Hawaii Vacation Specialist-Chris

Many people ask which is the better way to go with a package with air/room/car or a cruise around the islands.  Well  depends on the person and what you hope to accomplish on your trip.  If you want a little taste of a bunch of islands, a day here, a day there, then hawaiian cruise is the way to go for you.  Doing a day on each island by air/land package tends to get too costly and a big waste of time, considering you have to take a flight, of course showing up early for your flight as they are similar to continental US to hawaii flights, just because they are only half hour flights you still have to show up early.  Get your baggage upon arrival, go get your car, make it to the hotel, check in then start your exploration.  Where as on a hawaiian cruise you stay in your cabin, get off explore get back on the ship.  No packing and unpacking your bags, no checking in and out of hotel rooms. 

For those people looking to do all inclusive hawaii, then of course a cruise would be a way to go.  When you sail aboard one of the many ships NCL offers for a hawaiian cruise , it is freestyle cruising.  You eat whenever you want.  All meals included.  The only other way to really do an all inclusive hawaii package is to purchase a pre set package normally only departing once or twice a month, where as the hawaii cruises you can choose from any saturday, sunday or monday departure.  The three ships sailing in hawaii are The Pride of Aloha, The Pride of America and The Pride of Hawaii.  All ships are 7 day sails and all owned by NCL. 

If you are looking for just one island then air/room package would be better for you.  Some people don’t like boats, understandable, then do an air/room package.  If you want to cruise but 7 days is just not long enough for you, we can help.  We arrange pre or post cruise packages to give you a little extra time on your trip to do a little more exploring.  The cruises depart and return to oahu.  Most times the only time you will get to explore oahu is upon your return from the cruise til your flight leaves.  Most flights out of hawaii are red eye flights allowing you that full last day.  I recommend doing a pre cruise package with about 3 nights on oahu, taking the cruise for 7 days and then returning home upon your return from the cruise.  Do oahu for 3 nights before the cruise, have time to discover pearl harbor, polynesian cultural center, catch a luau, maybe head out to east oahu for some snorkeling at hanauma bay or some water sports, then hop aboard your ship and sit back, relax  and start your cruise.

For help choosing which way to do your hawaiian vacation give me a call, we can discuss what you are looking for and I can help you make an informative decision on how to do your trip.  1-800-843-8771 ext. 32

I recently booked some customers for next september to october and they went with the full luxury package.  First class seats, first class oceanfront hotels with oceanfront rooms.  It doesn’t hurt to ask on pricing to go first class, often times it’s not as much as you think it is.  This may be your one and only time to hawaii and you want to do it right.  Doing that long trip over the pacific is well worth that first class price difference.  Good thing about this is you can book in advance a luxury trip and hey you don’t have to pay for it til 35-45 days before your departure.  That kind of takes the hit out of it, when you don’t have to drop down a large chunk of money up front for your trip which does make a luxury trip more possible for most people. 

Check out this package I did for 2 people from JFK to Hawaii, first class seats, 3 islands, Oahu, Maui and Kauai, 2 weeks, oceanfront rooms in 5 star resorts and also with the waiver added into the price.  Being that it is so far away you never know what can happen, for a low cost of $34.00 they can cancel it for any reason up to the day before departure and they will get their money back besides the price of the waiver.  Check out that low price! If you would like to get some pricing on these great luxury packages give me a call.

 ORIGINATION         DESTINATION
> DATE       FLT NO    TIME     CITY       TIME     CITY         SEATS
> —-       ——    —-     —-       —-     —-         —–
> 27Sep  Th DL 1484 A 0715a NEW YORK(JFK) 1043a SALT LAKE CIT

> 27Sep  Th DL 1825 A 1120a SALT LAKE CIT 0218p HONOLULU     

> 29Sep  Sa HA 193  G 0415p HONOLULU      0452p LIHUE        

> 05Oct  Fr AQ  96  N 0338p LIHUE         0418p KAHULUI      

> 11Oct  Th DL 1212 A 1000p KAHULUI       0600a LOS ANGELES  

> 12Oct  Fr DL 1842 A 1000a LOS ANGELES   0635p NEW YORK(JFK)

1ST CLASS ALL  MAINLAND FLIGHTS

SEP 27-29  OAHU   SHERATON WAIKIKI
         Endless Escape 4: oceanfront room
                                             2 ADULTS

SEP 29-05  KAUAI  SHERATON KAUAI RESORT
           Endless Escape 2: deluxe oceanfront room
                                             2 ADULTS

OCT 05-11  MAUI   WAILEA MARRIOTT RESORT
           Oceanfront room with 6th night free and breakfast for two
          daily
                                             2 ADULTS

    revision/cancel waiver……..68.00

  SUGGESTED Retail Traveler price=9566.00

Call 1-800-843-8771 ext. 32 or email at chris@hawaii-aloha.com to check pricing on a luxury vacation package!

