Hawaiian Air’s new “Coach Plus” won’t give you any more legroom, or different seats. Now that we’ve gotten the confusion with United’s Economy plus out of the way, here’s what the new offering does give you:
Inter-island. For a cost of $16 extra per flight segment, you’ll receive:
Free same day stand-by
No fee when changing flights
50% bonus miles
Trans-Pacific. For a cost of $45 extra each way, you’ll receive:
Two free checked bags
No change fees
25% discount on future inter-island flight
Our recommendations:
1. Consider Coach Plus when you may need to change flights. The extra cost is nominal in comparison with Hawaiian’s stiff change fees, which start at $150 each way trans-Pacific, and $25 each way, inter-island.
2. It can also save you money if you’ll be checking bags trans-Pacific, where bag fees otherwise vary from $40 to $50 for two bags each way.
3. If you don’t fit into either of these categories, I’d pass.
This week saw two additional beach drownings on Kauai. A 20-year old visitor from North Carolina drowned while snorkeling at Poipu on the South Shore. A 41-year old from Oregon drowned in strong current at the North Shore’s Secret Beach.
Beach drownings in Hawaii are unfortunately common for the following reasons:
Lack of familiarity with seasonal beach conditions. Beaches vary from season to season and from day to day. A beach that’s easy swimming one season can have 20 foot waves another time of year.
Failure to take into account the power of the ocean here in Hawaii. Pay attention to lifeguard signs and don’t be afraid to ask questions before entering the ocean. It’s better to swim and snorkel closer to the shore.
A desire to do everything possible while on your vacation. Play it safe and stay injury free even if it means changing your plans for the day.
Unrealistic belief in your athletic and swimming capabilities. No matter your age or athletic ability, ocean swimming, and dealing with currents and other conditions, requires experience.
This red door marks the hottest night spot on Molokai. It rises to the occasion with yeast. Take some dough with you and get some in return. The nightly Hot Bread Run is where locals and visitors intersect starting at 9:30pm (closed Monday).
Your destination is Kanemitsu’s Bakery on the main drag in Kaunakakai. The storefront is closed but the bakery in back is running full speed. Park your car in front and venture down the dim lit alley to the right. Follow your nose to the second alley and you’ve arrived at the Hot Bread Run.
Every so often the red door opens and bread gets handed over. This bread is like a party-size donut with your choice of filling. The night we were there the menu offered Strawberry, Blueberry, Cream Cheese, Cinnamon and Butter. Prices start at $4.75 for plain.
Don’t forget to visit Kaunakakai during the day for shopping.
We found a large selection of t-shirts reasonably priced at Molokai Fish and Dive. I take an XXL and had many shirts to choose from. Outpost Natural Foods is a good stop for healthy eaters. Their fresh produce offers some good buys. For groceries we stopped at Friendly’s. You many want to go off peak hours. We were there close to 5pm and it felt like the whole island community had joined us. A fun bookstore with new and used books is Kalele Bookstore and Diving Expressions. Owner Teri Waros offered coffee and a talk story session. Her enthusiasm is contagious. Bamboo Pantry offered many local products and there is also a Co-Op art gallery in town. On Saturday mornings be sure to visit the Farmer’s Market across from the library.
Lack of cars (and accommodations) at the holidays is a long-standing tradition in Hawaii. Here’s the current rental car status for the 2009 holidays and what I recommend you do for next year.
In Honolulu
The holidays won’t be too jolly, at least in terms of car rentals. The price for a compact car at Honolulu during Christmas week (12/24-31) has skyrocketed to $641 total (or more). Last week I rented the same car in Honolulu at a weekly rate of only $150 total (with dollar.com, using no codes).
On The Neighbor Islands
There is simply no availability (at least at this time) for rental cars.
What made matters worse than ever, car rental companies have downsized their fleets in Hawaii. With the reduced number of travelers, there has been no reason to have more cars here than can be rented regularly. Their cost to ship cars to and from the mainland, and to maintain them here, is very high.
