Hawaii Cruise Market Picking Up Steam

One area that has been slow to grow in the Hawaii travel market has been cruises. A couple of years a go there were a couple of cruise ships dedicated to just cruises in Hawaii. These cruises would go from island to island and would usually last around a week. These cruise ships didn’t do well and quite a few of them are no longer servicing Hawaii. After a couple of years though it looks like the Hawaii cruise market is finally gaining some legs. The numbers this week showed that 104,000 cruise passengers came to Hawaii with most of them coming from the west coast in the first 11 months of last year which was an increase of 14.5% from last year. With that large increase you can expect more and more cruise ships starting to take a look at adding more ships to Hawaii. This number is getting closer to the highest it has ever been, which was around 130,000 in 2007, and many expect it to continue to grow. If you’re looking for a cruise destination I highly recommend checking out a Hawaii cruise as it is really a great experience that you will enjoy.

TV Shows and Movies Shot in Hawaii

One of the things Hawaii is known for right now is CBS’s show Hawaii 5-0. This show is in its second season and is one of the most popular shows on Monday night. Earlier this year I got to be an extra on the show and had a blast. Not sure if you remember this episode but a couple of weeks back they had an episode at a Hawaii volleyball game, I was fan #1349 screaming my head off. A couple of days ago I was at the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu and was in there parking structure and was looking for an empty space and thought I got lucky when I saw 3 open ones but then released it was reserved for Hawaii 5-0. Hawaii has been the backdrop to many TV shows like Lost and Hawaii 5-0 as well as movies like Tropic Thunder and most recently the new Pirates of the Caribbean.  Hawaii is one of the worlds most beautiful backdrops and can really make a movie or TV show. I was at the movies this past weekend seeing Sherlock Holmes when they had a trailer for Battle Ship which was also just recently shot in Hawaii as well. One of my favorite things when watching a movie that has been filmed in Hawaii is to guess where they shot each scene. In fact when they were shooting the Pirates of the Caribbean in Kanehoe I went down to go see the pirate ship and was even able to see them shoot some scenes of the movie. For those of you that remember, what are some of your favorite TV shows and movies shot in Hawaii?

Hawaiian Air offering $149 One Way for Winter Airfale Sale

Hawaiian Airlines, which is know for offering great airfare rates to Hawaii, just came out with their Winter sale fares and they are offering some great rates. The Winter travel season is one of the most expensive and Hawaiian is offering special rates that people can afford. The deals are mainly from the West Coast and the cheapest travel dates are Monday thru Thursday. A lot of the fares are selling out so if you are planning on coming to Hawaii this Winter I recommend you getting to their site quickly to check out some of their special rates. Here is a breakdown of some of the special rates Hawaiian is offering to consumers:

Honolulu

• Oakland $159
• San Jose $159
• Sacramento $224
• San Diego $227
• San Francisco $159
• Las Vegas $243

Maui

• San Jose $149
• Oakland $154
• Las Vegas $243

 

Traffic Situation Due to APEC Conference

For those of you that didn’t know, this past weekend Hawaii has been hosting the APEC conference with world leaders from the US, Russia, China, Japan and many other countries. All of these “Pacific” countries have all come to Hawaii for meetings about different topics including the economy and the world as a whole. President Obama is hosting these meetings and he wanted to have this conference in Hawaii since he was born and raised here and to give the other leaders a little taste of the Hawaiian culture. In fact last night there was a Hawaiian luau for all the attendees at the Hale Koa hotel.

As you can imagine with so many high profile people in one place Waikiki has been like a fortress this past weekend. There have been checkpoints to get in and a lot of security. From the news reports we know that Obama is staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the Chinese president is staying at the Sheraton and the prime minister of Australia has been staying at the Outrigger Reef.

With the increase of security a lot of roads, parks and some beaches have been shut down. Today especially the traffic on the roads were bad as the conference moved from Waikiki to Ko’Olina, which is on the other side of the island. The freeways were shut down and there was some major gridlock today. The conference is supposed to be wrapping up today so hopefully things will get back to normal. If you were one of the few like myself who had to sit in traffic today I’m sure you are like me and are glad that this conference is over.

