More good news for California-based Hawaii travelers. Alaska Airlines will be adding new services from Oakland starting this fall: Oakland to/from Kahului 4 times weekly starting November 9 Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday Depart Oakland 745am, Arrive Kahului 1105am Depart Kahului 1205pm, Arrive Oakland 710pm Oakland to/from Kona 3 times weekly starting November 10 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday Depart […]
I looks like Hilo Hattie, the originally Kauai-based store chain started in 1963, is fast coming to its demise. The ominous “we’re sorry” on their website is a sad indication of the conditions at hand. As you recall, we wrote about their problems last year both on May 10 and again on October 2. The federal court trustee monitoring […]
I’ve been in Honolulu all week, and distance swimming at my favorite Waikiki spot, Ala Moana Beach Park. Keeping in mind that the jellyfish were due to arrive this weekend, I planned my swims accordingly. To my great surprise the jellyfish made alternate plans. This is a reminder, to plan your water time at south facing Hawaiian beaches accordingly. […]
Our thanks to Arthur Frommer, the curmudgeonly original travel evangelist, who has written positive comments about Beat of Hawaii many times over the past year. Arthur likes our similarly sassy, irreverent and candid perspectives which we share from our home state of Hawaii. This week, Arthur wrote an article on his blog that contrasts us with Go Visit Hawaii. […]
Recently, a 33 year old Japanese visitor drowned in the Wailua River, while kayaking with a tour group on Kauai. On the same day, the Fire Department also rescued two more visitors on the Wailua River (not with the tour group), and another visitor at nearby Wailua Beach, after being swept out to sea. What’s to blame: Inclement weather […]
No airline booking fees. Travelocity announced today that it is joining Expedia in eliminating airline booking fees, at least until May 31, and likely forever. The reason is that these online travel agencies are in fierce competition with both the airlines and with sites like Kayak, that direct you to the airline sites themselves for booking. Price guarantees. Travelocity […]
Late last week, I had quite a surprise instead of an intended swim, when I found Kauai’s Salt Pond Beach closed due to jellyfish. This is the first time I can ever remember Salt Pond being impacted by jellyfish. The lifeguard told me that he had counted over 500 of them that day. Jellyfish are prominent on Oahu’s Waikiki […]
As I write, Hawaii’s legislature is considering banning smoking on famous Waikiki Beach. The bill, which is expected to pass, will take effect immediately. The law is designed to keep cigarette butts off of the beach, while still allowing smoking on nearby sidewalks. Waikiki beach has been through a significant transformation in recent years and is being restored into […]
This is the first in a series of posts on affordable Hawaii, 2009. 1. Consider package deals. Having said that, always price it yourself separately to be sure it is truly a good value. Online travel agencies, including Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia are anxious for you to book their air plus hotel or car deals. We featured a good […]
This photo might give you some idea that there is trouble brewing at the beach in front of the Sheraton Waikiki. The problem is that there is no beach. The small amount seen in the photo is only visible at very low tide. At all other times, the waves lap up on the beach wall where I’m standing. The […]
This is great news that we hope will be enduring. The VOG has been irritating to our lungs and skin and that of visitors, and has hurt Big Island tourism. It has also been destructive to crops including vegetables and flowers. Recently we’ve noticed that even in southerly wind conditions, the VOG throughout the Hawaiian Island chain seems to […]
TripAdvisor is plagued with fake reviews. Why? As I wrote about yesterday, the problem of review fraud is two-fold: Intense competition in the travel industry, greatly exacerbated by the state of our economy, has caused hotels and other travel providers to artificially manipulate review rankings in order to achieve increased bookings and revenue. Inherent conflict of interest exists between […]
