After a recent reply to a post asking if the view/size/unit quality of a stay in Hawaii made a difference (yes it does, but it's better to be in a bad Hawaiian unit than not in Hawaii at all IMO) it made me reflect on our first and only trip there in 1976. It remains one of our top 3 trips ever despite the fact that we "cheaped out" (hey, we were in our 20's & recently married).
Our 40th anniversary is in February 2013 and my wife had talked of a trip to Nassau to relive our honeymoon. But reflecting on the two trips the Hawaii visit stood out far more so I suggested an early celebratory trip to a couple Hawaiian islands instead. As I suspected that was a hit.
So I took a few days to study flights, rental cars and of course accommodations. My first choice was a well rated timeshare - 2 bedroom or more so our daughter can join us if she can - as I suspected it was easy to find and only $199. Now THAT'S a deal! And no ownership in that expensive area required. I didn't do as well for a second week as we specifically wanted Oahu / Honolulu and beach front so I turned to condo/house rentals instead. There were close to 100 offered and we settled on a beach cottage, 3 bedroom, 2 bath for about $130/night. Still feel it's a great deal. Finally we'll wrap up the two week stay with three nights in Honolulu proper at the Embassy Suites. That is the most expensive unit of the whole stay.
We are doing two weeks as both the length of the flights and cost mean we want to maximize the time & value there. We got direct flights to Honolulu from NYC as well as the inter island trips and a short hop from Rochester to NYC under $1000/pp. All in all we're getting 2 full weeks, three locations, 14 days of car rental and what will be a dream vacation to paradise at just a little over twice what we paid in 1976 for 7 days in a rather questionable, off beach hotel and charter flights with only 2 days of car rental. I'd guess this is even a better value than what we got back then.
We're already looking forward to October and we only decided to make the trip earlier in the week. Timesharing has really opened up travel to us even though we've reduced our personal portfolio from 8+ weeks to two. The ability to easily rent has opened up far more opportunities than trading ever offered and at far lower cost. Take advantage of it - we sure are.
Our 40th anniversary is in February 2013 and my wife had talked of a trip to Nassau to relive our honeymoon. But reflecting on the two trips the Hawaii visit stood out far more so I suggested an early celebratory trip to a couple Hawaiian islands instead. As I suspected that was a hit.
So I took a few days to study flights, rental cars and of course accommodations. My first choice was a well rated timeshare - 2 bedroom or more so our daughter can join us if she can - as I suspected it was easy to find and only $199. Now THAT'S a deal! And no ownership in that expensive area required. I didn't do as well for a second week as we specifically wanted Oahu / Honolulu and beach front so I turned to condo/house rentals instead. There were close to 100 offered and we settled on a beach cottage, 3 bedroom, 2 bath for about $130/night. Still feel it's a great deal. Finally we'll wrap up the two week stay with three nights in Honolulu proper at the Embassy Suites. That is the most expensive unit of the whole stay.
We are doing two weeks as both the length of the flights and cost mean we want to maximize the time & value there. We got direct flights to Honolulu from NYC as well as the inter island trips and a short hop from Rochester to NYC under $1000/pp. All in all we're getting 2 full weeks, three locations, 14 days of car rental and what will be a dream vacation to paradise at just a little over twice what we paid in 1976 for 7 days in a rather questionable, off beach hotel and charter flights with only 2 days of car rental. I'd guess this is even a better value than what we got back then.
We're already looking forward to October and we only decided to make the trip earlier in the week. Timesharing has really opened up travel to us even though we've reduced our personal portfolio from 8+ weeks to two. The ability to easily rent has opened up far more opportunities than trading ever offered and at far lower cost. Take advantage of it - we sure are.
