14/11/2024
Hawaii - USA
Merrie Monarch Festival, Hula and Special Places in Hawaiʻi
For us, Hawaii does not begin in Waikīkī.
If you really want to get to know the islands, it is worth taking time for their music, their stories and the places where Hawaiian culture is still very much alive today.
We have travelled to the Hawaiian Islands several times ourselves and know Hawaii beyond the classic island tour. On Hawaiʻi Island,
we have discovered places to stay right in the volcanic landscape, houses with sweeping views across the island and the historic Volcano House directly at Kīlauea.
These personal experiences shape the Hawaii journeys we create.
Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo
One of the most extraordinary reasons to travel to Hawaii is the Merrie Monarch Festival in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island.
The week-long festival is dedicated to King David Kalākaua and is one of the most important events celebrating hula and Hawaiian culture. The programme includes the internationally renowned hula competition, events devoted to Hawaiian arts and crafts and the grand parade through Hilo.
The competition focuses on two very different forms of hula. Hula Kahiko draws on traditional forms of dance, song and chanting.
Hula ʻAuana reflects the more recent development of hula and uses different forms of musical expression.
It soon becomes clear that hula is far more than the version many travellers may know from hotels or tourist shows.
At Merrie Monarch, Hālau Hula from Hawaii and beyond compete with their Kumu Hula and dancers.
Three evenings form the heart of the festival, Miss Aloha Hula, the Hula Kahiko competition and finally Hula ʻAuana.
In 2027, the Merrie Monarch Festival takes place in Hilo from 28 March to 3 April.
Tickets for the Merrie Monarch Festival
Seats for the competition evenings are highly sought after. The allocation process is also quite different from booking a normal concert ticket.
Early planning is therefore essential when travelling to the Merrie Monarch Festival.
Music Travel Hideaways checks the available ticket options for your journey and plans your itinerary around the festival programme.
Music Travel Hideaways Special: Hula at Kīlauea
If you visit the Merrie Monarch Festival, hula should not be experienced only inside the stadium in Hilo.
Within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, on the edge of Kīlauea, lies a place called Kaʻauea. Hawaiian chants and oral traditions have referred to this place for centuries. Because of its cultural significance and its position facing Halemaʻumaʻu, a site for Hula Kahiko was created here with the involvement of renowned Kumu Hula Edith Kanakaʻole and others.
Today, the site includes a Kahua Hula, an elevated hula platform built in 1979, as well as a traditionally constructed hale.
A visit creates a direct connection between the festival in Hilo and the volcanic landscape of Kīlauea. In Hawaiian tradition, Halemaʻumaʻu is regarded as the home of Pelehonuamea, the volcano deity Pele, who is also often respectfully referred to as “Madame Pele”.
Depending on current volcanic conditions and the access regulations within the national park, we plan a visit to this area individually as part of your journey. Paths and access around Kīlauea can change at any time due to volcanic activity.
Staying at Kīlauea
Around Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, there are places to stay where the location itself becomes part of the journey.
We know houses set directly within landscapes shaped by lava, as well as smaller properties with sweeping views across the surroundings of the national park.
One particularly special address is the Volcano House. The hotel stands directly within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park at the summit of Kīlauea. Its history dates back to 1846. For generations, travellers have come here to experience the volcanic landscape from the edge of the caldera.
For us, this is a true hideaway.
Stepping outside again in the evening, feeling the cool air at around 1,200 metres above sea level and looking across the Kīlauea Caldera is a completely different Hawaii experience from staying at a beach hotel on the coast.
Depending on the level of comfort you prefer and the route of your journey, we combine places like these with a stay by the sea or with a hotel in another part of the island.
Discover Hilo and Hawaiʻi Island
Hilo is the ideal base for the Merrie Monarch Festival.
During festival week, the atmosphere throughout the town changes. Hula schools, musicians, families and festival visitors arrive in Hilo from across Hawaii. Alongside the competition evenings, the festival week also includes events and the Hawaiian Arts & Crafts Fair.
In 2026, more than 150 Hawaiian artists, craftspeople and producers took part.
From Hilo, the journey can easily be combined with Kīlauea and other parts of Hawaiʻi Island.
We deliberately avoid planning an island tour where your suitcase has to be packed again every morning. We prefer to choose a smaller number of carefully selected bases and places to stay.
Sunset and Stargazing at Maunakea
One of our own experiences on Hawaiʻi Island was an evening at Maunakea. At more than 4,000 metres above sea level, it is home to some of the world’s most important astronomical observatories.
We experienced the sunset there ourselves and later watched the night sky at Maunakea. Once complete darkness falls and an incredibly clear sky full of stars opens up above the volcanic landscape, it becomes easy to understand why this place is so important for astronomical research worldwide.
Night-time stargazing at Maunakea is, for us, one of the most extraordinary experiences on Hawaiʻi Island.
Maunakea is also far more than a location for telescopes. The mountain holds deep spiritual and cultural significance for Native Hawaiians and should be visited with the appropriate respect.
We can also include an evening like this in your individual Hawaii journey.
Oʻahu and the North Shore
If you would like to add Oʻahu to your Hawaii journey, you can discover a completely different side of the islands.
Surfing on Oʻahu’s North Shore
The North Shore of Oʻahu is one of the most famous surfing regions in the world. Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline are names known far beyond Hawaii.
The large winter waves arrive mainly between November and February. This is also the season when international surfing competitions take place along the North Shore.
We know this remarkable atmosphere from personal experience. Jürgen Mamczak experienced the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach himself, at the time part of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. When the big winter swells arrive and some of the world’s best surfers gather on the North Shore, Oʻahu reveals a completely different character from the quieter months of the year.
This seasonal difference is important when planning your journey. The Merrie Monarch Festival takes place in spring, outside the main surf season. Travellers visiting Hawaii for the hula festival in March or April will usually experience a much calmer North Shore. In summer, the coast changes again and the ocean is often considerably less dramatic than during the winter months.
If you travel to Hawaii in winter, however, the North Shore can become a highlight in its own right, with the length of your stay on Oʻahu planned accordingly.
These are exactly the kinds of seasonal differences we take into account when planning an individual journey.
We know Hawaii from several journeys of our own and understand how completely different the same places can feel at different times of year.
Your Bespoke Hawaii Journey with Music Travel Hideaways
Flights
We organise your flights to Hawaii in Economy Class, Premium Economy or Business Class, as well as any necessary inter-island flights.
Merrie Monarch Festival
If the festival is the reason for your journey, we coordinate your travel dates and stay in Hilo with the current programme and check the available ticket options at an early stage.
Hideaways
We recommend hotels and smaller places to stay that suit the journey. These may include beach hotels, but also houses set right within Hawaii’s volcanic landscape.
Discover Hawaii Your Way
On request, we can add private excursions, a hire car and special nature experiences to your journey.
Island Combinations
Hawaiʻi Island can, for example, be combined with Oʻahu, Maui or Kauaʻi.
Which islands make sense depends less on trying to fit as much of Hawaii as possible into one journey and more on what you actually want to experience while you are there.
Hawaii Tailored to You
Perhaps you would like to travel to Hilo for the Merrie Monarch Festival and then spend a few days by the sea.
Perhaps Kīlauea is what interests you most.
Or perhaps you would like to combine several islands and stay in places you would probably never have found through an ordinary hotel search.
We plan your journey accordingly.
Talk to us about your journey to Hawaii.
We would be delighted to advise you personally and plan a journey tailored to your interests and preferences.
Send us a no-obligation booking enquiry
Phone: +49 30 21964804
