Hawaii 2015 planning help

[Kimmi96]

We are seriously considering going to Aulani next year to celebrate our oldest graduating high school. We live in GA so I have planned many trip to Disney World and Hilton Head. I have never planned a trip that required flight, car rental, ect. I have been working to make a budget to make sure we can afford the trip for the 5 of us. We would like to go to Aulani and on the way back stopover in Calf. to go to the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland. My question is has anyone ever used a travel agent to help with airfare, rental, car and coordinating tickets/excursions? I would book our DVC room myself. If you have any trip for a newbie I would appreciate it. We are looking at going end of May 2015.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

Since its all in the USA and touristy you can easily do everything yourself. I'm doing a similar trip this August from Texas. I'm doing a multi city flight so it's all together on one airline tkt. go on Delia's website whose hub is in Atlanta and click on multi city. Put in fake dates in 2014 around the time you're looking in 2015 and you'll get an idea of prices!

Feel free to private message me and I'll be glad to help!

 

[Princess Tess]

When we went to HI in 2011 we flew Delta from Boston to Honolulu. We used our skymiles so airfare was free so we "took what we could get" as far as flights went....we flew from BOS to ATL @2hrs then ATL to HNL @9hrs I was sooo dreading that long flight but in hindsight it was better. There was constantly food being served a movie being played - more snacks - point being the flight didn't feel like 9 hours.
If you can get a airline credit card that will give you free tix for signing up and are disciplined enough to use it just for things you can pay off at the end of the month (gas - groceries - monthly bills) you may be able to get enough points for your airfare.
I have a friend who lives in Oahu and flies back and forth to Boston alot - she says a good price from BOS to HNL is @$600. I would think from ATL you could do better.
The food at Aulani wasn't that great when we were there (hopefully it got better) - so I'm not sure I would do the food plan. There is a Costco and other supermarkets one exit up from Aulani so you could prepare some of our own meals. I don't think the excursions would be worth the $$ - driving around the island is easy you could do your own thing. I think the resort has some packages for kids for activities - that might be worth it if your kids are waterbugs. Maybe you could sign up for Groupon or Living Social for the HNL area?
It's an amazing resort - you won't regret going!

 

[poohj80]

We just booked flights for spring break at Aulani. We're actually flying into Hilo first to see Volcanoes National park then taking Hawaiian Airlines to get to Honolulu. This was much cheaper than going straight to Aulani and taking a day excursion to see volcanoes ($300+ per person).

 

[krisbars]

I booked Aulani through AAA, and there may have been a slight discount on the room rate, but besides that, there wasn't much benefit. I notice that Alaska Airlines travel had better deals after I had already booked, and I let AAA know, because they have a price-match policy. I basically got a room upgrade without paying more. The cheapest way to stay at Aulani is to rent DVC points through a DVC member or through David's or the DVC Rental Company. Book your car and flights on your own. I booked our Hertz rental car through AAA, and we didn't save much. Not to mention I had to call so many times to ensure our gold club membership number was on the reservation. I couldn't update anything with Hertz, since they would only take modifications from the travel agent. Believe that there is freedom in making your own reservations. You will get better deals do trust. Also, AAA went through a company called Pleasant Holidays, so it was like playing the telephone game.

 

[WDW_Diane]

We are seriously considering going to Aulani next year to celebrate our oldest graduating high school. We live in GA so I have planned many trip to Disney World and Hilton Head. I have never planned a trip that required flight, car rental, ect. I have been working to make a budget to make sure we can afford the trip for the 5 of us. We would like to go to Aulani and on the way back stopover in Calf. to go to the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland. My question is has anyone ever used a travel agent to help with airfare, rental, car and coordinating tickets/excursions? I would book our DVC room myself. If you have any trip for a newbie I would appreciate it. We are looking at going end of May 2015.

Last summer we flew to Honolulu. I booked it all myself.

If you're interested, we used the Hawaii Discount Car rental that I had heard mentioned on this board, and we liked the price.
I think your idea of a stopover in California is a good one, we plan to do that on the way there next time we go. That way we can use Southwest Airlines miles to get to California, and then maybe fly out of San Diego or LA area the rest of the way on another carrier. Flights from Oklahoma are expensive, as we aren't anyone's hub.

I have heard that Southwest is going to start flying to Hawaii too. I mention them because you could get two tickets pretty much (50,000 miles) for signing up for their credit card and spending x amount of dollars within the first three months. On our last trip the three of us flew on American in first class because I saved their frequent flier miles for years.

I agree with the poster who said that using a travel agent makes it hard to make changes or add things to your trip. I used one from AAA on our DCL trip two years ago and I couldn't add or change things online, which I am used to doing myself.

I know you'll have a great time!

 

[Anal Annie]

Last summer we flew to Honolulu. I booked it all myself.

If you're interested, we used the Hawaii Discount Car rental that I had heard mentioned on this board, and we liked the price.
I think your idea of a stopover in California is a good one, we plan to do that on the way there next time we go. That way we can use Southwest Airlines miles to get to California, and then maybe fly out of San Diego or LA area the rest of the way on another carrier. Flights from Oklahoma are expensive, as we aren't anyone's hub.

