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Tags: Travel Deals / Hawaii Travel / Honolulu Travel / Beach Travel / Beaches / → All Tags
It's Friday; Go Ahead And Daydream About 5 Nights In Hawaii For $499
Whenever we're stressed and have to go to our happy place, we picture the beaches of Hawaii. But now, probably thanks to how hard the recession has hit tourism to the islands, everyone has a chance to actually go there, thanks to Travelzoo's $499-for-five-Hawaiian-nights package.
The deal includes round-trip airfare to Honolulu, where you'll be greeted with a lovely-smelling lei and thus the right to brag that you got "lei'd" in Hawaii, like tourists do for days after their arrival. Your accommodations will be at the Castle Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki. And if you want to upgrade to an ocean-view pad, the hotel gives you the option for $25 and up per person.
Tags: Adventure Travel / Hawaii Travel / Quirky Travel / Water Sports / Ecotourism / Submarines / Boats / → All Tags
'Fly' Beneath The Hawaiian Waves On A Winged Submarine Jet
Adventure travel company Incredible Adventures has been letting customers pilot high-altitude fighter jets for years. Now the Florida-based company is going from soaring through the air to "flying" under the sea, teaming up with California's Sub Aviator Systems to let people navigate the oceans in company's winged submarine. The Super Aviator looks much more like a jet than it does a sub, and apparently it feels that way too. Per the website blurb, it's a "totally new dimension of flight."
To handle the unique sub you'll need to go to Hawaii this February and be able to hand over between $3,350 and $8,650. But if you're willing to do that they're willing to train you and take you beneath the waves. The Super Aviator runs on battery power but it runs fast—in contrast to a normal submersible where you can stand up and walk, zooming around in this jet requires Indy-500 style seat belts.
Tags: Airline Mergers / Airline News / Airlines / Hawaii Travel / Mokulele Airlines / → All Tags
Passengers Feel The Merger Pains Between go! and Mokulele In Hawaii
There’s trouble in paradise now that go! and Mokulele Airlines have merged. Within the last couple of weeks the two airlines have shacked up in hopes of doing some damage to the market share owned by Hawaiian Airlines. The new combined airline aims at bringing low cost cutthroat interisland fares for tourists and locals looking to hop islands for different adventures or just to get to work. Well, things have been a little bumpy as the new combined service tries to work out all the kinks quickly.
The combined effort go! Mokulele reported a lot of minor delays, and most of them were related to passengers that they couldn’t talk to about schedule changes. There were a couple travelers that complained about waiting a couple hours to take-off even though they spoke with the airline regarding schedule changes. Apparently the law says until a merger is complete, you can’t share passenger information. So they only had a few days to cut and paste all those new reservations into the new systems. It didn’t help much that the combined airline now only uses go! planes, as the old Mokulele jets aren’t going to be used in the islands.
Tags: Dunkin' Donuts Alternatives / Donuts / Hawaii Travel / Honolulu Travel / Food Travel / → All Tags
Portuguese Culture Mixed With A Hawaiian Bakery Makes One Tasty Donut
No matter what donut is your donut—we know many people who can't go without ordering a Boston Creme or strawberry frosted—when you're in Hawaii, you've got to get down with the local flavor. In Honolulu, the donut of choice is Portuguese confection called the Malasada, first cooked up at Leonard's Bakery after it opened in 1952.
While they are very similar to the Polish pączki in that they are sweet, filled donuts traditionally consumed on Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent, a true Malasada however is not supposed to have any filling. It is a solid ball of fried dough, coated in granulated sugar and fed to the drooling patrons who flock to Leonard's. Because of the popularity of the Malasada in Hawaii, Leonard's has also begun serving Pao Doce (Portuguese sweet breads) and Malasada puffs.
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As If We Didn't Already Know: Vacations Make People Happier, More Productive
Every few months another one of these "vacation deprivation" studies comes out and promptly gets picked up as Science! by the same tourism boards that commissioned it. The term seems to go back to a contest for free hotel rooms that Hyatt ran in the mid-1990s, and it's been circulating as this kind of pseudo-scientific fake medical term ever since.
The latest version puts everything in terms of economic productivity, because that's what people care about right now. If people cared about something else, that's what vacations would be good for. And so, we are stuck with this drivel:
Tags: Hawaii / Hawaii Travel / Movie Travel / Film Festivals / Film Festival Travel / → All Tags
Hawaii Heats Up the Film Festival Circuit
A scene from Noriben, playing at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival.
Though the time for Tribeca, Cannes, and Toronto has come and gone, the film festival circuit hasn't screeched to a halt. There's Sundance to look forward to, of course, but a welcome alternative to similar large-scale hype galas are festivals held far away from Los Angeles, New York, and other metropoles.
Hawaii may not be Hollywood, but there's still creativity abound on the big island. And while it may not attract as much attention as, say, Berlin, the Hawaii International Film Festival has earned a well-respected reputation among cinema's inner circle, with people like Roger Ebert praising its East-meets-West sensibility.
