Author Topic: Traveling to Hawaii in July, any tips, suggestions for flights, car rentals?  (Read 2421 times)

Mustache_In_Training

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Hello all,

As the title says, I will be traveling to Hawaii in July for a nice vacation. After reading the recent credit card article, it made me wonder how inexpensively I could fly to Hawaii. I will be flying from Alabama to Hawaii - More specifically Kauai.

I have more than half a year to acquire credit cards and start earning miles. Is there any particular airline you would recommend to fly out to Hawaii? Additionally, does it make more sense to fly to the big island and take a boat/island hopper plane to Kauai? I looked quickly on Kayak and tickets look to be about $1300 per person flying to Kauai.

We'll be staying in a time share fo' free (thanks to an uncle), however we'll be responsible for a renting a vehicle. Should we even rent a vehicle? (Isn't Kauai tiny?) This will be my first time traveling to Hawaii, so I gladly welcome all suggestions. Any things to avoid, price gouging, etc.

Thanks!

 

Numbers Man

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I'm leaving for Maui on Saturday. My tickets were $677 non stop from PHX.

RunHappy

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My SO and I are going to Hawaii in 3 weeks, going to the Big Island and Oahu.  It is a 10 day trip but really 8 days if you exclude travel days. 

We used airline, hotel, and credit points to purchase the tickets and a hotel room on each each island.  After all totaled we are paying about $300 in fees and a night in a hotel that points do not cover.  We are renting a car on each island but with coupons the cars will be less than $170/week.  The hotels include breakfast.

On the advice of my friends who live in Hawaii, I am budgeting $125/day for food, excursions, souvenirs, but do not plan to hit this limit.  We are big outdoor people so we are planning to go hiking and walking quite a bit which are free.  Some things like museums and shows require a fee but these are covered with the daily budget.

If you have any airline or credit card points to redeem this would be the best way to go.  Try to book early.  Don't limit yourself to only one airline.  If you can get a cheap ticket on American  from Alabama to LAX and then a cheap ticket from LAX to Hawaii on United, don't be afraid to purchase 2 tickets, just give yourself enough time.

Also MMM just posted an article about how to cash in on new credit card points and offers.  If you play the game right (and are disciplined) you could easily accrue enough points with regular spending for a rewards ticket.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2014, 10:47:58 AM by RunHappy »

boarder42

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1300 for airfare is an insane price to pay to get to hawaii (assuming you're coming from mainland america)  i can find flights around 600-800 from KC pretty consistently.

boarder42

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oh i just saw alabama.  you shouldnt pay over 700 each i wouldnt think.  you could also get the Alaskan airlines CC and use that to get you there ... you get one "companion" with you for 99 dollars on that flight.  you would just have to get to the west coast.