cheap plane tickets

[pixiewings71]

So where do you all go for cheap flights? We are a family of 4 and we are trying to plan a trip to Hawaii....the only part that is killing us is the airfare.....

 

[traveljunkie2]

I have seen some great deals from Alaska Air to Hawaii. You might want to check them out. Make sure you check airfares from all the airports in your area. It may be worth a little bit of a drive to get a better deal on airfare. It all depends on when you want to go, also. If your dates are fixed (around a school holiday) you are going to pay top dollar, most likely. One year we wanted to go to Hawaii (from San Diego) over Christmas. It was way cheaper to go to Italy, so that's what we did! If you are flexible with your dates you will find better deals. Good luck!

 

[mrsklamc]

I was just going to suggest booking flights to CA and then on to Hawaii but I see you are already there.

DH and I are in the same boat but I would say from CA if you are able to be flexible you have a good chance of landing a good deal. I don't know where you would fly from but I would sign up at Hawaiian Air's website as well as at airfarewatchdog.com

 

[mrsklamc]

Also, I have seriously considered placing a bid on priceline. You have to be prepared to pay whatever you offer, though, and not change your dates, because if your bid is accepted, you're stuck.

I have not done flights with them but have had excellent luck with rental cars and hotels.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Two other websites for searching airfare:

http://www.kayak.com/

http://www.sidestep.com/

 

[pixiewings71]

Thanks all, we are stuck with our travel dates because we need to do it around the girls school. We are going at the end of June, so far we've only checked flying from SFO but I'll check around more. Thanks for suggestions on the other sites, I will bookmark them and check them out too! We are fine flying from our of a different airport, we've got plenty around here to chose from! We were hoping to fly Alaska or Hawaiian, they have the best rates and Hawaiian flies non stop, they are more $$ tho.

 

[mousebymarriage]

Two other websites for searching airfare:

http://www.kayak.com/

http://www.sidestep.com/

we have used sidestep quite a few times. Best deal was for our last Disney trip Newark, N.J. to Orlando (Jan 2008) on Jet blue non-stop $59 per person each way!

 

[beansmom]

i'd love to know what other arrangements you have made...hotel, food, etc...we have free airfare because of FF miles but I don't know where to start looking for affordable accomodations or food.

 

[mrsklamc]

Beecause we know we'd only go to Hawaii once, we'd fly into HNL and do Norweigan's circle Hawaii cruise. That way we can island hop w/o spending our vacation in an airport, and food will be covered while onboard. Hotels and condos are probably available for cheap now since tourism is down, if you get a condo they have Costco if you're a member.

 

[happymommy]

I used to live on Oahu, and now go back about every other year or so. We went this summer and last year. If you want any advice once you make your plans, PM me.

I do agree about staying in a condo - we do! At Ko Olina (west Oahu, about 45 minutes from Waikiki) is where we've stayed the past couple of years, and there is a Costco right there, brand new, plus a brand new Target (YEAH! Didn't have Target there before) with groceries. We cooked in every day and ate so well that way. Yes, I probably spent $600 in groceries, but that was for 11 nights for the 4 of us, and we ate out some of course as well. With kids, though, it's nice to go snorkel for the morning, then come in out of the sun, eat a good lunch, take a rest, then go out again as the sun isn't too bright.

Definitely start looking, but I wouldn't buy quite yet, unless you're cashing in miles. My DH flew Hawaiian a couple of times, and he liked them. We always use miles, and come from the East Coast, but you can probably get some good airfares from California. Check out packages as well, but I do highly recommend a condo. Also, take two weeks if you can, and try to see a couple of islands.

 

[pixiewings71]

i'd love to know what other arrangements you have made...hotel, food, etc...we have free airfare because of FF miles but I don't know where to start looking for affordable accomodations or food.

We actually have timeshare points that we will use if we end up going. We haven't planned anything else out yet because we aren't set in stone, we are just starting to plan so we might change our minds. We are looking at Kauai for this trip so we will fly into Lihue and drive to Kapaa from there. I was on Kauai about 12 years ago and would love to go back, we do plan to visit Oahu and the Big Island in coming years but this trip we wanted to do Kauai. DBF's Mom has offered to use her miles to get us 2 plane tickets (counting as a bday and Christmas gift) so we would only need to get 2, the only problem is her miles have restrictions so that makes it harder. She wants us to go off season and pull the girls from school but DD13 will be starting High School next year and I really don't want to pull her thru those years......

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I am scared of the name-your-own-price. Does it really work?

Could I realistically put in a bid of let's say $40-one way from Milwaukee to Orlando? Will I end up on 5 different planes, or are they pretty good about giving you a flight that only has 1 stop?

I would just LOVE to take a little escape from here when the snow starts....but I don't want to break the bank either.

 

[beansmom]

when you name your own price, you can specify how many stops you want to make...but be prepared to be turned down if you really lowball. The site will then tell you an 'appropriate' amount to bid --which won't save ya much over published rates. It's just a 'try and see' game.

 

[mrsklamc]

I have had luck while completely disregarding their 'suggested' offer. They'll say something like 'wow that would be a good rate, but try something more like $x.'

I have been both turned down and approved for ridiculously low rates. Just depends on how badly they want the seats/rooms/cars filled.