Planning a Hawaii trip

How do you plan your baby boomer travels? For complicated trips, Alan and I use a travel agent. But, for the most part, we research, plan and book our adventures with the help of the Internet. For our recent travels to the Big Island and Molokai in Hawaii, here’s how we did it.

Air
This trip began because we wanted to use up some of our United frequent flyer miles. After researching available flights online, I stopped by SeatGuru to review the best seating options before booking the flights. I knew from a previous trip to Hawaii that United crams the rows together in economy; so, after securing economy seats with miles, I accepted the offer to pay up for economy plus. The small up-charge was worth the extra leg room to us.

For the flight from the Big Island to Molokai, I searched Kayak to find flights then visited the individual airline sites. Because we were flying from Kona to Molokai but returning to Hilo, arranging convenient flights took a bit of research. Island Air had the shortest and most convenient flight times for our itinerary.

Accommodations
This trip to the Big Island and Molokai was about off-the-beaten path adventure, including accommodations. For bed and breakfasts on the Big Island, I checked out the Hawaiian Bed and Breakfast Association where I chose The Orchid Inn on North Kona for four days and, upon our return to Hilo from Molokai,  the eco-friendly Waianuhea in Big Island’s Hamakua District. On Molokai, Alan and I picked Hilltop Cottage which we found through Vacation Rentals By Owner.

Activities
We find that personal recommendations provide the starting point for planning our adventures. First, we asked friends about their trips to the Big Island and Molokai. I also consulted my social networking buddies at Facebook and Twitter who sent personal experiences as well as websites to review. My newest copy of Off the Beaten Path by Reader’s Digest, introduced me to some wonderful out-of-the-way choices. And, Go Visit Hawaii, Hawaii.com and the state’s official site, Go Hawaii, provided more adventure options.

How was our trip? Did we enjoy our accommodations? What did we do? You’ll be reading about our experiences during the next few weeks.

What methods do you use for planning trips? Do you have any tips for making it less time-consuming? Post away. I’m all ears.

Tagged as: accommodations, Activities, Baby boomer travel, baby boomers, Bed and Breakfasts, Big Island, Facebook, flights, guidebooks, Hawaii, Molokai, social networking, travel, trip planning, Twitter