VACATION RENTALS / B&B
USEFUL INFORMATION IN PLANNING YOUR TRIP TO KAUAI / HAWAII
Travel Tips | Q & A | Wedding Information
Travel Tips
Car Rental
1. Essentially all roads you'll be driving on Kauai are paved -- so no real need for a 4X4 Jeep or SUV.
2. We have all the major car rental companies based at Lihue Airport, including Avis, Budget, National, Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar, Alamo. To make a reservation for a car on Kauai, you can reach any of them from their 800 number in your yellow pages, or go directly to their websites for online reservations.
3. Perhaps the best place to start with in getting a rental car is using any "club card" you may have, such as Priceclub membership card: club cards often offer the best rates of all. Any discount discount code you may have, say via one of your credit cards, might be very competitive as well.
4. Another good way is via your airline reservation: you can add on a car to your flight and the rates are usually reasonably competitive.
5. You can also look at the car rental companies' online reservation websites. We have found www.dollar.com quite competitive this way. Online rates vary considerably throughout the year. If you go on their website and click on "Specials," then "Great Deals on Rentals," you can usually get a PROMO CODE like "6COM" which you can use and get a great rate. This is what we do most often.
6. For internet enthusiasts... http://expedia.com can give you a list of prices for cars within a class so you can compare the companies. If you like http://priceline.com, we have a guest who frequently returns and always rents a vehicle via priceline scoring a 50% discount or more every time. What he normally gets a club-cab 4x4 pickup for about $20/day (so he says).
7. A sequence to follow to find the best rate possible would be this: a) first check our online rates so you get an idea of what is a reasonable rates; b) then check rental company online rates (e.g. www.dollar.com ) to get a good idea of what is a competitive rates; c) call car rental companies with a Club card (Sam's Club, Costco, Priceclub, etc.), or discount code (e.g. credit card miles promos) and see what they can do for you; d) finally check with your airline and see what are the rates they offer. If nothing beats what we have posted, then you can contact us and we'll help you!
Airline Tickets
Although is seems attractive to find hot deals on the internet, we have found that it takes many hours, and it's not often will the price be much better than through a travel agent. In fact, I've found that most of the time you'd find the same rates on http://unitedairlines.com , http://travelocity.com, http://expedia.com , and a travel agent, for the same United ticket. So it's generally a good idea to simply deal with a travel agent you trust.
Aloha Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines occasionally have seat sales (more commonly from West Coast cities they fly to Hawaii from); you can check out their websites for sales at http://hawaiianair.com and http://alohaairlines.com .
To fly to Kauai you normally have to first fly into Honolulu and take an inter-island flight to Kauai. It's normally cheaper to make a reservation from your departing point to LIH (Lihue Airport) all on the same reservation, as opposed to make a reservation to Honolulu, and a separate reservation to Kauai. If for whatever reason you need to fly to Honolulu, and then separately to Kauai, the cheaper way to purchase inter-island tickets is by signing up for an "alohapass" with Aloha Airlines, wait a few days for your alohapass membership number, and then place a reservation via the Aloha Airlines website (tickets as low as $59 each way, as opposed to $99).
If you are flying from or via a West Coast city (LA, SFO, OAK) it is much preferrable to fly directly to Kauai as opposed to Honolulu and then inter-island to Kauai. It might cost a little more but saves you many hours and extra flight time. The following are airlines that fly directly to Kauai from the aforementioned cities: Aloha Airlines , Hawaiian Airlines , Northwest Airlines , Pleasant Hawaiian , SunTrips (charter from SFO), United Airlines . You would need to check with your travel agent (or online with each airline) to find out which cities they fly from.
For the internet enthusiasts... if you like to spend hours researching all available flights at the best prices here are the more popular websites you can check out: http://travelocity.com, http://priceline.com , Cheap Tickets , Cut Rate Tickets , www.orbitz.com , www.expedia.com , www.hotwire.com , www.mobissimo.com . Most of the time you end up paying and extra $10 for an online ticket. The one website some guests have said they got excellent fares from is Hotwire, but it does require that you know details of the flights you want. So if you can find out from the different airlines their times and flight numbers and then go to Hotwire you should be able to get good rates. Discount tickets come up on www.kayak.com .
Feel free to send me any good tips for airline tickets or car rentals... I would appreciate it.
Flying
You cannot freely bring some fresh fruits (and various plants) into or from Hawaii. If you do bring or leave with something agricultural, you'll need to check it through agriculture inspection at the airport. Depending on what it is, it may take it from you. In general, anything sweet or fruity, or with soil, cannot leave Hawaii, except if pre-packed and stamped "agricultural inspected" such as pineapples available from some stores on Kauai. Prepared foods are not a problem. You can bring flowers from Hawaii if they are properly cleaned (with soapy water) and properly packed in a taped box. Visitors from Canada may bring back almost anykind of fruits and vegetables, but if they want to bring back roots and cuttings they should consult if Agriculture Canada.
