Hi -

I'm planning our first trip to Hawaii in April of next year. Have tickets booked arriving HNL April 21, departing OGG May 4. Planning on 1 night on Oahu to do Pearl Harbor the next day, then flying to the Big Island for awhile, and on to Maui. Still kicking around the idea of a few days in Kauai, but don't want to spend so much time on planes, so that's looking less likely.

In any case, I'm wondering how far out is best to book hotels? I will probably priceline the Honolulu night, and direct-book the rest. Thanks to Capital One, will likely go with the Fairmont Kea Lani for the final portion of the trip. No clue about the rest of our accommodations at this point. It seems like many of the properties are having "5th-night-free" promotions, which sounds great... but the promotions do not extend out through my timeframe. Is it best to just wait until six (3? 2?) months out & see what the specials are at that time, or book now? I've never used a travel agent (love to dig up bargains), but can someone recommend a Virtuoso agent? Seems it might be the way to go for at least the Fairmont portion of this trip!

Thanks so much!