We are thinking of going to Hawaii this coming May and want to know if anyone know any ideas on how to go about getting a great fare.
We will be staying about 3 weeks!
Thanks!

Since you didn't say where you're coming from I can give you a couple of search engines that don't cost you anything. They are kayak, sidestep, I believe there are more. They search the airlines plus orbitz, and travel agencies with listed fares and link you there.

You may also call the airlines directly and compare prices, I use the search sites suggested by hulajake and also phone aloha and hawaiian airlines for prices.

You might want to check out www.hawaiianair.com. I know Hawaiian is having a sale on airfare if you are going from the middle of April till sometime in June. Usually, the internet rates are a lot cheaper than the phone quote. Just know if you have to change the flights the fees are high.
Have a great trip.

You just have to keep checking fares on search engine sites like Yahoo or check Expedia or other travel sites or check with the airlines.

Get on their mailing list so you get e-mails with their special offers. You might get lucky.

Aloha, Hawaiian and the new airline, Mesa, have some great deals for interisland travel. Purchased by April 7 and travel between June 7 and Sept 30. So you might be able to take advantage of that for the last part of your trip. Or think about September for the trip.

After Labor Day, it is usually less expensive for airfare and hotels in Hawaii.

On www.itasoftware.com there is a feature where you can search for a full month to see if there are any days that are less expensive than others. That is usually my starting point.

Definitely sign up for Travelzoo as they sometimes have great last-minute deals. (I consider less than two months "last-minute"...LOL.) I bought my tickets for end of May on Hawaiian back in December and they've gone up almost $200. pp since then. I like to get my tickets 6-8 mos. in advance. BUT you can get some unbelievable deals if you have the nerve to wait. At this point, I'd check the major airlines daily online.

Southwest airlines goes to Honolulu and Maui
Also Aloha Airlines had some great last minute $99.00 one way fares from the west coast to Honolulu or Maui. With the Interisland air fares war on HAwaiian, Aloha and Mesa..that would be a really cheap flight..
Also saw this weekend a very cheap $300. approx fare from Dallas to Honolulu on

airfarewatchdog.com

Click on city you are deparing from...

Check pandaonline.com They are based out of hawaii, and, continue checking all of the websites and airlines.

The prices keep changing all of the time.

Orbitz will let you select a 'farewatcher' They will email you when the fare goes down.

If you find a great rate, book it.

Thanks to all the info very helpful. I will be leaving from BWI in Maryland. Is it better to book into Calif. and than to Hawaii or just get with 1 airline and book it all?

Fox,
I just booked airfare to Hawaii from PHL. Now that USAirways has merged with America West, their rates to Hawaii are supercheap. You can get from BWI to Oahu as cheap as $517 through the USAir website if you choose "search by price". Good luck!

It's usually less expensive to stick with one airline. My problem is that they usually want you to fly out of Hawaii at night on a "red-eye"! That's why I use a major airline to fly from the mid-south to California and then use Hawaiian Airlines to get to and from Hawaii - with an overnight on the west coast each way. Keeps me sane...

Just remember when you see a fare that you are making 2 trips, 1. BWI to the West Coast and an equivalent West Coast to HI. I fly to either LAX or SFO just to break the trip up then go from there.

As far as whether to book to CA and then book the ride from CA to Hawaii separately, the prices are pretty similar either way. So it comes down to whether you want the convenience of checking in once and going straight there, or whether you want a night of rest at a midpoint destination. (We went with the connecting flight because it means more time in Hawaii! )

Try Kayak.com

We are flying from NC and I am using America West and was able to get my flight with one stop in Vegas for $600.

I looked and looked for the best deals usually pretty much every travel site out there and in the end I booked directly through the America West site as it was the cheapest, not by much, but the cheapest. I do use www.mobissimo.com though to compare rates although if you configure your own at the America West site you can get it cheaper usually but it gives you a point to start from.

I get the best airfares from www.airtohawaii.com. It is a Hawaii based travel agency.

It's an 8 hr. flight from Minneapolis, which was several times getting up and walking around. Don't know if i'd be able to walk if it were much longer.

I'm also liviing for Hawaii early May from Dulles airport. If you click on my name you can see the posts I made. Folks here are v.helful Also, must check out trip advisor.Someone wrote to me while on vacation.People are incredibly helpful sometimes.

I used Hawaiivisitorcenter.com They were really cheap.

Lat time I checked Sheraton Muai a 4 star resort on Kaanaplai beach had rooms as low 1s $155. Compare prices on travelzoo.com, biddingfortravel.com. Priceline name your own price has been amazingly low priced for many people.

Good luck!

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