What's New: An Online Update for Frommer's Honolulu, Waikiki & Oahu

Gas prices are up and airline fares have risen, but Hawaii still is more sought after than ever before. A record breaking 7.3 million tourists poured into the state in 2005 and even more are expected in 2006. Occupancy rates in hotels are regularly running at 80% to 90% full, and at more than 90% during peak periods. I'd suggest that frugal visitors avoid the very popular summer months and Christmas vacation. Don't expect "deals" during these months, but with a little advanced planning, you can find plenty of bargains during the rest of the year.

Here's a roundup of the changes that have occurred in Hawaii since the last edition of Frommer's Honolulu, Waikiki & Oahu.

Planning Your Trip

With more visitors coming to Hawaii, the airlines have increased the number of flights, and in some cases, added new flights. Low-cost carrier American West (tel. 800/327-7810; www.americanwest.com), which had flights from Phoenix to Honolulu through its code-share partner, Hawaiian Airlines, has begun its own nonstop service to Honolulu.

Hawaiian Airlines (tel. 800/367-5320; www.hawaiianair.com) now offers nonstop flights from Honolulu to San Diego. Hawaiian Airlines has new direct from Honolulu to San Jose.

Northwest Airline (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com) has joined Hawaiian Airlines in direct flights from Portland to Honolulu. Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com) has doubled its flight capacity to Hawaii from both Salt Lake City and Atlanta, two cities where it's the only airline offering direct scheduled service.

Two new airlines have announced plans to provide inter-island air service. Officials of the Phoenix-based Mesa Air (www.mesa-air.com) claim service will begin in the first quarter of 2006, initially using Canadair Regional Jet 200s, which seat 50 passengers. Eventually the new airline will use CRJ 700s and 900s, which seat 70 and 86 passengers. The new airline, which will not use the Mesa name, plans to undercut the fares charged by current inter-island carriers, Aloha and Hawaiian airlines. Service will start with 10 aircraft, with flights from Honolulu to Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island.

The other new airline, FlyHawaii Airlines (tel. 808/599-5588; www.flyhi.com) maintains it's still on target to have its low-cost, inter-island turboprop planes up and running also by the first quarter of 2006. The ATR72 aircrafts, which seats 68, will start with daily flights between Honolulu and Maui, with flights from Honolulu to Kauai, Hilo, and Kona available a few months later. Chris Parsons, FlyHawaii's vice president of administration, says that tickets will cost about $50 one-way (currently Hawaiian and Aloha airlines offer tickets starting at $79 one way).

Good news for budget travelers: United Airlines (tel. 800/225-5825; www.ual.com) and Pleasant Holidays (tel. 800/2-Hawaii or 800/242-9244; www.pleasantholidays.com) announced that they will be partnering in 2006 to provide numerous affordable package deals for travelers to Hawaii.

Canadians will be happy to hear that Harmony Airways (tel. 866-868-6789; www.harmonyairways.com) now has nonstop flights from Calgary and Kelowna, Canada to Honolulu.

Beginning in early 2007, the Hawaii Superferry (www.hawaiisuperferry.com) will provide inter-island ferry service between the islands at an estimated cost of $42 to $70 each way. In addition to carrying 900 passengers, the 385-foot wave-piercing catamaran will also carry 282 vehicles and travel up to 45 miles an hour (a 3-hour travel time from Maui or Kauai to Honolulu and a 4-hour travel time one way from the Big Island to Honolulu). The $75 million vessel is currently under construction.

The Norwegian Cruise Line (tel. 800/327-7030; www.ncl.com) has added the 2,144-passenger ship, Pride of America, to join the Pride of Aloha, in 7-day cruises around the Hawaiian islands, stopping on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and both sides of the Big Island.

Surfers and wanna-be surfers or ocean lovers interested in ocean conditions can go to High Surf Warning (www.highsurfwarning.com) for the latest in surf and weather forecasts, with updated video and audio reports, surf photos and video, and live surf ticker information. Accurate reports by meteorologist George Mason, Hawaii's first radio and TV weatherman, and veteran surfer Jamie DeMatoff make this new website a "must check" before you grab your board and head out.

