Never Flown Before: Need Hawaii Flight Advice for Honeymoon

basketkase543

basketkase543

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I'm getting married this December and neither of us has ever flown anywhere before, so we're complete newbs at the ticket buying business.

We chose to go to the island Kauai because we heard that it is best for relaxation and scenery; neither of us cares much for nightlife. After checking both expedia and travelocity, it looks like the best deal is about $2500 for two tickets, hotel, and car rental for seven days.

Does that sound like a decent price? It seems really pricey to me but, again, I don't know how much flights or anything else normally costs. Are there other places to check for cheap ticket prices with package deals? Does the price seem about normal? Is it better to buy now or wait for a deal later? Thank in advance.
 
[quote name='basketkase543']I'm getting married this December and neither of us has ever flown anywhere before, so we're complete newbs at the ticket buying business.

We chose to go to the island Kauai because we heard that it is best for relaxation and scenery; neither of us cares much for nightlife. After checking both expedia and travelocity, it looks like the best deal is about $2500 for two tickets, hotel, and car rental for seven days.

Does that sound like a decent price? It seems really pricey to me but, again, I don't know how much flights or anything else normally costs. Are there other places to check for cheap ticket prices with package deals? Does the price seem about normal? Is it better to buy now or wait for a deal later? Thank in advance.[/QUOTE]
Whenever I've flown, I've found great prices through Kayak or MatrixITA. I'm not sure how well they work for booking hotels and car rentals at the same time (hotels are going to be the killer, espescially with the holiday season), but you might be able to save some dough on the airfare and have a little room to play with on the hotel. Seeing that you're from LA, you might even be better off flying out of John Wayne or Long Beach - for me flying back east, John Wayne has ALWAYS been cheaper.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/
http://www.kayak.com

The big plus side of booking this early? Booking in advance always equals lower prices.
The big down side? It'll be Christmas time, and the airlines and hotels are going to screw you as best they can.

Congrats on getting married!
 
Always carry some essentials (change of clothes, cash/CC, snacks, etc) with you when you travel in case the airlines lose your bag.
Furthermore, get to the airport at least 2 hours in advance. Use electronic check in if possible to avoid the lines.

Kauai is a great vacation place (I've been there myself :)). When you're there, you might want to look into renting a condo short term. When I was there (or on Maui, I'm not sure which), I stayed in a condo for a week then a hotel for a few days. The condo was much better and cheaper than a hotel.

Oh, and be prepared to be bowled over by extreme humidity (unless its very humid in LA, which, IIRC, its not).
 
[quote name='JJSP']Whenever I've flown, I've found great prices through Kayak or MatrixITA. I'm not sure how well they work for booking hotels and car rentals at the same time (hotels are going to be the killer, espescially with the holiday season), but you might be able to save some dough on the airfare and have a little room to play with on the hotel. Seeing that you're from LA, you might even be better off flying out of John Wayne or Long Beach - for me flying back east, John Wayne has ALWAYS been cheaper.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/
http://www.kayak.com

The big plus side of booking this early? Booking in advance always equals lower prices.
The big down side? It'll be Christmas time, and the airlines and hotels are going to screw you as best they can.

Congrats on getting married![/quote]

bah! i hate jonah
 
I was in your exact same position. Never flown before, went to Hawaii for honeymoon. We went to Oahu, Maui, and Kauai for almost three weeks total in May 2003. The total cost for flights and accomodations was around $4300 CAD.

Oahu was the most entertaining for me, but I enjoy cities. We stayed right on Waikiki beach. It was nice to be able to just walk up and down the strip watching the street performers. The oublic transportation was nice. You can also go visit the pineapple plantations and fondly remember the Dole company having a hand in the overthrow of the legitimate monarchy. It was vastly more expensive than the other islands.

Maui was the most balanced of the three islands. It had enough commercialization to make me comfortable, but also had fun activities. Whatever you do, if you ever go to Maui, do not drive the road to Hana. It is long, boring, and will drive you crazy.

Kauai was just plain boring to me. We went on a helicopter ride and did a lot of snorkeling. I guess it is a great place to go if you just want to sit on the beach and read. The birds there drove me crazy. You will never get to sleep in, ever due to the insanely amount of birds that start up every day at 6am.

I'm not sure where the humidity concerns come in. Every island humidity and temperature was absolutely perfect. It rains a few times a day for a few minutes at a time. Shorts and sandals weather always. No insects!
 
$2,500 is a steal for all of that. When I got married in 1999 we were paying $500/night just for the hotel. I think we dropped like $10,000+ on our honeymoon or something - we went to Hawaii for 2 weeks (Kauai, Hawaii and Maui) and flew out of Boston - worth every penny. If I were you I'd look into hitting up another island - Kauai is really relaxing and great but there is really nothing to do. At least on Maui you can go into the town to shop (which is very small - not city-like at all) and you can do the bike ride tour from the top of the mountain one day.

EDIT: I second NOT doing the road to Hana - we didn't do it on the advice of at least 3 other couples who did and said it was a waste of a day.
 
I hear Hawaii is very expensive, so that sounds like a decent deal, especially in winter. I know those places say you get a deal booking together, but I use expedia to find the best dates/times/airlines, then I book directly through the airline's sites. Sign up for their frequent flier stuff (it's free), and you often get an upgrade for a rental car or a percentage off a particular hotel line. And even if you never use the frequent flier stuff, you can donate most to charity at the end of the year.

I second taking a carry on with enough clothes for the two of you for a day. That way, if your luggage is lost, you can get there, have a change of clothes while you wash what you're wearing, and the bag should be there by then.

When you get there, mention that it's your honeymoon. I know a lot of people go there for their honeymoon, but you'd be amazed the free upgrades and whatnot we got just because I mentioned it.

You'll love getting married in Dec., I did. Congrats!
 
[quote name='basketkase543']I'm getting married this December and neither of us has ever flown anywhere before, so we're complete newbs at the ticket buying business.

We chose to go to the island Kauai because we heard that it is best for relaxation and scenery; neither of us cares much for nightlife. After checking both expedia and travelocity, it looks like the best deal is about $2500 for two tickets, hotel, and car rental for seven days.

Does that sound like a decent price? It seems really pricey to me but, again, I don't know how much flights or anything else normally costs. Are there other places to check for cheap ticket prices with package deals? Does the price seem about normal? Is it better to buy now or wait for a deal later? Thank in advance.[/quote]

From LA, that sounds a little expensive, but then again, you're going in the highest tourist season unless you go a week before christmas, or a week after new years.

i'd check a local travel agent because sometimes they've got competetive deals to try to compete with the online guys.

but all in all, 2500 for all inclusive isn't too bad, especially if you're going to relax and bum around.
 
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