American Airlines Vacations has come up with a neat idea, encouraging you to go to Hawaii with a SimpleSaver deal, for instance, at the Ohana Maui Islander hotel on the gorgeous island of Maui. The Ohana hotel group, connected to the giant and enterprising Outrigger chain, is offering 5 nights there from $229 per person, double occupancy.
This offer, which works out to about $92 per room (for two persons) is good from now through December 18, 2002. You can relax in your room, travel the island's more than 40 miles of sandy strand (don't miss the tiny Red Sand Beach!) or go up 3,000 feet to the top of Haleakala and gaze down at the huge (25-square-mile) volcanic floor below. You can even snorkel in a submerged crater!
Other offers in the Ohana SimpleSaver plan apply to different hotels in the chain, including, on the Big Island, the Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort. On Oahu, you have the Reef Towers, the Waikiki Tower, the Waikiki Village, Waikiki West and Ohana East, all close to (some practically on) famed Waikiki Beach itself.
Airfares are another matter. The lowest fare American charges is $403 roundtrip from Los Angeles, $687 from Chicago and $735 from New York City. The lowest regular airfare from Los Angeles to Honolulu is $384 roundtrip from Hawaiian Air or Northwest. From Chicago, United seems to have a fare lower than American, at $603, and from New York, Delta beats American by a few bucks, at $729. All fares indicate round-trip, of course. With luck and a bit of time on the Internet, you might find specials or other lower prices than these. American Airlines Vacation reservations people may insist on you buying an airline ticket through American, and if they do, you'll just have to grin and bear the cost of the extra $19 you could have saved on, say, Northwest.
But the important news is about Ohana (which means "Family" in the Hawaiian language) and its really low rates for rooms in what are generally considered to be some of the 50th state's nicest hotels.
For more information, contact American Airlines Vacations at aav8.aavacations.com or 800/321-2121.