Hawaii, Aloha

In order to meet my cousin, M, mid-way between her temporary home in Quantico, Virginia, and Australia, we arranged to share a holiday in Hawaii. Her husband, J, was to be stationed there for two weeks during our holiday period, so it was a perfect idea.

I spent quite a bit of time checking for airfares. I use airfare.com, skyscanner.com, webjet.com and the airlines’ own websites to find good prices. There are currently no airlines that fly from Brisbane direct to Honolulu, but Hawaiian Airlines will commence this service in November 2012.

I was originally going to fly with Jetstar, but then found that Hawaiian had lowered its prices to the same price, but included seat, bags, food and entertainment, as well as having more suitable flying times for me. On the day prior to me booking, the airfare had been $700 more. Inexplicably, on the day that I did book, it was $1000 return.  I encountered this unexpected price change again when I booked for some upcoming LA flights. One day it was $2300, the next it was $1400. I have no advice to give on this but to check the websites regulary and be ready to book if you find a great fare.





The flight departed Sydney 10 minutes early on Tuesday night. It was a full A330, but the staff were friendly and all went well. Movies were pay per view, but TV shows were free. I slept most of the way and arrived at lunch time in Honolulu, relatively fresh. It took quite a long time to get through immigration as we'd landed behind a couple of Japan AIrlines flights. Whilst waiting we saw that you could pre-register for a quicker passage through, so we’ll look into that for next time.

Out into the warm Hawaiian day, we were greeted by M with leis for us both, made of beautiful frangipanis.

We checked into the Hawaiian Prince Hotel in west Waikiki. Despite being early for check-in, they found us a lovely room on the 17^th floor with opening windows and a wonderful view of the marina and beach. It was large and comfortable and we really enjoyed our stay here. The staff were excellent and we'd definitely both recommend this hotel and stay here when we come back.



Straight to the beach in front of M’s hotel, the Hilton Hawaiian Village – a huge complex with 4 accommodation towers, pools, restaurants, shops, a water slide, flamingos and penguins, beachfront and a seawater lagoon. The sky was blue and the sun hot, and the water very refreshing. We had tried to book into the Hilton as well, but being summer holidays in the USA and RIMPAC ( a military exercise involving many nations’ forces), it was booked out.

We walked up Waikiki towards the imposing Diamond Head, and stopped for lunch at a beach side bar belonging to the Sheraton. We ate very tasty fish tacos (soft tortilla, not like the crispy tacos we have in Oz), and sipped the local beers in the sunshine, whilst watching the people, ocean and watercraft. Just in from the beach are shops and restaurants, including Macy’s, Ripcurl and high end such as Prada and Louis Vuitton. We had a quick look at Macy’s and the prices were very tempting - $9 bikinis by Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren!

That evening we met up with J, who had to work during the days, and had a celebratory drink at the Barefoot Bar, a beach side bar of the military hotel, the Hale Koa, on Waikiki. Their mojitos were very tasty. We were joined by J’s colleague, a Harrier (Jump Jet) pilot. I had to refrain from asking lots of dumb questions about fighter school!

We ate at the Yard House, a bar/restaurant with many, many beers on tap. Dom was in heaven with a wide selection of IPAs to choose from. To dine in Waikiki, you have to arrive somewhere, put your name on a list, and wait with a pager until a table is ready. Most waits were less than 45 minutes, but it pays to not wait until you’re starving to choose a restaurant!

Prices were cheaper than Australia, even though the listed price then has tax and gratuity added later. We ordered some share entrees (called appetisers) and mains (called entrees) and had a great evening.

The temperature is idyllic. Warm at night - no jacket required, and hot during the day, but a dry and pleasant heat, accompanied by cool sea breezes.