Aloha, 2015! Best places to watch Hawaii New Year’s Eve fireworks shows.
As the clock ticks down on the final moments of 2014, the “rainbow state” will bid aloha to the year past and ring in the New Year with a rainbow of explosions in the warm night sky.
Hawaii employs a last-but-not-least mentality in its New Year’s celebrations—even though we’re one of the last time zones to ring in the New Year, we don’t do it quietly.
If you’ll be celebrating the calendar’s turn in the Islands, our list of Hawaii spots to catch public fireworks displays throughout the state has just what you’ll need to find a show near you, whether you’re on Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui, Kauai, or even Lanai.
Hauoli Makahiki Hou!—that’s Happy New Year!—and best wishes for 2015 from the staff ohana of HAWAII Magazine and HawaiiMagazine.com!
OAHU
Waikiki New Year’s Fireworks
Midnight
The details: Visible from the entire Waikiki beachfront, this annual fireworks show—sponsored by Waikiki hotels and businesses and the Waikiki Improvement Association—even has a fireworks countdown before the main event. The show is choreographed to songs playing on local radio channel Hawaiian 105 KINE FM. The 10-12 minute show will feature more than 1,800 shells. Click here for more information.
New Year’s Eve Party of the Year
9 p.m., 10 p.m., 11 p.m., Midnight
The details: The fifth annual event brings fireworks every hour from 9 p.m. til midnight at Kakaako Waterfront Park in Honolulu. Festivities get under way at 7 p.m. Other highlights include: bands and DJs on multiple stages, an “Eat the Street” food truck festival, fire dancers, a mechanical bull and carnival rides, including a Ferris Wheel. It’s free to enter the area sporting the festival’s food trucks and carnival rides, and you can also catch the fireworks displays free of charge from anywhere near Kakaako Waterfront Park. If you want to be inside the venue for the musical events and party scene though, tickets are required. Click here for more information.
The Kahala Hotel and Resort
Midnight
The details: Further afield from Waikiki, on the eastern side of Diamond Head (Leahi) the Kahala Hotel and Resort will send off a midnight display for guests. If you don’t happen to be staying at the resort, you can still catch their 2014 sendoff from one of the nearby public spaces like Waialae or Wailupe Beach Parks.
HAWAII ISLAND
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel’s New Year’s Eve Celebration
Midnight
The details: Hosted by the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, the aerial display here will light up the resort’s Kaunaoa Bay beachfront. The fireworks are part of the hotel’s big New Year’s Eve dinner and dancing celebration held in several locations including the Manta and Pavilion Wine Bar and the North Pointe Lawn. The event is open to hotel guests and anyone wishing to dine at the resort for the evening. Party guests are sure to have the best views, but with Kauanaoa Beach—and all Hawaii beaches—open to the public, if you can reach the beach you’ll catch the fireworks. Click here for more information.
MAUI
Wailea Beach Fireworks
Midnight
The details: The best spots for the Grand Wailea Resort’s annual fireworks are along Wailea Beach Park, or from hotels along the beach. If you’re staying in Wailea, just take the Wailea Coastal Walk to Wailea Beach.
KAUAI
New Year’s Eve Celebration at Poipu Beach Park
8:45 p.m.
The details: The best seats for this earlier-than-midnight display are in Poipu Beach Park, where festivities—including a DJ and food trucks—begin around 5:30 p.m. Come early to the Poipu Beach Resort Association-hosted and local donor supported event and catch a movie in the park. This year they’re screening the family-friendly “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” starting at 6:45. Click here for more information.
LANAI
Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay Hulopoe Beach Fireworks
Midnight
The details: There are terrific views of the 15-minute fireworks show from the Four Seasons Manele Bay property (for hotel guests) and from the sands of neighboring Hulopoe Beach (for the general public).
Have we missed any Hawaii New Year’s Eve 2013 fireworks displays that you know about? Let us know on our HAWAII Magazine Facebook page and we’ll be happy to add it!
Have we missed any Hawaii New Year’s Eve 2013 fireworks displays that you know about? Let us know on our HAWAII Magazine Facebook page and we’ll be happy to add it!