Oahu

Be sure to book in advance when reserving a hotel room in Waikiki. Not only are more visitors coming to Hawaii, but Waikiki has also lost some 800 hotel rooms from the redevelopment project Waikiki Beach Walk. The biggest projects to take place in Waikiki in decades, this total renovation of eight acres (bound by Saratoga Road, Kalakaua Avenue, Lewers Street, and Kalia Road) will change the look of the entrance to Waikiki. Outrigger Hotels & Resorts is overseeing the $420 million demolition and reconstruction of 11 different hotels. The hotels will be razed, upgraded, or changed to suites or condos so that only five hotels and timeshare condominiums will remain. Construction is expected to be complete by 2007. If you want to see what's going on, visit Outrigger's website www.waikikibeachwalk.com, consisting of four web cameras positioned so you have a front row seat in the biggest redevelopment that's ever taken place in Waikiki.

Outrigger Resorts' Outrigger Waikiki (tel. 800-OUTRIGGER or 800/688-7444; www.outriggerwaikiki.com) is now offering free high-speed Internet access (Waikiki hotels often charge as much as $15 a day for this kind of access) and free long-distance domestic calls (local calls, inter-island calls, and free direct-dial calls to the U.S. mainland).

The very upscale Halekulani Hotel (tel. 800/367-2343; www.halekulani.com) has recently unveiled its "Vera Wang Suite," a luxury 2,135 square foot, one-bedroom suite, design by the well-known fashion designer. The cost is just $4,000 a night, but includes limousine service to and from Honolulu International Airport, services from SpaHalekulani in the privacy of the suite and a personalized cultural activities program.

The Doubletree Alana Hotel-Waikiki (tel. 800/222-TREE; www.hiltonhawaii.com) has just completed $2.9 million in renovations to the boutique hotel's guest rooms, including new carpet, wallpaper, woven palm frond curtains, refinished and reupholstered furniture, new 25-inch televisions, and "Sweet Dreams" pillow bed tops. In addition, the hotel offers wireless Internet access throughout the hotel and hard-wired DSL high-speed access on four floors.

BaggageDirect (tel. 800/959-4424; www.baggagedirect.com) is offering a no-hassle return trip home. Guests of the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach and Outrigger Reef on the Beach can receive their boarding passes and ship off their luggage to the airport before they even check out of their hotel room. A BaggageDirect representative will deliver a boarding pass, pick up and transport luggage to the airport, take it through the federal security screening, and make sure it's checked to the final destination--which basically guarantees a no-stress departure from Hawaii. All the visitor does is board the plane and pick up their luggage at their destination. If travelers are going to Los Angeles International Airport or San Diego, they can arrange for their luggage to be delivered to their homes as well. The cost begins at $30 for a primary traveler and $15 for each additional passenger. Currently BaggageDirect is only serving passengers traveling on Aloha, ATA, Continental, and Hawaiian Airlines.

The Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa (tel. 800/367-5370; www.marriottwaikiki.com) has added the "Tepa Tasi" Luau and Show to its culinary line up. Every Friday, beginning at 6:30pm, guests follow lit torches to an outdoor luau on the Pualeilani Terrace. As the sun sets, guests can interact with Hawaiian cultural experts and artisans and try their hand at lei making, or palm frond weaving. A buffet dinner with everything from roasted Hawaiian pig to poi (as well as a few familiar items like steamed mahimahi and grilled steak) is served, followed by a dinner show with contemporary Polynesian entertainment featuring dances, songs, and chants from the Pacific islands. The cost is $80 for adults and $50 for children ages 5 to 12. A cocktail show package is available for just $40 (for both adults and children).

Several new restaurants have opened on Oahu, including: E & O Trading Company (Ward Centre, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu; tel. 808/591-9555; www.eotrading.com), a chain eatery featuring Southeast Asian cuisine (Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and East India) served on small, tapas-sized plates, open for lunch and dinner, with entree prices ranging from $7 to $13 for small plates.

The Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel (5000 Kahala Ave., Kahala, tel. 808/739-8770; www.mandarinoriental.com) added another restaurant to their collection: the Cabanas Seaside Grill. The outdoor dining area is a cluster of white canvas tents next to the ocean. In the privacy of your own cabana, you can order from the Mediterranean-influenced menu. Entrees are pricy (fresh fish is sold by the pound at market prices from $32 to $58 a pound), but you can't beat the ambience.

Serving Italian "comfort food," Pane & Vino (408 Lewers St., second floor,, Waikiki; tel. 808/923-8466) offers traditionally prepared meals (from Italian sausage for $13 to grilled bistecca for $18), and later becomes a cozy wine bar (wines by the glass $6-$8.50) open until 2 am.

The neighborhood eatery, Town (3435 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, tel. 808/735-5900) offers a great selection of what chef/owner Ed Kenney calls "American Bistro," and judging by the long lines and hard-to-get reservations, it's a hit. Entrees range from $7.50 to $17.

Close to the Hawaii Convention Center, Shokudo Japanese Restaurant and Bar (1585 Kapiolani Blvd., Honolulu tel. 808/941-3701; www.shokudojapanese.com) has created quite a buzz, not only for its design (done by Tokyo designer Yasumichi Morita, who created Megu in Manhattan), a dramatic, high ceiling dining room with tiered seating in the bar, but also for its cuisine which ranges from traditional Japanese to fusion. Even the menu is stunning with color photos of each dish. Entrees are large and range from $9 to $20.

Auntie Pasto's (1099 S. Beretania St.; tel. 808/523-8855) a family-priced Italian restaurant for two decades, has just added a second location in Kunai Shopping Center (94-663-Kupuoki St., tel. 808/680-0005) serving the same great Italian food as the original, with the addition of a brick pizza oven and an expanded dessert menu. Initially, the new eatery will only be open for dinner, from 5 to 10pm, but lunch is expected to begin shortly.

If you're looking for a culinary education while you're in Hawaii, former Honolulu Advertiser restaurant critic, Mathew Gray offers a Hawaii Food Tour (tel. 800/715-2468; www.hawaiifoodtour.com). A former professional chef, Mathew has three different guided restaurant tours of Honolulu. After being picked up from your Waikiki hotel in an air-conditioned van, you'll be driven to various restaurants. Along the way, you'll learn about Hawaii's history, culture, and architecture, as well as get the opportunity to sample some great food that you probably wouldn't have tried if you didn't have a food critic urging you on. The tours range from the "Hole in the Wall" tour, during which you visit four very tiny restaurants and sample food ranging from Vietnamese to Indian to local-style eats for $59 per person, to the "Gourmet Trilogy Tour," which we recommend for food and wine lovers. In this tour, you'll caravan to three different restaurants, progressing from appetizers and champagne to Mediterranean cuisine to dessert for $149 per person.

Nightlife continues to bloom on Oahu, where the thirtyninehotel (39 N. Hotel St.; tel. 808/599-2552) hosts live jazz on Tuesdays for just $3 before 10 pm and $5 afterward. This dark, downtown-loft with outdoor lanai, has become the in spot for the 20- to 30-year-old crowd. Another new hot spot is the Bamboleo, at Spada Bar & Restaurant, in the First Hawaiian Bank Courtyard, corner of King and Alakea streets, (tel. 808/538-3332), which attracts a mixed-age crowd at the Friday night (9pm-2am) salsa jam. It's outdoors in the financial district, which is totally deserted this time of night. Cover is just $5.

After eight years on Maui, the Hula Bowl, the college all-star game, is moving back to Oahu to the Aloha Stadium (99-500 Salt Lake Blvd., Honolulu, tel. 808/486-9555; www.alohastadium.hawaii.gov) on January 21, 2006.

If you're looking for a reason to get married in Waikiki, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort (www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com) and the Best Bridal Hawaii Inc. have built Waikiki's first stand-alone resort wedding chapel. The $5 million "Ocean Crystal Chapel" (tel. 808/922-4130) seats 80 guests and offers a stunning view of tropical foliage and waterfalls through the floor-to ceiling windows.

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