Stanford Inn

Our next stop is the AAA Four Diamond awarded Stanford Inn which lies on a hill overlooking the ocean in Mendocino. This is one of my favorite spots. I cannot describe how peaceful the setting is. The moment you get out of your car you feel relaxed. Everything about this place is quiet and serene. I had one of the most restful nights of sleep here. The hotel has a vegetarian restaurant that (I kid you not) even meat lovers will love. Check out the menu: Ravens' Restaurant. The menu consists of organic items, with many items from the on site, certified organic gardens. The breakfast is remarkable and free to guests. Even if you do not have time to spend the night (I pity the fool!), you owe it to yourself to at least stop and have a meal and wander around the beautiful grounds.

California Coast Bodega Bay to Trinidad

California has long been a vacation destination. The north coast is particularly beautiful, yet still not explored by many that visit California. Perhaps because the closest metropolitan airport would be in the Bay Area. For those wanting to experience some excellent coastline scenery, it can't be beat. There is a whole culture of organic restaurants lining the coast along with beautiful four star inns.
Starting in Bodega Bay (a 77 mile drive from the San Francisco Airport), you will experience a cute fishing town with upscale amenities. The weather can be sunny or rainy, but either way you will need to bring with you a good book and a craving for hot chocolate! My lodging recommendation is Bodega BayLodge and Spa They are currently running a special through April 30, 2009: stay one night, get 50% off the second, buy one entree at the Duck Club Restaurant and get the second at 50% off, buy one spa treatment, get the second at 50% off.

Resources for your Hawaiian Vacation

If you are planning a trip to Hawaii, I highly recommend using the "Hawaii Revealed" books for any of the Hawaiian Islands. (www.wizardpub.com) The book is written by "locals" who have also lived on the Mainland. The writers travel to the different islands anonymously while critiquing the hotels/condominiums, restaurants, activities, beaches, outdoor activities and more. All contact information is also provided, photos and a great sense of humor. The best thing about the book is that the author doesn't just rate the activity but thoroughly discusses all aspects: the attitude of the people towards tourists, the cleanliness, the overall atmosphere. This really helps weed out some of the more undesireable places so you don't waste your time and money. Maps and directions are given as well as some nice color photos. It is definitely worth the investment to buy the book and plan on reading it while you are planning your vacation. They even post updates online as well as a more comprehensive hotel/condo. review with a map that shows exact locations.

Hawaii on a Budget Essential Tip #3 Accomodations

After airfare, accomodations are the most pressing concern for visitors to Hawaii. You can find a hotel room from as low as $25 dollars per nite at the Banana Bungalow in Maui to $1,000 + a night at the Four Seasons, Lanai (see picture above). You can do three nights budget and stay one night at a resort, do all budget or all resort. Even if you do not have much money to spend for hotel rooms, you can shop around and save a lot of money. There are thousands of condo rooms on every island that are great buys. You can't beat having a kitchen to not only make foods that you enjoy to eat but you can save hundreds of dollars by not eating out all the time. The best condo website that I have found is vrbo (Vacation Rentals by Owners). Simply select Hawaii for the state and then whatever island you are looking for. You will see maps of the island and the condo's are sorted by cities and then by price/bedrooms. The majority of these condo owners accept credit cards. You will most likely be charged a cleaning fee and appropriate taxes. Even with a cleaning fee, you will save money by renting a condo. An excellent resource for helping you decide what condo to rent at (besides just looking at the posted photo's) is wizardpub who publishes the Hawaii Revealed books. Click on the island you want information on and then on "Resorts". You will see an arial photo of the condo or hotel and a well-written review. The authors of this series experienced first-hand all of the restaurants, condo's, resorts and activities listed in the book. These guys have a sense of humor and I've found they do an excellent job giving advice regarding what places to avoid and what places are worth your money and time. The book is an essential if you are traveling to the islands, but when booking accomodations, check out the webpage. Another helpful webpage is TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor is a collection of reviews from anyone that has stayed anywhere. Search for the name of the hotel/condo/resort and you will most likely find a slew of reader reviews. You've heard the saying, "You can please some of the people some of the time...." that is kind of the motto of TripAdvisor. You just need to look at the overall ratings. Some places receive negative after negative responses. Stay away from those places. If you find mostly good reviews with just a few bad ones, most likely the place is fine, you just are reading the "complainers" that exist in this world. Don't get discouraged from everything you read on this site, but it can be very helpful in planning a trip. They also allow readers to submit their own photo's which is really nice because we all have experienced how "online" photos posted by the business can be deceiving. 

To review, in order to save money when booking accomodations, be sure to first figure out your budget and then what you want. If you have more than 2 people you will most likely want to rent a condo. Some of the condo's are cleaner, more relaxing and all around a better deal than a hotel. You do not have to eat meals out unless you want to, you can enjoy the comforts of home, you usually have access to pools and beach equipment. I know people who don't care about this, they just want to sip drinks by the pool (9 dollar drinks!) and be waited on. These people should check out Priceline to get the best deal. Just like in booking airfare, you can "name your own price" for a hotel room. The catch is you don't know where you will be staying, just a general location. I've stayed at a 5 star resort in Maui using Priceline, for 125 dollars a night. To learn more about the specific details of Priceline, stay tuned for my next blog entry. In the mean time, check out the Hawaiian music link here on this page and pour yourself a nice tall beverage- you're almost there! 

