Advice for honeymoon trip to Hawaii

Forgive me if these question has been asked here a million times
before.

I will be getting married in July 2004, and my fiancee and I want to
plan a 2 week Hawaiian honeymoon.

I know that there is a lot to see and do, and that we can't possibly
cover it all in the space of 2 weeks, but we want to see as much of
the islands as possible.

Is a visit to 3 islands feasible? I'd like to check out the Big
Island and another two. Any suggestions? We would likeI also wonder
if I should be booking three separate hotels, one for each island
visit? Any specific hotel recommendations for honeymooners?

Also a question about transportation - Is it simple to get from one
island to another? How about tranportation within each island?

Both my fiancee and I are computer savvy, and have booked vacations
online before. Do you think that the honeymoon trip is best left to
the expertise of a travel agent, or should I take advantage of lower
prices that can be found online? I would have no problem booking the
airfare and accomodations, but I don't want to screw up the most
important vacation of my life. I worry about planning the leisure
time activities, and thing

Although I want to spend time relaxing on the beaches, I obviously
want to spend some time checking out all the wonderful natural scenery
that the islands have to offer.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

Tom

Yes it is feasible to visit three islands in two weeks. It's probably
easiest to go with a tour company, which can book you flights and hotels and
leave the rest to you.


"Tom" wrote in message
om...
Forgive me if these question has been asked here a million times
before.

I will be getting married in July 2004, and my fiancee and I want to
plan a 2 week Hawaiian honeymoon.

I know that there is a lot to see and do, and that we can't possibly
cover it all in the space of 2 weeks, but we want to see as much of
the islands as possible.

Is a visit to 3 islands feasible? I'd like to check out the Big
Island and another two. Any suggestions? We would likeI also wonder
if I should be booking three separate hotels, one for each island
visit? Any specific hotel recommendations for honeymooners?

Also a question about transportation - Is it simple to get from one
island to another? How about tranportation within each island?

Both my fiancee and I are computer savvy, and have booked vacations
online before. Do you think that the honeymoon trip is best left to
the expertise of a travel agent, or should I take advantage of lower
prices that can be found online? I would have no problem booking the
airfare and accomodations, but I don't want to screw up the most
important vacation of my life. I worry about planning the leisure
time activities, and thing

Although I want to spend time relaxing on the beaches, I obviously
want to spend some time checking out all the wonderful natural scenery
that the islands have to offer.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

Tom

"Tom" wrote in message
om...
Forgive me if these question has been asked here a million times
before.

I will be getting married in July 2004, and my fiancee and I want to
plan a 2 week Hawaiian honeymoon.

I know that there is a lot to see and do, and that we can't possibly
cover it all in the space of 2 weeks, but we want to see as much of
the islands as possible.

Is a visit to 3 islands feasible? I'd like to check out the Big
Island and another two. Any suggestions? We would likeI also wonder
if I should be booking three separate hotels, one for each island
visit? Any specific hotel recommendations for honeymooners?

Also a question about transportation - Is it simple to get from one
island to another? How about tranportation within each island?

Both my fiancee and I are computer savvy, and have booked vacations
online before. Do you think that the honeymoon trip is best left to
the expertise of a travel agent, or should I take advantage of lower
prices that can be found online? I would have no problem booking the
airfare and accomodations, but I don't want to screw up the most
important vacation of my life. I worry about planning the leisure
time activities, and thing

Although I want to spend time relaxing on the beaches, I obviously
want to spend some time checking out all the wonderful natural scenery
that the islands have to offer.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

Tom

Yes, it is possible to visit 3 islands in 2 weeks and you can pick the one
you like the best for future trips to Hawaii. My favorite island is the Big
Island of Hawaii since it has the most variety, you may want to spend a week
there and break up the second week with Kauai and another island. There is
only one city in Hawaii and that's Honolulu on Oahu. If you want some city
life and night life, you might want to consider Oahu and visit the North
Shore and windward sides during the day. However, if scenery is more
important to you, Maui might be a better ticket as the drive up Haleakala is
spectacular and the drives to Hana and Lahaina via the North Shore are also
very picturesque. My favorite hotels on the Big Island are the Hilton
Waikaloa Village, though pricey, and Uncle Billy's in Hilo for reasonable
prices. On Maui my favorites are the Grand Wailea and Four Seasons Wailea.
On Oahu, Hilton Hawaiian Village on the edges of Discovery Bay and Waikiki or
Hyatt Regency, Waikiki if you want to be in the city or Turtle Bay Resort on
the North Shore if you want to be in the country. On Kauai, I like the
Princeville the best although there are many nice accommodations at Poipu
Beach which is the driest part of the island. The only island with decent
public transporation is Oahu and The Bus is currently on strike with no end
in sight at this time. You should plan to rent cars for your visits. If you
really want to be in an out of the way place, you might want to consider
Molokai which is off the beaten track in every way. I'm one of those people
who rarely uses travel agents as I prefer to book my own flights and
accommodations, so I'm not really in a position to give advice on those
matters due to lack of experience! For more information about each of the
individual Islands of Hawaii, or to listen to local radio stations, view
Hawaii through live webcameras and take virtual field trips of the individual
islands, you are invited to visit my Hawaii webpage at:
http://hawaii.home.att.net/ - where you'll find no advertising, no pop-ups,
no cookies and nothing for sale. Bon voyage!
--
(-:alohacyberian:-) At my website there are 3000 live cameras or
visit NASA, play games, read jokes, send greeting cards & connect
to CNN news, NBA, the White House, Academy Awards or learn all
about Hawaii, Israel and mo http://keith.martin.home.att.net/

