1

Outline 1. Table of Contents 2. Introduction 3. Budget 4. Timeline - Things to consider 6. Booking the flight 7. Hotel, Rental Car? 8. Packing 9. What to do when you get to Hawaii 10. Conclusion

Introduction

This manual serves as a guide for planning a one-way or round trip vacation for individuals and groups to Oahu. Our manual is a comprehensive guide to planning a trip to Oahu, Hawaii and assumes little to no previous knowledge regarding trip organization. We will walk you through each step with the intent of providing you with information to have a wellplanned trip with minimum effort and maximum enjoyment. Our intended audience covers individuals or groups of people who intend to spend a vacation in Oahu. We have taken the approach of making the guide for an individual, but we cover steps necessary to plan for a party where they are needed. The manual covers budgeting, packing for your trip, booking your flight, reserving a hotel, renting a car, and suggestions on what you could do when you arrive. If you have some experience with travelling, feel free to use this guide as needed. You can refer to our table of contents or index for specific information you want. We hope you find our guide informative and helpful to planning your vacation. Happy vacationing!

Lets get started.

Budget 1. Estimate your Budget

Vacationing to Oahu, Hawaii can be expensive. The general cost of one individual can go from $1,500 to $10,000 depending on what you want to do during your stay. We recommend that you set a budget based on a portion of the amount of money you currently have. Avoid spending over five to eight percent of your total income as you want to save money for when you return home. For example, if your yearly income is $100,000, try to spend $5,000 to $8,000.

2. Calculate your Budget

To calculate your budget, follow the steps listed below. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Go to your bank and ask for your account balance Get a pencil, paper, and calculator Multiply your account balance by 0.05 and write the value down Multiply your account balance by 0.08 and write the value down Compare the two values and see how much you are willing to spend on your trip.

Now that you have decided how much you want to spend on your trip, set aside that money. Please move on to the next step where we will explain when you should be setting aside your money.

3. Allocate Funds for your Budget

Once you have you have set a budget use the chart below to know where your money will be going. Vacationers should be aware that the price of plane tickets tend to increase around the holiday seasons and decrease during the school year. Although that will be the most important factor in determining your flight budget, you should be to accommodate various variables listed below.

Holidays Party Size Vacation Period

Now that you have set aside your money, we recommend filling out this table with the amount of money you are willing to spend in each area. Feel free to negate items that you think you will not need or dont apply to you.

Item
Plane Ticket (one-way) Plane Ticket (round-trip) Hotel Car Rental

Estimated Price
$350 600 $650 - $1000

Your Price

$200 - $2000 (per night) $40 (per day w/ gas) $20 - $30 (per meal) $200

Meals New Clothes

Miscellaneous Entertainment Est. Total (one-way) Est. Total (round-trip)

$100 $300 $2000 $3000

*Prices do not include Hawaiian state tax This table is a general pricing range that covers essential items you will need to buy. Please add or remove any items you feel are unnecessary.

Time line: When to book a flight for Hawaii: Make sure you have a set date for when you want to visit Oahu, Hawaii. After having your set date, book your flight 3-4 months before your planned trip date. Look at all the different familiar airlines and see which ones fall under your budget that you are willing to spend Even if you're under a budget, it's still a good idea to fly with a known airline. The busiest times to visit, is during the summer months, June-August. The less busiest times to visit during the year is November-January. When to book a hotel room: When booking a hotel room it all depends on your budget. How much you are willing to spend, whether you would like to stay at a nice hotel or not, how many people are coming, and location in the city Booking the hotel room: At any hotel you decide to stay at, it will be a good idea to book a room or 2 (if more people are coming) 3-4 months in advance of your trip. You will be asked to pay a small fee to reserve the room(s). Some hotels may vary when it comes to serving breakfast; so if you would like breakfast to be included, make sure to look into that when looking at hotels. Remember that if you are going to cancel your room that you booked, to call 1 month in advance. Most hotels are picky with situations like this, because then it takes away from other people to rent the room out. Remember to ask how long in advance do you have to let them know if you are going to cancel a room, just in case something were to happen to your trip. Hotel prices range depending on your budget. Here are some low cost hotels to get an idea of the prices: 1. Hokele Suites Waikiki $83 per night 2. Pagoda Hotel $89 per night 3. Maile Sky Court Hotel $89 per night If you would like to stay at a nice hotel, the prices are going to be a little higher. Here's an idea of the prices of some hotels: 1. The Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki $299 2. The Kahala Hotel & Resort $391 3. Halekulani Hotel $494 How many nights: You are probably going to want to look at the lowest priced hotels first than the high priced hotels. Also, varying on the number of people. 1. How many nights you will be staying. 2. Decide on how many people will be joining you 3. Whether you want the hotel to be in a specific location in the city Renting a car:

