It must be time for another vacation, How about Hawaii?

It is trying to snow here again, and I am not enjoying helping my parents move, and the newspaper has the whole travel section devoted to HAWAII!

Yes, it is definitely time to book another vacation!  We had a great time in Waikiki, last September and we used to go to Maui every year, when my kids were younger, but we changed that after we discovered the weather and the lower prices in Mexico.

Pros and Cons of the Hawaii Vacation:

Pros:

• Weather     My research has found that the driest weather in Hawaii is April, May, and September, October.  These are also the most likely times you will find travel bargains.  (Note I am not saying you won't find good weather at almost any time of the year in Hawaii, just that the 4 months I mentioned are usually the driest)        
• The trip we took to Waikiki last September was perfect, kids were back at school, the weather was great, although there were a few clouds and a couple times we were sprinkled with rain on the beach.  The kind of rain you welcome, because you are so hot anyway, throw a towel on your head for 5 minutes and it's over, you're cooled down a bit, and back to suntanning.  
• Amazing restaurants, Roy's Waikiki is my favorite
• Warm ocean water & white sand beaches
• 51/2 -6 hours by air, many airline options,  watch for sales, westjet.com and Alaskaair from bellingham.
• No need for a car in Waikiki, you can walk everywhere.
• low crime rate, (but you can still get robbed if you don't protect your belongings)
• No snakes anywhere in Hawaii  (I hate snakes)

Cons:    

• Rain        Hawaii can get a lot of rain in the winter, it is still 70-75F in the rain, but I expect sunshine on my vacations.  There was one year (Dec 2004?) that it rained for 7 days straight, roads were flooded, the kids still swam, and surfed but for the cost of that vacation, we felt ripped off.  (The next year we went to Club Med in Ixtapa, for Xmas vacation, the weather was perfect, and the cost included all the food, which you never find in Hawaii.)  
• Cost of the food, restaurants and drinks  (No All inclusives in Hawaii)
• You need to rent a car, (unless you stay right in Waikiki) Maui, Kauai, Big Island.  Without a car you won't be going out to restaurants, or shopping, or sight seeing, everything is too spread out.  (rental cars are a target for thieves, don't leave anything in it)
• Sharks.....don't go swimming in murky water especially after a storm (well there has to be a predator of some kind anywhere you go)

If you want to go to Hawaii, you will just have to accept that it is going to cost more than Mexico, mostly because of the cost of food and drinks.  If you go at the right time of year you can find good deals on accommodation.

For comparison sake, 2 of us could easily live for $100 per day (food and drinks only) in Puerto Vallarta, but in Waikiki we spent more than $100 on just dinner & drinks most nights.

The Hawaiian tourism website, states that the average for daily spending for each tourist is $192.00 per day.  That would be $1344.00 per week per person......without airfare.  So add $600 p.p. for a reasonable airfare, you are at $2000.00 per person.  I still think this may be a little light, as Mi tai's can cost $12 ea., beer $5-6 and groceries and restaurants are much more expensive than at home.  (that $192.00 average probably includes kids that don't pay for hotels or drinks)  So it depends on your budget, where you stay, how often you eat out, taxi's, busses or rental cars? Your Hawaii vacation can be very expensive or average out at $192 a day.


Now I think I'll see what kind of deal I can find for May.......




http://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/default/assets/File/research/monthly-visitors/January_2012_Visitor_Stats_PR.pdf