Hawai'i -
Surf and sunsets (and more sunsets)
Surf and sunsets (and more sunsets)
Logistics
Planning
In addition to all the helpful input from this board, I relied heavily on
tripadvisor.com for hotel reviews and the Wizard Publications books and
the DK Hawaii guide for driving/sightseeing ideas. One of my other favorite
planning resources is the series of "Three Perfect Days" articles from
United's Hemispheres magazine. There are previously published articles
for the Big Island and Honolulu on the hemispheresmagazine.com
website, and I pulled a number of ideas from these as well.
Getting there and getting around
We flew from Phoenix to Maui and returned from Honolulu (both via LAX) on
United for $520. I probably could have done a little better, pricewise, but
this gave me the opportunity to use some of my many Mileage Plus miles
for upgrades on the outbound flight. I can't think of too many better uses for
15,000 miles than a domestic upgrade for a nearly-six-hour flight.
I booked interisland airfare with Aloha Airlines several months in advance.
This included three interisland segments (most of which involved a
connection through Honolulu) for a total of $250 per person. I booked all
early morning flights so that we would have at least a half day at our
destination. Everything went like clockwork. No delays, missed flights or
lost baggage. I'm impressed by how quickly Aloha turns its flights. And how
they provide beverages on flights of just 20 minutes.
I was not spending my own money here, so I made hotel choices based
on mom's preferences and budgetary comfort level -- so, no luxury hotels. I
chose not to use Priceline or Hotwire to book hotels so that I had some
flexibility to change plans if necessary, but I did look to see what
comparable rooms were going for. My goal was to stay under $200 (before
taxes) per night, which I did -- about $175. Because we were on the go
most of the time and were not staying more than a few days in some
places, I chose mostly hotels over condos.
I used rentalcodes.com to find car deals on Maui and Hawaii through
something called Vacation Outlet. For example, with the included coupon,
National's weekly rate for a midsized car on Maui was about $175,
including all taxes.
I generally planned on one substantial meal for lunch and cocktails/pupus
for the evenings.
our travels
home
contact us
Planning
In addition to all the helpful input from this board, I relied heavily on
tripadvisor.com for hotel reviews and the Wizard Publications books and
the DK Hawaii guide for driving/sightseeing ideas. One of my other favorite
planning resources is the series of "Three Perfect Days" articles from
United's Hemispheres magazine. There are previously published articles
for the Big Island and Honolulu on the hemispheresmagazine.com
website, and I pulled a number of ideas from these as well.
Getting there and getting around
We flew from Phoenix to Maui and returned from Honolulu (both via LAX) on
United for $520. I probably could have done a little better, pricewise, but
this gave me the opportunity to use some of my many Mileage Plus miles
for upgrades on the outbound flight. I can't think of too many better uses for
15,000 miles than a domestic upgrade for a nearly-six-hour flight.
I booked interisland airfare with Aloha Airlines several months in advance.
This included three interisland segments (most of which involved a
connection through Honolulu) for a total of $250 per person. I booked all
early morning flights so that we would have at least a half day at our
destination. Everything went like clockwork. No delays, missed flights or
lost baggage. I'm impressed by how quickly Aloha turns its flights. And how
they provide beverages on flights of just 20 minutes.
I was not spending my own money here, so I made hotel choices based
on mom's preferences and budgetary comfort level -- so, no luxury hotels. I
chose not to use Priceline or Hotwire to book hotels so that I had some
flexibility to change plans if necessary, but I did look to see what
comparable rooms were going for. My goal was to stay under $200 (before
taxes) per night, which I did -- about $175. Because we were on the go
most of the time and were not staying more than a few days in some
places, I chose mostly hotels over condos.
I used rentalcodes.com to find car deals on Maui and Hawaii through
something called Vacation Outlet. For example, with the included coupon,
National's weekly rate for a midsized car on Maui was about $175,
including all taxes.
I generally planned on one substantial meal for lunch and cocktails/pupus
for the evenings.
our travels
home
contact us
Residents of the Westin Maui
Waikiki
Kilauea Lodge, Hawai'i
Sunset over Bali Hai, Kaua'i