I have heard that Southwest is going to start flying to Hawaii too. I mention them because you could get two tickets pretty much (50,000 miles) for signing up for their credit card and spending x amount of dollars within the first three months. On our last trip the three of us flew on American in first class because I saved their frequent flier miles for years.

I agree with the poster who said that using a travel agent makes it hard to make changes or add things to your trip. I used one from AAA on our DCL trip two years ago and I couldn't add or change things online, which I am used to doing myself.

I know you'll have a great time!

Any idea WHEN this SW rumor might happen?? Where did you hear this (on the Transporation board)?? I have SOME of our Hawaii flights booked (on Alaska Air) but am still searching for flights from LAX to HNL (we're stopping in LA for a few nights on the way to ease the jet lag). But the stop-over is adding to our over-all flight costs. I think the SW credit card deal is to spend $2K in 3 mo. (which I am not willing to do) but I would love to be able to price shop SW for the flight to HNL. TIA for any info you have on this rumor...

 

[WDW_Diane]

Any idea WHEN this SW rumor might happen?? Where did you hear this (on the Transporation board)?? I have SOME of our Hawaii flights booked (on Alaska Air) but am still searching for flights from LAX to HNL (we're stopping in LA for a few nights on the way to ease the jet lag). But the stop-over is adding to our over-all flight costs. I think the SW credit card deal is to spend $2K in 3 mo. (which I am not willing to do) but I would love to be able to price shop SW for the flight to HNL. TIA for any info you have on this rumor...

I heard the SW rumor from an employee but they had no timeframe. I hope it happens within a couple of years.

 

[Anal Annie]

I heard the SW rumor from an employee but they had no timeframe. I hope it happens within a couple of years.

OK, so nothing eminent. (I am looking for THIS August.) Thanks.

 

[brewcrew]

We did this two years ago for our oldest's graduation. We used flier miles to get to LAX and then flew Hawaiian Airlines to Oahu. They were the best airline that we have ever flown. Since they only fly to the mainland and Hawaii, they are on time quite often. Our kids asked if we could only fly them from then on, lol.

We rented a van (6 of us) for the week. We rented it through Costco. Start looking at rates now to get some good deals. We really did a little of everything regarding meals. We ate in our room, at outside restaurants and on Disney property. Our meals were very good on Disney property.

Our first day there, we rented a cabana for half of a day because we knew we would have some type of jet lag. That was such a treat!

Sign up for Beat Of Hawaii. They let you know of all types of airline specials as well as Hawaiian deals in general. Also, sign up for Groupon/Living Social deals in Honolulu. If you are going to Pearl Harbor, buy your tickets now online. We did all of our own excursions. I highly recommend Hawaiian Fire for surf lessons. They were amazing.

It was the most amazing trip of our life. Hawaii is quite beautiful. An absolute treat! Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[Dean]

We are seriously considering going to Aulani next year to celebrate our oldest graduating high school. We live in GA so I have planned many trip to Disney World and Hilton Head. I have never planned a trip that required flight, car rental, ect. I have been working to make a budget to make sure we can afford the trip for the 5 of us. We would like to go to Aulani and on the way back stopover in Calf. to go to the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland. My question is has anyone ever used a travel agent to help with airfare, rental, car and coordinating tickets/excursions? I would book our DVC room myself. If you have any trip for a newbie I would appreciate it. We are looking at going end of May 2015.

It's not difficult. I'm assuming you're looking at a week in HI plus 3 days or so in SoCal. I agree with Costco and Hawaii Discount Car rental. Costco is usually cheaper if you keep checking but HDCR is very good, usually about the cheapest otherwise and very nice people. I believe their contract allows 2 drivers and does away with the under 25 added charges IIRC. You should be able to get a standard or full size car for a week for around $220-250, possibly cheaper, luggage space will likely be your major hurdle for 5 though, an Impala was tight with 5 our let trip. Air will be your biggest cost at maybe $5-6K total, especially when you're restricted to a stopover in CA, hopefully you can get it less for a group of 5. Then there's food, tips, occupancy taxes, activities and the like. Even using DVC and ignoring those costs, you're looking at maybe $8-10K for such a trip if all on cash other than the accommodations, maybe slightly less if you can get very good air fare.

 

[brewcrew]

I agree with $10,000 budget. Also, if you fly out of San Diego, it might be a little cheaper....

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

We did this two years ago for our oldest's graduation. We used flier miles to get to LAX and then flew Hawaiian Airlines to Oahu. They were the best airline that we have ever flown. Since they only fly to the mainland and Hawaii, they are on time quite often. Our kids asked if we could only fly them from then on, lol.

We rented a van (6 of us) for the week. We rented it through Costco. Start looking at rates now to get some good deals. We really did a little of everything regarding meals. We ate in our room, at outside restaurants and on Disney property. Our meals were very good on Disney property.

