Anyone have any ideas on how to do Hawaii on a strict budget?

[vhoffman]

Just thought of another tip--Costco and Sams Club both have travel departments that offer substantial discounts for hotels, rent car, etc. (however, I don't think they offer discounts for airfare, but doesn't hurt to check). They also offer packages that sound good, however, I preder to "roll my own". I've found that I can always beat any package deal, it just takes a lot of planning time. I also use my rewards from AMEX, MyPoints, erewards, etc. It takes a lot of time to accumulate enough points to amount to anything, but its worth it. Also, I don't care for packages because I like to have more control over my plans. I find I frequently change my plans before going and would hate to be locked in to a package. A membership in AAA pays for itself in discounts. We got discounts at hotels, rent car, gift shops, restaurants, etc. Always ask, you'd be surprised at the places that accept it. Also good to have the road assistance if you're driving a rent car.

Here's one thing no traveler should be without--trip insurance. I know you're looking for ways to reduce costs, not add to it, but its being penny-wise and pound foolish. Last summer we had a trip all planned and paid for to Hawaii, but my dh had a heart attack about two weeks prior to the trip. Well, we were able to cancel the hotels with no penalty, however, our plane tickets were non-refundable. I had taken out trip insurance on the plane tickets (which are perhaps the biggest expense), and got a full refund. The total cost of the insurance was about $100. Well worth it! It too big an expense not to insure. BTW, dh is doing fine!

 

[DW mouser]

Subscribing and wishing it was me going!!!

 

[my3kids]

For those that have been to Kauai.....

I think we SHOULD do a laua while there. The 2 that seem to be real possibilites are the Hiva Pacifika and Smith's. Has anyone done both to compare? Any information would be appreciated.

Are there discount coupons of real merit in tourist books on the island? It sounds like we need to book in advance to be sure we get a place. A few dollars I could have saved won't bother me if I see a coupon upon arrival. Hundreds of dollars will irritate me though!!

 

[momsgoofy]

Momsgoofy--Just wanted you to know that I too have been looking for airfare to HNL cheaply since Sept (we go in April) Unfortunately, SW does not offer the DING prices to HNL or Maui. If you have DING & open it & look at all the options of places to go on the DING website-it doesn't list either location, only on the SW main website. Keep watching NWA-they are having those fare sales from certain places in the US to HNL. Then hopefully you can get a cheap flight on SW or AIrtran or FlyTed or other cheaper airlines from your home city to the fare sale city. Also,make sure you sign up for travel alerts on travelocity.com--you can put in the airport you want to fly out of (up to 2 other options) & into & it will alert you when sales come up-the onl drawback is you cannot put your dates your aflying, so you get alerted to fligths that are leaving say in the next month or so--your time may be too far away, but at least you'll be set up! Good luck w/ the planning-I think airfare may be the biggest chunk for you. Debbie

Debbie...thanks for the answer to the question I'd been wondering...doubted there'd be a Ding fare to Hawaii.. I've read here that NWA is usually one of the lower airlines...more consistently I guess than others. I do get email alerts for Airtrans...but for us it's a 4 hour drive north...not something I really want to worry about in the winter...it's too iffy. I guess I'll go to travelocity and get signed up for their email alerts too. I've been getting the travelzoo ones for a while now...they do have some great deals, but usually for short term time frames. And you are right...the airfare is what is gonna be the biggest chunk...

 

[momsgoofy]

Just thought of another tip--Costco and Sams Club both have travel departments that offer substantial discounts for hotels, rent car, etc. (however, I don't think they offer discounts for airfare, but doesn't hurt to check). They also offer packages that sound good, however, I preder to "roll my own". I've found that I can always beat any package deal, it just takes a lot of planning time. I also use my rewards from AMEX, MyPoints, erewards, etc. It takes a lot of time to accumulate enough points to amount to anything, but its worth it. Also, I don't care for packages because I like to have more control over my plans. I find I frequently change my plans before going and would hate to be locked in to a package. A membership in AAA pays for itself in discounts. We got discounts at hotels, rent car, gift shops, restaurants, etc. Always ask, you'd be surprised at the places that accept it. Also good to have the road assistance if you're driving a rent car.

