Booking your Travel to Hawaii – Maui

by | Jan 7, 2019 | Adventures, Hawaii, Packing

Booking your trip to Hawaii

  • Booking Flights:

    • As an agent, I am always happy to help you find flights, though I do find some people like to do this part of their vacation planning on their own.  If that is you, read below…
    • Your trek over the Pacific Ocean to these specs of volcanic islands in the middle of the ocean does NOT have to be expensive. In fact, the last time I looked (the other day) it was cheaper for us to fly from Toronto to Honolulu or to Maui than to Vancouver! Here are simple tips and tricks that will help you do so:
      • To save money, practice patience and, if possible, be flexible. Using Skyscanner, (I have typed in Toronto (YYZ) to Maui (OGG) “cheapest month”)
        •  this is what results: The cheapest current flight is April 3-11, 2019 for $397.84 CDN (return AND taxes included!).
      • Sounds impossible? I know right?  Don’t expect to pay this little every time, but this is an example that it does not need to cost thousands of dollars to travel to Hawaii. It is also always possible to get a seat sale, simply practice patience.
      • Another very useful method is using Hopper (an iPhone app), which gives you flight price trends and notifications when prices drop.
      • It is also possible to book on points, again practice patience and look back often. Sights like Aeroplan have “great deals”, where Market Fare prices drop drastically (we recently traveled home from Maui on points on January 2nd for 36,000 Aeroplan points each and very little taxes)

  • Renting your Car

    • I am happy to help you book your car but if you wish to do this on you own read below!
    • Rent through Discount Car Rental (and book as EARLY as possible especially during peak travel season…i.e. Winter especially Christmas, it IS free cancellation if you happen to find a better deal).  Hawaii Discount Car Rental They have always been the cheapest I can find on the island and set you up with a reputable company (last time we got Advantage Car Rental, and the time before Hertz).

  • Booking Accommodations

    • Maui is a large island and you will likely spend a good deal of time close to where you are staying. Below is a table of my personal opinion about the different areas on the island:

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Below are some notes of the two areas we have stayed on Maui:

West Maui

(Lahaina, Kaanapali, Honokowai, Napili, Kapalua): During our recent visit we stayed in a Hale Ono Loa, a small condo complex about a 20-minute walk north of the many resorts, and beach restaurants in Kaanapali. As usual, we were on a budget which is why we did not stay in the resorts. There are many of these older condo complexes all along the ocean in between Kaanapali and Napili from which to choose – we booked via VRBO. It was about a 50-minute walk to Whaler’s Village shopping. We love walking (we always aim for 10,000 steps even on holidays!), so this was absolutely perfect for us. The one major disadvantage is there was no direct beach to access (safely) the ocean as it is very rocky in this area, though many beaches a short drive away. This also meant, however, that there were resident turtles we could watch feed off the reefs, SOOOOO very amazing.

This was the view from our last condo in Hale Ono Loa

 

Kihei

In April of 2013 we visited Maui, and stayed at Sugar Beach Resort in an ocean-front Condo complex, with multiple members of our family staying in different condos; we booked through Ali’i Vacation Rentals and also had a very positive experience with them. For this purpose it was perfect as the resort had all the amenities you would want at an economical price, being the non-peak season, the price was amazing. Our unit has a spectacular private lanai (balcony) right on the ocean, a nice pool & hot tub, plenty of grills, a couple of shops and an awesome Sandwich restaurant on site. You can swim in the ocean (we, however, encountered a shark (for real!!)…we will save that story for another day). Its location is fantastic and central if you want to visit a lot of the island in a short amount of time. In all honesty, Kihei itself does not offer much locally other than “strip mall” restaurants. We thought nothing of Kihei, (in fact my husband did not necessarily think much of Maui our first time around because of the somewhat bare and desert atmosphere Kihei had to offer; this past time however staying in West Maui we are both fell in complete LOVE with West Maui)

  • When to Go

  • Hawaii has 2 seasons
    • Winter (November-April; aka peak season, and also the rainy season)
    • Summer (May-October)
  • We love visiting during Winter simply because it is a welcome relief!! If it is like our hometown which is frozen it is a lovely escape
  • Winter is also the “rainy” season: This is an interesting topic, as each island has specific microclimates with areas that remain dry and others that receive much more rain. In Maui, rain passes through some days (and we found all weather forecasts entertainingly unpredictable), clouds congests over the North West tip of the island over the mountains, but rarely are you soaking wet, in fact the passing mist (usually once a day, is a relief from the hot tropical Hawaiian Sun). Fret not, even during the “rainy” season, there is PLENTY of sunshine.
  • Whale Watching season from Mid-December to Mid-may. They are spectacular to watch from near or far as they pass through.
  • Winter, in general can be pricier: This is the peak season, so accommodation prices tend to be higher during the Hawaiian winter, though deals can be found (we found an amazing deal throughout the Christmas break!)
  • Christmas/New Years: This year was our first (and certainly not our last) visit to Hawaii over Christmas, as we anticipated it was jam-packed. That being said, we love meeting new people so for us the crowds just met there were more people to meet and we absolutely loved our time spent. For others who may not like crowds, the summer season (April – November) in Hawaii is much more laid back
  • The timing of arrival/departure: To maximize your time on the islands, if possible avoid arriving into Hawaii late at night, I also recommend to book a flight that leaves later at night so you can enjoy your last day in Hawaii – trust me, you are not going to want to leave. Regardless, they are commonly always red-eye flights anyway due to the time change
  • Book Last minute: All said above, we met a couple from Washington DC that booked their trip completely last-minute and arrived on December 29th having booked their flight on December 27th. They apparently got their flight for $200US! They also hotel hopped using “Hotels Tonight” staying in high-end resorts such as a 2 bedroom suite in the Westin, Sheraton and the Ritz Carlton, for a much cheaper price (though still paying $500-900/night)

Long made short.  Hawaii, and this article specifically, Maui is spectacular all times of year.  Good luck on planning your next adventure.  Never hesitate to contact me with any questions or feedback with what you would like to hear next!