Posting this in hopes that it will be helpful!

NON-RESIDENT INTER-ISLAND AIRLINE RATES as of August 27, 1999

NOTE: all airfares are one-way unless noted.

ALOHA AIRLINES: operates jet aircraft (Boeing 737), in-flight beverage service does NOT offer service to/from Kapalua, Hana, Molokai, Kalaupapa and Lanai

-First Class: $114.00
-Regular unrestricted: $95 non-stop service, for all other flights add $2.00 per landing
-AAA discount: $70.25 good for AAA member and those in the same party.
-7 Day Pass: $321.00 for 7 consecutive days of unlimited travel,
-Internet: $78.00 14 days advanced purchase


ALOHA ISLAND AIR: operates turbo props in 17 and 50 passenger configuration, beverage service only aboard 50 passenger aircraft
does NOT offer service to/from Hilo or Lihue (Kauai)

-Regular unrestricted: $95.00 non-stop service, for all other flights add $2.00 per landing
-AAA discount: $71.75 good for AAA member and those in the same party.
-7-Day Pass: $321.00 for 7 consecutive days of unlimited travel
- Internet: $78.00 14 days advance purchase


HAWAIIAN AIR: operates jet aircraft (DC-9), in-flight beverage service
does NOT offer service to Kapalua (West Maui, Hana or Kalaupapa)

-First Class: $114.00
-Regular unrestricted: $95.00
-Multi Day Passes (good for unlimited travel for the number days listed)
5 Day: $ 299
7 Day: $315
10 Day: $369
14 Day: $409



COUPONS:
Hawaiian Air $55...Aloha Air $59..and Island Air $60 (non-resident single coupon prices)
Single prices allow you to use more than one airline to complete your itinerary since all airlines do not offer service to all Hawaii airports, and additional discounts available when purchasing in books of 6 or more.

Coupons are good for unrestricted one way travel and are used in place of purchasing regular airline tickets. Coupons are valid only on the airline it has been purchased for, and travel must be completed before the expiration date listed on the coupon. Although coupons are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-EXCHANGEABLE, there are no advance purchase requirements, therefore you can purchase your coupons whenever you have finalized your inter-island itinerary. Some coupons may be restricted to Hawaii resident use only , so please be certain that you are purchasing the appropriate coupons if you are not a Hawaii resident. Reservations can be made on any available flight as early as one year before departure or as late as one hour before departure. Reservations can be changed as many times as you like without any additional penalties or charges. Coupons are typically the most easiest, simplest and most inexpensive way of traveling inter-island.

COUPON CAUTION:
More recently, there have been travel agents out there selling coupons in the $45-$49 range that are for use with TOUR PACKAGE PURCHASES ONLY. These coupons are only for use in conjunction with tour packages only and cannot be sold on an individual basis. Many travel agents in the past and again more recently have knowingly or unknowingly sold these non-refundable coupons to unsuspecting passengers. If you attempt to travel with one of these coupons, and cannot produce a qualifying tour voucher, your coupon will be confiscated and a regular fare ticket will need to be purchased in order to travel.

The Hawaii 2000 Entertainemnt book has a coupon that is good for Island Air. I booked 2 round trip tickets from Maui to Kauai for $86.50 each.

Aloha Tiare,
This is a question for our original hula girl herself.Not to change the subject from air fares but I've read rumors that the construction on the road to Hana on Maui is complete,can you confirm that?
THANKS A BUNCH !!

aloha from hawaii!

no not entirely complete...but for the most part out of the way. they have a schedule that is driven by the weather conditions in the area. however, they are trying their best to avoid construction during the peak hours of the day. i also understand that the construction will continue into the next year

yes, entertainment book is offering an aloha airlines/island air 2 for one certificate. however, it requires the purchase of the entertainment book ($30) and has blackout dates around major holidays AND they can only be used one way or round trip....coupons are completely unrestricted...tiare

We just returned from Maui and Kauai and had the easiest time getting flight coupons. This is what we did: Make reservations on Hawaiian Air prior to trip to make sure you have seating. No deposit or credit card necessary. Then when you get to Hawaii, you can either go to Bank of Hawaii ATM machines to get tickets. In our case, all machines were out of tickets. We simply asked our hotel concierge where else to go and they suggested a check cashing place that also sells coupons. We bought 4 one way tickets for $199.90. Very easy and at a good price, too.