Here's one thing no traveler should be without--trip insurance. I know you're looking for ways to reduce costs, not add to it, but its being penny-wise and pound foolish. Last summer we had a trip all planned and paid for to Hawaii, but my dh had a heart attack about two weeks prior to the trip. Well, we were able to cancel the hotels with no penalty, however, our plane tickets were non-refundable. I had taken out trip insurance on the plane tickets (which are perhaps the biggest expense), and got a full refund. The total cost of the insurance was about $100. Well worth it! It too big an expense not to insure. BTW, dh is doing fine!

I hadn't thought about Sam's Club...will need to check into that...we've got AAA and I just asked them to start searching so we'll see.

Trip insurance...I couldn't agree with you more on this...I'd hate to lose everything on a trip. I'm so sorry about your husband!! I do hope he is recovered and doing much better! DH's mom and my dad (our only living parents) are both in their mid 70s and have health scares from time to time that could prevent us from a trip..almost happened last month, so I always cover ourselves with some kind of insurance...even if like for the last trip it meant DVC last minute cancel policies and SW airlines easy cancellation with travel credit. I'd be interested in knowing where you were able to get insurance on the air travel...usually that's not as easy to cover from what I've seen...maybe I'm just living in a corn field... Thanks for any info on that you could share!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Debbie...thanks for the answer to the question I'd been wondering...doubted there'd be a Ding fare to Hawaii.. I've read here that NWA is usually one of the lower airlines...more consistently I guess than others. I do get email alerts for Airtrans...but for us it's a 4 hour drive north...not something I really want to worry about in the winter...it's too iffy. I guess I'll go to travelocity and get signed up for their email alerts too. I've been getting the travelzoo ones for a while now...they do have some great deals, but usually for short term time frames. And you are right...the airfare is what is gonna be the biggest chunk...

I have for 2 years in a row found NWA to be the lowest when searching for airfare. I did buy tickets for September 2004 to go to my sisters wedding. We found that mid-July the rates drop for the fall airfares after being "up there" in price for many months.

Found the same to be true for last year as we were scoping on how to handle our skymiles and ticket purchases for this year. And then the unbelievable happened---we were able to find Skychoice seats on Delta and after purchasing some extra miles--we were able to get our tickets on Delta. So no NWA for us this time. Though had I needed to buy tickets, that is who I most likely would have gone with.

For reference--this is all for Orlando to Honolulu.

 

[my3kids]

momsgoofy: As soon as I found out about the trip I purchases travel insurance from www.insuremytrip.com I have purchased and researched policies from this agency for 3 cruises and have been very pleased with prce and service each time. Once I had no claim, twice I had a claim and both times the policy I purchased from here paid quickly and with no unreasonable documentation. The policies I did file with were with Travelex Lite and TravelSafe. For the Hawaii trip I again got the Travelex Lite.

 

[vhoffman]

Momsgoofy,

I bought our air tickets direct from Continental airlines. When I purchased them online I was offered the opportunity to purchase trip insurance along with my tickets. It was through a third-party carrier (forget the name), however, the price was so low because they were hooked up with CA. I almost didn't buy it, then figured it might come in handy. I was thinking perhaps something would happen to the kids that would prevent a trip at the last minute, like strepth throat, ear infections, etc. I never in my wildest dreams thought dh would have a heart attack! It was just two weeks before our trip. I called dh at work (which I rarely do). He was going to be working late, doing some sort of computer back-up. He would have been alone in his area, away from a phone, with no one around. He said he "wasn't feeling well" which immediately sent my radar up--he never complains! upon further questioning he said he had "indigestion, gas, pressure in the stomach, pain in the left shoulder and jaw". He insisted the gas was due to the tacos he had for lunch, he probably strained his shoulder doing yard work, and he needed to see a dentist. I insisted he go to the ER. He protested, saying I was overracting. I said I would come over and pick him up, and if he wouldn't go I was going to call 911 and send them over to his workplace. Well, he called me back about 10 minutes later and said he was on his way to the ER, driving himself!!!!!!! Well, at that point, I couldn't do much but meet him there. By the time I got there, he was already in a room, hooked up to moniters, etc. He said he felt "foolish", and only went because I insisted. Well, whatever works! Then a doctor came in and said "he had a heart attack". It all felt so surreal, at first I thought they had us mixed up with someone else. He never once had a chest pain or any severe symptoms. They gave him something to stabilize him, then transported him by ambulance to a speciality hospital that was more equipped to deal with such problems. They did a cardiac catherization and found he had a completely blocked right coronary artery! They opened it and inserted a stent. He recovered fine, went to cardiac rehab, and has been on a diet and exercise routine. I've been following it along with him. We've both lost weight. DH had a total cholesterol of 268 at the time of the heart attack, his most recent test it was 146! What a wake-up call! We're both too old to die young! I didn't even think of the trip cancellation insurance until about a month later. However, it was processed quickly and we got our money back, which we used to pay medical bills! Yes, we have insurance, but deductibles and copays add up. Well, we're going to Hawaii this summer, slimmer, trimmer, and healthier. And, of course, with trip insurance!

