Hawaii Vacation Specialist-Chris

Forward, Aft, Mid section

With 4-5 nights –suggested just one island
6 + nights–2 islands
9+ nights–3 islands
12+ nights–4 islands

Unless doing a hawaii cruise.  The shortest length of cruise is 7 nights for hawaii and will begin and end in oahu and go to maui, kauai and the big island (both kona and hilo).  So if wanting to see as many islands as you can in the shortest period of time a cruise is the way to go.  With 7 nights air/land package it is not possible to see that many islands in that period of time.

But how do you chose which island or islands you would like to visit?

Well for starters if you don’t know what island you want to visit we generally ask some questions to get a better feel for what you are looking for.

Things like..

*are you traveling with children? and how old are they?
*Are there any main activities that you really wanted to see while in hawaii?
*Do you want to stay away from the city and prefer a quieter island? or do you like the nightlife aspect as well as seeing the beauty of hawaii?
*Is a great beach in close proximity important to you?

These sorts of things are important in deciding which island you should visit.

For Oahu it is the most citylike.  So for those wanting away from a city oahu is probably not the place to go unless you chose to stay at the few resorts outside of waikiki, however if you are looking for a more moderate or budget price then waikiki for price sake is the best way to go.  Sometimes though people don’t want too much city but they want to see many things that are only found on that island such as Pearl Harbor, Polynesian Cultural center, diamond head crater and recently a lot of requests to do the swim with dolphins activity which is at sea life park on oahu, then well if most of those things are on your list for hawaii then really you will have to go to oahu.  If you are having enough time to do 2 islands though you can certainly go to oahu to see all those activities in which you had wanted and then fly to a quieter island next.

Generally traveling with children I suggest oahu or maui as those 2 islands normally have more for children expecially younger children to do and keep busy.

If beach is a big factor then generally I go with maui and oahu also.  The big island is more so known for their active volcano and not so much their beach.  There are a few properties that have beautiful beaches, but often times you will find while a hotel may be oceanfront, doesn’t necessarily mean the beach is swimmable sandy beach on their property.  Kauai there are also many places where the beach is not swimmable because of the reef and sometimes the currents also tend to be strong.  I say down in poipu area the beaches are the most swimmable (south kauai).  Maui has so much beach and many properties in maui are oceanfront or very close to it as well as oahu you can find swimmable beaches just about anywhere you go.  There are many surfing beaches such as the north shore and sandy beach so again you need to watch for posted signs of very high surf as if you are inexperienced it could be dangerous for you.

I think of kauai as kind of an outdoorsy island.  You see a lot of lush greenery, but there are many outdoor activities to do there.  Tubing adventure, hiking, ziplining, ATV riding and horseback riding.  This island would be great for people who are active and like to do things like that as well as romantic, quiet for those honeymooners and anniversary couples who really want a quiet romantic vacation with great scenery.

For maui I think of it is a great place to enjoy beach as well as a little city life.  It’s definately not as citylike as oahu is though.  With a lot of great beaches to go , yet being able to go to lahaina on front street for some oceanfront shopping and dining, kihei with outdoor shopping as well.  They have a place there that is great for sounvenier shopping, I kind of compare it to a miniature international marketplace that is in waikiki.  As well as great bars and grills located right there in the area.  I know a lot of people say I’m not there to go shopping in hawaii, but it’s not typical shopping like at a mall.  There are even some things that you can’t find other places.  I know my favorite store in maui "serendipity" is only found on the island of maui and they make beautiful hawaiian print clothes for women.  The nice thing is they are not touristy clothes, they are the kinds of things the locals would wear so you could very well take them home and use them where you are from as well for a nice evening out.

For Oahu it is the most citylike and well for me personally my two favorites are maui and oahu.  Oahu will always have a special place in my heart because that is my home.  While it may be citylike it has so much to offer and really is a beautiful place.  You can find just about anything and everything you want on oahu.  Shopping is great, nightlife is great, beaches are great, food is wonderful!  So for those wanting some of both I suggest oahu.  While a lot of people say I don’t want to go to the city, I do get my share of those that say I dont’ want something too quiet and I do like nighlife as well.  Then definately oahu would be my choice of islands.  Also generally if you are on a budget oahu tends to be the least expensive island to visit.

