# Need Some Ideas



## Timeshare Von (Jul 3, 2015)

Ok so I will admit to being the queen of budget travel and sometimes travel to Hawaii and "budget" just don't mesh.  Add to that, we already own on Waikiki (a great resort at a wonderful MF value) but for 2016, we have already committed our unit for another Alaskan RV adventure that summer.  Sooooo . . . 

I have a conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort for about 4 days in late January.  My hubby is traveling with me due to a great companion fare deal through Alaska Air.  We will be there for a week (Saturday to Saturday) with my conference having me at the Hilton Sunday through Wednesday noontime.

The host hotel is $239 + 14% tax so for a minimum anticipated stay of four nights we're looking at $1,400.  That would leave us with three nights on our own elsewhere.  We'd rent a car at that point to go and be mobile until our departure date the following Saturday.

I have my 2016 Wyndham points, not many, only 77k, but that is enough to get us the four nights (Sat through Tues) with just renting 1k, making our total cost about $650-$700.  We could do the full week, renting 65k points, but that would add significantly to our cost (roughly $1,300 total for the week).  But to be mobile, we'd also incur parking fees of $29/day for our free days (3 of them).

So I'm thinking maybe we stay at the Wyndham w/o car for the four nights (Sat through Tues) and checkout Wednesday, rent a car and head somewhere else for the remaining time we have on Oahu.

We've been there before and stayed at the Ala Moana once (for another conference) . . . but other than that, we've always rented a car and been mobile using Lifetime in Hawaii as our home base. (It's great because they don't have parking fees.  Unfortunately, they are totally booked up or we'd consider renting there.)

Anyway . . . any thoughts or suggestions on what we might be able to do, to have a nice experience without really killing ourselves with the price or having to go slumming.  I was thinking about a nice little B&B.  Does anyone have any experiences with B&B's on Oahu?

Thanks much.  Sorry for the length of this.  I know I hate long posts too!

Happy Fourth of July!
Von


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## tompalm (Jul 3, 2015)

Check
http://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/usa/hawaii/oahu

However, most of these places want five nights or longer. Waimanalo on the beach or Kailua would be a nice change or break from Waikiki.


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## tompalm (Jul 3, 2015)

Here is another one where my neighbor runs his own business from. He owns five condos that he rents out, plus has special deals with Outrigger and other hotels. But most in Waikiki. 

http://www.discounthotelshawaii.com/index.html

Remember that if you rent something cheap, it will be cheap. But winter in Hawaii may not require airconditioning. The down side is Waikiki is very noisy when you are in the middle of it all and the noise never stops.


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## tompalm (Jul 3, 2015)

Also, Marriott just opened a new Courtyard on the NE side of the island.


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## DaveNV (Jul 4, 2015)

Any chance you or your husband is military, or have a DOD connection?  The Hale Koa hotel is next door to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. There may be something there. Rates are reasonable.  http://www.halekoa.com

Another idea might be to rent the nights you need at the Imperial of Waikiki on Lewers Street.  Walking distance from the Hilton. The have availability in late January for about $160 a night and up. Not sure whether that could fit your budget. Since it's a timeshare, the units have a kitchen for cooking.  There is onsite valet parking.

Dave


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## Henry M. (Jul 4, 2015)

I would be looking at a VRBO.com reservation in Kailua, as tompalm suggested above. I was going to go to Oahu in September, and found some pretty nice places near the beach for around $150-$170/nt. 

I've used VRBO before in Europe and on the Big Island, and have been pleased with all the places we've rented. Do look at reviews and only pick properties with good ratings. 

I prefer using VRBO than staying at hotels, to the point that I cancelled a free hotel reservation using points and paid for a VRBO stay. I preferred the room and facilities of a nice apartment in a more central location than a free room in a Westin hotel in Madrid, Spain. Timeshares are harder to find in Europe, but even in the US they seem hard to find for less than a 7 day reservation. VRBO often has properties with 3 or 3 day minimums.


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## Timeshare Von (Jul 5, 2015)

Thanks for the suggestions!

I did look into the Hale Koa, but his discharge, while honorable wasn't of a retiree status so he's ineligible.  Good thought though, it was worth looking into.


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## Timeshare Von (Jul 5, 2015)

So here's my game plan . . . 

My conference will be over on Tuesday, so on Wednesday we'll hop a flight over to Kauai and spend the remaining days over there.  We've never been to that island so it will be a nice break for Oahu. (We've been to the Big Island several times, and Maui once, so this would round out our island experiences, I think.)

That will give us four full days on Kauai, as our flight home to the mainland departs Honolulu at 10:45pm Saturday night.


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## SmithOp (Jul 5, 2015)

You could also take a hop over to Hilo and stay at Kilueau Military Camp inside the volcano park.  KMC does not have the same restriction as Hale Koa and allows veterans with an honorable discharge DD-214 to stay there.  They have very good rates on other activities too, like the circle island tour.




Sent from my iPad using the strange new version of Tapatalk


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## Timeshare Von (Jul 5, 2015)

SmithOp said:


> You could also take a hop over to Hilo and stay at Kilueau Military Camp inside the volcano park.  KMC does not have the same restriction as Hale Koa and allows veterans with an honorable discharge DD-214 to stay there.  They have very good rates on other activities too, like the circle island tour.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using the strange new version of Tapatalk



Thanks Dave.  We've actually done the Big Island (and all around it) several times so the change of scenery will be nice on Kauai.

