How to Travel from Oahu to Maui or Get from Maui to Oahu

So you are taking a vacation to Hawaii and need to know how to get from Oahu to Maui or from Maui to Oahu.

Here’s the first fact: there is NO FERRY from Oahu to Maui or back. There was, in 2009, the Hawaii Superferry but because of environmental concerns the courts told the superferry they could no longer operate and it left Hawaii. Maybe someday it will be back. I am writing this in Jan 2010, so if you are reading this many years later, maybe check my page about Hawaii inter-island ferries and see if anything has changed.

So, the only way to get from Oahu to Maui or Maui to Oahu is to fly there. On Oahu, the aiport is the Honolulu International Airport (HNL) and on Maui, most people will fly into Kahului (OGG). However, there is another tiny airport – Kapalua (JHM).

So, you will fly on either Go! Airlines or Hawaiian airlines or a smaller outfit. You can get site links and absolute updates, plus my opinions from my interisland flight page about flying between the islands. Basically, pic whichever airlines is most convenient to your desired travel times and prices – although normally they are very similar.

As I am writing this, generally the best non-sale prices are $61 one way and these are found at least a week early and booked online on either website.

p.s. the reason there is no ferry between Oahu and Maui is that the channel is very wide and very windy and dangerous. Only the biggest of boats could manage this voyage safely. And the reason the superferry was kicked out was it really was big and amazing and the potential impact on the islands was huge … so the courts wanted an environmental impact study done, but so far it’s not done.