Hawaii Travel

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We are getting married in October and my future wife wants to go but we dont think were gonna have enough. We know we want to do a cruise around the islands.

I have been to Hawaii 5 times and I can tell you this. Airfare can be had r/t for about $700 or less each(from the East Coast) depending upon when you go . Hotel rooms in Hawaii, regardless of the island are very expensive; on the order of around $300 a day for a beach front hotel but less for hotels a few blocks from the beach, maybe $180 to $250.

If you go on a Hawaii cruise you will still need to spend the money for airfare to Honolulu where the cruises begin. You can get a cabin on a Norwegian ship for $700 (inside cabin) to $900. (outside cabin, or about $1300 for a balcony cabin.

So for 6/7 days in a beach front hotel you will need maybe $1500 to $1800 (for 2), plus another $1400 for air. Total about $3,000.

For a cruise $2000 for outside cabin, plus $1400 for air. Total about $3400. But on the cruise all of your food is paid for (you will have to pay another $150 for gratuities). You can eat for cheap in Hawaii as they have fast food places, like Denny’s, McD’s, and other such places in the shopping centers and markets. (don’t eat in the hotel restaurants). They also have places like Ruby Tuesdays and Chiles’.

The other benefit of the cruise is that it will take you to several islands. If you stay in a hotel you can fly commuter flights between islands for about $60 each. But those flights can add a lot to your trip cost.

We are getting married in October and my future wife wants to go but we dont think were gonna have enough. We know we want to do a cruise around the islands.

I have been to Hawaii 5 times and I can tell you this. Airfare can be had r/t for about $700 or less each(from the East Coast) depending upon when you go . Hotel rooms in Hawaii, regardless of the island are very expensive; on the order of around $300 a day for a beach front hotel but less for hotels a few blocks from the beach, maybe $180 to $250.

If you go on a Hawaii cruise you will still need to spend the money for airfare to Honolulu where the cruises begin. You can get a cabin on a Norwegian ship for $700 (inside cabin) to $900. (outside cabin, or about $1300 for a balcony cabin.

So for 6/7 days in a beach front hotel you will need maybe $1500 to $1800 (for 2), plus another $1400 for air. Total about $3,000.

For a cruise $2000 for outside cabin, plus $1400 for air. Total about $3400. But on the cruise all of your food is paid for (you will have to pay another $150 for gratuities). You can eat for cheap in Hawaii as they have fast food places, like Denny’s, McD’s, and other such places in the shopping centers and markets. (don’t eat in the hotel restaurants). They also have places like Ruby Tuesdays and Chiles’.

The other benefit of the cruise is that it will take you to several islands. If you stay in a hotel you can fly commuter flights between islands for about $60 each. But those flights can add a lot to your trip cost.

we are getting married in july and was wondering what to expect to pay for the entire trip.

From where, how long, how luxurious?

Assuming a week and "average" regarding all of the above, I’d say $5K.

Hawaii Honeymoons Hawaiian Honeymoons were never more affordable with our special 10-Day Hawaii Cruise & Hotel Package that includes transfers and a Honolulu City Tour. Contact CruiseCheap.com at 1-800-543-1915 to book this package.

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Technorati Tags: hawaii honeymoon, hawaii honeymoon cruises, hawaiian honeymoon, hawaiian honeymoon cruise

Never heard of a Honeymoon cruise. Most Hawaii cruises start/end in Honolulu and then start/end in Vancouver. I think there is 1 that starts and ends in Honolulu but I remember that the reviews werent very good for it. Sorry…

http://www.mahinakai.comA wonderful Gay Wedding and Honeymoon starts on Kauai, Hawaii as Steven and Paul’s family join the happy couple as they share a special time at Mahina Kai Ocean Ville on Kauai, Hawaii at the Beach

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Technorati Tags: Beach, beaches, Gay, hawaii, Kauai, Maui, travel

We are trying to decided how to spend our time in Hawaii. We are not sure how many islands to try to visit (either two or three). We are thinking that we probably will never get back to Hawaii again…so it’s a one shot deal. We were thinking of visiting The Big Island and Maui as definites…with a possibility of visiting Oahu. We are country people who are not huge fans of crowds (thus the conflict with Oahu). Looking for a relaxing get-a-way…but we are not laying on the beach kind of people. Any advice would be helpful Thanks!

