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Short answer: Non-residents need a reservation on the state’s system, up to 30 days ahead: $5 per person entry, plus $10 per car if you’re driving in.
Diamond Head looks like a quick drive-up hike, but non-residents now need a reservation booked ahead. Here is what actually matters if you’re arriving by rental car.
Entry and parking go on one reservation
Both go through the state’s Go Wild reservation system (gostateparks.hawaii.gov), and both open 30 days in advance at midnight Hawaii time. Entry runs $5 per person for non-residents; if you’re driving in, you add $10 per-vehicle parking to the same booking. Hawaii residents with a state ID are exempt from the fee and the reservation, but out-of-state guests with them are not.
The lot inside the crater is small
Parking space is genuinely limited, and your $10 fee is really a guaranteed slot in that window more than a parking charge. It fills up well before the entry reservations do on popular time slots.
Diamond Head tunnel parking and walking in
There is one way into the crater: a single tunnel, which DLNR calls the “sole access tunnel.” Cars with a parking reservation drive through it to the lot inside. Without a parking reservation you can’t drive in, but you can still walk in or be dropped off, as long as you hold an entry reservation.
The time slots differ by how you arrive. When the reservation system started, DLNR set two-hour slots for cars parked in the crater and one-hour entry slots for walk-in and drop-off visitors. If you park on a street outside and walk in, read the posted signs: DLNR named parking in the neighborhoods outside Diamond Head as one of the problems the reservations were meant to reduce.
Rather not deal with the reservation and parking? This shuttle runs from Waikiki to Diamond Head and includes the state park reservation tickets. Plan on about 2.5 hours. It has about 680 reviews, and 96% of travelers recommend it.
See the Diamond Head shuttle → (affiliate link)
Payment is credit card only
There is no cash option at booking or at the gate for non-residents. Have a card ready when you reserve, since there’s no last-minute workaround if you show up without a completed booking.
- Book both reservations in the same session. Entry and parking are separate line items, but there’s no reason to come back later and risk the parking slot selling out.
- 30 days out is the window that matters, not a shorter release like Hanauma Bay’s. Plan this one earlier in your trip-planning, not as a last-minute add.
- No parking reservation still means no rental car spot, even with a valid entry ticket. You’d need to find street parking outside the monument and walk in instead.
Also working around Hanauma Bay’s booking window on the same trip? See the Hanauma Bay reservations guide: different system, different rules. Picking up your rental first? Start with the Honolulu Airport rental car guide.
Book directly through the official Diamond Head State Monument reservation page (gostateparks.hawaii.gov), third-party booking sites often charge extra fees for the same reservation.
Next to Diamond Head is the zoo. Honolulu Zoo parking runs on a different system.
Planning more than one booking? The Hawaii reservations calendar lists every window and release time in one table.
Planning another Honolulu hike the same day? Street parking near Manoa Falls isn’t allowed, so see Manoa Falls parking for the paid trailhead lot.
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Photo: Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Researched and written by Neo Pecorro. Facts on this page were checked against Hawaii State Parks, plus the other sources linked above. Hawaii rules change often, so confirm on the official page before you go.
Last updated: October 19, 2026.