 

[mouseclick1]

I'm so glad you started this thread! DH and I just started talking about the possiblility of going to Hawaii in '07. Neither of us have been before, and would bring along our boys (they'll be 15 and 17).

Because of school schedules, we would be limited to going either Easter week or June -July. Which would be the better time as far as weather/things to do/airfare costs?

 

[momsgoofy]

vhoffman and my3kids...thanks for the info on the trip insurance!

vhoffman...WOW! I'm so glad to hear that your husband is doing so much better...our doctor says it's a lot easier to "get healthy" if both spouses do it together...we're trying...eating better and trying to exercise...our schedules conflict too much to do the work out part at the same time, but we've both dropped some weight, lowered the numbers some...some still need more work, but we're working on it together. When you said your husband drove himself to the ER it made me think of DS's PE teacher. The man had really bad genes for heart attack so he ate right, exercised (even participated in triathalons) when he had his first heart attack. The man was doing his regular bike ride...about 15 miles...he didn't realized he'd had it till after he'd arrived home and his wife asked him what the heck he was doing...washing the bike with water, which was a no-no apparently)...she drove him to the ER and then found out. The docs told him the best thing he probably did was to keep riding the bike since it kept the blood circulating...strange story, but true.

And to everyone who keeps giving me such great advice on how to get to Hawaii, without breaking the bank...a HUGE THANKS!!! It's a great feeling to know that there are so many folks who are rooting for us to get to go and willing to help us acheive the trip!

 

[pjshaff]

You might also want to check on ClarkHoward.com for his travel deals. I was listening to his show last week and he mentioned alot of good airfare deals, can't remember though if Hawaii was one of them. You can also sign up for his emails, one of them is a travel email. They've got lots of good information in them, as well.


Good luck in getting there,

pam

 

[vhoffman]

Also, as someone who's been there (Hawaii), don't feel you have to "do" all the expensive, tourist stuff. Some of its so expensive you think you'll never be able to afford it, especially with kids. Really, you don't need a helicopter ride ( it could easily come to $600+ for a family of four!), you don't need to stay in the most posh hotels, you don't need to go horseback riding at $100 per hour, etc. Some of our best times were just going to the beach, relaxing, taking driving tours (we rented a van), pack a picnic lunch in a cooler, stop by the roadside to eat, buy fresh fruits at a roadside market, well, you get the idea. It can be as expensive or cheap as you make it.

A tip to save you a little money--you could look into the Golden Eagle Passport for national parks (not sure how to find them, just go to national parks.org). For a flat fee you get unlimited access to National parks for a year. The volcanos are a national park, also Halealeka (sp?) on Maui is a national park. They charge an entry fee, not sure what it is now, but figure your break even point. We figured we saved about $50 with it. Not a whopping sum, but it could buy a souvenier or something...............

 

[icekdz]

I agree with vhoffman. We didn't do any tours or excursions on any of our trips. We ventured on our own and used the Maui Revealed book and The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook (Kauai Revealed book). The authors live on Kauai and really have a lot of good info for exploring on your own. For example, some of the directions for hiking down to the bottom of a waterfall or finding a nearly secluded beach are "turn just past the telephone poles" or "take a left at the Monkey Pod tree". We had the best time going off on our own.

Also, because we never knew where we'd be at lunchtime we bought bread, peanut butter, jelly, chips, cookies etc at Walmart. You can buy fresh fruit at stands all over the islands. Many stands work on the honor system. Noone is working at them they just have a jar or box out for you to pay. Some of our best meals were sandwiches made right on our private section of beach.