"Tom" wrote in message
om...
Forgive me if these question has been asked here a million times
before.

I will be getting married in July 2004, and my fiancee and I want to
plan a 2 week Hawaiian honeymoon.

I know that there is a lot to see and do, and that we can't possibly
cover it all in the space of 2 weeks, but we want to see as much of
the islands as possible.

Is a visit to 3 islands feasible? I'd like to check out the Big
Island and another two. Any suggestions? We would likeI also wonder
if I should be booking three separate hotels, one for each island
visit? Any specific hotel recommendations for honeymooners?

Also a question about transportation - Is it simple to get from one
island to another? How about tranportation within each island?

Both my fiancee and I are computer savvy, and have booked vacations
online before. Do you think that the honeymoon trip is best left to
the expertise of a travel agent, or should I take advantage of lower
prices that can be found online? I would have no problem booking the
airfare and accomodations, but I don't want to screw up the most
important vacation of my life. I worry about planning the leisure
time activities, and thing

Although I want to spend time relaxing on the beaches, I obviously
want to spend some time checking out all the wonderful natural scenery
that the islands have to offer.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

Tom

What is your budget - about how much per hotel per night? If you have
never been there before, I would suggest 2 or 3 nights Oahu, 4 - 5
nights Maui, 3 - 4 nights Kauai & 4 nights Big Island. You could
easily do 4 islands unless... you really want to kick back & not move
around alot, then I would delete Oahu. I would buy a package -
inter-island fares are really steep & nice to have someone to call if
a problem. On Oahu, I would suggest the Mandarin Oriental (a bit out
of town, but very nice) or the Halekalani or Hyatt Regency (both in
Waikiki) - ask for Diamond Head views. In Maui, the Kea Lani
(gorgeous suites & an adult pool), Kauai, the Hyatt Regency or
Princeville Sheraton & on the Big Island, the Orchid Fairmont is
gorgeous. It might be fun here to stay at the Kona Village instead as
very Hawaiian laid-back end to your trip, but I haven't stayed there
myself. Have a woderful honeymoon & happy married life!

In article ,
(brenda) wrote:

What is your budget - about how much per hotel per night? If you have
never been there before, I would suggest 2 or 3 nights Oahu, 4 - 5
nights Maui, 3 - 4 nights Kauai & 4 nights Big Island.

And he'd be paying rack rates because he couldn't get the packages that'd
offer Nth night free on pretty much any of those islands.

Just a thought.

Why not get 5th night free with breakfast AND pay less?

--
_Deirdre http://deirdre.net
"Dogs may have kept us company on the hunt, but it was the cats who
insisted we invent houses and discover fire." -- Khiem Tran

In article ,
(Tom) wrote:

Forgive me if these question has been asked here a million times
before.

No problem.

I will be getting married in July 2004, and my fiancee and I want to
plan a 2 week Hawaiian honeymoon.

Congratulations to you both.

Is a visit to 3 islands feasible? I'd like to check out the Big
Island and another two. Any suggestions? We would likeI also wonder
if I should be booking three separate hotels, one for each island
visit? Any specific hotel recommendations for honeymooners?

I do this all day long (I book Hawaiian vacations as a specialty, though I
also do Caribbean). Disclaimer: I work for a travel wholesaler, but I do
not represent them and I don't book directly with individuals.

But not a day goes by without booking at least one honeymoon (today, I
booked 3 plus a bunch of other non-honeymoon trips).

Also a question about transportation - Is it simple to get from one
island to another? How about tranportation within each island?

Flights are the usual method of getting between islands, with the addition
of ferries from Maui to Lanai or Molokai. On all islands except Oahu, cars
are the means of getting around, unless you're staying at one of the two
expensive resorts on Lanai that'll shuttle you around (and thus you
wouldn't need a car). Oahu has good bus service (though it was on strike
recently).