The Big Island.  The Big Island for me is for those wanting to see an active volcano.  maybe go star gazing at the NASA scope.  Enjoy some rounds of golf. Not a lot of night life, not a lot of shopping, not a lot of city.  But again if you are looking for a lot of beach time and just want to walk out of your hotel and be at the beach, unless you are willing to spend a little more for some place like the hapuna beach or maybe the marriott then the big island is not the place for you.  If you are okay driving a little ways to get to the beach and don’t have to be necessarily able to walk right out from your hotel then the big island would be fine for you.  However also we do get a lot of inquires for " all inclusive" hawaii. 

As we have gone over many times, we do have an all inclusive oahu package 6 nights/ 7 days, includes, transfers, meals, and activities.  There are multi island all inclusive packages depending on the length of stay will depend on what islands they visit.  9 nights usually oahu, kauai and maui, 12 nights usually oahu, kauai, maui and the big island.  However generally with air those packages can run about $3500.00 per person.  The resorts used are nice 5 star properties in those packages.  Or the kona village resort which is located on the big island in kona.  This resort is all meals included, non motorized water sports, they have a beach on property and they also offer their luau at a very discounted rate for their guests.  Many people do inquire about that property and if wanting something like that then the big island is where you will have to stay.

Lanai is known as the luxury island.  Molokai and Lanai I say if you want to get away from it all.  Go to someplace very quiet, you love to golf, and just want to sit out and relax on the beach with just about no one around to bother you then molokai and lanai may be the place for you.  Keeping in mind there are 2 hotels in lanai.  So if you are looking for a budget vacation then lanai is not the place for you.  Both properties in lanai are four seasons so you won’t find a "budget" hotel there.

So when deciding a travel agent can help you make those decisions, but it helps if you think about what you want to do beforehand.  I get so many that say I just want to go to the beach.  Well I mean you could do that on many islands so it doesn’t exactly help us to help you choose which island if that is all we have to go on unless you already know which island you want to visit.

Day trips are also a possiblity.  I have done many day trips for people adding them to their itineraries.  I have had people staying in oahu, but wanting to see the volcano so I get them a roundtrip flight from honolulu to hilo and a car for the day.  People going from oahu to kauai to do the movie tour they really wanted to do in kauai, so same there.  I have even had people staying in maui for a wedding, but wanting to do the dolphin encounter on oahu.  So we booked their flights, got them a car and booked their dolphin swim for them…when they were done they flew back to maui that evening and continued the rest of their trip.  So it’s not unheard of to do a day trip to another island just for that day.  The flights are short only about 35-45 minutes depending on which island to which and if doing a day trip, probably no bags makes the travel even easier and quicker for you.  That is usually what I suggest if majority of the things you want to do are on one island, but there is just one thing you want to do on another island.

So if you have done your research and know what you want to do that is helpful for travel agents to help you decide which island(s) you should visit.

Seat assignments:  Seat assignments cannot always be chosen.  In most cases they can.  Keep in mind if you are booking at the last minute we can’t guarantee you will get a seat you want on the plane.  If many people have already booked and been assigned a seat or already picked their seats well then it becomes a case sometimes of just having to take whats open. Some airlines only pre assign 20%-25% of their seats ahead of time and will not pre assign anymore once that percentage is already assigned.  There is nothing yourself or your agent can do at that point to assign the seat.  It’s airline rules and they can’t do it.  Some airlines are also saying they are charging a fee to change your seat if you call it in.  A lot of airlines will allow us or yourself to change seat assignments online, which will show you a map of available seats to choose from.

Schedule changes: Sometimes when you book a flight later there may be a schedule change.  They are not always bad changes and if they are we try our best to get a better schedule for you, but it’s not always possible.  An airline may change their route, add a stop , cancel some flights and put you on another flight.  We also have no control over that.  If we can change it and get a better flight for you we always will do so, but sometimes it’s not possible especially if they make a last minute change.  Keep in mind, it is not your agent who made that change and the agents have no idea the airlines will be making that change as normally the airlines don’t know themselves until they decide to do the change.  It can be annoying or upseting to the traveler, but if you had booked those same flights on your own your schedule still would have been changed and is no fault of a travel agents.

