Hawaii was the 50th state to enter into union in 1959. Travel Hawaii and you will have to travel the eight islands that create the state of Hawaii and consist of 6,423 square miles. The capital city is Honolulu which is located on the Island of Oahu, population 905,266. Hawaii is known best for it’s all year around perfect weather conditions, (79-83 F) and volcanic origin, exotic beaches, surfing, water sports, romantic get-aways and whale watching. The state flower is the Yellow Hibiscus, the state bird is the Nene(Hawaiian Goose), and the state tree is the Kukui (Candlenut). Overall, Hawaii and it’s beach resorts welcome more than seven million visitors per year.

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All of the eight Islands of Hawaii offer their own individual points of interest. The Island of Oahu welcomes more than two million tourists per year. Pearl Harbor ranks number one for tourism followed by the world famous Diamond Head volcanic crater, Waikiki Beach and whale watching during the winter months (Jan-Mar).
Oahu offers a wide variety of extended stay options such as the “Hale Makai” which is considered a private home vacation rental with two bedrooms, 2 baths and a full kitchen. The beach is just across the street, and a lovely mountain view is in the back. The price range is only $291.00-$340.00 per night. One of the most luxurious extended stay accommodations on Oahu is the “Luxury Oahu Villas”. At the “Kumi Wai” location, you will enjoy beachfront villas with 6 bedrooms and 6 baths that will accommodate your entire family (max 10 guests). The price range is $1,430-$1,800 per night. The “Oahu Lani” location welcomes you and your party with ten beds and twelve baths, beachfront villas (max 20 guests). The price range is $5,800-$8,750 per night. There are several types of lodging on Oahu such as hotels, motels, vacation rentals and camping, but please remember to book your reservations in advance and ask about security deposits. Dining on Oahu can also be a unique experience. The Polynesian Cultural Center and the Paradise Cove Luau, both offer Luau show packages that include a buffet style meal. To grab a quick bite on the go, there are also several outside food stands as well as fast food restaurants.

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Maui is not only known for it’s 81 white sand beaches and beautiful golf courses, it’s also home to the humpback whale. November-May is their breeding season, so when driving Oceanside be careful because traffic can be chaotic.

Maui’s most famous beach is Ka’anapali, where the crystal clear water is perfect for snorkeling, wind surfing, jet skiing as well as parasailing and kayaking. The Ka’anapali Resort area is very popular for Maui tourists. One of Maui’s fine dinning open air restaurants is called the “Hala Grill” and is located on Ka’anapoli beach sidewalk. On the less expensive list of places to eat is the “Honokowai Okazuya & Deli” which is known for the best take out food on Maui.

If you are on a budget for lodging and are looking for cheap hotels, the Honua Kai Resort and Spa is a great beachfront studio located in Lahainer, West Side, Maui. For a 1 bed and 1 bath hotel room, the rate is $277.00 per night. (Remember, Hawaii is expensive) If you and your family are on an extended vacation, you may want to consider the Sugar Cove Townhouses which are located in Paia Maui and offer Beachfront condos, a community hot tub and a pool. The rates are $545.00 per night, it has 3 bedrooms (sleeps 6) and 4 baths. Book your vacation in Maui at least one year in advance, and always remember to ask about security deposits. If you are looking for a laid back and less crowded family vacation destination, the Island of Lanai is for you. Once known as the "Islands Of Pineapples", Lanai was home to the original Dole pineapple plantation. And if you’re a scuba diver, you will be happy to know Lanai is best known for it’s "under the sea" lava formations such as tunnels, archways and ridges. You will also see plenty of unique marine life and incredible light effects. A few of the most popular dive spots are Cathedral I & II and the Pyramids. Horseback riding is another favorite activity on Lanai. The “Stables at Koele” offer a variety of riding packages for the whole family to enjoy. The beaches on Lanai are less crowded but also more interesting. Hulopoe Beach is considered the best family beach park. The park has all the amenities for camping, as well as barbeque grills, showers, restrooms, picnic tables and plenty of parking. The beach also has some unique features such as lava rock tide pools and black lava fingers to protect swimmers from the tide currents. Shipwreck beach is also a secluded favorite, the road is paved most of the way but it is recommended that you use a four-wheeler to get there safely. Polihua beach used to attract Sea turtles and historically, they would lay eggs on the beach until they found a new home. Some locals say they are starting to come around again. This beach is intended for nature, because of the strong current, it’s not safe for swimming.

