What are the main attractions in Oahu, Honolulu and how could can i plan for a 2 day tour program?|174625

We are a family of 4 with 2 kids touring Oahu, Honululu for 2 days. Could you please advise the cheap and best mode of transportation to those places?

I used to live there. Cheapest way would be a rental car. You can go where you want - when you want. Places to see... I would go to Diamond Head volcano (You can drive in via a tunnel), The Honolulu Zoo (right next to the volcano at the East end of Kalakaua Blvd.), Hanauma Bay (East of the volcano going towards Kailua/Kaneohe), Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie (Getting closer to the North Shore), Sunset Beach (be careful of the undertow and coral DO NOT let the kids in those waters!! It_s dangerous), Haleiwa and head South down H2 through the Dole Plantation and Fort Shafter toward Pearl Harbor. Once at Pearl Harbor you can visit the Arizona Memorial, The Battleship Missouri and the Pompanito submarine.
Check out this route against a map for better accuracy of the route. Start at Waikiki then head East around the Island.Once at the Northern part of the Island, you_ll be heading South toward Pearl Harbor.Have fun!! There_s more to do of course.

Well, if you are only gonna be on Oahu around Honolulu area for two days, I would suggest renting a vehicle. I was gonna say get a four day Discovery Thebus bus pass, but it is $20.00 pp.

You really should get a rental car (go to Costco.com) then to Alamo Car rental. the cheapest is not that bad, you don_t have much time. Go to Pearl Harbor_s Arizona memorial tour--free. Go to any beach on the east or south shore. Sea Life park for the dolphin show, a luau but don_t go cheap, go to Paradise cove. Walk on Waikiki beach, and look at Diamond Head. Go up to the Pali look out, take Nuuanu Pali Hywy. Ride/paddle a canoe for a life time memory at Waikiki Beach. The absolutely best entertainment but expensive is the Polynesian Cultural Center at Laie, North shore. Also, Waimea Bay, Pipeline for surfer watching.
If you want to go around the island, catch THEBUS. You can get off anywhere, and get back on on the half-hour for another fare.

Rent a Car is best when you travel with kids AND planning to travel far.

The rental car web-site should give some great value if travel at off peak season.

To travel in peak season, go for some travel agents web-sites. They might have contracted rate from the rental car companies. Thus, rates are less than the web-site.

The bus will cost you $2 one way per person for adult and children $1 one way. You can get a transfer (free with one purchase per person). But it takes a long time to trave from one place to another. And the schedule is less frequent during off-school hours.

Day 1:
Off to the beaches - Ala Moana Magic Island (in Ala Moana beach park) is an idea place, especially for younger kid. It is an enclosed swimming lagoon, just out-skirt of Waikiki. you probably can spend some hours there. Pack some water _ food for a great pinic there too.

Opposite of Ala Moana Beach park is Ala Moana Shopping Center. You can go there before or after the beach.

If you like hiking, you can either go to Diamond Head (famous tourist area) for a paved hike. Fee required. Car driving need.

For a free city view, go to Punchbowl Cemetery. It is a National Cemetery with a open area for GREAT city view. It is also a tourist area with war display on the wall. Driving required. It is like 10-15 min drive from Waikiki.

Or go to Tantalus Montain in the night for city night view. Driving require.

Day 2: (if this day is a Wed or Sat or Sun)
Go to Aloha Stadium in the morning for swap meat. Lots of stuff to buy. Bargain skill required for a cheaper rate!

Opposite is the famous Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial. Get a ticket and go to the 20 min documentary film. Follow by a free boat ride to the memorial. Walk around the displays of history in the visitor center after the boat ride back.

If you have more than 2 hours of wait time for the documentary, go to Pearlridge shopping Center (a 5 min drive away) for lunch or a quick shopping.

If you have more than 4 hours of wait time for the documentary, go to the Battleship (ticket _ trolley ride next door). Be sure to join their guide tour, very informative!

There are a lots of things to do. I think this is not so hectic for younger kids and for a 2 day tour. If you like, do a search for my full recommended 7 days tour in YahooAnswer, for more option on where to go.

Your going to take 4 people on a minimum 5 hour flight (from the West Coast) _ only stay 2 days ?

I would seriously recommend 4-5 days minimum. If you go to Oahu, there lots of action from Waikiki - each hotel has it_s activities desk _ can book you on pretty much any trip you_d like to try (circle Island tour is a standard rite of passage). If you book in Waikiki - try to avoid hotels that back onto the canal - it does tend to stink a bit.

If you_ve got the money, the Turtle Bay Hilton is great if you don_t want to put up with all the noise _ traffic in Waikiki.

MAUI - my favourite island. I end up on Kaanapali beach. First time I went I got a deal at the Royal Lahaina hotel - it llooked like the cheapest place. BUT, with a group, the ResortQuest Kaanapali Shores Resort could (surprisingly) work out cheaper. THey do have condos with fully equipped kitchens. There is a supermarket just across the road _ that saved me as much as $50 a day on food - and getting breakfast in the codno is so much less stressful, than eating out. WHen I went, the hotel gave me coupons for the hotel resaurant and I also got a free day, booking via Expedia.

