Itinerary change…Maui, Hawaii, here we come in 11 months!…No photos available due to WiFi issues…

The rate for the first of two houses we booked in Big Island, Hawaii for our upcoming family visit, is a rental cost of US $101.56, considerably less than we would have paid a small one-room hotel. With a full kitchen and all supplies, we’ll surely love dining on the lanai, with sunset views. We’d never imagined that we could find an affordable vacation home in Maui that would fit our expectation of an ocean view. After searching online to fill the gap from October 5, 2014, when we’ll arrive by cruise ship in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii to December 1, 2014, has been a daunting task.

We’ll be moving to the Big Island on December 1, 2014, with our kids and grandkids arriving around December 20, 2014, for Christmas, living in the two homes we’ve already booked, side by side, on the ocean. The two houses we’ve booked for their visit are described with photos in our post of October 22, 2013.

Deciding that staying in Honolulu in a hotel on the ocean for a short period of time would allow us time to visit Pearl Harbor and other local attractions. Honolulu is a congested city filled with tourists, traffic and noise, not particularly our cup of tea for a lengthy stay.

Looking online for a house or a condo to fit our budget, after an 11-night stay in Honolulu became a source of frustration when we couldn’t find the right property. Both of us spent considerable hours online with our slow Internet connection, finding few options. 

With the high prices for hotels and vacation homes in Hawaii, our preferences for ocean views plus AC, free WiFi, washer and dryer and an updated attractive décor, we considered lowering our expectations and increasing the price we were willing to pay.

Property owners in Hawaii have no motivation or desire to negotiate prices with the high demand for vacation rentals year-round. Early on in our search we made no less than six offers for reasonably discounted rates based on our longer stays than most. None responded. 

Yesterday, out of curiosity, we began searching Maui, the most expensive of the islands in hope that we might get lucky. And, did we get lucky! By evening, we’d paid the requested US $300 deposit for a rental on the glorious island of Maui, in the Maalaea area, 25 miles south of Kaanapali Beach (the most popular but congested area for travelers). 

With a rental car during our 57-night stay in Maui we’ll have the freedom to tour the island at our leisure, visiting many points of interest, fabulous restaurants and larger grocery stores than we’ve had available. 

We’d love to post the photos for the website where the property is listed. But our slow connection prohibits the posting of these difficult to maneuver photos.

Here’s the link to our new condo in Maui which includes photos and a detailed description. 

Here is our total cost for 57-nights:
Rental Amount:  US $5014.00
Cleaning:           US $    90.00
Taxes:               US $  684.96
Total:                US $5,788.96

Now that this gap in time is booked, our next task for Hawaii will be to secure a hotel reservation on the beach in Honolulu from October 5, 2014, to October 16, 2014, when we’ll fly to Maui.

Here’s our five-month rundown of our time in Hawaii, all of which is booked, except the first 11 days in Honolulu Hawaii:

Honolulu , Oahu – October 5, 2014, to October 16, 2014 (not yet booked)
Maalaea, Maui – October 16, 2014, to December 1, 2014 (new booking)
Pahoe, Big Island  (first house) – December 1, 2014, to January 15, 2015 (booked)
Pahoe, Big Island (second house) – December 15, 2014, to January 3, 2015 (booked)
Princeville, Kauai – January 15, 2015, to May 15, 2015 (booked)- Our longest stay in any one location during this period, we’ll be preparing for the next leg of our upcoming travels, at this point yet to be determined. 

In each of these locations, except Honolulu, a rental car will be necessary for which we’ve budgeted.  Obviously, the smaller the island, the higher the costs of rental cars, groceries and dining out.

If you check out the listing on Homeaway, you’ll see that the owner has already blocked off our dates giving us the peace of mind to book rental cars and the hotel in Honolulu.

With yesterday’s booking, we’ve fulfilled our desire to spend time at each of the four largest and most desired Hawaiian islands. During this time, back on US soil, we’ll arrange dental and doctor appointments. 

Now, we’re back to work pinning down the Honolulu hotel for 11 nights. The search never ends as the journey continues on.

Comments and responses Itinerary change…Maui, Hawaii, here we come in 11 months!…No photos available due to WiFi issues…

  1. Anonymous Reply

    Congratulations on your bookings for Hawaii. It looks like you are staying in Hawaii from Oct 5, 2014 through May 15, 2015. That is so fantastic and I am so envious of this part of your travels. I was wondering how you decide on how long you want to stay in one place. I clicked on the link to your reservations in Mauii and it looks really nice. You must be so excited also. I have been trying to convince Dan on doing this for a month but he keeps mentioning staying in the Bahamas instead. Maybe he thinks fishing is better in the Bahamas. I know the Bahamas would not be as far to fly.
    I am sitting in our condo at the Lake of the Ozarks for our last night. It has been a very relaxing time after the grandkids left. It will be hard to leave this beautiful lake view. When we get home we will be raking leaves and doing outside preparations for the winter. yuk And then it will be time to start preparing for Thanksgiving. I always have my family over plus my sister and brother and their families, about 22 people in all. It is fun but a lot of work too. I bake the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy and the others each bring vegetables and the desserts. It is a fun family time.
    Stay safe and I will watch for your blog tomorrow.
    Pat and Dan

  2. Jessica Reply

    Pat, we were just talking about how wonderfully you write. You know how to paint a picture that is appealing and enlightening. Thanks for sharing this part of yourself with us.

    Gee…tell Dan there's some serious fishing in Hawaii! Wouldn't it be fun if we could all get together in Hawaii?
    We're going on the Celebrity Soltice cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii on September 23 to October 5th. That, too would be a blast.

    Hope you enjoyed your last quiet night at the Lake of the Ozarks. It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is coming, I thought of doing the traditional dinner (with GF options for me) but there's no way to find the ingredients here. Plus, that don't sell turkeys. But your family gathering sounds like lots of fun and I'm sure you'll be working hard to make it wonderful.

    Thanks so much for "stopping by."

    Warmest regards to you both,
    Jess & Tom

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