If you are going to be renting a car, this is also something that needs to be done as soon as possible. Especially de people will want to rent them too. Call in and reserve a car so when you arrive you won't have to worry about ren About 2-3 weeks before your trip, it would be a good idea to call and make sure it is still reserved for you. How much many nights/times you will be planning on eating out: Considering how many nights/times you will want or be eating out will vary on your budget. Searching places t you can have an idea of how much to save for food. Things to consider packing: Clothes (Preferably summer clothing) Medication Necessities (Passport, Identification, Money, Credit Cards) Keep your passport on your carry on luggage instead of your suitcase. Hygiene products (If flying, no container should weigh more than 3.4 oz., according to regulations) First Aid Kit Electronics (And their chargers) Swimsuit Misc. - Sunscreen -Toothbrush -Toothpaste -Shampoo -Facewash

How to pack: 1. Pick a suitcase that is appropriate for the items you will be taking on the trip 2. Separate your clothes Lay out the clothes you want to bring on your bed Separate swimwear, casual, formal clothes Swimwear would be considered like swim trunks, bikinis Casual would be considered t-shirts, jeans, khakis Formal would be considered slacks, button up blouses, suits, ties, dress shoes, vest, blazers,etc. 3. Gather all toiletries that are needed -Toothbrush -Toothpaste -Shampoo -Conditioner -Body Wash -Feminine Products

4.

Now fold your clothes -Roll up the swimwear and casual clothes in piles -For the formal clothes, you might want to place them on top of everything.

5. Placing clothes into the suitcase -Place undergarments and swimwear towards the bottom of the suitcase -Toiletries shall be placed on the side of the bag -

When packing you want to consider 1. Traveling lightly as much as possible -This allows for travel to run more smoothly 2. Leaving room in luggage to bring back things such as souvenirs

3.

Creating a checklist of what you're taking on the trip and what your bringing back

Booking a Flight Now that you have gathered your funds for a trip to Oahu, it is time to book your flight. Follow the steps listed below to find and book a flight appropriate for your time table. Before we begin arranging your flight, open up your favorite web browser. We recommend using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari. Navigate to the top of your web browsers search bar and enter the url www.expedia.com. 1. Select what you will need for your flight - This selection will be made depending on if you need a hotel room and a car, or one or the other. 2. Select if you will be having a round trip or one-way flight - The section for choosing your type of flight is on the top left of the search menu 3. Select the Appropriate Airport - The departing airport will vary depending on where you are currently residing in Texas. - The arrival airport will be Honolulu (HNL), HI. - Note : Some small airports will not fly to Honolulu as they only service larger airlines to more popular areas of the country. You may need to make a longer drive to a more popular airport like Dallas Fort-Worth airport to get a flight to Honolulu. 4. Choose your Dates - As we have discussed in the timeline section, you will want to book your flight at the minimum a month in advance. - Select your departure and return dates. 5. Enter your Travel Party - Below the section that allows you to choose your dates will be an expandable list. - Note : These lists correspond with ages. 6. Booking a hotel and renting a car

- If you do not have any family or friends you will be staying with, you must rent a hotel room. If you want to rent a hotel and a car, refer to the Booking a Hotel Section and you will be redirected to the Booking a Hotel and Car section. - If you need a hotel and car, do not proceed to step seven. Refer to the next section, Booking a Hotel Room and Renting a Car before moving on. 7. Search for your Flight - Once you have added all of the required fields, search for your flight - After you press the search button, a large list of flights will appear - Each row will have the airline, time of the flight, duration, number of layovers, and price. - Search through the list carefully and find a flight that matches your schedule and price range. - Once you have found a flight, press select and you will be taken to a payment window where you will be prompted to enter credit card information. If you are only flying and are satisfied with your current flight arrangements, proceed to the Paying for your Vacation section on page x.