We'll keep the Kilueau M/C in mind for the future thought . . . thanks!


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## RichardL (Jul 5, 2015)

*Kauai*

Just got back.  Not much of a rigid explorer after a serious injury, but I picked up a beach umbrella at Costco and a beach chair and and managed to enjoy more time at the beach then ever before and the extra luggage was no problem.  On departure, no problem to give out as gifts.

Why no mention of where in Kauai?  It is all so nice.


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## DaveNV (Jul 5, 2015)

Timeshare Von said:


> So here's my game plan . . .
> 
> My conference will be over on Tuesday, so on Wednesday we'll hop a flight over to Kauai and spend the remaining days over there.  We've never been to that island so it will be a nice break for Oahu. (We've been to the Big Island several times, and Maui once, so this would round out our island experiences, I think.)
> 
> That will give us four full days on Kauai, as our flight home to the mainland departs Honolulu at 10:45pm Saturday night.




Do you have a place to stay on Kauai? If time is short, and a timeshare isn't a good fit, staying at the Aqua-run Kauai Beach Resort hotel would be a great place. The place is centrally located, close to the airport, right outside of Lihue, has a nice restaurant and a wonderful pool complex.  It shares grounds with the Kauai Beach Villas timeshares (where I own) and it's a very nice place to stay. Highly recommended.  http://www.kauaibeachresorthawaii.com

Dave


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## Timeshare Von (Jul 5, 2015)

Yep, found a place that was in our wheelhouse, price-wise, so I think we're covered.


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## DaveNV (Jul 6, 2015)

Timeshare Von said:


> Yep, found a place that was in our wheelhouse, price-wise, so I think we're covered.



Thumbs up, then! You're sure to have fun. 

Are you planning any formal activities, or just running around exploring?

Dave


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## Timeshare Von (Jul 6, 2015)

BMWguynw said:


> Thumbs up, then! You're sure to have fun.
> 
> Are you planning any formal activities, or just running around exploring?
> 
> Dave



Not sure yet Dave.  I do like running around exploring!  :whoopie:

We also enjoy snorkeling and are confident enough to do that from the shore, if we find a good place.  We may opt for a boat tour that would include snorkeling and/or whale watching.

I also want to spend some time up at the Kilauea Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse.

Beyond that, it may just be a couple of lazy days at the beach and/or pool.


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## DaveNV (Jul 6, 2015)

Timeshare Von said:


> Not sure yet Dave.  I do like running around exploring!  :whoopie:
> 
> We also enjoy snorkeling and are confident enough to do that from the shore, if we find a good place.  We may opt for a boat tour that would include snorkeling and/or whale watching.
> 
> ...




Nice ideas. For boat tour ideas, check out Capt. Andy's. www.napali.com.  They leave from the south end of the island, in Port Allen, and run up the Napali Coast of the island toward the Kalalau Valley. (That was the ocean entrance into the hills where the helicopter flew with the scientists at the opening of the original Jurassic Park movie.)  Their dinner cruise is excellent, done it several times, and will do it again next trip. They do snorkel trips and whale watching trips, too.  

Easy snorkeling from shore on the south end of the island is at Poipu Beach Park.  https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...2!3m1!1s0x7c071a97b5ff5f6b:0xfd75205a645ae677

And probably easiest on the north end is at Ke'e Beach. https://www.google.com/maps/place/K...2!3m1!1s0x7c06fac121f20a45:0xedd4db74de5686d5

Both ends of the island have their pluses, most likely is the weather conditions.  Generally, when visiting Kauai, when the weather is rainy up north, head south, and vice versa. 

Lots of good food choices all over the island. Three of my personal lunch/Happy Hour choices are Kalypso in Hanalei, Olympic Café in Kapa'a, and Brenneke's in Poipu. All are casual, food and drinks are good, and locations are easy to find. Prices are Hawaii-average. (If you know what that means.)

Dave


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## Timeshare Von (Jul 6, 2015)

BMWguynw said:


> Nice ideas. For boat tour ideas, check out Capt. Andy's. www.napali.com.  They leave from the south end of the island, in Port Allen, and run up the Napali Coast of the island toward the Kalalau Valley. (That was the ocean entrance into the hills where the helicopter flew with the scientists at the opening of the original Jurassic Park movie.)  Their dinner cruise is excellent, done it several times, and will do it again next trip. They do snorkel trips and whale watching trips, too.
> 
> Easy snorkeling from shore on the south end of the island is at Poipu Beach Park.  https://www.google.com/maps/place/P...2!3m1!1s0x7c071a97b5ff5f6b:0xfd75205a645ae677
> 
> ...



Thanks for the great suggestions!  I'm going to bookmark this page for my future reference.

TS Von


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## momeason (Jul 6, 2015)

Timeshare Von said:


> So here's my game plan . . .
> 
> My conference will be over on Tuesday, so on Wednesday we'll hop a flight over to Kauai and spend the remaining days over there.  We've never been to that island so it will be a nice break for Oahu. (We've been to the Big Island several times, and Maui once, so this would round out our island experiences, I think.)
> 
> ...


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## Timeshare Von (Jul 18, 2015)

Hawaiian Airlines interisland flights bought today (Honolulu/Kauai)!  We cannot wait


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## DaveNV (Jul 18, 2015)

Timeshare Von said:


> Hawaiian Airlines interisland flights bought today (Honolulu/Kauai)!  We cannot wait



Hawaiian has nice planes. They do "inter island" pretty well. 

Dave


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