If you find airplane engines noisy, I recommend you get an noise reducing headphones, such as the "Noise Buster Extreme" (available online stores such as http://sharperimage.com,or http://magellan.com for $60). Several other companies like Bose, Koss, Sony, Panasoni, Sennheiser also have higher quality models. Go on cnet.com, do a search for "noise reducing headphones" to find articles that compare models. These units block out most outside noise, and allow you plug into the airplane audio as well, or CD player, etc. We always use these and they work great. They really makes a difference -- my head feels a lot less intense after a long flight.
One of our friends Diana Fairchild, who has worked in the aviation industry, has written a book called "Jet Smart" (and "Jet Smarter") which we find provides invaluable airflght travel tips. It is well worth reading; you may be able to find it at a your local bookstore or library; it's also on amazon.com. Additional air travel tips can be found at http://tips4trips.com/links/Air_Travel/ .
Packing -- What to Bring
It's OK to travel very light! Personally, all I use is a larger size carry-on luggage with wheels, plus at times an additional carry bag. The advantage is you can skip the luggage carousel, avoid luggage carts, etc.
Anyway, most people take two pieces of luggage each. If you stay at our place you have access to some beach gear like snorkel sets, beach towels, hiking shoes. So the main things you would need are basic clothing, swim-wear, hat, jacket, sunshades, sunscreen, camera, light shows, one good pair of shoes and sandals. If you forget anything, no worries, you can get most anything on island -- we have Walmart, Kmart, etc. Restaurant attire on Kauai is very casual. You probably won't see any ties or suit jackets the whole time you're here -- so not much need for evening attire.
Questions and Answers
What's the weather like at that time of year?
Our daytime temperature averages 74-87'F year-round; higher temperatures in the summer months (July - September), and lower temperatures during the winter months (December - February). In the winter, it is common to have a few morning showers and then it clears up for the rest of the day. The North Shore gets considerable more rain than us, on the East Shore. When one side of the island is rainy, the other side is often sunny. You can check our local forecast at http://www.kauaiworld.com/weather/ , www.accuweather.com forecast for Kauai
Are there good hikes around where you are?
Yes, lots. Kauai, perhaps boasts more world-class hikes than anywhere else in the world. Close to our place, there are several short hikes and amazing hikes, including to some waterfalls, or along the ocean for miles. Each of our places has a copy of the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook -- the definitive book on everything you would want to know and do on Kauai. . In addition, each or our places has an illustrated maps highlighting the many places to visit, including many tabs I've pasted on to indicate special places that tourists don't usually go (many secluded places). To complement the map, we also provide an 8-page "around Kauai" document that we've prepared to summarizing all the best hikes, waterfalls, places to snorkel, swimming beaches, retaurants, activities, etc. When people arrive, we have a chat with them guidance and tips. At times, people will hire Victor as a hike guide -- well worth it!
Before I send you a cheque, can you show me you are a legitimate business?
We are also affiliated with Century 21 All Islands here on Kauai (through which you can also book our place). We've had 100's of guests and no complaints, and we hope this is sufficient reassurance.
Are your places really as nice as they look on your website?
Yes they are, and in fact nicer as we have renovated but haven't updated our pictures on the internet yet. We realize it can be difficult to tell what a place is really like from the internet; what we can tell you is that our guests frequently tell us that it is nicer than on the internet, and that it is just perfect and wouldn't stay anywhere else. You can view our testimonials if you want some more reassurances at http://honualani.com/testimonials.html.
Is breakfast included?
We provide a large fruit basket when you arrive, including our own fruits, coffee, chocolate mac nuts. In our early days we operated the Home Condo as a B&B and offered our guests breakfast treats such as fresh muffins. We found that most of our guests didn't want their privacy disturbed in the morning, plus most of them preferred to make their own breakfasts, naturally as they have a full kitchen. So we have discontinued the morning treats, but will supply more of the fruits we have available when asked.
There you have it... so now you can stop spending dozens of hours on the internet trying to find a really good place at a good rate -- you've found it!!!
Wedding Information
We have listed many links below to local wedding services. Each will offer different packages, and choices for locations. The most famous spot on Kauai is the Fern Grotto. On the beach, under a palm tree is also very popular. You could also ask for a sacred location such as at an ancient Hawaiian Heiaus (e.g. as the ones along the ocean in Kapaa).
http://www.huna.org/ -- Serge King/Aloha International. He is of the Hawaiian Kahuna traditions, performing Hawaiian style ceremonies.
http://www.rainbowweddings.com/ -- Katrama Brooks. She performs beautiful ceremonies, optionally in the Hawaiian traditions.