The Hawaii Bowl on Oahu: A Visitor’s Guide to the Christmas Eve 2026 Game

What the Hawaii Bowl is

The Hawaii Bowl is a postseason college football game played in Honolulu every Christmas Eve. ESPN Events runs it, ESPN broadcasts it, and this year’s is the 23rd edition. The bowl was created in 2002 after the University of Hawaii finished 9-3 in 2001 and was not invited to a bowl anywhere, so the islands built their own. Hawaii has played in it a record 10 times.

The game moved to the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on the UH Manoa campus after the old Aloha Stadium closed, which hosted the bowl from 2002 through 2019. This is the fifth year in a row at Ching. If you have not been to this stadium, our guide to Hawaii football games on Oahu covers the building and the neighborhood in detail.

Who is playing

Nobody yet. The bowl has said conference affiliations for the matchup will be set at a later date, so there are no teams to name. Bowl matchups are generally set after the regular season ends, and Hawaii is not guaranteed a spot. That means you would book flights without knowing the opponent, so decide whether the date alone is reason enough to come. For most people the date is the reason.

Last year’s game

The 2025 game is the best argument for going. Hawaii trailed California by 21 points and won 35-31, scoring the winning touchdown on a 22-yard pass from backup quarterback Luke Weaver to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left. It was a sellout of 15,194, the biggest crowd for this bowl at Ching, and 2.7 million people watched on ESPN, about 40 percent more than the year before. The bowl is known for close, high-scoring games, and the small stadium makes every one of them loud.

Tickets

The Bowl lists ticket sales as opening in early October 2026, so check the ticket page this week. Tickets are sold through etickethawaii.com and at the UH Ticket Office, open Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Hawaii time, closed on holidays. Last year’s game sold out, so do not wait for the matchup to be announced before you buy.

• Renewals have closed. Full-price buyers from 2025 had until September 30 to keep their seats, and anything not renewed can be released for sale.
• Prices. The bowl publishes a seating map with prices on its stadium map page. We are not printing numbers here because they can change before the on-sale.
• Phone orders are will-call only. You collect them at the ticket office window with photo ID and the card you paid with.
• Group and premium seating was not yet available as of this writing.
• Mobile tickets are the easiest option. The bowl’s ticket page has short videos on loading them to your phone wallet and transferring them to someone else.

Getting to the stadium

The Ching Complex is at 1105 Lower Campus Road on the UH Manoa campus (Google Maps), about two miles inland from Waikiki. Driving is 10 to 15 minutes without traffic.

Skip the car if you are staying in Waikiki

For one game, not driving is usually the better call. The bowl has two designated drop-off points, and they are the only ones:

• Rideshare and everyone else: the bus pull-in on University Avenue (Gate 2). Cars enter and leave with right turns only, so expect a short walk to a better pickup spot afterward.
• Kupuna and anyone with a mobility need: in front of the Center for Disability Services at 1410 Lower Campus Road. Cars enter by the Dole Street gate on Lower Campus Road (Gate 4) and leave only by the Varsity gate (Gate 5).

TheBus serves campus on Routes 4, 6, 13, 18, 24, 83 and 84. Route 13 is the one that connects Waikiki to UH Manoa, and the ride takes about 25 to 40 minutes depending on traffic. There is no official bowl shuttle from Waikiki. For the 2025 game, TheBus added extra U Line trips from the Skyline station at Ahua Lagoon Drive every 15 minutes before kickoff, which helps if you are coming from Leeward Oahu, and the bowl says the 2026 details will follow. Routes and times change, so confirm on the bowl’s game-day page or with TheBus information line at 808-848-5555 before the day. Our guide to getting from the airport to Waikiki covers the bus system if you have not ridden it yet.

What you can bring in

The Ching Complex runs a clear bag policy, and the bowl follows it. You may bring one clear bag per person, no larger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches. The bowl’s list of prohibited items is long, so read it before you pack.

• Refused at the gate: any bag that is not clear, outside food and drinks, reusable bottles, coolers, umbrellas, alcohol, tobacco, noise makers, seat backs, tripods and monopods extended to the floor, laser lights, helium balloons and pets other than service animals.
• Re-entry is not allowed on ticket stubs. Decide before you walk in.
• Children three and under are free when seated on an adult’s lap, under the complex’s policy as the bowl states it. Everyone else needs a ticket.

Where to stay

Christmas Eve is the middle of Hawaii’s peak holiday season, and a game on that date adds fans to a week that is already full. Rooms get scarce and rates climb, so book the hotel before you book the game weekend’s flights, not after.

Marriott Bonvoy is the bowl’s official partner, and the bowl’s travel page links its fan rates at four Waikiki properties: the Sheraton Waikiki, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, the Moana Surfrider and The Royal Hawaiian. Check that page and then compare with the hotel’s own site, because the bowl rate is not always the lowest.

If you would rather pick by neighborhood and budget, our best Waikiki hotels and best hotels on Oahu guides break down the options, and the family hotels list helps if you are traveling with children. Waikiki is the practical default: it is two miles from the stadium and has everything else you need for the week. Moiliili, Kaimuki and Manoa are closer and cheaper, but they are mostly rentals and small guesthouses.

A 2:00 PM kickoff on Christmas Eve

An afternoon kickoff changes the day compared with a regular Saturday game. Parking opens at 11:00 AM and the game should finish around 5:30 PM, since a college game runs about three and a half hours. That leaves a morning for one easy thing and an evening that is entirely yours.

The morning

Keep it short and close to town. A swim at a calm Waikiki beach, a walk up Diamond Head early, or breakfast somewhere you have wanted to try all fit. Pearl Harbor is the one big sight that does not fit, because the timed Arizona Memorial program and the drive back leave no slack before a stadium arrival. Do it the day before instead, and read our guide to getting to Pearl Harbor from Waikiki for the ticket timing. For food on the way to campus, Rainbow Drive-In in Kapahulu is the classic plate lunch stop, but check its Christmas Eve hours before you plan around it.

After the game

Book Christmas Eve dinner before you leave home. Restaurants in Waikiki and Honolulu fill up on the night, and some may run set menus or reduced hours, so a reservation is worth more than a good idea about where to go. If you want a drink afterward, the best mai tai guide covers the Waikiki bars.

Building a Christmas week around it

Christmas is the busiest stretch of the year for Hawaii travel, and the game gives you one fixed point to plan around. A workable shape is to land by December 20 or 21 so the arrival day is not wasted, do Pearl Harbor on the 23rd, play the game on the 24th, and keep the 25th unscheduled. After that the island opens up. Winter is also surf season, with big swells on the North Shore, so the north side is worth a day if conditions are right. If you plan to swim or snorkel there, read our Shark’s Cove winter warning first.

For more on timing, our guide to the best time to visit Oahu shows how December compares with the rest of the year, and the itinerary builder will lay out the days around the game. Given the car rental squeeze, the guide to renting a car on Oahu says when you actually need one, and the circle island road trip is the best day to use it on.

Quick answers

• When is the 2026 Hawaii Bowl? Thursday, December 24, 2026, kickoff 2:00 PM Hawaii time, 7:00 PM Eastern, on ESPN.
• Where is it? The Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex at UH Manoa, which seats about 15,000.
• Who plays? Not announced. Conference affiliations will be set at a later date.
• Will Hawaii be in it? Not guaranteed. The Rainbow Warriors have played in it a record 10 times, most recently in 2025, when they beat California.
• Can I pay for parking in cash? No. Cards only.
• Is there a shuttle from Waikiki? No official one. Take TheBus Route 13 or a rideshare.