gobeach

Hi,
I am planning an up-to-5 day getaway to Hawaii with my wife and 2 children leaving from the San Francisco Bay Area.

I am looking at 2 options (at least) and am interested in feedback:

1. I have an offer to listen to a vacation property purchase spiel for 90 minutes and get 2 tickets to Honolulu and 2 nights accomodation at a 3 star hotel. Plan would be to buy the other 2 tickets separately. Pluses for this is the price is good. Downside is that it is less flexible. The risk of buying a vacation property I don't want is low.

2. Aloha Airlines has some good fares from Oakland and then use vrbo.com to find a place to stay. The number of listings on vrbo for Maui alone (our preferred destination) is overwhelming. My ideal place is:
- less than $150 night
- close to beach and pool
- minimal rental car required - is this even feasible? Are there places within walking distance to grocery stores and enough accessable activities?


thanks in advance,
Eric

TAW

I am most familiar with Kihei, Maui so can only comment on that area. You could get a condo there and be able to walk to most places - beach, restaurants, grocery store, etc BUT you'd have to take a taxi from airport to condo. AND you'd be confined to that area. Most people rent cars so they can get around easier and go and see other parts of the island, etc. There is no public transportation (that I'm aware of.) Also, Costco & Walmart are near the airport so you wouldn't be shopping there. You need to decide if 90 minutes of high pressure sales (and a lot of times they keep you longer than that especially if they have paid for you to get there)is worth the hassle vs. purchase your own tickets and go to the island of your choice. Good luck and have a great time whatever you choose.

suze

There is an airport shuttle that takes you to Lahaina. If you stayed in and around Lahaina you could do it without a car. But with 4 people traveling together I'm not sure this would save money over a car rental.

For myself, I would never get involved in a timeshare sales pitch. Life's too short.

Ag3046

You get what you pay for.

You really need a car to get around Maui. You could do 5 days in Oahu without a car (but you would need some taxis). I would be concerned about the "3 star" hotel.

CaliNurse

ric, I'd pass on the timeshare presentation. I suspect it is a Fairfield resort and you'll be staying at one of the Ohana (Outrigger company ) hotels. Can they tell you exactly in which hotel you'll be staying ?
A friend just returned from staying at one of the Honolulu Ohana hotels and got suckered into a timeshare presentation (No offense to Outrigger or Ohana hotels, in which I've had nothing ut good stays.)
They listened to the presentation and then the "nice" first salesman called his "boss" who insulted them for not buying. He ws rude and obnoxious. I wasn't surprised, as the same thing happened to me once at one of these lower-end time share companies.

That kind of experience can color your stay. The coupon for dinner at Duke's was NOT worth it the bad taste in their mouth after the good cop-bad cop routine.

Go for your Option 2. Fares on both ATA and Aloha, both out of OAK, are excellent right now.
For reasonable on Maui, in additon to VRBO, check the "Travel Club" rates (Entertainment card) for Outrigger properties eg Royal Kahana, Napili, etc.) Go to the pulldown menu at Outrigger.com.
Don't forget to add on the Hawii state tax on hotels. The $150/night might be a bit unrealistic.
I cna't see how you could do without a rental car on Maui. However, in Hnl, if you stay there, it is do-able.
Good luck!

DebitNM

I can offer an alternative...Maui Embassy Suites has a really good deal and no spiel.

http://www.mauiembassy.com/minivac/specials/promo/

It does have a spiel, but there are consumer protection laws in HI that your should know about and will make it a bit easier should you go this route. Click on timeshare brochure and read it!
Lots of helpful things you should know before going to a timeshare presentation.

http://www.hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/rico/r_brochures

The Marriott Ko'Olina in Oahu has a smiliar deal.

Hope this helps...
Debi

jtrandolph

You know? We have traveled everywhere, Europe, South and Central America, Mexico, Canada, Scandanavia, Turkey, Alaska, and Hawaii four times. (We are not rich, just old <grin>)

We travel indepentently..no tours. Make our own arrangements. I love Hawaii.

BUT... I *never* try to do Hawaii by myself. Travel agents have great packages which include airfare, condo and car that you simply cannot put together by yourself. They have brochures and usually the expertise to give you the information you need to make decisions about WHICH island, WHICH condo, WHICH location.

They deal with consolidators like "Sun Trips", for example, which are transparent to you, but save you money.

After the deregulation, or whatever it was, when the airlines refused commissions to travel agents, they may charge you a minimal amount per airline ticket to book you, but its worth it, as far as I am concerned. And the rest of their services are free.

A piece of advice. When renting a condo do not accept "ocean view", insist on "ocean front"..they have this little ruse. "Ocean view" often means that if you step onto the deck, walk to the rail, and crane your head you can probably see some water. "Ocean front" means that.

The most important advice...don't fall for the scam. The time share people will insult you and pressure you as they do their presentation and the "3-star hotel" they put you in will be ...well... a piece of. The airfare and so-called 3* isn't worth it.

In my experience, a good travel agent can get you a condo on the beach, with the package mentioned above for less than you can if you did it yourself.

I would suggest that you visit several travel agents and shop around. That is what I intend to do when we go back to Hawaii in a few months.

good luck.

kidzinmaui

With just a five day stay, I wouldn't waste vacations hours going to timeshare presentation.(We ahve been to many...but because we ahd "time" to, and lots of great freebies!)
You don't say when your travel dates are, but if it's between now and DEC 11, and NOT Thanksgiving, it's pretty inexpensive to travel.For 4 people I'd rent a roomy condo, and yes, you should be able to find something pretty decent this time of year under $150. nt, INCLUDING tax.
check out vrbo. There are thousands of rentals on that site... You only need ONE to fit your needs
aloha

kidzinmaui

OH P.S~ You do NOT need a travel agent to plan your Hawaii trip Our first trip there when we got married we id just fine on our own. And may I suggest to NOT use SUNTRIPS. THEY are pretty much extinct now anyway. NOTHING good about them.We have been traveling to Maui for almost 20 yrs now, and now have our own place tehre(HAD to get SOMEthing, as our kids moved there over 5 yrs ago)
IF you spend a little time doing some research, go to the travel boards,(there are some good ones on aol travel too) you'll be fine.
If you have nay questions regarding things to do on MAUI, or exactly WHAT is so GOOD about Kihei...(LOTS!), shoot an email my way.
NO, I AM NOT A TRAVEL AGENT AND NO, I am not trying to make a buck off you.
take care, and hope you ahve a fun trip

aloha

trippinkpj

Sometimes I've gone to a travel agent, but I already did my homework before. I've been to HI 4 times, so I'm pretty comfortable taking care of it on my own now. I have friends on Maui, so it also helps with inside connections and advice.

dusty56438

Rent a car the entire time even on Oahu.

By the time you pay for shuttles, cabs, buses & tours you can do on your own, you won't save any $$. Plus you will have spent hours wating for or on slow public transportation.

Take the speil. I'm not that fond

dusty56438

Finishing off the last post:

I'm not fond of timeshare spiels, but my brother & his wife have done a lot of traveling and got great deals by listening to the timeshare spiels.

They have no intention of ever buying one.