Headed to Kauai, flight recommendations?

[DonDavis]

I'm going to Kauai for Labor Day and running the The Kauai Marathon. I'm doing the half.
I have my room all set, just need to get a flight. Traveling Aug 28-Sept 3 from Phoenix ( or Mesa Gateway, or maybe Tucson if the price is right ). I'm somewhat flexible on the dates, but I'd like to keep the departure date Aug 28. The return could be a day either side of the 3rd.
I'm checking Hotwire/Priceline/Expedia/ almost daily and it's hovering around $650.

What say the brain trust on affordable fares?

[Head416]

They say 54 days is the sweet spot, which is right about now without doing the math. So I wouldn't expect any better than what you're seeing now. It is Labor Day weekend after all.

[motion]

Couple things to try:

Check fares from LAX. You can always position to LAX on another airline. Hawaii is expensive these days, so that price isn't too surprising.

Check skyscanner.com

I see a HA flight Aug 29-Sep 5 for $339 out of LAX.

[porsche4life]

Don, check allegiant air. You fly out of Mesa Gateway, and it's much cheaper, especially if you travel light. Tweeze and I are getting to Honolulu next month for 800rt for both of us.

[DonDavis]

Thanks Richard. I'm beginning to think $650ish is probably a decent deal out out Phoenix. When I look at flying out of So Cal, I have to factor in flying there on another airline or drive over and use long term parking. Wouldn't that take the $339+100parking( 8 days )+another $150 for fuel= 589? That's about $60 less than flying out of Phx. While I said I'm flexible, I can't let the numbers fool me too much.

Sid, they don't fly to Kauai.
I do want to fly out of there sometime, tho.

[porsche4life]

Don, are there any short hops from Honolulu to Kuai? Maybe a ferry or something? Get creative man..

[sailchef]

Good Luck on your run. I did the half in the Kilauea Valcano Marathon on the Big Island a while back ( 20 years ago ). There is something spiritual abour running in Hawaii.

[DonDavis]

Sid, no public ferries from Oahu to Kauai. When I was in Oahu a couple years ago visiting my cousin, I asked about it then. Sure, there are private boats for hire, but they're for fun ( $$ ), not so much for travel use. Inter Island flights? I'm looking at that, too. But, that looks like its $50-90 from the single PHX-LIH ticket.

I'm still looking at the options you guys have offered here, still plugging away. Thx!

[atcjorg]

try kayak.com

[tevake]

Aloha Don, I've been doing some flying back and forth on that route lately. Hawaiian does have direct flights to Kauai , but it can sometimes save you a few bucks to fly thru Oahu with other airlines and do the inter island hop over to Kauai. It can be a bit of a hassle cause the layover is usually over two hrs as they don't want to schedule for a shorter connection time. Even tho there are hourly flights to Kauai. So it does add about 2.5+ hrs to the trip.

I will be on island when you are there, so PM me if you have any questions I can help with or you want to meet up on the North Shore.

I hope your run goes well and you have a good time.

Cheers Richard

[JavaBrewer]

Wow when we flew to Kona last November we paid $1K R/T. I would take $650 any day.

[biosurfer1]

Alaska flies a couple direct routes from the Bay Area/Sacramento though my quick search didnt look like it would be cheap enough with positioning flights from PHX.

[Cajundaddy]

Flights to HI have gone up. We flew LAX to Maui direct last Oct for around $350ea.

[DonDavis]

After weeks of searching and considering options, I went with nonstops flights there and back, $640.
I considered LAX, San Diego, Tucson, and/or changing in Oahu, but the max savings was around $90-100, max. By the time I factored in long term parking or arranging for a ride, or stressing about connections, it was a wash, imo.

So, I'll pack up at home, get a ride from a friend and board a plane in Phoenix and land in Kauai. Very satisfied with what I've found. Hotwire/Expedia/Kayak pretty much was the same as US Airways. So, I bought it directly from US Airways.

Thanks for all the input. Spoke with Richard and will meet him and see his condo while there. I'm staying on the south part of the island but will meet Richard on the north side, too. Really looking forward to it.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

After weeks of searching and considering options, I went with nonstops flights there and back, $640.
I considered LAX, San Diego, Tucson, and/or changing in Oahu, but the max savings was around $90-100, max. By the time I factored in long term parking or arranging for a ride, or stressing about connections, it was a wash, imo.

I think that really the biggest thing about flying these days. You can save tens of dollars by doing all kinds of logistical gymnastics, but in the end, your time is worth something. And it only takes one drunken passenger on the first hop to screw up your connecting flight times. That hassle, plus the opportunity for luggage to get improperly routed? Fly direct, and spend the extra money. It's usually not that much more expensive.

Two quick stories. I wanted to fly out of SEA to go to San Diego. Much cheaper than flying from the semi-local airport. I didn't want long-term parking costs, so I rented a car for one day on either end of the hop. We have an Enterprise in town here. I saved a lot of money in parking.

When I flew to Atlanta to see the 911 I ended up buying, I first had to fly to Denver. The connecting flight was an hour after arrival, and I notified the FAs that I had to connect, and that I'd need to get off ASAP. Well, take-off was delayed for 15 minutes, and the flight took 10 minutes longer than anticipated, so I was running when I hit the jetway, LOL. I ran my ass off to get to the departure gate, which was quite a haul from the arrival gate. They were kind enough to hold the aircraft door open for me, and I was just putting my belt on as they were pulling away from the gate. But I would have been cooked if I'd have had any kind of luggage other than carry on.

[porsche4life]

Awesome! Have fun don!

And Richard is a cool guy. Have fun!

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by atcjorg

try kayak.com

or kayak from Honolulu to Kauai

[DonDavis]

Thanks Todd, however,

PHX-HNL $540 or LAX-HNL=508 or San Diego-HNL=438
HNL-LIH $130

540+130=670 or 638, or 568 + long term parking, then hope nothing goes wrong with connection.

I've wrung my hands enough. Flying from PHX works this trip.

[Eric Coffey]

Yeah, $650 is pretty decent (especially if that is "out the door" after taxes/fees). You might check fares on Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines directly (and sign-up/create an account to get their newsletter thingys). Both will get you to LIH from PHX, and both frequently offer fare specials/deals. Good luck and have fun!

[DonDavis]

Eric,
Yup, that's the total. However, add $25 each way if I check a bag. I'm not planning to ( that's several drinks each way! ).

The main reason I decided to negate the "creative approach" to a better air fare is because this trip is to run a marathon. I don't need any hassles, lost luggage or missed connections, etc. I'll control the things I can.