Our first day there, we rented a cabana for half of a day because we knew we would have some type of jet lag. That was such a treat!

Sign up for Beat Of Hawaii. They let you know of all types of airline specials as well as Hawaiian deals in general. Also, sign up for Groupon/Living Social deals in Honolulu. If you are going to Pearl Harbor, buy your tickets now online. We did all of our own excursions. I highly recommend Hawaiian Fire for surf lessons. They were amazing.

It was the most amazing trip of our life. Hawaii is quite beautiful. An absolute treat! Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Could you expand on Hawaiian airlines, please?
We're also planning a 2015 trip & I'm pretty sure we'll be flying HA. Ours will be a nonstop from NYC to HNL - so a 12 hr flight - with a 9 & 13 yr old. I realize your flt was probably half that - but how comfortable was it?
Any info will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sur]

You may be better off going to Chicago with a direct flight of only 9 hours, rather than backtracking to the East. If you go the night prior, there's a 10:20is (AM) flight on United that does this route everyday, has for a long time, and will continue to do so, as it's a great seller.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

You may be better off going to Chicago with a direct flight of only 9 hours, rather than backtracking to the East. If you go the night prior, there's a 10:20is (AM) flight on United that does this route everyday, has for a long time, and will continue to do so, as it's a great seller.

Never even occurred to me... Thanks - you're a genius!!!

 

[brewcrew]

Could you expand on Hawaiian airlines, please?
We're also planning a 2015 trip & I'm pretty sure we'll be flying HA. Ours will be a nonstop from NYC to HNL - so a 12 hr flight - with a 9 & 13 yr old. I realize your flt was probably half that - but how comfortable was it?
Any info will be greatly appreciated.

We flew coach. Very comfortable seats and slightly bigger than a regular airplane (I am not knowledgable about the airplane types) Each seat had a blanket and pillow, no need to hunt one down. Each seat had a tv in the seat in front of them. They had colored mood lighting above the carry on storage. They played hawaiian music. There was just little extras and attention to detail. The crew was incredible. Full meal and snacks and we only had a 5 hour flight from LAX. I just felt that I started vacation while on the plane.

We chose Hawaiian Airlines because of great reviews and we will always use them on our return trips to the islands. Keep an eye on their website for great deals. Hope this helps.

 

[Dean]

Could you expand on Hawaiian airlines, please?
We're also planning a 2015 trip & I'm pretty sure we'll be flying HA. Ours will be a nonstop from NYC to HNL - so a 12 hr flight - with a 9 & 13 yr old. I realize your flt was probably half that - but how comfortable was it?
Any info will be greatly appreciated.

We've flown the direct flight on Delta out of ATL several times, a little over 9 hours one way, a little under 9 the other IIRC. They did away with it for a while because they need extra pilot's on flights that long but I guess it was too popular so they brought it back. It's a long trip. Personally I'd rather just get it over with than spend an extra 3-4 hours just to break up the trip with the possibility of having a plane issue and interrupting the leg but many prefer the alternative. I'm not sure that HI air has a direct flight other than NYC now to the eastern US and I'm not sure if that one runs daily. Flying through Seatle with Alaska or LV can be good options also. Sometimes you'll find a great flight through San Diego, Oakland, Dallas or Orange Country, CA rather than SF or LAX. The prices did look pretty good on HI air out of NYC and would reduce the budget considerably.

 

[nabi]

We flew coach. Very comfortable seats and slightly bigger than a regular airplane (I am not knowledgable about the airplane types) Each seat had a blanket and pillow, no need to hunt one down. Each seat had a tv in the seat in front of them. They had colored mood lighting above the carry on storage. They played hawaiian music. There was just little extras and attention to detail. The crew was incredible. Full meal and snacks and we only had a 5 hour flight from LAX. I just felt that I started vacation while on the plane. We chose Hawaiian Airlines because of great reviews and we will always use them on our return trips to the islands. Keep an eye on their website for great deals. Hope this helps.

im seriously reconsidering plans based on your review! Thanks!

 

[amym2]

We did a 9hr flight on United from Chicago to Honolulu and then used Hawaiian Air for our interisland flight to Kauai. I have to say the service on HA was much better and we got as much food on it as we did on the United flight (meaning none). We used miles on United, so I certainly can't complain, but given the reviews, if I were paying for it and had the option to fly HA I'd do it.

That said, I can't imagine the flight from NY to HNL with two kids. Ours were 9 and 11 and the flight just about did them in (well the flight home overnight was worse). They were so antsy after 9 hours (plus the hour flight from here to ORD) that I can't imagine an even longer flight. On our flight on the way home, the only kid-friendly movie shown on our personal screens was the same movie shown on the main screen (no personal screens on that one) on the way over. Otherwise it was all R-rated movies. Definitely bring your own entertainment no matter what!

 

[brewcrew]

We stayed in LAX for 4 days to visit family and help with time change (we are in Orlando). That was why we used miles to get to LAX and then flew HA to Hawaii. Once you get to Hawaii (no matter how you get there), you will love it!