Hawaii Vacation Deals & News Roundup: September 28, 2009

Seems like our Hawaii vacation news roundup is always such a potpourri. Today’s edition is no exception as it includes sweepstakes, cheap rates, and even a haunted lagoon canoe ride.

* Outside Magazine, Travelocity and Hawaii Visitor’s Bureau have teamed up to offer a Hawaii vacation sweepstakes. You can enter here to win airfare for two, a 5-night stay at Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort on the Big Island, plus rental car and a luau. Here’s the link to enter this contest

* I never thought I’d see the average Maui rate below $200, but that has actually happened. Per the latest occupancy and rate reports, Maui’s average room rate was $199 per night. I can’t emphasize enough how Hawaii hotel room rates are too good to pass up. Kauai averaged $174 per night while the Big Island was at $149 and Oahu at $147.

* On top of the excellent hotel rates, airfares for this Autumn are pretty darn good, too. Use search tools like FareCompare, Kayak, or CheapAir to find the lowest fares from your home airport. After a quick search, here are the types of excellent fares I easily found:

• Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu $397 roundtrip plus taxes and fees.
• Houston (HOU) to Honolulu (HNL) $413 roundtrip plus taxes and fees.
• Newark (EWR) to Honolulu (HNL) $474 roundtrip plus taxes and fees.
• Dallas (DFW) to Honolulu (HNL) $537 roundtrip plus taxes and fees.
• Miami (MIA) to Honolulu (HNL) $562 roundtrip plus taxes and fees.

* Hawaiian Airlines is offering a $50 eCertificate incentive to use towards a future flight between the Mainland US and Hawaii when you book and register by October 7, 2009. Check all the details here.

* I was disappointed to read that Inter-Island Helicopters is dropping out of the aerial tour business. We toured Kauai by helicopter with Inter-Island and loved their doors-off tour. Per The Garden Island, “Those people calling Inter-Island Helicopters hoping to book aerial tours of the island are being booked with Sunshine Helicopters, he [Ken D’Attilo] said Friday.”

* This October, the Polynesian Cultural Center will feature Haunted Canoe Rides on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. See this link for pricing and more information and watch this trailer for a spooky peek at this October-only event.