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The Four Season’s Resort on Lanai is comparable to a luxury hotel. The rate starts at $425.00 per night but all of the activities that are included are worth every penny. At the Four Seasons Resort the suites are very spacious, and all rooms come with a private balcony or terrace, work area, entertainment area, and the rooms also include a mini bar. When booking reservations do not forget to inquire about the teen center, kids activities and jeep adventures. They also offer garden spa massages, water sports, hiking, biking, and two golf courses. There are also several restaurants to choose from, one is an "open air bar & grill" that serves cocktails and tropical drinks. They offer a bar style menu and feature a game room with all the favorites such as pool tables, darts, foosball and shuffle board. Also at the Four Seasons resort, they have two of Lanai’s favorite fine dining restaurants, one of them features authentic Hawaiian cuisine and the other serves Italian cuisine.

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Another romantic Hawaiian destination is the Island of Molokai, population 6,000 – 8,000 depending upon the time of the year. It is relatively under developed compared to the larger Islands of Hawaii. One very popular attraction is located in East Molokai. They are the largest sea cliffs in the world and featured in the movie “Jurassic Park”. One of Hawaii’s most popular beaches is Papohaku Beach, where you can snorkel around the reefs and go fishing. Another favorite activity on Molokai is hiking through Halaway Valley. Historically speaking, Molokai was home for Father Damien de Veuster, a Belgian priest who served a colony of lepers in the nineteenth century while under quarantine.

One extended stay vacation rental I found is called "Ke Nani Kai 126" & is located in Maunaloa Molokai. The rates are $125.00-$175.00 per night. The Townhouse Suite has a partial ocean view, 2 bedrooms (sleeps 6) and 2 baths. They also have a pool and a hot tub, the locals are very accommodating and friendly and the beach is located within 5 minutes of walking distance. The Aqua Hotel Molokai offers oceanfront bungalows for $173.75 per night, it has 1 bed (sleeps 2) and 1 bath, a mini fridge and a coffee maker. It is located in Kaunakakai Molokai and the hotel features the Hula Shores Restaurant which is known for it’s authentic Hawaiian vegetables, and several seafood dishes & steaks.
The Island of Molokai also features a variety of restaurants such as The Molokai Pizza Café, the Kaulapuu cookhouse which features authentic Hawaiian cuisine, Big Daddy’s which features Filipino cuisine and the Maunaloa room that features seafood and steak.

Part 2 Travel Hawaii – Kauai – Poipu – Lihue – Niihau

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Travel Hawaii

Now if you are going to Europe, eating out everyday is like paying for a mortgage. IT’S EXPENSIVE. EVERYWHERE! In Europe a whopper cost 5 Euros. That’s about $7.20 USD. So just image what everything else costs. It’s crazy. Unless you are rich, get someplace with a kitchen and go grocery shopping. Shopping is comparable to the States,. A hostel, extended stay motel, hotel, anyplace you can find a kitchen. I can’t stress how important it is. Even get a Dorm. Now if you are going to the Philippines, don’t worry about getting a kitchen. The US Dollar is worth about 60-65 times the Pinoy peso. What you spend on a whopper they spend to feed their entire family for a week. So trading in your USD for Phils Peso is a good thing if you are taking a vacation to anyplace like that. Just a thought. One my last trip to London, I thought I was being smart by just looking for a cheap place to stay for my vacation…Kitchen..who needs it! How wrong I was. I would of been better off getting a more expensive motel with a kitchen and buying my food. When I tallied all my expenses up, just for food, just for myself, and my girlfriend, it came to 700 USD. That’s 2 car payments! Get a kitchen!

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How Important is it to have a Kitchen in your Motel Room?

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Stay Connected in the Air

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Cheap Extended Stay Motels and Flights

Something I took for granted when I first started traveling was that my cellphone would work no matter where I went, and that I would simply have to pay roaming charges. That couldn’t of been further from the truth. The minute I stepped off the plane in Spain, my cellphone couldn’t reach a single carrier, and neither will yours without a world wide coverage plan, or a new sim card. A sim card is simply a card you place in your phone that will allow you to connect to a local cellphone carrier. You can buy them at any airport you visit. In fact the choice for new sims or calling plans in an overseas airport is as vast as the food venders at your local state fair. But speak the language, or you can be taken.

There are a many other ways to communicate internationally. One is to have satellite internet coverage on your phone, where you can use programs such as instant messengers to communicate. Skype is a big one. In fact if you have satellite internet coverage on your phone, simply load up the mobile phone version of skype and start calling anywhere you want. But again, unless you have a service that allows international connection to the internet, this will not work either. I have T-Mobile. so I called them up and signed up for their world wide roaming plan. But at 99 cents a minute, I used my cell phone sparingly. The name of the game is plan, plan, plan! Call you cell phone provider and ask questions. You may need a special sim card put in your phone to use world wide roaming. So you may need to take your phone to your local cell phone dealer. If you’re not so worried about a cell phone, your laptop is a great way to communicate in almost all extended stay motels, hotels, inns, …anywhere they provide internet access. My suggestion, connect to the internet, and use Skype to communicate. The video feed is almost like seeing the person in real life. It’s very fast. The audio feed is just as superior. It’s amazing, and it doesn’t cost you anything if the other person has Skype. If not skype use any number of the other IM services out there. But I’ve tried them all and Skype is the only one that seemed to reliably work across the oceans without a problem. I’m not even close to an expert in this field. So if anyone has another suggestion please feel free to list them.