Update on Winter Hawaii Travel Prices

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner people are beginning to look for cheap prices on vacations to Hawaii. While these dates are known for being expensive there are some good deals still left. If you’re looking to come to Hawaii in during the Thanksgiving or Christmas periods you need to make sure you search all the major airlines that service Hawaii as some have better fares than others. Also if your travel dates are flexible I highly recommend trying to book your vacations Monday thru Thursday as Friday thru Sunday usually have higher rates. In regards to lodging there are still some good deals on nice hotels but it’s just a matter of finding them. I know this Winter that most of the Ohana hotels have some discounts on their rooms so they may be someone to check out first. If you can’t find the price you’re looking for it would be best to travel during the month of February as that is an off peak season which means there are some great rates.

Things to do at the beach

So you got your travel plans all set and you have decided that you want to go to a beach destination to catch and some and swim in the ocean. You book your flight and hotel, pack your sexy bikini and sun screen and you’re on your way. You arrive to your destination, check into your hotel room, put on your swimwear and now what? For some going to the beach can get a little old as you don’t know what you do once you’re there. For some, including myself, I need to do something. After my many years of going to beaches from the beaches of Hawaii to the beaches in Destin Florida, I’ve come up with a list of things you can do when you go to the beach to occupy your time.

The first and most obvious thing to do when going to the beach is to go in the water. The ocean is a great place to swim but beware the water at times can be extremely cold. If you’re able to get in the water swim around a little and just enjoy yourself. Another thing you can do is lay out on the beach. Yeah I know I already mentioned how this could get old but while you’re laying out bring a book to read or do a crossword puzzle. Just doing something will help keep you busy while you work on that tan.

One of my favorite things to do when I’m at the beach is to go for a walk on it. I usually walk right where the water hits the sand and I love the feeling of the cool water hitting my feet. One final thing that I like to do on the beach is throwing a football or Frisbee around. This is a great way to hang out with friends or family and have fun with each other.

Going to the beach is a lot of fun and doing more than just laying in the sun makes it even better.

Hawaii Travel Packing List

Recently I had some request to do a post in regards to what people should pack when they go on a vacation to Hawaii. Packing isn’t easy and when you do pack you usually forget some of the simplest things to remember. I can’t tell you how many times I arrived to my destination, opened my suitcase and then realized I forgot to pack something. When it comes to a Hawaii vacation, here are some important things to remember when packing:

- Make sure you have your swim shorts or bikini. You’re going to be at some of the best beaches in the world and you’re going to need these. If you forget to pack them you can expect to drop some serious cash buying a new one while in Hawaii.

- Another important thing I recommend you packing is some sun screen. The sun is pretty strong in Hawaii and not using sunscreen I can guarantee you will get burned and that will be painful.

- I also highly recommend you bringing a map or your own gps if you decide to rent a car. Though Hawaii is a small island it does get tricky to get around at times.

I know there are more obvious things to pack like clean underwear and a toothbrush but I’m assuming you already know about this. Making sure you pack these other essentials will help make your Hawaii trip more enjoyable.

New Booking Engine

Just wanted to give you a little update and let you know that after months of hard work we’ve finally launched are discount Hawaii travel booking engine. Our booking engine offers discounted airfare from all of the major airline carriers, discounted Hawaii hotels on all the major island and also Hawaii car rentals. We’re still working on it and will continue to update the site with great rates and fantastic info about all the Hawaiian islands. If you have any questions let us know.

Hawaii Activity of the Week

Starting a new feature to this new blog I’ve decided to show case popular activities in Hawaii. The first activity I wanted to show case was a recent helicopter tour I took of Hawaii. This has to be one of the best ways to see Hawaii and enjoy its natural beauty. Enjoy the video.

Could the strong Yen increase travelers to Hawaii?

Everyone in the Hawaii travel industry is hoping so. With the Yen being very strong right now compared to the US dollar it seems to many think that we could see more people from Japan taking Hawaii vacation packages since they will get more bang from their buck. The Yen is up 15% as compared to last year at this time and it seems to be growing in strength. If it continues to grow compared to the US dollar this could be a very good fall in regards to travelers from Japan for the Hawaii travel market. Any bit will help right now because travelers to Hawaii from the US has been  declining sharply as more of them take their vacations closer to home to save money.