Hawaii timeshare trip?

[Goofyzgurl]

Our next trip is too Hawaii, yeah, it's a family reunion. If it was up to me we'd be in Orlando. Problem is I've never planned a trip to any place other than Orlando, sooo....I don't want to use my points for Hawaii because I'm going to sneak a trip in there to wdw. There will be 4 adults and 2 children, so I wanted to rent a condo or do a timeshare sales tour somewhere. Any recs?

 

[jekjones1558]

Hopefully Dean will reply. He is our resident Timeshare and Hawaii expert.
I think you are making the right choice by paying cash instead of using points. You can get some pretty good deals. Last weekend I booked a week in Maui and a week on the Big Island using this site:
Vacation Rentals By Owner in Hawaii

Most of the rentals have photos. You can join TUG for $15/year, I think, and read reviews also:
Timeshare Users Group

Good luck. Hawaii and WDW are my 2 favorite vacation spots on this planet.

 

[JimC]

Marriott has some great properties there. We are staying at one on Maui. But the previous poster is correct, Dean is our resident expert on Marriott and Hawaii.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) We go to Hawaii every-other-year.
2) A little more background, please.
. . . what month are you going?
. . . what island are you visiting?
. . . how many days will you be there?

 

[Bcat]

I agree with jekjones1558 about the www.vrbo.com site. Last week I rented a 3200 SF, 3 bedroom, nearly new home near Phoenix through the vrbo site. Seven nights for $950. Of course, the week I rented is in August. Hard to find someone nuts enough to vacation in Phoenix in August! The vrbo site has lots of pictures and previous renter comments.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I would need to know which island you are interested in before giving suggestions.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I noticed that you stayed at SOG previously. If you are going to Oahu you might want to consider the Hale Koa, which as you may already know, is an Armed Forces Recreation Center. It's not a condo but the resort is fabulous and the rates are some of the best on the island for beach-front accomodations. We were just there in December and had a great time.

Also, on the other side of the island is Bellows Air Station which has beach cottages that would accomodate the number in your party. They are pretty bare-bones but the price is right.

 

[Dean]

I'd second the info above. TUG and various rentals for private condo's may be the best way to go. Also be aware that doing a package may save you enough on the air to pay for a hotel. I'd also second the Hale Koa. I don't have any private rentals sites other than the above. good luck.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

Thanks everyone!! I'm going to have to look into Bellows Air Station, vrbo, and tug (ever since I bought into DVC I forgot that I was a member of tug ). I looked at the Hale Koa, but since we're going to be there at least two weeks, I wanted to stretch out and relax in a condo, put the kids to bed without having to go to bed myself, so a condo was looking really good

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

If you are going for two weeks, you might want to consider a week at the Hale Koa so you can be near the action and then a week at Bellows where you can do nothing but relax on the beach and throw burgers on the grill. I have provided a link for Bellows below:

http://www.bellowsafs.com/index.html

 

[JudyS]

Originally posted by Dean
... Also be aware that doing a package may save you enough on the air to pay for a hotel....

I was just checking Hawaii airfares (no real plans -- just daydreaming), and I noticed what Dean did. There are real savings if you book a package rather than just air. However, at least on Northwest (www.nwa.com) one can book a package that's just air and *car*. This would give you the package deal savings, without committing you to a hotel.

www.skyauction.com has great deals on Hawaii condos (less than $300 a week for a 2-bedroom) but only at the last minute. If you like living dangerously, you could book a hotel as back-up and then hope for a great last-minute deal!

 

[Dean]

Also, most packages only require a 3 day stay. So you could do a package for a portion then get other accomodations for the rest of the time.