Thanksgiving Holiday in Hawaii?

Question
1. What types of businesses will be closed on Thursday 24 November for Thanksgiving day. I am sure some restaurants will be open but what about shops? Transport, etc. Am trying to organise the itinerary for our short trip.

2. Will things close down for more than just the Thursday? Have heard that some businesses may close down till Monday! Panicking as 24th and 25th are the last days of our trip!!!! Will want to do last minute shopping, etc

Thanking you so much for you time and trouble!
Kind regards
Irene from Australia

Answer
Hi Irene,

You'll have to check with any individual transportation companies you plan to use, but the airlines and cabs will be up and running. On thanksgiving, places like supermarkets will probably be open half-day at least, and some shops will be also, but not most of them. I would not save your shopping for thangsgiving. On the day after, however, just about everything will be open. The day after thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days of the year for the entire country and Hawaii is no different, however the crowds and the traffic will be horrific.

Most places that will close until Monday will not have anything to do with retail - government jobs, offices, things of that nature.

Lisa

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New Airline offering flights to Hawaii

America West plans to start offering nonstop service to Hawaii in December. I checked a few prices from California and they were really high (about the same as prices from New Jersey on United) but maybe it will get better. I'm sure it will get better - they have plenty of departure cities and they have a good miles plan, so just try them to see when you are making your plans. They do offer flexible date searching for (hopefully) lower prices.

Casa de Emdeko Review and Trip Report: Day 1

review: The Casa De Emdeko is a really nice place to stay. I think we were in unit 202, and I definitely would recommend that unit - we were far back from the ocean, but we could still see it and the price was fantastic.

We had a 2 year old with us, so children are obviously welcome, but the walls are all poured concrete, so it's not like you can hear kids from one unit to the next. We had a one bedroom unit. The bedroom was on your right as soon as you walked in and the one bathroom was directly off of it. The only bathroom was off the bedroom so anyone not staying in the room still has to walk through the bedroom to get to the bathroom. There was a pullout couch that was ok-comfortable, not great, not horrible either. The kitchen was small but clean and fully functional.

The pool was small but clean, and the big salt water pool was huge, but freezing. We didn't go in it but saw several people going in it - they looked like residents who do it all the time. There is no ocean access from here. The casa de emdeko is a little over a mile from town. We walked in on the fourth of July because we knew there wouldn't be parking. I wouldn't advise the walk for fun, there were only a few sidewalks.

trip report

We got a fantastic price at Casa De Emdeko (in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island) Unit 202 for one week. We drove over on a Sunday and came back on a Saturday. (Full) Day One was Monday. We went to Kahaluu Beach in the morning. It was the Fourth of July and the beach was packed. We managed to get a spot in the too-small parking lot because someone else was pulling out. There is parking on the street but it's best for small cars, not my wide Ford F150.

We settled into a shady spot and headed for the flat tide pool area. We caught fish for my 2 year old and looked for sea turtles. There were several large ones feeding off the rocks and as soon as my boy saw them he decided he was a sea turtle. He laid down in the sand and said "What's the sea turtle doing?" and pretended to eat seaweed off the rocks.

My sister-in-law and her teenage daughter did some snorkeling. We brought our own snorkels but you can rent them, even prescription, right off the beach at the Kahalu'u Beach Snorkel Rental Depot. You can rent or buy there, and there is also a snack truck with shave ice (snow cone), hot dogs, and other snacks, plus a small souvenir table.

After a few hours there we went back to the room so my boy could take a nap. When he woke up we walked into town to see the fireworks and the parade. From the casa de Emdeko it is about a 1.5 mile walk into town. I didn't want to drive because I knew there would be no parking on the holiday. After the parade we ate at Outback Steakhouse and walked home.

Fantastic day. :)