai.
Other options for cheap Kauai flights include all-inclusive vacations and using the Build Your Trip tool located on this page. The latter has all the best choices for airfare to Kauai collected in one place, so you can compare the different options. All-inclusive vacations were once virtually the only possibility because flights to Kauai were logistically fairly complicated, and these vacations are still extremely popular. They often include a number of features, including airfare from your point of origin, inter-island flights and airport transfers, hotel accommodations (sometimes on more than one island), some meals, select tours or other highlights, and even the major national chains for car rentals, as this is often the only way to get to different attractions from the Kauai hotels. Some of the Kauai hotels are complete resorts in themselves. If you’re staying only in one resort, be aware that the majority of hotels have complimentary airport shuttles, and they often have services and tours to take you elsewhere in Kauai if you decide to venture further afield.
While there are a few airports in Kauai, the only one accepting commercial passenger traffic is at Lihue, on the east side of the island. Lihue Airport is just three miles east of the town, and it is a full service airport, including numerous outlets for car rentals. Flying time for flights to Kauai from New York is about ten hours. It is about eight hours to fly from Chicago, and about fifteen hours from London, England. Bear in mind that these flying times to do not include layovers at various gateways before you reach the island, which can be substantial depending on your point of origin and choice of routing.
Not all the available cheap Kauai flights are just for getting to the island. Once you’ve arrived at your Kauai vacation destination, you will find that some of the best sightseeing is available on scenic small plane and helicopter tours because of the geology of this beautiful island. The rugged Na Pali Coast, one of the premier attractions on the island, can consume a full day of hiking for those who are physically fit. The only other way to experience this extraordinary site is on Zodiac boat tours or from the air. These aerial tours most often take off from the Princeville Airport, which is on the north side of the island and closest to Na Pali Coast State Park, Kokee State Park, and the incredible Waimea Canyon. Once you’ve secured your airfare to Kauai you will find numerous options to enhance your vacation on the Garden Isle.
