Hawaii Vacation Specialist-Chris

I get asked this a lot when putting together packages.  The answer I give to people especially those who aren’t sure they want to pre-book their activities is…Sit down and think about what you really want to do.  The things you really don’t want to miss and would just be devastated if you missed.  Some people are devastated if they miss a great luau, others it’s very important to get on a helicopter tour, other really want to zipline.  Well those things yes pre book those things.  If you are definately going to do it then why not book it ahead of time?  Most times you will be paying less than if you wait to book it at the hotel and you are sure you are reserved a spot.  Now there are activities like say the pearl harbor tour on oahu that pretty much have ample availability all the time, but there are many tours that could very well be sold out while you are there.  Big one is the Old Lahaina Luau on maui which I mentioned in the last blog.  Sometimes no matter if we suggest to book it ahead of time people say I’ll just wait…and upon return sadly the activity was booked during their stay and they missed out..what do you do?  well you come back to hawaii again is all you can do.  Especially if you are doing a multi-island package…say you are in hawaii for 9 nights….you have 3 nights on oahu, 3 nights on maui and 3 nights on the big island…you want to go to the old lahaina luau…oops it’s sold out the 3 days you are in maui , but wow it’s open for the days you will be on another island…see when you have less days on a particular island, it lessens your chances of certain activities being open while you are there.

I did have some customers that maybe in my opinion, planned a little too much during their stay.  Yes I have had a few honeymooners, with the most thoughtful grooms doing the planning, and was sent a spreadsheet of their plans for their trip.  While one of them looked actually good to me, with activities and then some down time also to enjoy the beach, etc.  I did get one that tried to plan 2 activities every day…In my opinion I don’t think that would have been very enjoyable as you would be on the go constantly, and then end up needing a vacation from your vacation.  I do believe there is such a thing as too many activities pre planned for your trip.

Also, I get asked don’t they have cheap tours while you are there?  Well they could, and sometimes you do see cheap actvities vendors, but don’t be fooled…most of the time they are trying to sell you something or there is a catch to it…if it looks to good to be true, it probably is.

So the short answer is yes you should pre book some or all of your activities ahead of time.  What will it hurt?  You pay the same or less than booking it there and you will be sure that you reserve your space.  Often times I will discuss the activities while doing the package especially for a last minute pacakge so I can try to get them all their activities confirmed at the same time, OR…if you are booking far in advance you can take a breather and sit back and really look at the information and see what you would like to do.(again going back to the why you should book in advance, giving you time to really plan out your trip)..then what I will do is normally send out some activities that I think may appeal to my specific customers with prices and descriptions and let them discuss and decide, then adding them into the package before their trip.  Another important thing also is when checking the tours, not all tours go everyday, there are some luaus like the royal hawaiian that only operates on monday and wednesday…some sunset cruises that only operate maybe 3 times a week for example, then you want to make sure you have someone organizing your tours for you to make sure it’s planned on the days the tour operates, which is another thing…You are on one island for 3 nights, you pre booked your luau which operates nightly , then you get there and want to now book your sunset cruise.but wait it operates tuesday, thursday and saturday…you booked your luau for thursday but you are only there wednesday, thursday and friday…now what?  This is why it is good to have an agent assist you with these things and pre book the tours you really would not want to miss.