I've often used the Net for planning my personal and business trips. Trips to

Australia, Hawaii, Seattle and Las Vegas, to name a few, are a cinch to plan on the

Net. . . If you know how to go about it. The main problem with the Internet these

days is that people are often overwhelmed by information overload. Many destinations have many sites covering details on vacationing there and Hawaii

is no exception. In fact, Hawaii as a travel destination, is covered by numerous

websites covering everything from hotels to activities and car rentals to luaus. So

Hawaii

many sites and so little time. Thought there are many activities, hotels and ways to get to Hawaii, they are limited

and after a while you'll discover that many sites on the various topics cover the

same ground. This is both good and bad: Good, in that you have numerous choices

to choose from for look and feel and price. Let's face it, some sites are easier to

navigate than others, while some also have better privacy statements and ease of

contact. Also, competition generally keeps prices lower. The bad: Well, there's just

so many choices that one can easily become overwhelmed. My suggestion here is not to try and visit every Hawaii travel website on the planet,

but to check out a few and stick with those you feel at ease with regarding

navigation, product, pricing and privacy. There are many excellent Hawaii travel

sites out there, so the first thing to do is to target how you want to get there, where

you want to stay and what you actually plan to do once you are there. If you're like

most visitors to the Islands these days, you'll arrive by air. If you have frequent flyer accounts, you'll likely choose one of those airlines,

otherwise, leave this open until you have completed some rudimentary price

checking. The quickest, but not always the cheapest, is to book a non-stop flight.

Cruises from the Mainland are available, but are quite expensive and are generally

round trip, round-island cruises, with little time actually on the Islands. As for your planned activities, once your list is made, I would highly recommend

checking out activity agents and when satisfied, book your day tours, dinner cruises

and submarine tours, etc. in advance. Why? Well, depending on the season--high or

low--some of the more popular activities can book out quickly, leaving you high

and dry looking for alternatives. This leads me to: Do you really want to be spending

your valuable vacation time calling around to book activities to fill your days with

fun, culture and adventure. Also, reserving your activities allows for better insight

on itinerary and what your trip to paradise is going to cost. Valuable, if you're on a

tight timetable or budget. Where to stay. . . Well many areas have many styles of accommodation, from hotels

to cozy bed and breakfasts and condos to luxury resorts. Oahu's noted for its

tourist hotels and condos in Waikiki to luxury spa resorts outside the city of

Honolulu. Maui, Kauai and Hawaii have their fair share of luxury resorts and bed and

breakfasts, too. Once you have your rough general itinerary, it's now time to search using

appropriate terms, such as "hawaii vacation," "fun things to do in hawaii" and

"hawaii airfare," etc. Line up 3 to 5 good sites for each topic--some sites will cover

them all--and then start clicking. Explore each site to sort out the better from the

good and keep your eyes open for any travel, accommodation or activity options

you may have missed when composing your itinerary. Add these items to your list

and keep clicking. After spending "quality" time with your long list, it's now time to decide which one(s)

you feel most at ease with. These are the ones you should use for planning and

booking your vacation necessities. If unsure about a few, send off a question by

email or phone. You can tell a lot about a company on how they respond, if they

respond. Obviously, if some don't respond or respond inappropriately, drop them

from your list. . . You don't need the aggravation. Now, get serious about planning and booking your itinerary. If you have a problem

offering your credit card via the Net, many agents can accept same via telephone.

Personally, given the pre-planning above, I have never had a problem using my

credit card online and I've ordered thousands of dollars of products and services via

the Internet with no problems whatsoever. Given my life in general, I doubt that this

has anything to do with luck. Once done, you'll have a great sense of

accomplishment and very likely, a fantastic vacation in paradise. So, get clicking and

planning and before you know it, you will have followed all your favorite links to

Hawaii. . . Aloha!Dave Davis is a long-time freelance writer/editor/publisher/photographer who loves

to travel and learn about new destinations. His favorite: Hawaii. Mr. Davis has

developed numerous websites, but his first is Travel to Hawaii

Reviewed. He also publishes its sister ezine, Hawaii

Vacation Express and hosts the Hawaii Travelers'

Forum. Copyright? 2005? D3

Communications, Inc. ? All rights reserved.

Author:
Dave Davis