[doydie]

We have been wanting to take a nice vacation this year. What we have thought about was New England in the fall, Alaskan cruise and today my husband puts Hawaii in the loop! So my question is has anyone here taken a Hawaii trip and how handicap accessible is it?

[legzzalot]

I have it was many many moons and about 12 yrs ago. I stayed on base so everything was handicapped access. I think it depnds where you stay. It was beautiful. I went in November and it was warm enough to swim without being too hot. Great shopping, great food, and lots of pretty flowers to look at. White beaches and clear water... I wanna go back!

[Kitty]

DebbieD is there right now. I think she comes home on Sunday. Hopefully she will see this and give you the "inside scoop" on how it is there.

[doydie]

We went to AAA today and those trips are EXPENSIVE! I think I am narrowing it down to either a trip to Maine or a cruise of the Hawaiin islands. She talked us out of going to one of the resorts, unpacking, getting a rental car, ride around, turn in the rental car when you go to the next island and then repeat all over again.

[SallyC]

I should have gone to HI, while I had Relatives living there. I'll never make it now...sob...

[NeuroNixed Craig]

Hi Doydie!

Joyce and I just got back from a 14 day Princess cruise to Hawaii in November. We went out of LA to the islands, visited 4 islands, to Encenada, Mexico and back to LA. My agent got us the best rates in all areas out of 5 different agencies I was comparing, AAA included.

I invite you to my personal blog where you can see the Princess Photo Journal and our pictures on Picasa through the links. Go to: www.aboutcraigmattice.com. I would be happy to answer any questions you have about what's available for a Hawaiian cruises as I spent almost 2 full months researching all angles. I would be willing to share that information with you if you are interested.

Expensive is relative when you consider, as we did, it is a trip of a lifetime. It is best to compare several (5 minimum) agencies/agents who are professionally certified and cruise specialist certified. You would be amazed at the difference in costs.

I hope this is helpful to you.

[doydie]

thanks a lot Craig. i will look at your blog. I'm sure I'll spend alll day there just looking at the pics! I'll PM you about your prices

[Victor H]

Don't miss the opportunity to go to Hawaii.

We spent a week on Kona, as it is the least crowded city on the largest of the Hawaiian Islands.

Fantastic!

Read through Craig's blog as he has good information.

If you need a handicap-accesible vehicle while at Kona, there is a company that has a few that they keep at the airport for you. The company is called "Wheelchair Getaways".

I hope that you get to experience Hawaii.

Kona is great.

Also, if you want inside information on where to eat and sightsee, you can visit the "Timeshare Users Group" website and do a quick search on Hawaii. There is a ton of information on that site.

Have fun.

Don't miss this opportunity.

-Vic

[Debbie D]

Just got back yesterday...we try to go every spring now.

We own 2 timeshare weeks there. It's not a good financial investment, but it is a great relationship investment, because it forces us to go away, and it regenerates us.

We now only go to Maui, but have gone to Kauai, Oahu and the big island. The big island is the youngest and thus has the least vegetation. Kona is a very popular spot now. The active volcano is on this island.

Oahu is a very busy island. Waikiki is there, as well as Sunset Beach (my DH almost died there while boogie boarding the first time we went to hawaii-I wouldn't recommend it). Also has Pearl Harbor. We find it too commercial for our taste.

Kauai is the oldest island, and the prettiest. Waimea Canyon is on this island, the "Grand Canyon of Hawaii." It's beautiful. Also loads of waterfalls. But there isn't much to do here if you like to shop. Lots of hiking though.

Maui is our favorite. Lots of beautiful beaches, snorkeling, hiking. Lots of great restaurants, and shopping. There are many great towns to visit. Haleakala is the 10,000 ft. high mountain that you can bike down (did it once-never again!), and you can also ride up to see the sunrise. Helicopter rides show many beautiful waterfalls. The Road to Hana takes four hours one way, but you can see many, many beautiful waterfalls. Lots of great hiking here as well.

If you want to rent a resort, go to Redweek.com. There are many great deals. Our favorite place to stay is the Westin Kaanapali Villas, a timeshare. There are great hotel deals right now, as well. Go to Westin.com, or Marriott.com to check out the hotels. Marriott also has a wonderful timeshare on Kaanapali as well.

Plane fares are expensive, but I have to tell you that hawaii is so worth it!! We use credit cards for groceries, etc and pay them off monthly to build up frequent flyer points and fly free. It's a hassle to plan, because the airlines only have a couple of seats per flight, so my DH plans everything very carefully (which also means we're in the sardine section of the plane instead of the roomy first class, which is so much better for my spastic legs).

I was talking to someone the other day by the pool. she said Hawaiian airlines isn't too expensive from the west coast. If you can get a flight to there and then take them, it might be cheaper.

We always overpack...my SIL takes a carryon and that's all. The airlines charge for checked luggage, so she saves money and time this way. The westin villas have washer &dryer in the room, so she only takes a couple of outfits and washes a lot. We live in our swimsuits there, and only really need a couple of casual outifts and one nice outfit for a fancy dinner. The Westin and Marriott villas also have grills that you can cook out on, which makes eating there so much cheaper! We only eat 2x per day too to cut food costs. Food and gas are very expensive...gas was $4.69 on Sunday

Also, if you rent a car, go to priceline and bid for a rental...we ended up only paying $22/day for a compact car, which is preferable due to small parking spaces and good gas mileage.

Check out the various websites to see what they're like, and Redweek.com too...