What I recommend this season and next.
1. 2009 Strategy:
Keep checking online for last minute availability.
Try calling and showing up in person as well.
If all else fails, consider a U-Haul pickup truck for $19.95/day plus $.79/mile. I’ve done this before at HNL, when I was desperate. Because their locations aren’t on-airport however, you’ll need to take cab or bus to get to them.
Here’s what I suggest for the 2010 holiday season (and what I do for all of my travels):
1. Check car rentals and hotels for availability and pricing prior to purchasing airline tickets so you’ll have some idea what to expect.
2. Once you have airline tickets, immediately book the best cancellable car and hotel you can. That way you’ll assure yourself a workable fall-back situation.
3. Continue to check for better cars and accommodations up until your trip, to the point where you can no longer cancel. Very often, deals will become available at or near the last minute. That may even happen here in Hawaii over Christmas and New Year’s week.
Here’s a nice way to escape the cold while not breaking the bank. US Airways is intruding on American and United’s territory, and has sweetened this deal to get you flying.
Airlines: US Airways
Price: $507 round trip (all-inclusive)
Dates: From January 15 through March 7
Availability: Good
How to find dates: I used Travelocity flexible date search
In case you missed the annual Lights on Rice Christmas parade on Kauai, here’s a short video I took to put you in our island style holiday mood.
This year’s parade took place on December 4, and as always was one of the best-attended events on Kauai. It runs the length of Rice Street and featured nearly 60 floats and other entrants.
Lights on Rice brings both locals and visitors together to enjoy the start of the holidays featuring music, parade, craft fair (sponsored by the Kauai Museum) and food vendors.
If you missed the parade but plan to be on Kauai this month, be sure to check out the Festival of Lights. It’s open Friday through Sunday evenings from 6-8 pm., through December 24.
This year’s Festival of Lights acknowledges the passing of friend and illustrious folk artist Auntie Josie, soon after we interviewed her last Christmas.
If you’ve been to either of these two holiday celebrations on Kauai, I’d appreciate your comments.
Here’s a discount code that is reported to work on Continental by multiple sources. The magic promo number is 9702533697 and can be used on the Continental website when purchasing tickets.
If it works, and I haven’t tried it yet myself, you’ll get 5% off any Continental Airlines ticket domestically or internationally.
Since Continental is looking to play an increasingly large role in US Mainland to Hawaii air travel, it may save you enough money for an upcoming dinner in Hawaii.
Flying Hawaiian instead? Don’t forget you can get 5% off all their trans-Pacific fares.
USA Today columnist Barbara De Lollis was curious how people make hotel rooms more accommodating. This has been something I’ve done without giving much thought to for the past 30 years.
Barbara recently interviewed me and a number of other “re-arrangers” to come up with a most interesting list and additional comments:
Two people she spoke to move furniture around to access electrical plug-ins.
One person moves hotels beds for a better “feng shui” orientation, while another moves beds for child safety.
One commenter said they move furnishings when necessary to hide stains while another person rearranges to have space for yoga. That’s something I’ve done too.
Another individual said they move furnishings when necessary to maximize their view. I completely concur with that.
Here are other things I do, which I neglected to mention to Barbara:
1. Electrical. I carry two light-weight extension cords and a 3-way adapter. For international trips this includes a converter and at least two additional adapter plugs for the country I go to (sometimes you need only the adapter) so you can plug things in more conveniently.
2. Lighting. I bring one or multiples of the following: bright light bulbs, battery operated book light or a lightweight, headboard mounting reading lamp.
3. Kitchen supplies. We wrote about how to save money and eat better using portable kitchen supplies.
4. Decor. For me, adding decor to a hotel room is as de regeur as unpacking the suitcase. The photo above shows a straw mat and brass plates I purchased to enhance the room.
