Honolulu airport lei

The lei stands at Honolulu airport are not shops inside the terminal. They are a row of separate stands along the airport approach on Rodgers Boulevard, near Lagoon Drive, and you reach them by pulling in on the way to or from the terminal building rather than by walking there from your gate. That matters for planning: once you are through security there is no getting back out to them, so a lei for a departing passenger has to be bought before you drop them off.

Several of these stands are old family businesses that have been on this stretch of road for decades, in some cases since the 1940s, passed down through the family and still trading under the name of the woman who started them. They exist because of the two things that happen at an airport: greeting people who have just landed, and sending people home with something fresh.

The flower that dominates here is orchid, and for good reason. It is the sturdiest of the common lei, it survives being carried around a terminal and sat on a plane, and it is available all year. If the lei is going into a suitcase or onto a mainland flight, that is what to ask for. Pīkake and plumeria are lovely and will not enjoy the journey.

None of these stands publishes its own opening hours. The state airports page describes the lei stands as generally open from early morning until late evening, so check before a very early or very late flight. If you are meeting a specific flight, particularly a large party, it is worth calling ahead where a phone number is listed.