NOTE : there are direct flights to Maui from places like my home town - Phoenix, as well as the more congested West coast airports like SFO _ LAX.

Hawaii always looks expensive. But there_s lots of competition, so deals can be found. And finally, I stayed in Tahiti last New Year _ that was even more expensive than Hawaii !

When is the best time to visit Maine? Where are the best spots to visit?|148628

I am interested in seeing the coast. Do some hiking and eating some lobster. Where are the BEST places to do these things. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

well you could condense this into one trip and one location and visit Bar Harbor/ Acadia National Park during the week or two after labor day. Fly Into Bangor ME and rent a car.
As much as I love hiking in Acadia NP , Hiking Baxter State Park is an incredible experience and if you_re in that area of Maine you gotta go.
Baxter is about 120 mi from Bar harbor which means it_s about 60 miles from Bangor. Baxter is moose country and is a true wilderness area. Baxter also contains a couple of nice surprises which I won_t tell you about.You_ll just have to go there and see for yourself.

I_m not sure about the best places to get some lobster, but if you want to hike, I would do it in May/June when the weather is nice. Winters in Maine are long and brutal and hiking wouldn_t be fun in those months!

Summer is probably best, the weather will be nice---Kennebunkport is a great little town with the best lobster place--Mabel_s Lobster Claw---enjoy!!

Bar Harbor, Kittery, Bath...Sept or October time frame it_s cool enough for walking and you might just hit the right time for the foliage.

How long would a trip from San Diego to Fullerton take on a weekday morning with traffic?|197718

As far as traffic and time going has anyone taken this drive before? I need to be there at by 7:45 a.m. and not sure what time to leave San Diego. I was thinking 4:30 a.m. Please let me know if you have experience with this drive and how long it usually take.

Traffic at 4:30 won_t be too bad. But if you leave after 5 you_ll never be there on time. But leaving at 4:30, you_ll probably be early, so just find somewhere for a cup of coffee or something. It should take about an hour and a half to get to Fullerton at 4:30 am, if you wait until 5, it may take 2 1/2 to 3 hours!

Traffic after five is insane! And, as a result, it will take much longer to get there.

It will take you at least a couple hours, more with traffic (which won_t be too bad that early). If you leave at 4:30, you_ll get there at about 6:45. But, if you leave at 5, you_ll probably get there around 7:30.

If this is a very important appointment, though, I would say just leave at 4:30 and hang out at a coffee shop or something. Better to be way too early than late.

When is the best time of year to get cheaper airfairs to California?|163046

I want to take a trip to California from NY, but I am kinda on a budget! My daughter and grandkids live there. My wife is letting me have the State income tax refund to buy tickets, and for spending money when I get there. So I have to get a good deal on the round trip ticket so I can spoil my grandkids a little. Thanks.

I_m not really sure that there is a time of the year that is best to purchase your airfare. Here are few suggestions. Check with online sites like orbitz, expedia, priceline, etc. These are all online discounters for airfare. Spend some time researching prices before you purchase and check all the online discounters. Also check directly through the airlines, I have found many situations where they are lower than the online discounters. Also watch for advertisements online, in the newspaper, etc. Sometimes they will offer special rates for a certain day, I find this quite often happens.

The best way to make sure you get the lowest price is to check every day for one week. The prices will change each day and this will give you an idea of what day your airline will lower prices. Some do it Monday, others Wednesday and some on both Tuesday and Thursday. So it will take some time, but this will help you get the lowest rate.

Also, be very flexible. If you are willing to spend more time flying and having more layovers, you can get a less expensive flight. You may have 3 or 4 layovers, but if you don_t mind getting in a little later it will save you a lot of money.

I just bought tickets for California in September and I think I paid about $250 dollars per person, with all taxes and fees. This isn_t too bad and it was a pretty good flight, I_m not sure if this is in your budget or not. But I found that the ticket was ten dollars less booking through American than the online discounters.

Also, certain companies will take different discounts. You may find a discount using a AAA card, AARP, teacher discounts, nurse discounts, Sams Club, etc. You can call the companies to see if they take any of these discounts and sometimes they do. Sometimes you won_t even think of a discount they may offer that they have, it just depends what they accept.

You may also want to check with your local AAA office. They may have a lower rate. The only problem is that they add a fee on to the air because they don_t receive commission on the air. I believe they charge $50 for members and a $100 for non-members (I_m not certain on the actual fee, but I think this is close). So if they have a really good deal on the air you may be better off.

I hope this helps. Good luck with getting your air and have a great trip!

The above answer is very good but I would like to add that Jet Blue is a discount airline like Southwest, for longer routes. It doesn_t show up on Orbitz and Expedia, but you can go directly to the JetBlue web site.
http://www.jetblue.com/

Their hub is JFK, so if that is a good airport for you it is worth checking them out. They fly to 7 cities in California nonstop from JFK.

