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Hawaii Accommodations Tips
Hawaii Accommodation Tips & Information
Helpful Hawaii Planning Tips
Below we'll cover a few tips for selecting the perfect hotel, condo, resort, bed-n-breakfast, or house/cabin rental.
1.) As we've said already on this site in multiple places, booking online is your best bet for discovering good values and saving money. Booking a room along with a car or flight will especially save you money, as many online companies have pre-negotiated rates for 'packaged' trips.
2.) Many guidebooks provide 20-30 pages of details on each and every hotel, condo, and resort on the island. In our opinion, it's wasted space because most of that information is readily available on the internet. Naturally, some companies will log on and attempt to skew their ratings, so we typically look for places with five or more ratings with in-depth comments. Any written review that both compliments and critiques the place is where you'll find your best advice. To date, we haven't been steered wrong using this method, and we always try to follow up with our own rating after the fact. We encourage you to do the same.
3.) Use a hotel metasearch engine to compare rates from different travel sites. Many online companies compete with each other to offer customers the best price, but as a consumer, checking every site can be time-consuming and frustrating. You can use comparison sites like HotelsCombined to find all the hotels in Hawaii and see which major sites have the cheapest rates.
4.) Look for condos if you're in the "do-it-yourself" crowd. We consider our style of traveling as such, and thus we tend to lean towards condo rentals versus resorts or hotels. Our favorite thing about condos is the kitchen and fully-furnished rooms. Normally this gives visitors a chance to do laundry in their room and reduce the clothing taken on their trip. Plus, the full kitchen is nice for fixing meals to take on the go during the day, especially if you're looking to save some money by preparing your own meals. Let's face it, you can't exactly pull up to a McDonald's while on a 10-mile hike. The kitchen allows you to store and prepare food for your daily excursions and this is a huge advantage in our opinion. Most resorts and/or hotels (except the nicer ones) often do not have a refrigerator in the room. Condos aren't any more expensive than the alternatives and can often be cheaper. Besides, it may just feel more "homey" than a sterile resort room.
5.) Looking for a little more than just a room? Hawaii is a very popular resort destination with plenty of timeshare accommodations, whether you're looking to come to Hawaii just this year or every year. Timeshares units come equipped with kitchens, living rooms, and all the amenities of these resorts at a much-reduced rate. There are hundreds of Hawaii timeshare options to choose.
6.) Looking to enjoy Hawai'i in an even more unique way? When we travel throughout Hawai'i we like to immerse ourselves in the full island experience. And a B&B (bed & breakfast) allows us to do that in a way no hotel or resort ever will. B&B's are also a fantastic way to save money on the island. Some areas (like Hilo on the Big Island) in Hawaii are especially notorious for their bad hotels and "resorts." B&B's provide a great alternative, and are usually a better value. Plus nothing beats having a local host who can aid you in your travel plans or just talk story with you.
Founder & certified Hawai'i travel expert with 20+ years in Hawai'i tourism, University of South Carolina climate-research training, and NOAA weather-station experience.
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Trade winds are strong right now, with high surf hitting the south shore today. Windward areas are seeing frequent showers through the weekend.
South-facing beaches have dangerous surf today through Sunday—stay out of the water unless you're an experienced swimmer. East-facing shores will build rough water by Sunday or Monday. The bigger picture is a tropical system, Fausto, heading our way. It's weakening but should arrive near the islands by Tuesday or Wednesday as a tropical storm or weaker system, bringing strong winds, rough seas, and heavy rain. The exact track is still uncertain, so check the forecast daily.
Get your beach time and water activities in today through early next week on the leeward side, where conditions stay calmer. Be ready to shift plans by midweek when conditions turn rough.
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Windy conditions across Maui right now, with trade winds gusting strong. South-facing shores have high surf today and will see another big swell Saturday and Sunday—the water's dangerous unless you're an experienced ocean swimmer.
Through the weekend, windward areas will get frequent showers while trade winds stay gusty. The bigger picture arrives midweek: Hurricane Fausto is weakening as it moves toward the islands and should reach Maui as a tropical storm or weaker system Tuesday or Wednesday. That'll bring rough seas, strong winds, and heavy rain. Track and timing are still uncertain, so check updates daily.
Hit the leeward beaches and snorkel south Maui coasts today through early next week, but stay out of windward and south-facing waters through Sunday.
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Windy conditions dominate right now with strong trade winds pushing across the island. South-facing shores have high surf today—dangerous water if you're not an experienced swimmer.
Through the weekend, those south shores see another big swell Saturday and Sunday, and east-facing shores will build dangerous conditions by Sunday or Monday. Windward areas get frequent showers. A tropical system—the remnants of Hurricane Fausto—is weakening and headed toward the islands as a tropical storm or weaker system by Tuesday or Wednesday, bringing rough seas, strong winds, and heavy rain midweek. Timing and track are still uncertain, so check updates daily.
Leeward beaches on the Kona side stay your best bet today through early next week, but avoid the water on the windward and south shores through Sunday.
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Strong trade winds are pushing showers across windward areas through the weekend. On Kauaʻi, expect frequent showers on the windward side.
High surf is running on south-facing shores today and will build again Saturday and Sunday—stay out of the water unless you're an experienced swimmer. East-facing shores will also see dangerous swell by Sunday or Monday. Hurricane Fausto is weakening as it moves toward Hawaii. By Tuesday or Wednesday it should reach the islands as a tropical storm or weaker system, bringing rough seas, strong winds, and heavy rain. Track and timing are still uncertain, so check updates daily through midweek.
Beach time on leeward shores works through early next week. Plan water activities for today, but be ready to shift if Fausto's track becomes clearer—conditions will deteriorate by midweek.
Created with AI from the official NWS forecast discussion · verify with NWS before heading out