Tags: WestJet / New Routes / Airline News / Hawaii Travel / Canada Travel / → All Tags
'Mele Kalikimaka' Is The Thing To Say On WestJet's New Hawaii Routes
Cold Canadians have had their prayers answered. Just in time for the long cold winter ahead, WestJet has announced some new routes to Hawaii. It’s pretty much seasonal service for the snow season, but at least it’s a new option to escape to paradise when you need it most.
For those sick of shoveling snow in Calgary there will be non-stop routes to both Honolulu and Maui. Starting in March there will be an escape route flying once a week. The introductory rates will start at $329 CAD each way not including taxes, fees, and anything else they want to throw at you. If Maui is more of your style, getting there will set you back about $40 CAD more each way.
Tags: New Routes / Hawaiian Airlines / Airline News / Hawaii Travel / → All Tags
Hawaiian Airlines Eager To Bring Cali Tourists To The Islands
Hawaiian Airlines must know something about the economy that we don’t. First, they were hiring all kinds of new people to share a slice of Aloha with the rest of us, then they were buying some new shiny planes, and now they are announcing new routes. With their new Airbus A330-200s being delivered next April, they are already hot and bothered about where they will get to fly them. The secret’s out and they want to bring Angelenos to Hawaii.
The first of the airline’s new planes will be used for seasonal summer service from Los Angeles to Honolulu, and it will run through September of 2010. The new planes hold about 30 more tourists than the Boeing 767-300s that are currently used, so you might want to get to the beach or hotel pool a little earlier to place dibs on the best spot in the sun.
Tags: Hunting / Big Island / Hawaii Travel / Mancations / → All Tags
Hawaii Is A Regular Fantasy Forest For Hunters, Wild Boar Included
If sitting on the beach and having an adult beverage in tropical paradise is too boring for you, then we’ve got an alternate adventure for your next trip to Hawaii. Parker Ranch on the Big Island welcomes one and all for a unique hunting opportunity. Just in case your true travel dream is to kill something in all 50 states. No ducks here, they are all about the big game hunting.
Year round hunters are able to chase after wild pig, wild goat, and wild cattle. Organizers claim they maintain a 98 percent success rate on these types of hunts, so if this is your thing you should be good to go. For those who prefer feathered friends, turkey and pheasant hunts are open during different times of the year. Gobblers are only available in the spring, so bringing a fresh one home for Thanksgiving isn’t an option.
Tags: Checked Baggage Fees / Baggage Fees / Hawaii Travel / Hawaiian Airlines / Airline News / Airlines / → All Tags
Hawaiian Air Adds $10 First Bag Fee, Tells Customers 'Fees Here To Stay'
We're running out of sarcastic ways to blog about new airline fees. The latest comes from low-cost carrier Hawaiian Airlines, which announced yesterday that they're adding a $10 fee for the first checked bag on interisland flights. It is what it is. And look how charmingly the announcement was made:
Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian, said the airline makes $20 million to $30 million a year from ancillary revenue — mostly from checked bags — and that baggage fees are here to stay as long as airlines need that revenue.
Tags: Volunteer Travel / Garden Travel / Kauai Travel / Hawaii Travel / → All Tags
Exotic Voluntourism At The National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai
Love nature and digging in your garden? Have we got a volunteer vacation for you! The National Botanical Garden on the island of Kauai in Hawaii has been dedicated to preserving tropical plant diversity through research, education and by creating a safe haven for at-risk plant species for more than 30 years. Their headquarters at The McBryde Gardens features native Hawaiian Flora, orchids, palm trees and flowering trees that were wild-collected from tropical regions around the of the world.
Visitors to this eden are able to explore the garden via paths and bamboo bridges that cross over the park's natural streams and waterfalls. The garden is always looking for volunteers for the long-term or on a "vacation and volunteer" basis. There are endless opportunities available year-round using a variety of skill-sets. But that's not to say you need any special skills to help out, the garden's staff provides on-the-job training for newbies.
Tags: Rental Cars / Enterprise / Hawaii Travel / Oahu Travel / Maui Travel / Green Travel / Hybrids / → All Tags
Happy Anniversary Hawaii: Here's Some New Hybrid Rental Cars
Last week was the Aloha State’s birthday as the islands officially commemorated its fiftieth anniversary of statehood. State leaders usually downplay celebrations as some Hawaii residents aren’t too thrilled about how the island chain was admitting into the union. We don’t want to get into the debate, but there are still some who demand independence from the United States.
Although not an official birthday present—they couldn’t find that much wrapping paper—Enterprise Rent-A-Car is gifting the island with some new hybrid rental cars. The chain teamed up with Governor Linda Lingle to announce that four locations are becoming hybrid branches. There will be three on Oahu and one on Maui to answer your green car dreams during your vacation.