I have been getting a lot of requests for hawaii vacations between the dates of december 15 and december 22 of 2006.  You can still take advantage of the fall deals in mid december.  This makes for easy christmas shopping!  No store crowds to fight with around the holidays.  Your gift for that special someone is just a phone call away.  You call us and let us do the work for you.  We will find you the best deals available for that time and guess what, those great fall deals we saw for september and october are still showing up for mid december.  So give that early gift of Aloha as a christmas gift this year and take advantage of it while it is still available.    You can go on your trip and make it back in time to spend the holidays with your loved ones.  We are also seeing some good deals for early 2007 also.  The gift of Aloha is one that lasts a lifetime. 

How to book your hawaii vacation and what to expect!

Booking hawaii is a little different than booking any other destination.  The big thing that makes it different is the unique destination.  In order to prepare for a hawaii vacation, if you are the type that likes to be totally prepared before you head into anything, is to research the different islands.  If you arent, then its simple to just pick up a phone and call hawaii aloha travel, where the agents are in hawaii , most born and raised there, and know it best.  You can simply tell an agent what you are interested in doing, maybe you don’t want city , maybe you do, maybe an absolute have to do is see the volcano or pearl harbor.  Often times people do get mixed up as to what island they have to go to in order to see what is on their agenda.

Start getting quotes and looking into the cost of your trip in advance.  When we are talking about hawaii, a good time to start looking into your trip is about 6 months prior to your vacation dates and about a year in advance for christmas.  Some people are really good and try to get their pricing really early.  Unfortunately there are times when the air is just not ready yet, like right now november 2006, we are not being able to retrieve air for november 2007.  That doesn’t necessarily mean forget about it because often times you do and then when you remember it’s a little late or from my experience I have worked with people before their dates were available, we got everything planned out on which islands they wanted to go to, the order of islands and where they wanted to stay, when the dates became available I went through got  it all the way we planned and booking was fast and easy.  why?  Because we were prepared.

Getting quotes.  Getting a quote is often a starting point in booking your trip.  If you need changes made to an itinerary let your agent know right away.  Often times people wait to get a requote and as you wait things are booking up and selling out.  One thing not a lot of people know and I myself didn’t know before I got into the travel business was that airplanes are broken up into classes of service.  There is the obvious First class, business class and coach, but coach is also broken up into many different classes of service and they are given letters.  They are all different for different airlines, but you may hear someone say you are in T class of service, or U or K.  These are the different classes of service that are in coach and with each class of service is a different price.  Sometimes we quote people and when we go back in to do the quote or pull it back up the price goes up, sometimes it is an airfare increase and sometimes it’s because the lower class of service sold out and so they go to the next class of service which costs more even though it may be just the seat in front of the one you last had.  Often times if you are booking early enough, we can hold your itinerary for you for 5-7 days with just your names at no cost to you.  If yoiu decide you don’t want it, you can just cancel it or it will automatically cancel if you don’t put your deposit down.  If you forgot to make the payment, we can just redo the itinerary for you and then book it at that time.

Booking.  When you are ready to book, the first thing we need is the first and last names of the passengers as they appear on your ID’s (Drivers License/passport).  You don’t need a passport to visit hawaii, but can very well use that as you form of ID.    If the booking is in advance you have between 5 and 7 days depending on where we get the package from, to make a deposit.  Once the deposit is made the final payment would be due any where from 35 to 60 days before the departure day.  Holiday bookings have different rules, higher deposits and earlier final payment due dates.  We accept major credit cards and can even do check by phone.  After you make a deposit you may also mail in checks to make payments on your itinerary.  Booking in advance is to your advantage.  We realize a family vacation to hawaii does cost some money and to make it easier when booking in advance you can put a deposit and make your final payment by the deadline or even make monthly payements on your itinerary as to not have to pay a one time big payment. 

Deposits:  Deposits will hold your itinerary meaning its holding your plane tickets, hotel room , car, and activities if you have any.  The deposit does not guarantee prices.  Most often the thing that will most likely change if anything is the air price.  While the class of service does not change because it is being held, the air price can change, reason being, the airlines will not ticket your air until they get full payment, plus a deposit for your land portion which is different for different airlines. 

        Christmas Vacation packages are still available to hawaii.  I must say the christmas season is booking up, but hey you never know if you can still get a deal until you try.  If you are flexible call an agent and they can play around with the dates and see what is available for you during the holidays.  Sometimes you have a specific date in mind, but are flexible, you search for your intended dates and you come up empty.  You shouldn’t give up!  Most times calling an agent may help.  Often times the hotels are sold out of space, but us agents still have some blocked space that even the hotels can’t sell you or being that we are looking at availability day in and day out, we know which dates are going to be hard to find availability, but sometimes you can push your trip forward or back by just a day and get what you want, something maybe you wouldn’t have thought of if you didn’t know.  I have been working on a couple of packages today for the exact same dates in december.  They are for 12/21/06-12/28/06.  Yes right smack in the middle of christmas, but I was very successful today.  IT may have took a little more work on my part, but that’s what we are here for and when I end up with the itinerary I was working for, it makes it all that more rewarding.  I must say they were not standard 2 people itineraries and one wasn’t even from the same state starting out, but I had fun with it and in the end things turned out just as I wanted it to.  I am going to post the itineraries I did today and you can see for yourself why using an agent can come in handy in planning your trip.  Keeping in mind these itineraries originated today on 11/07/06 so last minute christmas can be done!

