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.