Thank you all for the great info on this site. Have done all the searches I can regarding islands, hotels etc. Been reading for the past few days. Am wondering about something though, that I dont believe I have seen addressed here. Would it be okay to NOT have reservations for a short period of time while in Hawaii? Are "walk-ins" common and available? Background info on our "plans" so far: We are in our early 40's, no kids, planning to go mid-February for 2-2 1/2 weeks, doing Maui and maybe Kuai and/or the BI. Planning on renting a condo for the first part of our trip, and finishing up at the Four Seasons in Maui. In between this we are thinking of not making reservations and just seeing how we feel about how much time we want to spend in a particular area or not and where we want to stay. Sort of like a "driving" type holiday only in the islands! I'm just not sure if this is feasible or not in Hawaii. My husband of course is not too keen but is used to my travel style by now! I like to look around, check things out, have some "choice". Our dates are still a little flexible; making airline reservations later today. Wondering about American spring break times regarding availability of hotels/condos? Would prefer to avoid that if we can. We could go earlier or later, as long as travel is completed by the 15th of March. This is our first trip to Hawaii so any advice is helpful. Also, regarding island-hopping: can you just make a same-day reservation on a plane and go? Do you need a specified return date ticket at the same time or can you leave that open? We arent sure yet how much time we want to spend on other islands and how many we will go see. One last thing; are restaurants there mainly non-smoking? Or is smoking permitted in some parts of the restaurants still? Thanks very much!

I can't tell you much about whether or not walk in's are common in Hawaii, (I'd call a few hotels and ask) but I can tell you that February is still peak tourist season there. Chances are it is going to be very busy there- I'm not sure I would chance it. You could always make reservations at a couple of places and cancel one a few days before, after you get a feel for the place. Most places won't make you forfeit your deposit until 1-3 days before your reservation. Again, I'd call around. Good luck, have fun in Hawaii!

Kristin's answer is THE answer.
Make reservations at a handful of places if you want the freedom to choose, as long as they are 24 or 48 hour cancellation policy places, and just be sure to cancel whatever you don't use ahead of time.

(Yes, this would be a VERY BAD tactic if lots of people traveled with this strategy. And hotels would haveyo move cancellations to 2 weeks or something, but I rarely encounter anyone who holds multiple reservations like this).

Thank you both for the quick response. I had never thought of doing it that way and I agree, wouldnt be great if too many people did this, so I doubt I will, just have to reserve and choose in advance I guess! We are still wondering though about the island hopping part. Can you just decide to get on a plane and go and not have the reurn date booked in advance? I guess what we really want are 1 way tickets, Maui to Kuai then Kuai to Big Island then Big Island to Maui again. Can this be done? Thanks again.

Most of the inter-island flights are sold as one way. the best was to do it is buy either hawaiian Air or Aloha coupon books. They come with six coupons, each good for a one way ticket. They are fully transferable, so you and your husband can get three legs out of one. Even if you don't use all of them, when done, you'll be ahead cost-wise or you can sell the left overs to someone else. We often go on last minute trip here. you shouldn't have trouble finding a place to stay if you aren't trying to get into the most popular spots. Hawaii spring break is the last week of March though, so it will be difficult then, as many locals go to the neighbor islands for the break.

Thanks for the info! Sounds like exactly what we need, 6 1 way tickets. I didnt realize you could use them for any island hop like that. Also, I think we are going to go the end of January into the first two weeks of February, so hopefully it will be a "little" quieter. Although the more resarch I do, the more my plans change! Thanks again.

actually, February will not be "quieter" here On Maui...snowbirds...our quiet time is the fall, spectacular weather, fewer tourists, and more "deals" for eating etc.