7 Best Side Hustles in Hawaii in 2023

With no shortage of stunning beaches, Hawaii is perhaps the perfect place to start up a side hustle as a surf instructor. There will be plenty of competition around, but if you’ve got high-level surfing skills and you learn how to market to tourists, you could make a decent living by giving surfing lessons.

You’ll bring in the most business and be able to charge the highest rates if you set up shop in one of Hawaii’s top surfing spots. You could also try striking up a deal with a local hotel, and it’s a win-win for you both—you’ll get easy business, and they’ll be able to offer surfing lessons to their guests.

How much you can earn: $80–$200 per hour. 1

Food trucks are a long-standing part of Hawaiian culture, and there’s no reason you can’t get in on the action. Many Hawaii natives and local residents have quit their day jobs to open their own food trucks, some even finding the success needed to start their own restaurants.

The secret is finding a way to set yourself apart from the crowd (plus making good food). Just make sure you follow local regulations so your food truck doesn’t get shut down.

How much you can earn: $90,000–$134,000 per year. 2

If you enjoy diving in your free time, then giving scuba diving lessons is an excellent side hustle option. You’ll get paid doing what you love and get to spread the joy to others. From wreck dives in Oahu to tours of Turtle Bluffs in Kauai, you have countless options to explore.

To start a side hustle as a scuba diving instructor, you need to first get certified. This involves meeting age and experience requirements as well as completing a required course, such as one of the PADI instructor courses or the SDI Open Water Scuba Diver Instructor (OWSDI) course.

How much you can earn: $75–$300 per dive. 3

Starting up an Airbnb or vacation rental business in Hawaii can be incredibly lucrative due to the high demand for accommodation among tourists. To give you an example, according to government data, a short-term rental in the most high-demand parts of Maui in July 2023 would’ve earned you an average of $436.29 per night. 4

You can expect to earn less in low-demand areas and during the off-season—but even so, around 60% of rentals statewide are filled throughout the year. This makes for a pretty promising side hustle opportunity.

There are a couple of key drawbacks, though. First, you need to have property you can afford to rent out, which is already more than most people have. Second, local governments have restrictions on short-term rental properties, so check whether you meet the requirements in your jurisdiction before you get too excited.

How much you can earn: $135–$430 per night. 4

If you’re a natural-born performer, then consider taking to the stage at hotels, restaurants, bars, or resorts. Musicians and singers in Hawaii earn an average of $56.24 per hour, which is a decent wage by any standard. 7

Even if you haven’t got any musical talent, you could try your hand at other types of performance, such as dancing at a lūʻau, doing acrobatics or magic shows, or even juggling. Given that the state is such a hotspot for tourism, there’s a huge market for entertainers.

How much you can earn: $20–$60 per hour. 8

Do you know your town like the back of your hand? Do you like the sound of a social job where you spend all day talking to people? If you answered yes to both these questions, then becoming a tour guide in Hawaii may be an obvious choice for you.

You could offer private tours or get a job as a tour guide through a travel agency. Just note that employers may expect you to first complete the Hawaii’s Professional Tour Guides Certification program.

How much you can earn: $15–$20 per hour. 9

Although bartending jobs don’t offer the highest base hourly salary, you can easily rake in plenty more in tips. After all, with so many vacationers around, most patrons are ready to spend.

What’s more, there are plenty of employment opportunities when it comes to bartending in Hawaii, from bars at beachside resorts and hotel pools to those at restaurants and nightclubs.

How much you can earn: $10–$20 per hour. 10

Many Hawaiian residents struggle to make ends meet with their regular day job. This isn’t surprising, considering you need to be earning somewhere in the range of $80,000–$100,000 per year to live comfortably in Hawaii, according to one financial expert.

Taking on a side hustle can help you hit this target, but that’s not all—you’ll also get more freedom, flexibility, and enjoyment from the work you do. You have plenty of options to explore, depending on your goals and skills, but the top side hustles in Hawaii are a great place to start.