Beat of Hawaii and Beyond: Travel Deals, Tips, Events, Culture

1. Seasonal timing. Look for the best Hawaii airfare deals to be announced on the Wednesday two weeks prior, then one week prior, to ending of a “high season.”

The first round of discounts are with the more distant locations (longer trips are less spontaneous so the airlines have less to lose in lowering those fares first). The second round of discounts are from nearby west coast locations, where travelers can be more last minute (the airlines could lose more high-season traffic when lowering fares too soon).

Going out on a limb, I’ll suggest that for the highly desirable and affordable August (”shoulder”) season travel, look for July 30 and August 6 as potentially the best buy dates.

2. Wednesday is the key day. I’ve known this for several years, but a post on Peter Greenberg’s blog today got me thinking. Wednesday’s are the day to buy airline tickets. In my mind this started years ago when the majors offered their best internet deals late on Tuesday night. And while, as Peter pointed out, weekends are when the airlines start to test new fares (both up and down), just after midnight on Wednesday morning is virtually always the best time to buy.

With oil (and jet fuel) in the stratosphere, look for airlines to be more tricky than ever in trying to strap you into higher priced seats. They are even taking out lavatories to reduce weight and add more seats. They have to.

But the deals, as you saw yesterday, are still out there to be had. We’ll keep giving the deals to you as quickly as we can find them.

3. Subscribe to Beat of Hawaii so that we can get you the best airfare deals first: email or RSS feed.

And please, let us know how it works for you.

I just found several airfares seriously worthy of mention. Some have very limited availability, so if you’re interested, I suggest you you jump on them without delay.

All are 14 day advance fares for travel March 31 to June 5:

1. Houston to Honolulu $347 (CO).

2. New York (LGA) to Honolulu $459 (CO, DL, NW, UA, US).

3. Newark to Honolulu (nonstop on CO!) $440 (CO, DL, NW).

PS: I used Travelocity flexible date search to find availability.

1. Ride The Bus for $2 each from Airport to Waikiki.

When it was standing room only I told Jeff to meditate on how much money we saved. We eliminated the cost of hotel parking ($15-$20 per day), rental car and gas. Honolulu is congested and parking not easy to find.

You can bring 1 suitcase to place on your lap or under your seat. Bus 19 or 20 will get you from the Airport to Waikiki. Frequent riders can buy a 4-day bus pass for $20 at all Waikiki ABC stores.

Another option is to rent a car in Waikiki for a day to explore Oahu and take The Bus for your local travel.

You’re not a good fit for The Bus if….you want to make an entrance at your hotel, plan to spend most of your time outside of Honolulu or travel with heavy luggage.

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The Kona Tiki Hotel has to be the best deal in all of Hawaii. Where else can you pay $69 a night for two and get a clean, comfortable, oceanfront room?

We just returned from a 5 day stay and give Kona Tiki in Kailua-Kona our two thumbs up for budget accommodation.

What does $69 a night give you?
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The Hawaii Polo Inn of Waikiki has a new look and name after its multi-million dollar renovation. It’s now the Hotel Equus and part of Aqua Hotels and Resorts.

With rates starting at $94 a night, we decided to do an on-site review this month. We also have a pet mule (for real) and felt that we couldn’t go wrong staying at a hotel with this name.

Our room was a Polo Executive Suite for $109 a night. When we opened the door we were pleasantly surprised by its large size and fashionable Ralph Lauren inspired décor. The furnishings, colors and comfortable bed were a direct hit. The interior had a soothing feel. It scores two thumbs up with the Beat of Hawaii team. Continue Reading »

How bad is Lihue’s Oki Diner? After reading the thumbs down reviews from True Aloha and many Trip Advisor readers, we decided to check it out again, for ourselves.

We’ve been there twice in the past month, and they still have perhaps the best pancakes on the island. Now Chef Dominic Benzon has arrived at the scene. He was previously a chef at Nick’s Fish Market in Waikiki.

Chef Benzon and owner Barbie Oki rolled out their new signature dinner menu this week. During our dinner last night the place was packed with locals and visitors checking out the new menu. Continue Reading »