delta only flies to oahu and maui,so does anyone know least expensive way to get from oahu to kona?? and do I make it now or when I get there??

Good choice to go to Kona...the Big Island is one of the best kept secrets about Hawaii. Check with Hawaiian Air or Aloha Airlines, both offer service. As I recall last time I checked it was about $89 each way but they often run specials. Your best bet may be if you have AmEx points....for 5,000 points you get an inter island flight on Hawaiian Air...excellent value. Have fun.

You can get an island-hopper pass as mentioned here... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/000966.html

Also, if you are staying in HNL, there are specials on the hotel televisions that may be appealing.



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Bob

Your choices are either redeem 5,000 AA/NW/UA miles for interisland RT ticket or buy interisland flight coupons in HNL for low $50s per flight.

Check out my epinion's article on the subject http://valueconsumer.epinions.com/tr...39E5D710-prod2

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For money savings ideas & tips check & FF miles bonus for finance & auto buying check out ValueConsumer.com

Click on the search function (upper right) and type in "inter island fares" to search in the "General Travel Talk" category. A very helpful thread titled "Savings on Inter Island Fares" should pop up. It talks all about ways to get travel passes for about $50 each. If I could I'd post the link for you. Sorry.

I believe the Big Island is the best... so much to do... and so different.

You can get great deals to the Big Island.... when we were in Hawaii... we went from Honolulu to the Big Island... 2 people.. 2 days... hotel included and a rental car... $99 total

William

bfllover,
Cheapest way is the way the locals do thru Bank of Hawaii ATM's at HNL and other sites throughout the islands including Bankoh branches and 7-11's. The ATM's let you buy Hawaiian Airlines interisland flight coupons besides perform various financial transactions. The last time I purchased my interisland tickets this way was last month. Each pass ends up being ~$58 or so(have to look at my receipts), must use a visa or mastercard (no amex).
jerry

i just bought tickets to hilo for this friday 12 jan and my travel agent sold either hawaiian or aloha for $62.00 one way.i was quoted $77.00 from hawaiian reservations as the lowest fare avalable from them. hope this helps.

My wife and I got in too late in HNL on DL to connect so we spent the night at the Radisson (reasonable $89 corp. rate) and a leisurely day at the Arizona Memorial before flying out to Kona in the pm of day 2. Flights for $67.50 each on Aloha (get United mileage). After three days we went Kona to Maui on Hawaiian (get AA mileage) for the same price per ticket. This was in the middle of Dec. We booked our Delta award to return from Maui instead of HNL to save one interisland hop that we would otherwise have to pay for. The interisland flights were booked way in advance thru my TA.


[This message has been edited by outoftown (edited 01-09-2001).]

I have had a discount on Aloha via AAA before.

I'll second the advice of others: the cheapest way to fly inter-island is to use 5000 frequent flyer points to get a RT. At .015 cents per point, that's $75 RT (or $100 RT if you value your points at .02 cents per). If you are going to make 3 or more RT flights, then for 15,000 frequent flyer points you can get a pass for unlimited trips.

The second best deal is to visit the Bank of Hawaii ATM at the airport and get a Hawaiian Airlines flight coupon, charged to your Visa or Mastercard. You can make a reservation with Hawaiian Airlines right now and buy the flight coupons when you get to the airport. Each coupon is good for a one way flight anywhere in the islands. Currently, they are more expensive than usual, at $62 each. They can be as cheap as $52 each, so maybe the price will go down by the time you get here.

If you want to fly Aloha instead of Hawaiian Airlines, or you want to use a credit card other than Visa or Mastercard, then you can buy flight coupons from a travel agency that is within walking distance of the airport. Royal Adventure Travel (808-839-0039) is located right behind the Best Western Plaza Hotel (an airport hotel), so you can take the shuttle and walk to the back of the hotel. If you are too honest to use a hotel shuttle for which you are not a guest, don't worry. The place is a short five minute walk from the Diamond Head side of HNL.

Royal Adventure currently sells them for $62 cash, or somewhat more if you are using a credit card.

The most expensive way to fly inter-island is to just get the published fare of, currently, about $150 round trip which includes the fees. You can get that by calling the airlines or your travel agent.

BTW, Aloha Airlines currently has a published $94.50 (+ fees) round trip fare from HNL to the Big Island, but it seems to be an evil trick as all the dates appear to be sold out. Check ito it first, since if you are able to get it for the dates you are flying, it would be the cheapest way to go.