Hawaii for Not Much Money

question
Hello there. My name is ***** and i'm from San Diego...i had a question for you.

I'm 19 and me and a couple of friends (5 including me) were thinking about going to Hawaii at the beginning of August for maybe a week. we don't have very much money and we are not picky about "nice" hotels - food or anything. We'll do whatever it takes for us to get there. I read on one of your posts that you know of one way trips that start at $70. Is this really possible? There seem to be so many scams out there I wonder if i will ever get a straight answer. Going to Hawaii has been a dream of mine and I would love to get there. Finding the right deal is the only problem.

Well if you could write me back with ANY advice that would be a blessing...thanks!

answer
Well, I hope you can make it out here. My advice would be to consider a hostel. If your lodging costs are almost non-existent you can spend more money on the flight. There are no trips from the mainland from $70 -- the $70 is a typical price for inter-island flights (from Oahu to the Big Island, for example). The cheapest you will probably be able to find a flight from San Diego is $350 round trip, and that is a rockbottom fare. Your best bet for finding that price is to watch the Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines web sites for sales -- Right now Aloha has a one way fare from San Diego to Maui for $159 for spring travel. Maybe they will duplicate that around August (although it seems doubtful since that is a heavy-travel time). Another option is to watch Hotwire for fares, or maybe even try Priceline name your own price. If you can be flexible with your travel dates and times you may be able to save money.

As for scams, feel free to run any offers or sites by me and I'll tell you what I think of them.

New Direct Flight to Big Island Kona

US Airways - America West Airlines have started a new flight direct to Kona International Airport from Phoenix Arizona, starting March 2nd. The flight will be every day, Phoenix to Kailua-Kona leaving at 11:40 am and arriving at 3:28 pm, and the return flight from Kailua-Kona to Phoenix leaves at 11:59 pm and arrives at 8:48 am the next day. The time change difference between Arizona and Hawaii is 3 hours - with Hawaii being 3 hours before Arizona, so coming to Hawaii you gain time, leaving Hawaii you lose time.

Entertainment Book Paradise Cove Coupon

question
The coupon for the paradise cove luau in the entertainment book, is it good for all the seating, including VIP? The regular price is $118.00. How could I be sure, and that it is good during the first week in March.

answer
It seems unlikely that the coupon is good for the VIP seating. It says right on the back of the coupon that this coupon is considered discount seating and discount seating is only available on a space-available, first come basis - and when it's sold out they only sell at regular rates. It says to call for a reservation in advance.

New South Pacific Cultural Center at Waikiki

The Waikiki Shell (where the free Kodak Hula Shows used to be given until 2002) will get a new South Pacific Cultural Center with a swap meet and cultural village. Great! I'm looking forward to checking it out!

For more details read: Swap Meet to Open In Waikiki

Hawaii Running out of Hotel Rooms?

Hawaii may have to hang "No Vacancy" sign - This article suggests that tourism officials here in Hawaii may be thinking about shunning the budget traveler in order to keep tourism counts down and income level up after record seasons of 7 million visitors.

I say to you the visitor, avoid Waikiki, shun much of Maui, and you shouldn't have a problem. Waikiki is jam-packed these days, and Maui areas like Kaanapali and Kihei are following suit. But Kauai's north shore and most of the Big Island and all of Molokai are usually wide open and happy to see you during non-event times. (Events like the Ironman in October will temporarily clog roadways and fill hotel rooms).