Hawaii Travel

Archive for February, 2010

Me and my friends are lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to hawaii this spring and are looking for a very unique hotel. We are very adventurous and want something different than the typical hotel experience, any ideas?

Thanks!

Well, the Moana Surfrider in Waikiki and the Makai Inn in Lahaina are unique in very different ways. I’ve never had the bucks to stay at the first, but I’ve stayed at the second one about seven times. In spite of the hula girls lamps and kitschy decor, I love it. It used to be an apartment complex, and it is right on the water. It is very quiet, so the sound of the ocean waves on the seawall will lull you to sleep.

The Hotel Molokai is unique in several ways. For one thing, it’s the only hotel on the island of Molokai, which does not happen to have any traffic lights. For another, when you’re having a drink or a meal at Hula Shores, the open air restaurant at the beach, it looks like the hotel has the only buildings in the world. There are many other reasons why Hotel Molokai is unique, but if you don’t want to go find out for yourself, you don’t deserve to know.

It ain’t easy to get to Molokai, though. This isn’t the kind of place you can neglect to make proper arrangements and figure you’ll work it out as you go. You have to make it a priority, plan it properly, and not complain too much that it is inconvenient. You can take a propeller plane (9-seater or 30+) from Honolulu (HNL) or Kahului (OGG) or a small ferry from Lahaina. In the spring, the waves shouldn’t be too bad in the channel, and you might even see humpback whales from the ferry.

If you don’t mind youth hostels, the Banana Bungalow is one of the most social spots on Maui for young tourists. Not everybody who stays there is a European in their twenties in the islands for windsurfing or some other sport, but an awful lot of them are. The parking situation in that neighborhood is heinous, but they have free tours everyday and airport shuttles, so it might be a good place to stay at the beginning or end of your trip, and save a little money by skipping the car rental for a few days.

I would like to get married in Hawaii and take my immediate family. The problem is that I have no idea how much it is or where to start. What websites or agencies are the best to work with? Looking for the most romantic, 5 star experience with finances in mind. Please help!

Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays has been doing it for years. They have lots of different plans and prices and can definitely hook you up.

http://www.pleasantholidays.com/PleasantHolidaysWeb/Welcome.do

Preferably without parents! Mine are EMBARRASSING!!!

Surf, swim, go bowling, go to the movies, sightsee, go hiking, skateboarding, biking, go to a carnival, go see volcanoes

Can someone tell me which beaches are the nicest as far as water clarity and tropical blues? Are Maui beaches as nice as Oahu I’ve been there.

I prefer Maui beaches over Oahu beaches. Try and stay in Kaanapali, truly gorgeous.

I am going to Hawaii in April of 2008 and I am trying to find good deals on airfare. I have already got my room and board taken care of, I just need the flight. Can anyone recommend a good place to check?

check out www.wthawaii.com
or call them at (808)946-9466

My family and I are planning to go to Hawaii (Probably Kona, but small possibility in Honolulu) and were wondering if there were cheap or decent places to go to shop and activities enjoy without spending an arm and a leg. I know Hawaii is expensive and a tourist area, but there must some activities and places to shop that are affordable. Would appreciate any insight.

Aloha Stadium & Kam Drive In Swap meet, (flea market), right across from Pearl Harbor & Arizona Memorial, Sat., Sun., Wed.,great deals on everything, barter like you’re buying an automobile.Kona consists of Alii Drive, it’s not that big, but I love it. It’s the superbowl of big game fishing. (Honokahau Harbor) Couple miles North of Kona. Air conditioned 50-60 ft. fishing boats w/ videos taken of you,lunch provided if U want or bring your own, Nothing like fighting a 40 lb Mahimahi jumping out of the water, or a 2-400 lb. Marlin! What a rush. Or just go for the ride, lunch & cocktails & see the island from a different perspective, It’s beautiful. Almost guarantee you’ll get some action from the fish. If you have a kitchen in your room, don’t shop in Waikiki, go about a mile or 2 to the regular supermarkets, Dai Ei, Foodland, or at least Food Pantry(a litle more expensive but right in Waikiki.I live in Waikiki & ride my bicycle to the grocery store. The Bus is $2 for adults…www.gohawaii.com (101 free things to do on Oahu, or under $10)or www.honolulu.com or www.midweek.com (free stuff to do, go hiking w/ the Sierra Club, $5-$10, check out ecotourism!

But I want to go when there is not many people, around what months would be a good time…it’s also cheaper isn’t it.

What you like and like to do can help you pick the best time to come. For example, the best time to see whales is from November through March, though the humpbacks are most abundant in February and March. When Keiki (children) are in school, there are fewer families visiting the islands. The most cost-effective times are after Labor Day till mid-December and then again from mid-January through April. Typically, rates go up and availability goes down from about December 15th through January 15th due to the holiday season. If it’s warm weather you like, temperatures run about 85 degrees from May through October and about 78 degrees from November through April. It’s drier in the summer months than the winter months, though the west and south sides of the islands are always drier than the north and east sides of the islands.

1. The busiest tourist season is December to February, mostly because people from the mainland want to get away from the blizzards.

2. June to October is the “hottest” period, but temperatures do not vary very much, ranging between 75 to 85 degrees.

3. Rainfall is heaviest between December and March, but not so heavy as to be a concern. If you wait a while the sun will come out and you will be rewarded with a glorious rainbow.

4. Hotel prices are lowest between April and mid-December.

5. The best weather is often found in April, May, September and October. These are also the months when you can find some good travel bargains.

