Tania Rieben thought she’d scored a bargain on a one-bedroom condominium in Maui for spring break. She’d found the vacation rental through a popular Web site called VRBO.com and then negotiated directly with the owner.
HAWAII
Gretchen Kenney thought the $232 a night rate at Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club was pretty darned good, considering that Marriott’s own website showed the same two-bedroom unit at $589 a night.
Horses aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Hawaii. Palm trees. Pineapple plantations. Luau. Hula, maybe.
About half an hour into the redeye flight from Maui to Los Angeles last Wednesday, the cabin lights abruptly flashed on. But that didn’t wake me up. It was the captain’s announcement that jarred me to alertness. “We’ve had a fire in the forward galley,” he said with the professional detachment you’d expect from an [...]
No one expects to get whacked by a tsunami on their vacation. I certainly didn’t when I checked into the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui on Wednesday night.
If you live on the East Coast of the United States — and most folks reading this site do — then you’re probably thinking about the weather this weekend. Complaining about it, to be exact.
It would be tempting to stay on the touristy side of Oahu, catching a gentle wave on one of Waikiki’s beaches, or doing a luau at one of the many fine hotels in Honolulu. Nothing wrong with that. But it’s not us.
Not a week seems to go by without getting a press release from a restaurant claiming to embrace the sustainable food movement. I have been unimpressed. Isn’t all food, by its very definition, sustainable?
The last place you’d expect to find a tourist in Honolulu is at the state capitol, but that’s exactly where we headed when we landed here today.
Words you don’t want to hear, unless maybe you’re there to see steam, sulphuric smoke and lava coming out of a mountain. And we were.
This is Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Park on Hawaii’s Big Island, where layer upon layer of stones from Pololu Valley were gathered to form an ancient temple for Kamehameha the Great.
All these years as a travel writer, and I’ve never been to Hawaii. But that changes tomorrow.
Is travel insurance a waste of money, as some commenters suggested in yesterday’s post? Meet Heidi Larson, whose vacation has been put on hold by an unexpected but common medical condition. She’ll give you an earful about insurance.
Mary McInnis-Efaw buys a package to Hawaii through United Vacations. But when the price of her ticket falls by $733, United refuses to offer her a voucher for the fare difference. Is it allowed to do that?
Refueling fees are a contentious issue for car rental companies, drivers, and government regulators. Last summer, Hertz changed its refueling policy after being pressured by customers and government officials, but other companies have imposed increasingly strict terms when it comes to gas charges.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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