10

Booking a Hotel Room If you are reading this section, then you are in need of a hotel. Hotels in Hawaii can get expensive; they range from $800 to $1200 a night depending on where you are staying. We highly recommend that you re-evaluate your budget and timeline before proceeding with this section. Once you have reevaluated your budget and made sure you can afford this trip, please proceed to following the steps listed below. 1. Below the number of travelers section will be two links, add a hotel or add a car. - Click add a hotel 2. After you select add a hotel, a drop box will open asking how many people will be staying at the hotel. - Select the number of people staying with you and how many rooms you want 3. You will be redirected to a link with a long list of hotels. - Each hotel will have a rating, location, distance from airport, and total cost. - Note : The cost will be calculated depending on how many days you will be staying in the hotel. 4. Search for a hotel appropriate to your price range and dates. - Press the yellow select button on the far right corner and you will be redirected to a web page with more information about the hotel. - This new web page will have pictures of the hotel, ratings, and details explaining the details of the hotel. 5. Add the hotel to your cart. - Once you have searched and found a hotel that you want to stay at and can af ford, add it to your cart. - Press keep if you are satisfied with the current state of your hotel, or press se lect if you want a hotel room with more beds or luxuries. 6. Continue the search for your flight.

11

- Now that you have added a hotel, you will be re-directed to the page where you search for flights. Please refer to the previous section for more information regarding your flight. If you have booked your flight and hotel and are satisfied with the arrangements, proceed to the section Paying for your Trip.

Renting a Hotel and Car If you are reading this section, then you are in need of a car with your hotel. If you get a basic car like a Kia Rio, prices can be around $30.00 or more a day depending on what kind of car you rent. We recommend renting the cheapest car you can find because gas is expensive on Oahu. A gallon of gas is usually $4.00 or more. Although you will be only driving five to ten miles a day you will eventually need to fill the tank before returning the car to your rental dealership. Before proceeding to the next step, refer back to your budget and re-calculate your total trip price because adding in a rental car will increase your total trip price. 1. When you are sent to the vacation package link, you will have a list of hotels to select from. 2. Refer to the previous section, Booking a Hotel and go to step four. Repeat step four and proceed to step three of this section. 3. When you have selected a hotel you want to stay at, scroll down to the car section. - The car section is below the flight and hotel section. 4. Select a car you want to rent. - Rental cars come in different types, here is a brief list of the types of cars rental dealerships have to offer. - Economy : Small cars that have the best gas mileage. - Compact : Small cars that have good gas mileage, but not the best gas mileage. - Midsize : A car that can hold a small family comfortably. Decent gas mileage. - Premium : The same type of car as a midsize car with better gas mileage and more room.

12

- Full : Full size cars are always four door cars that can comfortably fit a five person party. They get below average gas mileage. - SUV : SUVs come in small, midsize, and full size. They are the largest rental cars. These cars get very poor gas mileage but will comfort able fit a party of seven or more. - Once you have browsed all the types of cars, select which car you would like rent. - Press the blue select button and the car will be added to your cart. 5. Once you have added the car to your cart, you will be redirected to a summary page. - Review the summary page by scrolling up and down checking if you are satis fied with the flight, hotel, and car you have chosen. - Check your budget one last time before agreeing to pay for your trip. Once you have reviewed your vacation plans, proceed to the section Paying for Trip.

to

your

13

Paying for Your Trip Now that you have reviewed your itinerary you are ready to pay for the trip. Follow the steps listed below to pay for your trip. 1. Scroll to the bottom of your trip summary page and select member or guest checkout. 2. Enter your traveler information. Below is a list of information you will need for this section. - Your name - Email address - Phone Number - Date of Birth You must repeat this step for each person in your party. 3. If you have booked a flight or rented a car, you must read this step. Otherwise proceed to step four. You will have several drop boxes asking whose name you will be reg istering for the hotel and car with. - Use your name for each section. - Open the drop box for the respective sections and select your name. 4. Once you have entered all your traveler information and registered for the hotel and car. Continue to the payment. - Select the blue finalize payment - You will be transferred to a new web page where you will need your - Name - Credit card - Billing Information - Email - Enter the information above and press continue. 5. Finalize your payment. - Review the final page regarding your payment and trip information and press finalize.

14

6. You are done! Enjoy your vacation in Oahu.

Cover Page, Suggestions, Conclusion, Index