How much would a 2-3 day trip to NYC from North Carolina cost?|124175

I have always wanted to go and take a few friends. For one person, how much would it cost to visit New York City, stay for a couple or a few days, shop a little bit, eat out, have fun. I_m only 16, so my mom would go as well. How much would it cost for four people total? How much are hotels and cabs and what_s the cheapest way to travel from North Carolina? Thank you in advance.

NYC is not a cheap place, so you are probably looking around at least $800USD/person (this will include flight+hotel+some spending $). Make sure you book thru a coupon site to save some money, i know coupon sites like coupondawg.com will offer deals from travelocity, expedia, and agoda sites. Also, taking the subway travelling around will save some extra money, plus it_s really convenient to take the subway in NYC.

This whole question depends on whether you want to live Manhattan somewhere else. Hotels in Manhattan normally start at around 200 dollars a night for one room/night for a pretty horrid hotel. I feel a cheaper alternative would be to stay at a hotel near Newark airport, which is relatively safe and should be much cheaper and take NJ transit from Newark Penn Station in the morning to get to the city (around 4 bucks a ticket, its over 10 bucks a ticket from Newark airport stop cause of the airtran costs).

Cabs normally arn_t that expensive and especially since you have 4 people its probably going to be cheaper to take a cab rather than taking the subway. Its around 50 dollars to take cab from JFK and Laguardia to anywhere in Manhattan and a cab ride within Manhattan itself have rarely been over 10 dollars.

Driving would be the cheapest way to get to NYC for 4 people as it would cost around 100 bucks in gas and be prepared to pay 30 or 40 bucks in tolls through bridges and new jersey along the way, however, if you do choose to stay in a hotel within Manhattan then parking would be a problem. Be prepared to pay around 50 dollars a day in parking should you drive. Flying should be around 220 dollars a ticket roundtrip. (FYI, I got mine from Tennessee to Newark at 120 one way for next week.)

Shopping is all up to you, you can spend hundreds/thousands or basically nothing (canal street and Haitian/Jamaican places around 23rd street area) depending on what type of stuff you want and your lifestyle.

To sum it all up
hotels: 400-600 share bed, 800-1200 not shared in manhattan
200-300 in newark airport shared, 400-600 not shared

Flying: around 1000
Driving: 150+ 100 parking
Cab: about 100-150 total w.o cab from airport(don_t drive within the city itself, all the one ways and the non-existance of parking where you want to be its just better to take a cab)
shopping: up to you

PS. FOOD IS VERY EXPENSIVE... imaging what you want to eat where you are at, DOUBLE IT.. and that_s nyc food

Hi hi! NYC is an awesome place for a young person!

It really depends on how _glamorous_ you want it to be. If you_re willing to do hostels and take maybe a 2 day bus ride then it can be cheap, and personally I think hostels are fun :D HostelWorld.com is the best source to find a good hostel. I_m not sure if your mom will enjoy the hostel though since it_s really for youngish to college aged students.

I think the best option is to check out JetBlue.com. Their deals are pretty good. There are also buses in Chinatown NYC and certain southern states called Fung Wah. I_ll warn you though, they are kind of dangerous and I personally wouldn_t ride them unless I was desperate.

Definitely shop in Soho, but be careful not to waste money on low quality _boutique_ shops. You can pick these stores out in a minute, they usually have polyester clothing, and a huge range of clothes that look kind of nice but in reality their quality is really bad. A new store opened up for us called TopShop which comes from the UK. Super cute clothes there. Also visit Lush for some natural beauty products, and Sephora for make up. Check out Union Square too during Fridays when they have the local Farmer_s Market which is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8AM-6PM, although summer hours seem to be usually Saturday.

NYC is expensive if you go with the hotel route. Taxis are good after a late night, but generally the subway is used and is usually the cheapest way around. NYC is also a walking city. You can walk and walk and never be bored and always discover something new. Taxis will generally charge a minimum of $5.

I hope you come! It_s an amazing city :)

What are good overnight winter camps in South California?|164113

Co-Ed. And also preferably cheap, for around 14 days.
Also that it will have nothing to do with religion and any specific skill.
NOTE: for ages up till 16/17.
I_m 15 years old and wouldn_t mind be a counsler either!

Wow, two questions like this in two days.

Actually, most camps are designed for kids 8-12, and the majority of them are in the summer. At most camps, 15YO_s are Jr Counselors (or CIT_s, Counselors in Training). You can find a list of camps in SoCal (there are hundreds) at
http://www.acacamps.org.


Camp isn_t cheap. If you go as a CIT, prepare to work a lot. You don_t pay to go (and you don_t get paid, either), but you do a lot of work in exchange for staying there.

Unfortunately, most of the reservations for almost any camping area are booked way in advance; sometimes months up to one year !!. You will not find anything for this year, but you can look at www.sbcounty.org for another time

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