Yes the package below is for one family of 8.  6 from las vegas and 2 from houston.  They have 3 rooms with a partial oceanview and it includes daily buffet breakfast for 2 in each room.  One rental car so far, but think about it per person it’s just $1364.88 for one week during christmas in a 3 star hotel right across the street from the beach with daily buffet breakfast!  I thought this was a great deal and had to share it with everyone who thinks they can’t get a deal for christmas and hey we had fun planning it this morning too!  They were great to work with and if you are reading this thank you for letting me be a part of your christmas vacation and giving me the opportunity to find this great deal!

Oahu package 12/21-12/28 ( 8 passengers)

Air itinerary (2 passengers) :

Oahu  ( Thursday, 21 December 2006 through Thursday, 28 December 2006 )
  Accommodations:
    PACIFIC BEACH HOTEL  

        Partial oceanview hotel room with breakfast for two daily (4 night
         minimum)
      Adults: 2,  Children: 0,  Rollaway: N,  Crib: N
     Check in: Thursday, 21 December 2006
    Check out: Thursday, 28 December 2006
          
  Cars:
    Economy four-door car 

        Pickup: 21Dec06  Dropoff: 28Dec06
        Note: The vehicle must be returned by  6:44pm
              (or the time of day which it is picked up),
              to avoid a $10 per hour late charge.
    

                                                            Total price: $  3298.00

Air itinerary (6 passengers) :

Oahu  ( Thursday, 21 December 2006 through Thursday, 28 December 2006 )
  Accommodations:
    PACIFIC BEACH HOTEL  

        Partial oceanview hotel room with breakfast for two daily (4 night
         minimum)
      Adults: 2,  Children: 0,  Rollaway: N,  Crib: N
     Check in: Thursday, 21 December 2006
    Check out: Thursday, 28 December 2006
    Staying in room:
                        PACIFIC BEACH HOTEL   

        Partial oceanview hotel room with breakfast for two daily (4 night
         minimum)
      Adults: 2,  Children: 0,  Rollaway: N,  Crib: N
     Check in: Thursday, 21 December 2006
    Check out: Thursday, 28 December 2006
    Staying in room:
                

                                                             Total price: $  7621.00

Total Price for 8 passengers: $ 10,919.00

This next quote also same dates of 12/21-12/28 with a twist in there.  These customers were also great to work with, we had a blast planning this and he even learned some hawaiian words along the way.  This itinerary was a little different being that one person had business on Oahu from 12/14-12/21 and had to be there by early afternoon I did his itinerary separate with his room at the hawaii prince hotel oceanfront room for a week, then flew him to kauai to meet his family to start their vacation on 12/21-12/28 on kauai.  Besides the different itineraries I had to try to coordinate their flight arrivals into kauai and out of kauai so they wouldn’t be too far apart.  They have 2 partial oceanview rooms at the newly renovated sheraton kauai with breakfast daily for 2 per room.  Their origin is San Diego California.

This itinerary comes out to $ 2030.16 per person, but remembering one passenger has a 2 week trip and the other 4 have a one week trip.  This is also a high end package with a 5 star resort right during christmas.

Air itinerary (1 passengers) :

Oahu  ( Thursday, 14 December 2006 through Thursday, 21 December 2006 )
  Accommodations:
    HAWAII PRINCE HOTEL WAIKIKI  

                Prince Value Rate: Oceanfront marina hotel room
      Adults: 1,  Children: 0,  Rollaway: N,  Crib: N
     Check in: Thursday, 14 December 2006
    Check out: Thursday, 21 December 2006
           

                                                              Total price: $  1904.00

4 passengers

12/21/06            LV SAN DIEGO, CA     1221P  UNITED AIRLINE FLT: 6157
          AR LOS ANGELES, CA   0114P  COACH CLASS

12/21/06            LV LOS ANGELES, CA   0200P  UNITED AIRLINE FLT: 69
          AR LIHUE, HI         0610P  COACH CLASS

12/21/06            "SUN" DAILY BREAKFAST FOR 2 5TH NIGHT FREE CREDIT
          * SHERATON KAUAI RESORT PARTIAL OCEAN VIEW 5NT MIN