Honolulu is defined as a "metropolitan area", but this is definitely a relative term!! Outside of the Waikiki Beach area, the crowds rapidly diminish and the scenery beautiful. Waikiki is one of the top URBAN beaches in the world on par with Rio de Janeiro in Brazil or South Beach in Miami. But if an international tropical urban beach scene with hustle-and-bustle is not for you, and the arts and history of Oahu (Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the USA, Pearl Harbor, etc.) don’t draw you, Oahu may not be for you.

The problem with the Big Island is that if you want to see the resorts and towns around Kona as well as the volcano, they are VERY far apart, and almost requires overnighting on the other side of the island unless you don’t mind driving a huge number of hours a day. Otherwise, the Big Island itinerary is a bit tongue-and-cheek: If the pace below is too fast and you want to stay on one side of the island, just do half of the things I recommend below depending on what side of the island you stay on (you can fly into Kailua-Kona to the west where the resorts are, or into Hilo on the east side where the active volcano is).

Here is an itinerary for Maui and the Big Island, written as a semi-diary:

1-Arrive in Honolulu, transfer to Maui Kahului Airport. Pick up rental car and drive to the on-the-beach resort in Kaanapali or Wailea / Makena. If $$$ an issue, try the Kaanapali Beach Resort. If you want a top luxury hotel, try the Hyatt on Kaanapali or the Grand Wailea Resort. Lay on beach rest of day to acclimate to tropical sun, blue sky and coconut palm trees. Eat dinner with a view of the Hawaiian sunset at Kimo’s. Check back into room with view of moon and waves early. VERY early. Even rustling coconut fronds outside window don’t lull you to sleep

2-Still a bit tired from the travel! Having checked to make sure it is not the time of month for venomous BOX JELLYFISH off the beach, go on 1/2 day sailboat ride to Molokini to dive in the coral reef of this submerged volcanic caldera a few miles off shore. Go back and leisurely shop in the town of Lahaina for art, handmade jewelery and a plastic hula-girl doll with grass skirt for the back of the car, and tacky his-and-hers matching aloha shirts.

3-Go on the famous drive along the windward sea cliffs through the rain forest to Hana. This is a world-famous drive with tropical waterfalls at almost every turn in some places, through bamboo forests, banana trees. Ask someone to take your photograph in front of jungle waterfall for your Christmas card of honeymoon this year. Stop at some of the fresh banana bread stands along the way, each one is different with stubborn farmers who won’t give out their recipes. Arrive in Hana and have lunch at the famous Hana-Maui resort before continuing to the 7 sacred pools. After resting, have to COME BACK THE SAME WAY through Hana all the way back to hotel (road doesn’t go all away around island). Take car-sick pills on way back, husband falls asleep, wife does all the driving. This is an all-day drive.

4-Have to choose on the last day to either go on an adventure and take a ZIPLINE tour to find out about each other’s bravery (hike into the jungle and then jump off cliffs hooked onto a line which Maui is noted for), driving up to Haleakala Crater (some people get up at 2AM to make the drive and see the sunrise). Go back to resort for rest of day to spent time on the beach!

http://www.zipline.com/

5-Take short jump to Honolulu and back out to Big Island Kona airport(I don’t think there is a direct). Rent car and stay in a Kona or Kohala hotel. The best 5-star resorts are north of Kona in Kohala (Four Season Hualalai, Mauna Lani, Waikoloa Hilton, Mauna Kea) but note these are isolated and miles from each other with small manmade beaches (there are VERY few beaches on this island). The area of Kohala is nothing but flat lava fields. The Big Island is very new, the most exotic of the islands, and has a lot of black lava jutting out to the sea. The waves crash harder, as there is no coral reef and lagoon to protect from them. The benefit: Deep sea wildlife you normally wouldn’t see come close to shore. I would choose either the Keauhou Resort just south of the town of Kailua Kona, or the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort for the convenience. The latter sits on black lava rock, is very charismatic (although service is average). Take short ride to briefly view the exotic Hawaiian City of Refuge archeological site (on Kealakekua Bay). Buy a tiki doll made in China at souvenir stand that looks like the one at the ruins. Relax in resort, and have dinner at romantic Jameson’s in Keauhou, making sure not to get a table to close to the crashing waves and getting splashed. Eat macadamia nut pie for dessert (like pecan pie but made with macadamia nuts). Go to the Sheraton resort to view the manta rays which feed off the plankton right next to the hotel (plankton is attracted to the lights), and if you have any energy at all, there are tours you can dive at night with the manta rays.