Hawaii on a Budget- Essential Tip # 2 Rental Cars

If what is most important to you is relaxing on the beach or at the pool, you will be best off finding a condo or hotel near the beach and perhaps using public transportation (or airport shuttle service)for your transportation needs and for travel to and from the airport rather than renting a car. Although there are many published discount rates for rental cars, it seems with all of the fees you still end up paying at least $250 for the week. If you want to explore an island on your own and you are traveling with a party of two or more (i.e, children), it makes sense to find a cheap rental car. Don't be fooled into thinking you must only rent through the famous name brand companies. There are local rental car companies on the islands that offer far cheaper rates because they are not located in the airport (they don't have to pay outrageous amounts of money for being at the airport and pass this savings down to you). You can also rent an older car, which not only saves you money, but can help deter crime since a shiny new rental car is a prime target for theft in the islands. My advice is check into the deals you can find through Hotwire and Priceline and if neither of those come up with a cheap price- start checking into local car rental agencies on the island. Don't forget- with the internet (or through the help of a travel advisor!) you can determine beforehand if you even need a car or if you can get around with public transportation. It is nice to not have to drive in an unfamilar place! You also meet interesting local people that actually look up to you for chosing this mode of transportation on their island. The bus drivers can be incredibly helpful with travel tips as long as you treat them with respect. Another idea is to call the bus company (do an internet search for public transportation on your island) and ask the office for advice regarding the proximity of where you are staying and the nearest bus stop. You may just want to rent a car for the days you will be exploring the island. Enterprise is on several of the islands and they will come to your condo/hotel to drop off your car. Local rental agencies will also provide this service. Travel Tip: If you do rent a car, wrap a lei of any kind around the rear view mirror and people will treat you like a local plus it is easier to spot your car in a parking lot of very similar rental cars!!

Hawaii on a Budget -Essential Tip #1- How to Save Money on Airfare

Most everyone wants to save money on the airline ticket. The less money you spend on airfare, the more you have to play with once you get to paradise. The problem of course is the ever rising fuel costs mixed with the two airlines that are no longer in operation (Aloha and TransAmerican) which provided a competitive fare to the islands. Although it is harder now to find "cheaper" airfare to the Islands, it is not impossible. Here are some suggestions :

• Do your homework!! It is work but you can literally save hundreds of dollars by comparing prices. Try http://away.com/ to begin your search. A rule of thumb is to start your search at least a month in advance of your trip so that you can take advantage of buying the ticket 21 days in advance (the standard lower fare). Put in your dates that you want to travel and it will search some of the biggest low priced travel search engines for you. Once you find a fare you can live with, you have two options. You can buy from the search engine (if it allows you to) or go directly to the airline website for purchase. I have noticed that sometimes you save a few bucks by going directly to the airline website,HOWEVER, sometimes a search engine like Orbitz will find a fare for a flight that I cannot find when I go to the airline website (often it is not a non-stop flight but worth the inconvenience).
• If you have done your homework (using the search engines) but still are not happy with the results you can wait for fares to drop. This is a gamble- you need to decide if it is smart to wait or not. You can check http://farecast.com/ to see what their prediction is. This popular search engine will either tell you to wait or buy and ask if you want them to email you when the fare drops. I wouldn't recommend that you trust their predictions completely, you have to use your common sense as well and still be looking around at other sites. They are a good tool to use.
• Your last option, when the above tactics are still not bringing you acceptable prices, is to go to http://priceline.com/ and name your own price. I have used this and have gotten excellent results. For instance, on a flight from SFO to Denver the week before Christmas, I was able to find two round trip tickets on United non-stop flights for 1/2 of what was coming up on my previous searches. Although Priceline will not tell you before you buy the tickets what airline you will fly or what time of the day it will be, they guarantee it will be a major airline and your flight won't be earlier than 6 am or later than 10pm, my flights were mid-morning and early afternoon. They also state they look for non-stop flights first, but worse case scenario is you have only one stop before your destination. Priceline asks you to name your price for your specific trip and then takes your credit card information. If they cannot give you the price you asked for they will sometimes ask you if you want to spend a little more, or they will tell you flat out that they cannot find the price you asked for and you will need to wait a period before they let you try again unless you want to make a change in your dates or price. Your credit card will not be charged if they cannot find the price you requested.

Hawaii on a Budget- The Five Essentials You Need to Know

Anyone can do Hawaii on a budget! Here is the first of a five part series which helps guide you through the essentials of your Hawaiian vacation: Airfare, Accomodations, Rental Cars, Food, and Activities. In order to get the best bang for your buck in any vacation, you must determine what is most important for you to experience- is it for total relaxation on the beach, a honeymoon/romantic get-away, or to explore a new island? These priorities will determine how much money you will need to save for the trip.