12/21/06            "SUN" DAILY BREAKFAST FOR 2 5TH NIGHT FREE CREDIT
          * SHERATON KAUAI RESORT PARTIAL OCEAN VIEW 5NT MIN

12/28/06            LV LIHUE, HI         1015P  UNITED AIRLINE FLT: 64
          AR SAN FRANCISCO, C  0517A  COACH CLASS

12/29/06            LV SAN FRANCISCO, C  0623A  UNITED AIRLINE FLT: 303
          AR SAN DIEGO, CA     0749A  COACH CLASS

Total:  8246.80
Total for 5 passengers: $ 10,150.80

If you are having a hard time finding something at the last minute for christmas in paradise with your family it won’t hurt to give us a try.  Chances are we can make it happen for you.  Even if it’s not christmas you are looking for let’s get started on those pro bowl week and spring break vacations!

Here is the second hotel review I promised straight from the property of the hyatt regency waikiki resort and spa.

This blog is brought to you straight from the hyatt in waikiki.  We have a week long stay here and have been here for 4 nights.  We are in a cityview category which is actually quite nice.  We have a view of kings village which has some restaurants and shops with a cute little village look we can see straight from our balcony. 

FIrst off, if staying here I would suggest valet parking for a few more dollars a day.  We tried self parking the first day and while there were a lot of spaces open, the parking garage is tight so we had decided to just valet park for the remainder of our stay.  Valet parking here is $19.00 a day or self parking is $15.00 a day.  They valet service is great.  They are usually pretty quick at bringing the cars down and are always happy to help with your bags even from just a day of shopping.  Those bags are quick to get to your room.  They always beat us to the room it’s amazing.  Upon arrival the front desk clerk was absolutely great.  Very helpful.  I had booked my week long reservation separately being 4 nights and then an extra 3 and had asked them to try to get us in the same room so we wouldn’t have to switch half way through and they were absolutely accomodating.  Upon arrival in our room, the first thing I noticed was the smell.  It was one of the most wonderful smells I have smelt at a hotel.  I had to ask the maid what they used to get that smell in here and it is called juniper breeze although I believe it is an industrial air freshener that I may not be able to find in a store, but you can bet I am going to try as I would love for my home to smell that great.

The air conditioning is easy to control.  They have a phone bedside on the nightstand and a cordless phone on the desk next to the bed.  They have a tv in a armoir style cabinet with minibar beneath it.  The one thing I don’t like about that is in the minibar it is triggered by a sensor and it is not locked.  So if staying here with children be sure to keep an eye on them going in to that minibar as if anything is moved out of it, not even consumed, just moved it will charge you for that item.  We did get charged for coffee out of there which we didn’t drink, but they had come into the room and checked our minibar half way through and saw we did not use it and so noted that.

Their beds are comfortable and I have looked up the web address for the makers of their bedding which is www.pacificcoast.com that makes the hotel collection of feather beds , comforters and such and are not very expensive which was very surprising and I am thinking of getting some for myself.  They seem to make a good one for those of you who live in colder climates which i am thinking of trying myself.  There is ample lighting in the room and it is very nicely decorated with an elegant look, without overdoing it. The colors they use are quite relaxing. 

Room amenites.  They hyatt provides top of the line amenities in the room.  Their shampoo, conditioner, lotion and bodywash are from their spa collection and they give a good size too.  Most hotels I find give those tiny bottle enough for maybe one person to use as these bottles are enough for 3 maybe even 4 people to use a day.  Their har dryers are the best I have seen in a hotel thus far.  They are ceramic hairdryers, not those cheap ones you find at your local drugstore, also their irons are of good quality.  The shower is great with a hand held shower head, and the water heats up quickly.  They also give you a massaging soap bar in the tub.

The maids are great.  If they come once and you are still in the room and ask them to come back later, they sure do and will keep on checking on you as they did us today about 3 times.  If we tell them it’s okay, they still feel like they should give us things and always leave us with something whether it be towels, or shampoo and conditioner.  The bell desk was great too, if you need any help they are always happy to be of help too, no matter if it is their line of service of not.  We were running late to dinner one night so I had called the bell desk for our car to be brough around before we left the room, when we got downstairs we got in the car and left just that quick.

Location. The location of the hyatt is unbelieveable.  They have soo many things within walking distance.  Right across the street is a burger king, kfc, subway, tanaka of tokyo, round table pizza, keonis and then not even 5 minutes away is a chilis and a denny’s, bakin and robins, duke’s is across the street on the other side towards the beach and the beach is also right across the street with an unobstructed view from the lobby.  There are also many restuarants and shops located right on the hyatts property with a total of 3 abc stores on property which are very convenient for toiletries forgotten or even late night snacks when most things are closed.  They do not have mini refrigerators in the room, but can bring one up for your use, but they do charge you for that.

