Campervan Rental Honolulu — Oahu's North Shore, Camping Permits and Tips for 2027

Oahu is a small island: it is about 70 km long, and the loop from Honolulu along the windward coast to the North Shore and back through the centre of the island is about 180 km. A campervan here is not a way to cover distance but a way to wake up by the beach while the hotels in Waikiki charge resort prices. The rules, however, are stricter than on the mainland: you may sleep in a vehicle only at a campground with a permit, and public campgrounds are closed on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Plan the nights first and the route second.

Around the island in three to four days

• The south-east coast: Hanauma Bay, about 16 km from Waikiki, snorkelling in the bay of a volcanic crater. Visitors who do not live in Hawaii need an online reservation, which opens two days ahead, and the bay is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Further on come the Makapuu lighthouse trail and Waimanalo, the longest sandy beach on the island.
• The windward (east) coast: Kailua and Lanikai beaches (parking on the residential streets is restricted, so use the beach park car parks), then north on Kamehameha Highway under the green cliffs of the Koolau Range to Kualoa Regional Park, about 40 km from Honolulu, with a campground facing the islet of Mokolii.
• The North Shore: between Haleiwa and Sunset Beach lie about 11 km of surf beaches, among them Pipeline and Waimea Bay. In winter the waves reach six metres and more, and you watch them from the sand; in summer the same water is calm, and Shark's Cove is one of the best snorkelling spots on the island. Haleiwa is about 50 km from Honolulu, an hour on the direct road through the centre of the island.
• The west (leeward) coast: the driest and least visited side, from Waianae to the end of the road at Keawaula (Yokohama Bay). There is no road around Kaena Point, the north-western tip of the island; you get there on foot, so the loop cannot be closed along the coast.

Where you may sleep

• The basic rule. State law prohibits using a vehicle as a place to sleep on public roads and in public car parks between 6 pm and 6 am. There is no legal free camping on Oahu, and the beach parks are patrolled regularly.
• City campgrounds (City and County of Honolulu). These are beach parks such as Kualoa, Bellows Field (weekends only), Waimanalo Bay, Kokololio and Kaiaka Bay. A permit is issued per site for three days (Friday to Monday) or five days (Friday to Wednesday) and is booked online. Permits are released two Fridays ahead, at 5 pm Hawaii time, and the sought-after sites are gone within minutes. Not every campground allows sleeping in a vehicle; the booking page states for each one whether campers and vans are permitted, so check before you pay.
• State parks. Malaekahana and Ahupuaa O Kahana on the windward coast; permits are also obtained online and run from Friday to Wednesday.
• Wednesday and Thursday nights. Public campgrounds are closed. Privately run sites such as Malaekahana Beach Campground near Kahuku and Camp Mokuleia on the North Shore are open all week; otherwise take a room for those two nights.
• No hookups. Oahu has practically no RV parks with electric and sewer hookups. That is why the rental campers here are compact vans, often with a rooftop tent, and not large American motorhomes. Campgrounds have cold showers and toilets; do not expect more than that.

Driving and costs that guests forget

• Honolulu traffic. The H-1 freeway is jammed towards town in the morning and out of town from mid-afternoon. Set off for the North Shore before 7 am or after 9 am.
• Parking in Waikiki. Hotel garages charge roughly US$40 to US$60 a night and have height limits, which a van with a rooftop tent often exceeds. Spend your Waikiki days without a vehicle and pick the campervan up when you are leaving town.
• Theft from vehicles. Break-ins at beach car parks and trailheads are common. Leave nothing in sight, and carry passports and electronics with you.
• Reservations for the sights. Besides Hanauma Bay, visitors from outside Hawaii also need a reservation for Diamond Head, and the boat to the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor is booked in advance; bags may not be taken into the memorial.
• Driving licence. An ordinary car licence is enough. A foreign licence is valid; if it is not in English, bring an international driving permit as well. The minimum driver age is usually 21.
• No tolls, low speed limits. There are no toll roads on Oahu. Speed limits are low, mostly 40 to 90 km/h, and the coastal road has one lane in each direction; during the winter surf contests, traffic between Haleiwa and Sunset Beach comes to a standstill.

When to go

It is warm all year round: days of 26 to 31 °C. From May to October the weather is dry and the sea on the North Shore is calm, the best time for swimming and snorkelling. From November to March there is more rain, especially on the windward side, and it is big-wave season on the North Shore: spectacular to watch but dangerous to swim in. The island is busiest and most expensive from mid-December to March and from June to August. April, May, September and October offer the best mix of weather, prices and available permits.

A campervan in Honolulu through Crystalium Booker

We are still building our campervan offer in Honolulu. Send us your dates and group size through the contact page and we will look for a vehicle for you, and keep an eye on the campervans in Honolulu page for new listings. Do you rent out a campervan on Oahu? List it with us.