Whether you’re driving into Waikiki Beach for a day visit or staying there on your vacation, finding a parking spot that doesn’t cost a fortune can be a challenge. But, I have good news. We’ve researched many options and resources to find the no-cost and low-cost spots. Check out our newly revised guide to free and cheap Waikiki parking. Here ... Read More »

You’ve seen ads for Hawaii featuring photos of beautiful white sand beaches, palm trees and the bluest of blue water. Now you want to go, but you have no idea how much a trip to Hawaii costs. Where do you start? In this article, I’m providing you with the easy-to-use estimates to calculate your personal Hawaii trip budget. It can’t ... Read More »

Thanks to Matt McGee for writing in to tell me about his experience with saving money on his Maui rental car.  Matt saved $60 for his one-week rental simply by rechecking rates before his vacation.  Here’s the timeline: April 5th– Booked Avis car with a rate of $245 April 22nd – Checked the rates and rebooked Avis rental car with ... Read More »

I was reading HONOLULU Magazine over the weekend and noticed an ad for a shop in Hawaii’s largest mall, Ala Moana Center. The ad provides directions to the shop saying that it was on the “mauka side” of the shopping center. What that ad means is that the shop is located on the mountain side of the mall. Seeing the ... Read More »

Here are the Hawaii vacation news and deals that are making a splash today.  * Aston Hotels is offering a million HawaiianMiles (Hawaiian Airlines frequent flier miles) in their Million Miles Sweepstakes. In addition to all those frequent flier miles, three first place prizes will be awarded for a complimentary five-night stay at one of Aston’s Waikiki Resorts. * Chevrolet ... Read More »

Once you’ve planned your flights to Hawaii, then you’ve got to figure the logistics of getting around. Each island has some public transportation, but for the most part, they’re not designed to help tourists get around. So, most likely, you’re going to need a rental car for part or all of your vacation. You won’t have to spend a fortune ... Read More »

I recently received the following question from a reader who’ll be on a cruise around the Hawaiian islands: We are planning a trip this September to the islands. We will be on a NCL cruise. Do you have any suggestions or pointers about car rentals at the various ports? Are there shuttles that provide transportation to the car rentals from ... Read More »

As most of you know, we recently took my parents to Maui for their first visit to Hawaii. I will be posting our itinerary with details in a future post, which I think will be an excellent first timer’s guide to Maui, but in the mean time I just wanted to share some notes from the visit. The Good Stuff ... Read More »

Whoa! It seems like I’ve been blessed with events to celebrate recently. Today, I’m celebrating that Go Visit Hawaii is two years old. Let’s hope that the “terrible twos” don’t apply to blogs. * Starting this Friday, the Shops at Mauna Lani will be offering a free first Friday concert series. See this link and scroll to to bottom for ... Read More »

If you plan to rent a car on your Hawaii vacation, don’t wait until the last minute to book it. I’ve recently heard of rental car shortages on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. In fact the Kauai Garden Island News says that “Visitors are facing long lines and tough times trying to find available rental cars on Kaua‘i and ... Read More »