All in all so far I am really enjoying my stay at this property also.  For people not getting a car, this is the perfect location for you.  Anything is in a short walking distance to this property although walking down the main streets in waikiki is not bad as we walked the entire thing from they hyatt clear to fort derussy park and back and did not take long at all and was not at all hard to do.  I would definately recommend this property for your hawaiian vacation.

The update I promised from the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu is here!

I have recently stayed at the hilton hawaiian village on Oahu for 5 nights again.  I tried to get this blog straight from the hilton but was having technical difficulties while trying to write it.

I have stayed in the Tapa tower once again.  Another pretty nice experience with some slight interruptions.  They are doing renovations in the tapa tower right now which I knew they were doing a rejuvination project just didn’t anticipate out of all those rooms I would be directly beneath it.  They did try to do it during daytime hours that they figure their guests would most likely be out of their rooms from about 930 or 10am til about 3 or 4pm.  For myself I was in the room during those hours for the most part and it was quite loud as it did sound like it was right above me, but as I am a pretty easygoing person I know they have to get these things done and I figured better me than someone on their vacation.  The rooms though were once again nice.  The balcony was a little more spacious this time than the last although the last time it really wasn’t all that small.  The rooms are spacious and could easily accomodate 2 adults and 2 children.  They did have a minibar in the room which is locked which they provide a key for, but also have a mini refrigerator in the room for you to store your own food and drinks in which is quite convenient.  I had a cityview room facing benihana’s japanese restaurant, but from my balcony I could catch a view of the lagoon on their property.  I  had asked about the renovations and they had started from the top down.  They were on floors 6,7, and 8 so they are real close to being done.  I imagine that some of my room problems I was having will no longer be there shortly when they are done with their renovations.

This resort is filled with restaurants, mostly japanese style between the lagoon and kalia tower.  We did try a little noodle shop there and it was actually quite good and not too expensive.  They did have other things besides noodles, like rice and teriyaki chicken or curry.  The only beer they have on tap is kirin (japanese beer), which was actually my first time trying it and it is actually very good.  We had also ordered room service a few times.  My son wanted round table pizza which they can deliver, but would be  cheaper to just go downstairs and get it from the restuarant itself.  Of course there is Lapperts ice cream which is also another favorite of my sons.  They are a little pricey, but the ice cream is great.  The kids room service for breakfast is not too badly priced, but always remember that they do add 15% plus a 2.50 delivery charge to whatever you order for room serivce.  Parking is $19.00 a day for valet and $16.00 a day to self park.  If you do valet and then decide to not use valet or happen to have a car for just part of your trip, be sure to let them know when you stop using the service as they just automatically post it as valet parking for your entire stay unless you tell them otherwise.  I had a better experience this time with the valet service, they were a lot quicker than the last, but as I see it now they seemed to be a lot busier the last time we stayed there.  There also seemed to be a big change in the type of guests staying there in the 3 times I have stayed there.  Now that school is back in I seem to find that there are a lot of couples staying at this hotel where as the last time we had stayed there were more families with children staying here.  I must say it was really neat to see the big change in the type of guests staying at this resort from different times of the year.

The staff was always great , check in was quick and easy, the maids were very friendly, room service always quick and courteous.  Check out was done over the phone.  They leave your bill the morning of departure and there are directions for quick check out on there.  You simply call the number they provide, leave your name and room number on a message machine and if you would like they can email you, your final bill if you just leave them your email address.  Simply leave the keys in the room and you are free to go.  We went again to the free show on friday night that they hold every friday night and as usual it was great and crowded.  the fireworks are wonderful and the kids really enjoy it.   You can catch it from the pool area or go out to the beach and get an even closer view of it. 

Internet access here is $12.95 a day, but if staying a week or longer you get a lower price if purchasing a bunch of days all at once.  Again the beds were absolutely wonderful.  I have stayed at the westin with their heavenly beds, but I must admit I enjoy the hilton’s beds far more, that is if you like soft fluffy beds.

All in all I really did enjoy my last stay at the hilton.  The resort itself is a pretty busy property being that is so huge and is filled with restaurants and shops, but is located in a quieter area of waikiki which is nice.  The only complaints I had were that my bathroom light went on and off when it felt like it and the noise issues because of the renovation which just cannot be helped.  I would recommend this resort to families and couples alike!

What are the advantages of using a travel agent?