Hotel requests:  Most of the time the hotels honor our requests, but keep in mind that is just what they are, Requests.  We will always ask for you if you want one king bed or 2 doubles, a higher floor, rooms close to each other, etc.  It is up to the hotel to honor those requests in which they do try their best to do.  Some hotels have guaranteed connecting rooms , however they do charge extra per night to get that.  Sometimes in the range of $40.00 a night to get a guaranteed connecting room.  Again we do put in those kinds of requests to the hotels but it’s on a request basis and can’t always be helped although most often they do honor our requests as much as they can.

Plane problems:  Sometimes there are mechanical problems on an aircraft which may delay your flight.  I had a customer that they were enroute to hawaii and had to turn around for mechanical problems and didnt’ arrive til early the next morning.  Well mechanical problems can’t be helped and in that case is no fault of the agent, and usually of the airline.  Planes are machines and we all know machines don’t always work the way we want them to.  They will make a decision to turn around if it’s closer or delay the flight til the problem is fixed.  Your safety however upset you may be over a delay is first and foremost.  Now the FAA has regulations for certain things, however for mechanical problems they are not regulated to reimburse anything to you for a loss of monies for hotel stay, car rental, etc, because it is out of their control.  They are however regulated to reimburse things that are in their control like overbooking a flight (which is also not the fault of a travel agent).  We are not the ones who overbook the flight, it’s the airlines who do it and in that case they are regulated by the FAA for some kind of compensation.  The compensation is different for different circumstances.  If they get you on another flight soon after well then they have done their duty.  On the FAA website there are the guidelines of what the FAA regulates of the airlines in certain situations.  Even when the FAA does not regulate the airlines to compensate they sometimes will do so.  I have had an airline switch a flight to the next day because of a bad schedule change giving them an extra day at no charge.  I have also had an airline compensate with travel vouchers for mechanical problems which they did not have to do, but did so anyways after a letter I wrote to them.  Remember kill em with kindness.  Do not come at them with aggression and yelling and upset.  If you nicely explain your situation and disappointment without being rude, you are more likely to get a response and some kind of compensation than if you are rude to them.  Trust me it works!

Name Changes:  This is the most recent problem I have been having.  Complete name changes are not allowed on air tickets.  Once it’s booked it has to be canceled and rebooked to have a complete name change done.  Now sometimes the problem is at that time it may only be open in a higher class of service at the time of the change.  It doesnt work like if I cancel I can rebook that same class of service right away.  The ticket is canceled and goes back into circulation which can take hours.  In that time someone else could already book it before we can.  It’s a little more complicated than just cancel and rebook the same ticket right away.  Once it is released back into circulation remember that lower class of service ticket is open to everyone, ourselves, the airline, online agencies as well as other travel agents.

I just wanted to write this blog to make travelers aware that there are some limitations on things travel agents can do and we dont’ have control of everything especially when it comes to airlines.  For some things like seat assignments and schedule changes even the reservationist for the airlines dont have any control over that.  We do try our best to get you what you want, it may not always be completely satisfactory to you, but we do try our best because of course we want you happy.  We are on your side, but there are limitations!  We can’t make hotels waive fees for things like internet or parking,or airlines waive penalties for changes, which I have been asked to do.  That is not fair to ask your agent to plea bargain with the hotel over fees that everyone else is charged for.  I wanted to do this blog to make travelers aware of things and to be a little more educated on how the travel industry works.  Most travelers arent’ aware of many things as well as I wasn’t either until I came into the industry and wish someone would have shared the knowledge with me when I was a travel consumer myself.

I also did not write this blog to pass blame and be a dont’ blame me blame them blog, but there are many things consumers think is logically easy, but they aren’t.  We have rules we also have to follow with airlines/hotels etc. and we can’t just do whatever we want either, no matter how much we would love to just to make it easier, we also have to follow rules and regulations, but whoever said life was easy right?

I hope this helps anyone who had any questions about some of the topics above.  I find myself answering these kinds of questions on a daily basis so I assumed a lot of people don’t know these things and wanted to share with everyone.