6. Airfare and lodging tend to be more expensive during the "high" season of mid-December to mid-April. Also, winter is the time to see those humongous waves on Oahu’s famous north shore.

7. In summer, the kids are out of school, so beaches are more crowded.

8. The last week in April and first week in May can be very busy in Waikiki. This is the peak season for visitors from Japan due to the Japanese "Golden Week" holidays.

9. The Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, held during the week after Easter and the Ironman Triathlon, held in October are busy times for the Big Island.

10. The water temperature in Hawaii is very consistent. The year-round average water temperature is a warm 74 degrees. It can reach 80 degrees in mid-summer.

So, the best answer to the question "When is the best time to visit Hawaii?" is: there is no bad time to visit paradise!

When is the best time to go to Hawaii? I only have 5 or 6 days. I am thinking about October. Any good suggestion?

well do you want to party while your out here? if you do go to oahu.:) if you want to explore beautiful nature go to maui .there is haliakala. hana. and iao very beautiful places. but dont forget oahu is beautiful to but not as pretty as maui honestly u should do both!!!!!

Some oil company experts celebrate that the profits of gasoline companies demonstrate that not every company is suffering from the recession.

Those who have worked for companies like Exxon Mobile have enjoyed luxurious vacation packages to Hawaii, Bermuda, Caymen Islands, Paris, Tokyo, you name it. It’s an amazing flow of money.

When asked if these profits are due to gasoline prices, they smile and say "don’t be silly, it’s just one of those coincidences, ya know?"

It’s because oil suppliers, mostly the OPEC nations, are in a cartel that sets its own prices and are not subject to the natural market laws due to lack of competition. All of the OPEC nations have nationalized their oil production fields, therefor stifling competition and letting them sell oil at whatever price they want.

Not to mention the fact that, despite the vast increases in demands for oil, with the rise of China and India, oil production has remained essential flat. The nationalized companies are not investing in industry infrastructure, they are using profits to leverage government spending. Iran is buoyed almost exclusively by oil profits. They spend the profits on government programs like developing nuclear power or welfare programs but don’t don’t invest in new refineries or derricks. This is further compounded by corruption in places like Iraq, another country with nationalized oil, where corrupt government officials are funnelling profits into their pockets instead of investing back into the industry.

But what about the American oil companies? the problems facing the oil companies is that they are struggling under the weight of a vast government regulatory bureaucracy. Not a single new refinery has been built in the U.S in 30 years. There’s too much red tape. So the oil companies are left with windfall profits and few places to invest in. That is also why the oil companies would rather put new new refineries (and the subsequent jobs that come with them) in foreign markets where there aren’t so many draconian laws that prevent them from running their business. The effects of these laws also leaves the American oil infrastructure remarkably delicate, as we saw what happened when hurricane Katrina came to the shore.

So what do we do? Well when it comes to OPEC, there’s not a whole lot we can do, short of military action. As we are seeing with Iran, U.N sanctions are usually paper tigers that do little to actually spur a nation to action. What we can do is as follows
A: build warmer relations with Russia, a major oil producer and a non-OPEC nation. Despite the fact that Russia’s industry is nationalized, we can at least try to negotiate with them a bargain in a manner that couldn’t be done with a nation that is the member of the OPEC cartel
B: Invest in Canada. The Canadian wilderness has more oil stores than the entire Middle East COMBINED. And because global warming is reduing permafrost in Canada, expect to see Canada become a global power in the coming decades as their oil production skyrockets. I betcha didn’t know that there are very positive aspects to global warming, did you?
C: repeal draconian regulations that encourages oil companies to invest in their CEOs rather than invest in their infrastructure. That means repealing the feel good environmental laws that places a wilderness as having a higher value than the poor people of America who are struggling with high gas prices. That means letting America drill in the Alaskan wilderness, which has vast repositories of oil, like Canada. For every elk that doesn’t have to live with a pipeline somewhere in its vast range, that’s 10 American families that are being crunched with high gas prices. And I think a child’s life is more important to me than an elk’s comfort.
D: reduce our dependency on the OPEC cartel. The cartel may be sitting on its hands now, but when its top buyers begin going somewhere else, they will be forced to act if they want to keep their oil-buoyed governments alive. That means developing infrastructure to drive the cost of production down.

My friend is getting married at the Four Seasons Maui. I unfortunately can’t afford to stay there. But I would like to stay close to there. My boyfriend and I are going and want to stay somewhere pretty nice (no more than $200 a night) so any suggestions on where to stay, things to do, places to eat would help

Congrats on your friend’s marriage! You’ll have a ball, I’m sure!

I wouldn’t totally give up on staying at the Four Seasons Maui just yet, there are some awesome hotel deals going on around the islands, and you just might get lucky. I’d keep checking sites for specials until you make your final booking.

There’s a great free accommodations guide to Maui with information and details on many local hotels and condo rentals. http://www.budurl.com/freemauiguide

The closest hotels to the Four Seasons Maui are:

- The Fairmont
- Diamond Resort Hawaii

A little further, you’ll find:

- Wailea Beach Villas
- Grand Wailea Resort & Spa

All of these are great places to stay. For some hotel deals, I’d go here: http://budurl.com/hoteldeals

The area is near a convenient shopping center and by the beach, so you’ll have lots of restaurants to choose from and be close to many activities. I’d recommend eating at Spago at the Four Seasons – it’s expensive, but so worth the Hollywood-like experience in paradise.

There’s so much to do and see on Maui, here’s a site with a list of many things: http://www.hawaii.com/hawaiian-information/maui/attractions/overview.php