There are many advantages to using a travel agent versus booking your own travel online especially with a hawaii vacation.  Hawaii is a complex destination especially if you are doing a multi island trip and often times you can’t book many islands online yourself making it impossible to do your own booking.  If doing a multi island hawaiian vacation call an agent frist.  Often times we get those I booked my roundtrip to honolulu but want to do other islands.  A lot of people don’t realize you can fly back to your state of origin without coming back to honolulu so often times you just bought yourself an extra interisland flight by doing it that way.  I have also gotten those we want to stay at this hotel for a convention or a wedding we are attending, but we already booked our flight, just need hotel.  Here is where an agent will also come in handy to call first.  Oops..i booked my ticket to the wrong island.  Yes I have had calls like that and guess what?  They then had to book an interisland roundtrip flight to get to the right island.  Below are just a few more added benefits of using an agent.  Hawaii Vacation

• Personal service.  Booking with a travel agent offers you personal service from beginning to end.  It is often helpful when you have an agent that knows the destination you are traveling to so that they can plan the best trip for your needs and wants and also can usually give you extra added things like places to go and what you definately should see and also make it your vacation run smooth.
• Last minute bookings.  If you have a spur of the moment trip an agent is deinately the way to go.  A lot of times when trying to do it online it may show you this property is not available for your dates and such.  With an agent we will check availability for you at the last minute and try to get you accomodations by checking everyone’s inventory and ultimately calling properties to try to find you availability and confirm it.  Often times we can find some blocked space at the hotels that may not be available eslewhere depending on how last minute it is.
• Problems on your trip?  When booking online and you have a problem during your trip and you booked online, who do you call that will help you?  Most often the answer is no one.  You will probably have to fix it yourself and then contact them upon your return home to see what they can do to fix it.  If you book with an agent you can contact the agent who helped you and have them fix everything for you.  Even if your agent is not available someone else will be available to help you at the company to get things fixed for you.  Basically when using an agent and having a problem during travel you get a live body helping you right away, not after you return and have spent your trip fixing your vacation.
• Payment options.  When booking online you have to have your entire amount ready to give them at time of booking.  When using an agent most times we can get you on a payment plan for your trip.  We realize that vacations are not always cheap and may be difficult to pay for all at once.  Most times you can put a low deposit on your trip, make payments at any time up until final payment is due or just pay the balance off at the time of final payment.  Airfare is not guaranteed using this plan, but when possible your agent will notify you of air increases to allow you to lock in your air price by paying that amount provided the air carrier gives us time to notify you.  Also a lot of people need to put their trip on more than one card as just one card may not have enough credit for the entire trip or maybe everyone on the trip is paying separately.  That is completely understandable and an agent can easily do that for you.  You can use one card or you can use multiple cards if you want to.
• Price.  This is usually the bottom line when people are booking their vacations.  We always get the line, "Well I found it on expedia for this price."  If you let your agent know what pricing you are finding online most times we can match it or beat it.  If we can’t we usually come in pretty close, but think about for that $20.00 or so more that we are coming in at, all the extra added benefits and service you are getting.  Most often the money you save online doesn’t make up for the lack of service you get.  We always try to get the best price that we can for you and often times succeed.  Also sometimes there are hidden things in booking online and that is why the price comes out cheaper.   Sometimes you choose a hotel and when you get there, it looks nothing like what it looked like on their website, then when you are unhappy with that who do you call?

The bottom line is to use an agent for booking your hawaiian vacation.  You will be much happier you did and what harm can it do?   You won’t be paying any extra to get all the added service so really you get a better deal.  Hawaii Vacation

HOW DO YOU BOOK TRAVEL FOR A GROUP?

Booking travel for groups can be tricky so it is a good idea to call a travel agent for help.  Here are some tips for booking group travel.  Group travel is a requirement of 10 or more passengers.

• Book ahead of time!  Booking groups should always be booked ahead of time.  Getting a whole lot of plane seats and a bunch of hotel rooms is hard to do at the last minute especially depending on how many travlers there are and how many rooms you need.  The final payment on group travel is usually earlier than travel for smaller bookings.
• Make sure you have the minimum number of passengers for group travel.  For air a group is a minimum of 10 passengers.  If you book your tickets and then drop below 10 passengers, there will be penalties.
• When booking group air fare, all passengers must have the same itinerary.  Meaning you have to leave from the same city and return to the same city on the same dates and times.  If you have 5 coming from one place and another 5 from another we can still do it, just as separate packages and wouldnt be considered "group travel" for group rates.
• When calling for a group booking try to have as accurate a number as possible for your agent.  How many passengers?  How many rooms do you need?  Do you need a shuttle or cars?
• Have an idea of what kind of hotel you would like or discuss with your agent maybe a budget per passenger you would like to stay at so we can better know what hotel we should pick for you.
• Deadlines! Deadlines!  There may be many deadlines on payments for groups.  First off the air will have a deadline on the deposit per person and needs to be met.  The airline is holding the seats once it is requested and penalties will be incurred if the payment deadline is not met which most often agents will release the space as to not be hit with the penalties.  Hotels will often have a one night deposit plus a good will deposit to hold the rooms.  Then after that may have a few more payment deadlines til the rooms are paid in full.
• For the head of the group who is making all the arrangements, have a good connection with the rest of your group (phone tree, email alerts).  Often times the head of the group tries to contact the rest of the members of the group and can’t get a hold of some.  There have been times when it takes them so long to contact the rest of the group to get plans made that the flight no longer has that many seats available or the hotel won’t hold the rooms any longer and space needs to be re-requested.
• Once you have decided on a final number of passengers and make a deposit, know that you cannot change to less people and receive a refund on that deposit.  Group travel has more restrictions than regular travel and they will not refund your deposit if a person drops out after the deposit has been made on the air.  Sometimes also the deposit does not go toward the final payment, but will be refunded to you after your travel is done.
• If you would like some group activites while on your trip let your agent know ahead of time.  You can still plan those after the air/room/transportation is made, but you still want to book your activities such as luaus ahead of time.  Remember if it is a large group, that is a lot of space being requested and they may not have enough room to accomodate everyone if you try to do it at the last minute especially during peak season. 
• Porterage charges.  Hotels charge porterage charges for groups.  Usually it is about $6.00-$7.00 per person.  This is for baggage handling upon arrival and departure.   They need to be prepared for a large group coming in and make sure they have enough staff to help such a large group without neglecting their other guests.
• Before your final payment is due, get your list of passengers and rooming list prepared for your agent to give to the airlines and hotels.  The sooner the better.
• Finally when going to the airport, try to arrive a little earlier than normal as it does take a little time to check in a large group of people.  Advised time is 2 1/2-3 hours ahead of time.  Now with the heightened security I think 3 hours is probably a better way to go. 

