Vacation rental bookings are greatly influenced by amenities, suggests today’s study by Expedia’s TripAdvisor. Here are the highlights of their report: – 32% of travelers thought access to a full kitchen was the most important vacation rental amenity – 22% prefer Wi-Fi Internet access – 10% prioritize an outdoor deck or patio – 41% believe that vacation rentals typically […]
The mainland heat wave is not letting up yet, as the Weather Channel is predicting even more record highs to come. How are you coping with the intense heat? A Hawaii vacation is always good, and Jeff is keeping an eye out for the best Hawaii travel deals to tell you about. Deal or not, you could be enjoying […]
A great stop to eat, shop and more. Saturday mornings on Kauai’s north shore.
I found an amazing free dessert at Sweet Home Cafe. The catch: you buy a hot pot meal which is the best deal in Honolulu. The shave ice is something out of the ordinary. A yummy bowl of delicately flavored shave ice surrounded with tapoica balls, homemade almond tofu, gummy fruits, and coffee pannacotta. It’s frankly worth paying for […]
Have you heard about Airbnb? I’ve been following them the last few months and am impressed. So is actor Ashton Kutcher who just invested heavily. Overview: Hosts can list a room or their entire home to rent by the night. It’s a new way to connect with locals while traveling. Airbnb has links to Facebook and Twitter plus an […]
It’s July 4th weekend. That’s always a time to be thinking about family, friends and food. It brought to mind those special food products that people most associate with Hawaii. And which of those are the very best. When you come to Hawaii, what groceries do you stock up on? And which of these do you plan to take […]
An explosion in the Hawaii state bird population has caused alarm over their being ingested by transiting jet aircraft engines. There have been over 5,000 Nene sightings since 2008 and over 1,000 bird strikes reported in past years at Lihue. As you know, birds in the engines were what forced the dramatic 2009 US Airways water landing on the […]
When I drive around the island, there’s something missing this summer. It only started to dawn on me in the past week what it is. Â Mangoes. Hawaiian mangoes, they’re simply the world’s best. As each new year begins, my eyes gravitate naturally to the green mangoes growing. I spot the trees easily with their purple colored new leaf growth. […]
I get a lot of emails asking me to help book trips to Hawaii. Well, I’m not a travel agent. It makes me wonder, however, if people are booking their vacations themselves exclusively, or are still using travel agents. I last used a travel agent in the 1990’s, which was before the advent of cell phone apps and online […]
Thanks to Heidi for inspiring today’s post. She’s a friend of ours on Kauai who is spending her vacation on the mainland. Heidi just posted the list of things she forgot to bring on her Facebook profile. She’s spending today shopping. I’m thinking most of us have been in a similar situation. I know I have. There was the […]
If you’ve been disappointed with last minute deal sites like Living Social, Groupon, Tippr and Play Hawaii, read on. There’s a new player getting ready to shake things up in Hawaii activities. Step in Zozi. This is a name that wasn’t completely familiar to me. I did take notice that since last summer they’ve raised an impressive $10 Million […]
A new and innovative bicycle sharing program has just launched on Oahu. In B-cycle‘s own words, “B-cycles are there when you want one and gone when you don’t. Just swipe your card, grab a bike, and get to where you’re going.” The cost to rent a bike is based on a daily ($5), monthly ($30) or annual ($50)  fee, plus an […]