http://www.jamesonshawaii.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60872-d633938-r37419466-Fair_Wind_Big_Island_Ocean_Guides-Kailua_Kona_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html

6-With some energy reserves remaining, leave heavy luggage at the resort, and take the drive around the island clockwise to Hilo, through Parker Ranch (largest cattle ranch in the USA), stop at the most beautiful of the Hawaiian waterfalls (Akaka Falls) wearing appropriate mosquito repellent and overnight in Hilo after visiting the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut showroom with its unlimited free samples. Resorts are fairly basic and not touristic here, unless you stay at a good bed and breakfast.

http://www.waianuhea.com/

7-Rise and shine early morning! Drive south of Hilo and Pahoa to watch the live orange lava enter the ocean. New husband forgot mosquito repellent, we are both spotted red from head to toe!!!!!! You could have also seen it the previous evening if you want to drive and see it glow in the dark at night, but also bring a flashlight (if you forget there are vendors selling flashlights in the parking lot). Afterwards, if the vog (volcanic fog) is not so bad, drive to Volcanoes National Park and see Kilauea and the vast tracts of desolation in this area. Drive back to Kona, stopping at a black sand beach on the way back.

8-On last day, have to choose between viewing the kona coffee farms in the cloud forest above Kailua-Kona with its enchanting artist’s colony in Holoalua, or take the Fair Wind catamaran and snorkeling cruise to Kealakekua Bay where there is a good chance to see spinner dolphins following the boat or flying fish scatter, and then relax in resort for rest of day, and pack tiki doll, hula girl and aloha shirts.

So this does NOT have to be a vacation of basking on the beach!! Way to busy, but wanted to give you an idea of what to do and see. And by the way, many people think they won’t get back to Hawaii, only to find they HAVE to come back to experience paradise, so see you again soon!

I am trying to find an amazing honeymoon resort. Yet still stay under $800 a night. If anyone has any advice, please let me know. Thank you!

Kauai is just beautiful….we stayed at the Marriott there, and I think it was absolutely awesome. Definitely under 800 a night.

Great restaurants, great rooms, the grounds were beautiful, it was right on Kapalupa (sp?) Bay, there were exercise classes, salons, everything.

Waikiki Beach is good to see for a couple days, climb Diamond Head and gawk at the people. But for real beauty, you can’t beat Kauai. Honolulu is over rated. It is a city with a bunch of beaches and hotels.

If you go to Kauai, try to take a whale watch around the Nepali Coast (no roads even to get there it is so reclusive). Our whale watch was awesome, we saw tons of dolphins and a couple whales.

Just beware of all the roosters running around the island. Legend has it that when Kauai had a huge hurricane several years ago, all the roosters got out and now they cockle doodle doo any time of day or night because they are so confused. LOL. It was pretty funny.

Slide show from our honeymoon in Hawaii. The pictures in this slide show are from the Big Island Only.

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We are taking the cruise to a different island each day. Meals are included. How much are the drinks on the ship? On the islands? Has anyone been to Hawaii? I hear things are very expensive there.

Usually on a cruise they have a sail & sign card. At the beginning of the cruise they will ask for a credit card for everything to paid for in the end. Basically you use the sail & sign card.. it’s like a running tab for everyone in your cabin. Then at the end of the trip they charge everything that was on your sail & sign card to the credit card they have on file. Drinks are about $6-$10 depending. And you are also supposed to tip everyone as well. Also, they take a lot of pictures on board so you will want to get some of those. Along with that and souvenirs and things to do on each island.. I’d say for two, about $800-$1000. Depending. When my fiance & I went 3 years ago (to caribbean though), we spend $400 on board for a 7 day cruise, then before the cruise we spent about $400 on excursions. Then spending money at each port we spent about $500. So I would take about $800 CASH and then for the on-board use a bank card or credit card. You will have a blast!!