What do you do to make your hotel stay more accommodating? I welcome your comments.
Photo: My room at Honolulu’s Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki with added features.
Those TripAdvisor engineers are at it again with their self proclaimed, “proprietary algorithm.” It’s forecast findings for 2010 named Waimea as #5 in top US travel destinations.
I love Waimea as well as anyone, but am not sure I would rank the town as your “must see” destination on Kauai.
It’s a cute and folksy community just down the road from home and a favorite place for its quaint movie theater, stores and an occasional JoJo’s Shave Ice.
Beyond that, and some community events like parades and parties, Waimea is completely off-radar for both tourists and locals alike (unless you live there).
Waimea has one reasonable accommodation, the Plantation Cottages. And it does put you only a half hour away from gorgeous Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Parks.
Staying in Waimea, however, will put you at the western-most part of the island, 45 minutes (or more depending on traffic) from Poipu or Lihue and a good 2+ hours from Princeville and Hanalei. The beach is not good, though it’s murky waters are a favorite hangout for sharks (no joke).
This TripAdvisor forecast, with no supporting information, unfortunately only continues to undermine any value Beat of Hawaii ever placed on the Expedia-owned review site.
Photo note: Waimea Canyon. I’ve never taken a photo of the beach at Waimea, as it simply isn’t photogenic. Looking at Google images, I guess others concurs as I couldn’t find a single photo.
These two markets continue to dominate the deals now on offer for 2010. They have been followed by California’s bay area, which has had terrific though intermittent sales. Look for those to resume shortly.
With the announcement of many new services from Southern California to Hawaii starting from March to June 2010, competition will be heating up for that market as well.
Seattle
Honolulu from $331 to $400 round trip (all-inclusive) through early June
Big Island, Kauai and Maui are approx. $50 more round trip
Airlines: Alaska, Delta, Hawaiian, United
New York
Honolulu $553 to $625 round trip (all-inclusive) all year, including summer
Big Island, Kauai and Maui are approx. $100+ more round trip
Airlines: American, US Airways (also check Continental and Delta)
The deals are starting to flow, albeit a few weeks later than last year. This is an unbeatable price. Considering that inter-island airfares are at over $60 each way, this equates to flying from Seattle to Honolulu for about $80!
This is available over coveted Spring Break for those who act quickly.
$305 round trip (all-inclusive). Price is based on $321, then using Hawaiian Affiliate code for 5% discount.
Hawaiian Airlines.
Airports: Hilo, Honolulu, Kahului ($15 more each way), Kona, Lihue
Availability: excellent from about January 5 through mid-May for West Coast departures
"If you're a fan of the Hawaiian Islands, you'll want to rush quick to the Beat of Hawaii." Arthur Frommer
Find Beat of Hawaii in: Associated Press, USA Today, LA Times, SF Chronicle, Miami Herald, CN Traveler, MSNBC, Budget Travel, Coastal Living, Chicago Tribune, Hotel Chatter, Economist, WalletPop, Frommers and many more.
Hawaiian Air’s new “Coach Plus” won’t give you any more legroom, or different seats. Now that we’ve gotten the confusion with United’s Economy plus out of the way, here’s what the new offering does give you:
Lack of cars (and accommodations) at the holidays is a long-standing tradition in Hawaii. Here’s the current rental car status for the 2009 holidays and what I recommend you do for next year.
Here’s a discount code that is reported to work on Continental by multiple sources. The magic promo number is 9702533697 and can be used on the Continental website when purchasing tickets.
Those TripAdvisor engineers are at it again with their self proclaimed, “proprietary algorithm.” It’s forecast findings for 2010 named Waimea as #5 in 
These two markets continue to dominate the deals now on offer for 2010. They have been followed by California’s bay area, which has had terrific though intermittent sales. Look for those to resume shortly.
The deals are starting to flow, albeit a few weeks later than last year. This is an unbeatable price. Considering that 