Booking groups is not an easy task to do on your own and truth be told sometimes is not all that easy on agents, but following these tips will help it run a lot smoother for both you and your travel agent.  You should use an agent for booking groups as most often, if not always you will get a better deal on your trip and take a lot of worry away from you.

A question I get a lot is, Is food expensive in hawaii?  I heard milk is $8.00 a gallon there???

The answer to that is yes and no.  Yes food can be expensive here on the islands depending on where you go, but it doesn’t have to be.  And Yes milk is close to that price here in hawaii depending on where you go.  You can still get milk for cheaper at costco and yes we do have many costco’s, walmarts, and sams clubs on the islands.  The trick to eating cheaper on the islands is go where the locals go.  Of course when gas prices rise, food prices rise here because most of our products have to be shipped in to us. 

Normally when on vacation you are staying in a hotel.  If eating in hotels the food can get pricey.  Sometimes when booking a package you can find great deals with breakfast included with your room which can be a good deal sometimes as breakfast can be in the range of $25.00 per person in some hotel restaurants.  If getting a condo you can save money by cooking some of your own meals or even making simple things for breakfast and lunch and just going out for dinner.  In Oahu eating in waikiki can be pricey. Sometimes restaurants and fast food places you can find elsewhere on the island charge a higher price in waikiki.  Although it is nice to have dinner out in waikiki sometimes as they do have some great restaurants only to be found in waikiki. 

Places to eat on Oahu from a locals perspective

There are many places to eat on Oahu where the "locals" go.  Of course we do have MCdonalds, Burger KIng, Jack in the Box, Taco Bell and all those fast food places also located on just about every corner probably just like where you are from.  We even now have an I HOP in waikiki located downstairs in the Ohana Waikiki Malia hotel.   Denny’s is located downstairs from the Miramar, Chilis’ downstairs from the Ohana Waikiki West, TGI Fridays downstairs from the Ohana Maile Sky Court, Red Lobster and Outback steakhouse located across the street from the Ilikai.  There is also Cheesecake Factory and Planet Hollywood located in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, but where to go outside of Waikiki?

Well for starters there is the local favorite Zippys Restaurants.  There are many locations on the island and most are open 24 hours.  They have a little bit of everything from burgers,steak dinners, sandwiches, pastas, salads, and sometimes on their specials menu hawaiian food and their Oxtail Soup is great!  They also serve breakfast from 11PM-11AM in the restaurants monday thru friday and 11PM-12 noon saturday and sunday.   Their prices are reasonable and food is good.  The nicest one is in Hawaii Kai about 5 minutes from Hanauma Bay.  It is right on the marina, the only one on the water and you can get a table next to the window and watch all the ongoing watersports.  You can also do takeout.  Popular takeout items are their signature ZIP Pac or Surf Pac which is served Bento style perfect for on the go.  They are known for their chili and their  "ono" portueguese bean soup.

For the best pancakes Boots and Kimos in kailua is awesome.  They have pancakes with a macadamia sauce that is to die for. It is like a mixture of butter and syrup with macadamia and it is floating in it when it comes.  You may think to yourself which many first timers do, "why did they put so much syrup on here?  I can’t eat this."  Trust me by the end of the meal you will be licking the plate for more sauce.  A lot of people actually ask for extra.  It is a small little restaurant, not many tables so you may incur a wait, but it is well worth it.  They do serve lunch also, but go for the pancakes you won’t regret it!