We also stayed at the Sheraton on Maui and Kauai. While we loved both hotels and really like the amentities a resort hotel has to offer we felt that expecially in Kauai we could have found a condo cheaper and saved money. There are so many beaches to try that we were gone from after breakfast until we came back to change for dinner. Although, one thing we did find with both Sheraton Hotels is a free car special. It is not available at the main Sheraton/ Starwood site. You need to book at the individual hotel site. (SheratonMaui or SheratonKauai.) We booked the free car for our trip last week and our trip last year. We are Gold Starwood members so in Maui we were upgraded to an Ohana Suite for free which was really nice and huge!! While in Kauai they allowed us to check out late which is really helpful as most flights back leave late at night.

There are alot of options for enjoying Hawaii on a budget. The biggest expense is getting there. After that find you own beach and enjoy!!! We can't wait to go back in 2007 and will be taking our four kids for the first time.

For anyone wanting to go in the winter next year. We found January to have the lowest airfare. We booked our airfare from Chicago to Kauai (via LAX) on United at Thanksgiving time for 600 a person. Chicago to Maui (direct flight) would have been 580!! Those are great fares. In the summer it is usually 800-900 a ticket or more!

 

[icekdz]

FYI
If you only go to Maui are not island hoping to the Big Island to see the Volcanoes National Park do not get the $50 national park pass. It is only $10 per car to enter Haleakala National Park (where the 7 sacred pools/ Ohe'o Gulch on the road to Hana are) and the pass is also good for the summit (drive up to see sunrise or sunset).

 

[Earstou]

Because of school schedules, we would be limited to going either Easter week or June -July. Which would be the better time as far as weather/things to do/airfare costs?

We went during spring break one year and we had rainy weather every day we were on Maui (one week). We were told that was the rainy season. The next time we went the end of June and had perfect weather.

 

[vhoffman]

To Three Muketeers,

I just sent you a pm. Are you familiar with www.tripadvisor.com? Great place to check out properties with candid reviews from people who have stayed there, as opposed to write-ups in tour books, etc.

 

[Chereya]

We went during spring break one year and we had rainy weather every day we were on Maui (one week). We were told that was the rainy season. The next time we went the end of June and had perfect weather.

"Rainy season" is basically any time during a traditional US winter. Hawaii does not experience typical weather patterns like the continental US does because the land mass is so small. You were probably just very unlucky that week and happened to conincide your vacation time and place with a storm passing through the Pacific ocean. You can't really predict the weather as accurately as you can on the continent.

Chereya

 

[bradleysnana]

OK, Thanks to this thread, we have decided to go to Hawaii for vacation this year. We have been as adults only or with teenagers 4 times but this will be the first time with younger kids. I am taking my 9 and 8 year old grandsons. Any advice on places to stay or things to do with kids. They want to take surfing lessons so any information on that would be helpful. I am thinking about going to Maui and Oahu but if the volcano is erupting, I would love to go to the big island of Hawaii. I love the Hilton on the big island of Hawaii but I understand it looks better when you do not stay there. I have heard complaints from people who have stayed there. Any thoughts? I need hotels with lots for the kids to do including cool pools. It will be my 50th birthday and also my wedding anniversary so I would like it to be somewhat special even though I have kids with me.

 

[missymagic]

Laura,

Sidestep.com is another thread I use to get low airfare. Have used them numerous times and have never had a problem.

Melissa

 

[momsgoofy]

Laura,

Sidestep.com is another thread I use to get low airfare. Have used them numerous times and have never had a problem.

Melissa

Thanks so much! I will give them a look. I've been getting frustrated when I check the airline/airfare search engines...our dates are more than 330 days out so I keep getting no answers...probably won't until early February...we're looking at anytime from 12/17 to the end of the month...DH teaches college and 12/15 is his last day...DS will be a freshman...new HS schedule to deal with, but IF the district does break like this year...we're looking at him finishing on 12/15 or maybe 12/18 (but can't imagine they'd send the kids for one stinkin' day) and returning to school on 1/2...it's just not a schedule set in stone yet. I really don't want to travel on Christmas Eve or the 26th...we did on Christmas night this year...not bad actually, but we'd like to still be gone then rather than traveling.

Anyway...I will give sidestep.com a look...can't hurt.