Both my fiancee and I are computer savvy, and have booked vacations
online before. Do you think that the honeymoon trip is best left to
the expertise of a travel agent, or should I take advantage of lower
prices that can be found online? I would have no problem booking the
airfare and accomodations, but I don't want to screw up the most
important vacation of my life. I worry about planning the leisure
time activities, and thing

1) You will often pay more than a contracted rate.
2) You will have more flexibility if you go through a wholesaler, which a
travel agent can help you with.
3) Go to a travel agent.

The people who change their itineraries most are honeymooners. Literally,
where I work, the *average* number of changes for a honeymoon couple is 9,
especially when booking this far out. Otherwise, you'll eat any possible
savings in change fees. And then there's the downside of possible
cancellation.

If you have a higher budget, a wholesaler can get contracted first class
rates that are quite good. Some can even get tickets issued early so that
you can use FF miles for upgrades (where I work, Hawaiian and United offer
this).

Give a TA a budget, the islands you'd prefer to see, and see what they can
do for you. They'd likely call a wholesaler who would get contract air
(which can be changed without penalty prior to ticketing -- generally 21
days prior to departure -- as long as the same class of service is
available), guarantee prices, and give you the ability to defer payment
WHILE holding airfare for a significant time. Typically, only a deposit
will be due (generally within a week of making a booking).

Off the top of my head, you'll get the best deals if you meet minimum
stays on the islands for certain specials. For Oahu, that's 3-5 days, for
Maui, it's 5-6 days, for other islands it's 4-5 days. But three islands is
still quite doable.

Although I want to spend time relaxing on the beaches, I obviously
want to spend some time checking out all the wonderful natural scenery
that the islands have to offer.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.

Sure!

--
_Deirdre http://deirdre.net
"Dogs may have kept us company on the hunt, but it was the cats who
insisted we invent houses and discover fire." -- Khiem Tran

"Deirdre Saoirse Moen" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(brenda) wrote:
What is your budget - about how much per hotel per night? If you have
never been there before, I would suggest 2 or 3 nights Oahu, 4 - 5
nights Maui, 3 - 4 nights Kauai & 4 nights Big Island.

And he'd be paying rack rates because he couldn't get the packages that'd
offer Nth night free on pretty much any of those islands.

Just a thought.

Why not get 5th night free with breakfast AND pay less?


I agree and also feel four islands is too much for 2 weeks, especially if the
Big Island is one of them. KM
--
(-:alohacyberian:-) At my website there are 3000 live cameras or
visit NASA, play games, read jokes, send greeting cards & connect
to CNN news, NBA, the White House, Academy Awards or learn all
about Hawaii, Israel and mo http://keith.martin.home.att.net/

I will be getting married in July 2004, and my fiancee and I want to
plan a 2 week Hawaiian honeymoon.

Congratulations on your marriage!

Another option to consider is staying at a vacation condo. You can save a
lot compared with hotels, and save even more by booking directly with an
owner, like me. I have an ocean-front condo for rent in Maalaea, Maui.
Discounts are available, too. http://www.geocities.com/kanai_111

Regards,
Daniel

We go to Hawaii almost every year. We're going next month for 4 weeks.
Depends on what you want to do, your budget, etc. Happy to advise if
you could be more specific. We've tried Maui, Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii.
Oahu is our favorite but again it is what a person wants.

Daniel wrote:
I will be getting married in July 2004, and my fiancee and I want to
plan a 2 week Hawaiian honeymoon.


Congratulations on your marriage!

Another option to consider is staying at a vacation condo. You can save a
lot compared with hotels, and save even more by booking directly with an
owner, like me. I have an ocean-front condo for rent in Maalaea, Maui.
Discounts are available, too. http://www.geocities.com/kanai_111

Regards,
Daniel

"TwoTon" wrote in message
...
We go to Hawaii almost every year. We're going next month for 4 weeks.
Depends on what you want to do, your budget, etc. Happy to advise if
you could be more specific. We've tried Maui, Kauai, Oahu and Hawaii.
Oahu is our favorite but again it is what a person wants.


Since Oahu is your favorite, you probably wouldn't want to try Molokai -
though honeymooners who want to be alone with scenery might enjoy Molokai.
For more information about Molokai, you are invited to visit my Molokai
webpage at: http://keith.martin.home.att.net/vMolokai.html - where you'll
find no advertising, no pop-ups, no cookies and nothing for sale. KM
--
(-:alohacyberian:-) At my website there are 3000 live cameras or
visit NASA, play games, read jokes, send greeting cards & connect
to CNN news, NBA, the White House, Academy Awards or learn all
about Hawaii, Israel and mo http://keith.martin.home.att.net/