Hi Maxine,

You said "all the ATMs were out of tickets." Do you mean, all at the airport? Or all where ever you went in Waikiki? I've never encountered that, and always wondered what I'd do, if I did. Important if you're connecting immediately to another island after your flight arrives in Honolulu, and you still need your interisland ticket.

Are you going to give us a trip report, you know, how you liked your hotels, what restaurants you liked, favorite sights? You know us Fodorites - we like to know all the details!

So glad you had fun!

Aloha, Ruth

Hi Ruth,
We tried 3 different Bank of Hawaii ATMS in Maui (not at the airport, though) and the machines all said that flight coupons were unavailable until 9/8/99. We were scheduled to fly from Maui to Kaui on 9/5 so that was too late for us. We simply asked hotel concierge and they recommended a check cashing place that they use. We didn't need to get tickets immediately upon arriving to connect to another island so I am not sure what I would do in that case. I guess order the tickets and have it delivered to my home on the mainland.

We spent 6 days in Maui, and then 6 days in Kauai. This is our 2nd time to Maui and first time to Kauai. Stayed at the Embassy Suites in Maui and Hanelei Bay Hotel in Kauai. We chose them because they offered a 50% discount with the Entertainment card which was a very good deal. Our room at Embassy Suites was HUGE and comfortable. The large bathroom had a cool sunken bathtub that can fit two people and a separate shower! I recommend taking a Hana bus tour rather than driving it yourself. It was a long drive and I think it is sort of dangerous to drive it yourself. By doing the tour, both people can enjoy the views rather than have one person keep his/her eye on the road only. The Hana tour was my favorite. It was beautiful to see the country, farms, waterfalls, foliage, scenery, etc. I highly recommend doing this. Hanelei Bay Hotel in Kauai was very beautiful too. Very natural and tropical. I loved the majestic view of Bali Hai and the Hanelei Bay. Here, I recommend getting the one bedroom suite. It was even larger than Embassy Suites, if you can believe, with a full kitchen, and washer/dryer! We did regular stuff such as swim, snorkel, kayaked, attempted at scuba diving, eat, shopped, had a spa massage at Hyatt Regency Kauai (dreamy!), sightseeing on both islands. Of the restaurants, we really liked Roys in Maui and Bali Hai in Kauai. We disliked Kobe Steakhouse in Maui. Their Kobe steak was pretty tough and salty - tasted like chuck steak! One thing about Kauai, we were unable to go out after 7:00PM because we found it really difficult to drive those roads in the dark. There wasn't enough lights on the roads, and especially in the Princeville area, there were hardly any signs. Could be dangerous, we thought. Anyway, Ruth, thanks for asking about our vacation.

Hi again Maxine,

Mahalo for such a great and thorough report! I wish everyone would do just that when they get back from their trips. I love answering people's questions before their trips, and I always wonder what they thought of everything. I like to hear everything, negative & positive, because things change!

I agree with you that Roy's is great, and wondered if you ate at "A Pacific Cafe" on either island, also "Cafe Coco" on Kauai, and if you did, what you thought?

These comments on Hanalei Bay resort are really interesting. People either love it, like you, or really don't. It's almost like people have stayed in two different resorts - were you in the "prestige" suites? Haven't stayed there yet but plan to on my next trip.

Back to interisland airfare, so you were talking about trying to get the coupon/tickets on Maui. I wonder if it was the same at Honolulu Airport - can't believe they'd let the ATMs in the airport there run out because people depend on them being there.

Mahalo again, Maxine! Enjoyed every detail!

Yes, inter-island coupons frequently run out at ATM's right before the distribution period. I've also seen people get stuck with receiving non-refundable coupons from ATM's that were were already EXPIRED!!!! So there's a spectrum of problems with coupons and ATM's.

Maxine:

Could you please tell me more about the Hana Bus Tour? My husband hates driving so I'm interested. How much was it? Do they travel the whole thing? How long does it take? Do they give you plenty of time to look around when stopping or is it a rush job? Thanks.

Carol,
The whole Hana bus tour takes around 11 hours. You leave 6AM and return around 5PM. They provide breakfast and lunch. The price is around $90 per person. I think the one we took was called Valley Isles tours (booked from Embassy Suites). It was great! They play relaxing Hawaiian music along the way, and the driver/narrator had a cool easygoing Hawaiian accent. They gave us enough time at each stop to take photos, swim, or eat. We even stopped at a vineyard along the way back. We traveled around the perimeters of Maui and saw sights that we would never have noticed if we drove (and would probably have worried that we were lost). It was well worth it and lots of fun. Very informative too.