The Days Off – Travel Guide

This is a great deal for Hawaii at $399/pp! Airfare is usually in the $350-$400 range, so its like getting the room and car rental for free. Travel is valid through March 7 and April 12 – June 7.

• Roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles or San Francisco
• A three-night stay at Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Waikiki
• Three-day Hertz car rental

For more information:
http://vacations.travelzoo.com/hawaii-vacations/742723

Popularity: 5%

Hawaiian airlines are adding new Airbus A330-200 planes for the LAX to HNL route starting June 2010. The new planes feature in-flight entertainment from the seat, which will be something to look forward to. Currently, their planes only have overhead video screens that are shared across multiple seats. If you are planning to visit Hawaii next summer from LAX, it might be worth looking into.

Popularity: 12%

TravelZoo posted a great deal on Hawaiian cruise today. Really good deal if you want to island hop for prices much less than booking hotel and inter-island airfare!

The $549 price is valid on Jan. 2. For $599, depart Jan. 9, 16, 23 or 30. There’s also a New Years Eve sailing departing Dec. 26 for just $699 per person.

The Pride of America features NCL’s famous “Freestyle 2.0″ cruising with champagne at embarkation, upgraded bedding and bathroom amenities, and lobster on the main dining-room menu. Formal nights are optional. Other cruise lines assign you a dinner time and seat you with strangers, but NCL lets you eat whenever and with whomever you wish.

To make a reservation, click the above link to book online with Travelocity. Or call a cruise expert at 877-815-5446. Note: Travelocity recently dropped its $19.95 per cabin booking fee for all cruise transactions.

Book by midnight ET on Friday, Dec. 4.

To make a reservation, click here to view details and to book online with Travelocity. Scroll down to see the Hawaii offer and click “7-Night Hawaii from Honolulu – Pride of America.”

Popularity: 30%

Rainbow Drive-In is a well known place for tasty Hawaiian mixed plate lunches at great prices. This place is always packed. We had the Mixed plate which consisted of chicken katsu, mahi mahi katsu, and BBQ beef. One thing that stands out is the quality of the meat, which adds to the experience. The slush was really good. It reminded me of an Icee with a fruit punch flavor. Lots of people were ordering loco moco and the beef stew special as well. The Mixed plate was only $7.25, a great deal. Recommended!

Popularity: 7%

Costco in Honolulu is a great place to pick up food while staying in Hawaii. We just had 1/2 lb of fresh ahi shoyu poke for $6. Its currently $10.99 per lb. for the shoyu ahi. They put it in a plastic container for you, deli style.

This is a nice snack to have if you are a big fan of sashimi. 1/4 lb of ahi poke each is plenty! It’s about 10-12 pieces in a 1/4 lb portion. A restaurant may give you around 8-10 pieces as an appetizer for $10. Just make sure you have some utensils such as chopsticks or a spoon if you plan to eat it right away. You can also get good poke at Safeway, Times, or any local supermarket. Local supermarkets usually have more selection of poke if you are looking for something other than ahi tuna.

Popularity: 14%

Here’s a photo of what Hawaiian Airlines served for dinner on a flight from LAX to HNL in Oct 2009.

Roast Beef Sandwich with chocolate chip brownie. It was actually pretty good for being a complementary meal. Oat bread, roast beef, and a slice of cheddar cheese. The brownie was really filling, good size too. The packaging is 100% made from recycled material. Its nice that Hawaiian still serves meals on their flights from mainland to Hawaii.

In terms of “premium” meals, they offered sushi rolls with chicken teriyaki or chicken caesar salad for $10.  Hawaiian Airlines was very generous with serving drinks. We recieved a drink after take off, another drink with the meal, and coffee/tea/water afterwards.

Popularity: 19%

Pleasant Holidays has a really good deal for airfare and economy car rental to Hawaii. I tried some dates in November and December (depart on a Tuesday-Thursday)  The airfare alone is around $360 per person x 2 = $720 + the cost of a rental car.

http://www.pleasantholidays.com

• Click on “Book Now” under “Hawaii Deals from $399″
• Choose Sheraton Princess Kaiulani from LAX/SFO option
• Under select a combination choose “Air + car”
• Choose “United Fly/Drive – LAX & SFO” option
• Choose dates  (preferably pick a departure between Tuesday and Thursday)
  I tried November 10-13, December 1-December 4, December 2-5  for $570
  including economy rental car!
• Choose San Francisco Airport for departure.
• Choose Honolulu arrival airport
• Select No for Trip cancellation insurance option. 

Rates will change depending on what is left/etc. The earlier you jump on the deal, the better the price. You can also try getting airfare from SFO to Maui for $535 for 2 (or less!) including car rental. Follow the steps above, but select “Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa” instead.

For hotels, I suggest using Priceline to get the best deal.

Popularity: 11%

One of the best ways to get deals on Hawaii attractions and restaurants is to purchase the Entertainment Book for Hawaii. For Oahu travel, the main coupon in the book is the Buy 1 get 1 free at Polynesian Cultural Center. (up to a $45 value!)  There are many free coupon flyers at the airports, but the discounts aren’t as good as the ones in the Entertainment book.

My favorite coupons in the 2010  Hawaii Entertainment book are the following:

• Polynesian Cultural Center (buy 1 get 1 free)
• Safeway $5 off $50 grocery purchase (restrictions apply)
• Buca Di Beppo $10 off $20 purchase or more
• Kailua Sailboards & Kayaks Inc. Rent 1 kayak, get another free.
• 20% off Borders books coupon (usable anywhere in USA)
• $10 off $40 Radio Shack coupon (usable anywhere in USA)
• 4 Discounted Regal Cinema tickets ($7 supersaver or $8.50 unrestricted)
• Maui: 50% off Boss Frogs weekly snorkel rental
• Many coupons for food/attraction discounts

If you plan to go to the Polynesian Cultural center, this will basically pay off the cost of the book. The Entertainment website sells the book for $35, but there are ways to get it for less. I got my book through eBay for $28 shipped through this vendor. There are some other ones that remove the good coupons and the card from the book and charge less. Make sure you read the description since I’ve seen auctions that say “Polynesian Cultural Center not in book” etc. Also, make sure you get the 2010 edition since the 2009 one expires November 1, 2009.

Popularity: 25%