L &L Drive In is another local favorite.  They do have burgers and fries and that sort of thing, but their plate lunches are what most people go for.  You can get a full plate or mini plate.  The plates come with 2 scoops of rice ( full plate) or 1 scoop of rice (mini plate) and macaroni salad and then whatever it is you choose to have with it.  Chicken Katsu is great there and so is their beef curry.  Some locations also have chinese food there where you can choose different combinations.  Plate lunches here are popular in hawaii and usually consist of rice, macaroni salad and whatever your choice of main dish is.

Food Courts.  There are many food courts to be found in hawaii.  If in Waikiki not far away is the food court in Ala Moana Shopping Center (That big mall located right outside of waikiki)  Food courts are always great as you can find something for everyone, all sit together and eat whatever it is you feel like eating for the day so no long discussions about " where should we go to eat?"  The kids always want burgers and fries while the adults want to try something different.  This is a great way to do so without breaking the bank.  There is also a food court in Windward Mall and Pearl highlands mall in Pearl city.  Also not a lot of people know that if visiting pearl harbor and you get hungry, you can go to the navy exchange located right up the street.  They have a food court in there that is open to the public.  Their navy exchange is not located on a military installation so you can get to it and park without a military id and go upstairs to the food court for lunch.  Mind you, you can only go into the lobby area and food court upstairs, but not in to the actual navy exchange store without a military ID, but the food court is good.  There is a mcdonalds and taco bell of course, subway, pizza, sandwich stand, and also chinese food and yummy’s korean bbq.  Not far from there is the Salt Lake Shopping Center where there is another great korean bbq place called Soons korean bbq where you can get a good helping of korean bbq for a reasonable price.  Their kalbi plates are good and they are very quick with their service.

Wailana Coffee House. This restaurant is actually located in waikiki across from the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  They serve a little bit of everything and probably one of the more reasonable priced places to eat in waikiki especially if you have children as their children’s menu is very low priced.

Sam choy’s breakfast lunch and crab.   This restaurant is located on nimitz right up the street from Aloha Tower Marketplace.  If you didn’t know Sam Choy is a famous chef from hawaii.  You may have seen him on the Food network and his motto is "Never trust a skinny chef"  You can get great local style dishes here and the price is not so bad.  Once in a blue moon you may even catch sam himself in there.  He is a very nice man and was actually going around the tables talking to the diners.

Getting a little pricier for that nice dinner out, try these places.

Kobe’s Steak house. Kobe’s steak house is located right around the corner from the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  This is a great yakiniku style restaurant.  You order your food, they bring it to the table and cook it right there on the grill.  The chefs are always entertaining and your food is always guaranteed to be hot (how could it not be right?)  If you go during pro bowl time in february you have a good chance of catching some NFL players in there as we went about that time and it was packed with Pro Bowlers.

Roys.   Another famous chef from hawaii.  Roy Yamaguchi.  This is a higher end restaurant located in Hawaii Kai right next to Outback steak house right off the main highway called …here we go…say it with me…kalanianaole highway…no one can ever say that one.  Which brings me to a brief side step.  When asking directions from a local, don’t refer to the number of the highway or the exit number, always refer to it by name or most people will have no clue what you are talking about.  If in doubt, spell it out, they will normally get the drift.  If you like seafood, they do great with fish, shrimp and pretty much anything that swims in the ocean.  Their shortribs are great too.  Very tender, no knife needed for those ribs.

Gordon Biersch. This restaurant is located in Aloha Tower Marketplace.  They have all sorts of dishes.  My husband says their jambalaya is great and he is from Louisiana so I would take his word for it.  They do have burgers and pastas and are located right next to the water.  You can wash it all down with a nice cold beer too!

Ala Moana Shopping Center. I know I mentioned the food court in Ala Moana, but oh no that is not all the food in that big boy.  Up on the top level, it’s food galore there too.  They have restaurants such as Jackie Chans (yes the actor), California pizza kitchen, Ruby Tuesdays, Macaroni Grill, and Bubba Gumps (The one in Maui in Lahaina on front street is awesome!)  After dinner or before or during , whatever, don’t foget about the Mai Tai Bar.  IT is located kind of right in the middle of these restaurants, with music and drinks, drinks, drinks.  It is an open bar, meant for relaxing with couches instead of hard bar stools and a fun time to mingle and listen to the sounds.  There is also a Morton’s Steakhouse and Mariposa in Neiman Marcus.

Dukes.  This restaurant/bar is located in the lobby of the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach.  If going here be sure to get there early.  They are always packed.  It’s always fun times though.  You can have dinner and then there is an outside area right next to waikiki beach!!  You can take a drink out there and see the ocean.  NO drinks on the beach.  Sundays there is great music with Kapono from Cecilio and Kapono and of course you can watch everyone dancing (some have had a few, but it’s good times ) or you can join in, especially if you have had a few too.

I hope this has helped with your oahu dining experience.  Enjoy and Go Grind!