Checklist of things to do before your (Hawaii) vacation

I wrote this checklist while I was recently in-flight while all the “going away” preparations were fresh in my mind. Preparing to go on vacation can be stressful, but hopefully this checklist will help you stay organized and calm. Prep you and your home before you go away Check and pay your bills. Take out [...]

A Buffet of Affordable Breakfast Options in Hawaii

Dining at resort breakfast buffets every morning of your Hawaii vacation can quickly become a hidden cost that steals your vacation budget. Most breakfast buffets in Hawaii range from $15 to $35 per person. From my observation, the average breakfast buffet costs around $25 per person. A couple traveling to Hawaii for a week can [...]

Sending Postcards from a Volcano

Did you know that it’s possible to send mail from a volcano? It’s true. On Hawaii’s Big Island, there’s a  village called Volcano and it’s located along the caldera of Kilauea Volcano just a mile or so from the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. One fun vacation idea is to send a letter or [...]

Strategies for Finding the Lowest Airfare to Hawaii

One of the most predictably unpredictable expenses of traveling to Hawaii is the cost of airfare. Fares fluctuate so often that it’s difficult to know when to purchase tickets. Finding the absolute lowest airfare is a mix of luck, knowledge,and skill. In the absence of an exact science, we have make use of the available [...]

Protect Hawaii’s Environment with a Double Duty Beach Bag

Happy Earth Day! Since the purpose of this day is to highlight ways to protect the environment, let’s look at one simple tip that is not only eco-friendly, it’s very practical for Hawaii vacationers, too. When you travel to Hawaii, bring one or two of your reusable shopping bags. Use these bags to: carry your [...]

Food For Thought – Bringing Snacks to Hawaii

As you are making your plans for your Hawaii vacation, you may want to consider bringing a small stash of snacks for your trip. You will thank yourself for bringing a few snacks in these situations: After a long journey to get to Hawaii, you stumble to your accommodation like a zombie. You practically pass [...]

Hawaii – There’s an App for That

We’ve discovered that many folks access Go Visit Hawaii via their iPhone when they are in Hawaii. So, when my friend Dave passed along this list of Hawaii- themed iPhone applications, I thought you would want to know about them. In that app list, there’s some very useful free apps like: Hawaii News Now – [...]

Hawaii in High Definition with Polarized Sunglasses

If you don’t already have a pair of polarized sunglasses, do yourself a favor and get some to bring on your Hawaii vacation. They really do make a difference. You know the phrase, “Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know”? Well that was the case with me until I had a chance to try [...]

How to Pack a Surfboard for Traveling

If you live to surf and are aiming to test your skills on Hawaii’s wicked waves, you may want to bring your trusty surfboard with you. But, how do you pack your surfboard so that it arrives in Hawaii in all one piece?  Neal from Surfboard Shack has written an excellent step by step guide [...]

“If it fits, it ships!” Mailing Your Vacation Souvenirs Home

If you’ve been reading Go Visit Hawaii for a while, you know that I’m a huge fan of packing light. When you travel with two carry-ons, you not only save money by not paying checked luggage fees, you also save quite a bit of time and hassle. See my popular article, Six Savvy Reasons Why [...]