Okay, so when is the best time to visit Kauai?  Usually that question can be answered by understanding the worst times and working your way backwards.

The busiest times to go to Kauai would be during the big holiday seasons and the encompassing week. Those holidays are Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. During those times, the crowds are high and the hotel rates are high.

Something else to consider is that generally the crowds are higher when school is out, because that is when families take their vacations.

The chart below shows the number of monthly visitors to Kauai in 2022.  The data was obtained from Hawaii-Guide.com.

Of course, that spike in December is much smaller when the week around Christmas is removed from the data so don’t completely rule out visiting in December if you live in a cold climate and just need a break from the cold temperatures.

The next factor in determining when to go should be the weather. Below shows the high and low temperatures (in degrees Fahrenheit) for Lihue. Other cities’ temperature may vary slightly, but not by much. Shown are the monthly average highs and lows.

So you can see that the temperatures are always quite pleasant—in the 70’s and low 80’s.  So what about the rain?  The diagram below shows the monthly average rainfall (in inches) for the cities of Waimea and Princeville.  The different weather sites seemed to vary on the absolute values but the magnitude and trends were always consistent.

Generally, the Northern half of the island is more rainy and the rains let up and you move around the island in a clockwise direction. So if you find yourself in rain, you might find a sunnier place to spend your time if you go to Waimea or further around the island to somewhere like Polihale beach.

Depending on your personal situation, the months of May and September are the optimal time for better prices, lower rainfall, and fewer crowds.   I personal visit the island in May and October.  October is not a good time to visit if you plan hikes to waterfalls.  They can often be dried up.  I found that out the hard way ☹.