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Cellphones and WorldWide Coverage

Being a student usually means you’re short on cash. Just comes with the territory. But low funds never went well with traveling. My little niece for her spring break wanted to go London with her friends. They did some searching and came across a site called STA. This company deals exclusively with students and people under the age of 26, offering in some cases up to 30 – 50% off already discounted airline tickets, hotels, motels, hostels. They offer touring discounts to many destinations, as well as meal and shopping, insurance, rail pass, and phone discounts. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first cause I’m neither in school, or under 26, but what got me curious is when she started talking about their "Study and Work Abroad" and their "World Traveler Internship" programs. I went to the site and started comparing prices to other well known motel/hotel reservation sites, checking prices on other sites for tickets as well. The student discounts for traveling this sites gives is pretty substantial. If you’re a student or under 26 no matter what country you are from take a look. She ended up going to London, roundtrip for $220 and that included motel accommodations….not bad!

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Student Discounts on Traveling

A passport is usually a small book almost as detailed as the money we have today. Encoded with varies colors and other patterns, layers, codes that are virtually impossible to forge. In the U.S. once you obtain your passport you will notice about 10 or 11 empty pages, and (in the new passport books) you will also find an electronic sticker. Kind of like you see on the back of a credit cards or drivers licenses to further make it much harder to forge. The purpose of the passport is to show that the country you are from, i.e., The United States has granted you permission to visit any country where all you need is a passport to enter. Such as London, Madrid etc.. the list is vast. Once you arrive in your place of destination you would show your passport to the immigration check desk where they will see that you are approved for travel by your country, and if all checks out, they will stamp your passport signifying you are eligible to "visit" their country. I say visit! If you plan to live there, you will need to obtain a citizenship type visa from the country you wish to stay in. This can not be granted by your home country. Which brings us to what a visa is.

Some countries, i.e., Asian Countries, third world countries…etc, will not allow you to simply come to their country on a passport alone. You will need to obtain a visa. This is for three reasons, and was explained to me by one of the people certified to issue passports and visas at my local court house. She said, one, usually these countries do not have strong ties to the U.S, so the trust issue is not there. Two, these countries are usually communist or socialist in government and carefully monitor all who enter and leave for control. Three…Money. When you sign up for a passport you usually pay your local court house the passport fee. Mine was $79. And your passport is good for the next 10 years. But a visa you have to not only pay a fee to your country, but also to the country you wish to visit. They want a piece of the pie. Now I’m sure there’s a more politically correct way to say all this, but this is how it was explained to me, and it makes sense.

How to obtain a passport or visa. It’s simple. First do not have warrants against you. Do not be a felon, and basically have a clean record. If you do not, your application will most likely be turned down. All you do is go to your local courthouse, ask where you apply for a passport, they will tell you, and at the station you will see a form for new applicants for passports. You grab the form and fill it out. It’s not tough, and takes about 5 minutes. You will need, however, two valid forms of identification and your SS card. Some say you need to bring an extra picture, and they will use that picture for your passport, but if you don’t have one, they will take one for you. That’s about it. You pay the fee and they will tell you that you should expect it within 4-6 weeks. If you are in good standing with the U.S. there’s really no reason you should be denied. The Visa was just as easy. I needed a visa to the Philippines. I told them where I wanted to go, they gave me a form. It took about 5 minutes to fill out, and I paid the fee. $55. I was told I would have to wait 3-6 weeks. Again, though, I just needed 2 forms of id and my SS. And my passport. You definitely need a passport to get a visa. That’s how simple it is for Americans to travel. If you can’t wait the 3-6 weeks to get your passport or visa, there are certain agencies that can get your passport or visa to you within 24-48 hours.

Losing your passport in another country can be a nightmare! I can’t stress this enough. Guard your passport with your life. In other countries, you’ll need to show your passport many times over. I.E. to get into lodging (hotels, extended stay motels, bed and breakfast, inns, vacation rental properties, car rental), trains, places of business. Even if you look suspicious the police have the right to ask for your passport. And you can not get back on your plane to go home without it. You’ll be stuck and forced to pay more fees to get a temporary passport to get back home, that’s of course providing you didn’t lose your identification as well. If you lose that you’re in for a whirlwind. Visiting international destinations can be great, but always keep track of your identification.

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What is a Passport or Visa? How do you obtain them?