Quote :

"my aunt travels a ton for her job and has a travel agent. would that route be cheaper? I would assume so."

I really really really hope you are joking. You are joking right? You have to be joking. There is no way you can honestly believe that a travel agent is the cheapest/best route to go.

There is a reason that pretty much ALL travel agents have gone out of business.

There is absolutely no reason to ever use a travel agent unless you are a complete dumbass or the laziest person in the world.

No offense, but how can you possibly think a travel agent is the best route here? You can always do travel cheaper on your own.

Pretty much the only travel agents that are sill in business are high end travel agents who set up exotic badass trips for people with shit tons of $ who spend weeks doing shit we can only dream about.



[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 12:36 AM. Reason : .]

12/22/2009 12:29:43 AM

...her travel agent is paid for by her work or some shit like that. we used flier miles to fly to NYC for free and the agent got her a sweet deal on the Mariott in Times Square.

no im not an idiot. i apologize for not having flown 3405826 times. but thanks for the input n00b.

12/22/2009 12:36:18 AM

This is even worse. The fact that her company is paying for her to use a travel agent makes absolutely no sense at all. They are literally throwing away money. No wonder our economy is in the shitter. Flier miles have nothing to do with a travel agent, and the "sweet deal" she got you was more than likely booked on the internet by her and then she charged a fee.

Trust me, in this day and age, you are not going to come out ahead using a travel agent.

^It has nothing to do with traveling a bunch. Its pretty much common knowledge that you are going to get the best deal on your own on the internet. Like I said. There is a reason pretty much all travel agents have gone out of business.

I honestly am not trying to be a dick here, I am just shocked that anyone uses a travel agent. Its the sucker play.

I totally expect anyone booking a normal trip through a travel agent to completely fall for a Nigerian email scam. No offense.

[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 12:42 AM. Reason : ;]

12/22/2009 12:39:41 AM

what her company does is not my fault. if I can somehow get a deal through my aunt, regardless of what the travel agent does or does not do/charge, then I will take it.

and i know how to use the internet, that's how ive booked all of my flights. ive researched all over orbitz and expedia for flight deals.



anyway, 1985, you obviously have been around Hawaii for long enough to know! did you do much scuba/snorkeling there?

12/22/2009 12:43:40 AM

I am stuck in Afrika. I was on vacation and during a trip into the woods I was robbed by locals. On escaping, I came across diamonds buried in the dirt. I had them appraised by hut people and they are worth $4mill USD. However, they took all my money and passport. Please wire me $500 USD to escape and I will split the $4mill USD with you. If skeptical, book trip to Afrika with travel agent to make sure you get good deal and save USDs. You can deliver the monies to me in person in the country of Afrika. Then we can return with your $3mil USD. All winners in this world we are.

12/22/2009 12:45:46 AM

Quote :

"I honestly am not trying to be a dick here"

i appreciate your glorious words of wisdom.

on to someone who knows something valuable about Hawaii.

12/22/2009 12:49:05 AM

Are you honestly going to sit here and tell me you think a travel agent is going to get you a RT flight to Hawaii for under $600?

And yes, whoever your aunt works for is an incompetent company who is wasting money. Hell, you can book a trip faster and cheaper on the internet than you can calling up a travel agent.

You dont come out ahead using them. Why cant you understand this?

12/22/2009 1:03:56 AM

i fucking understand it, good grief. Nowhere did I say I WILL DEF BE USING A TRAVEL AGENT, moron. She briefly mentioned being able to help me out and that's all that was said.

Unless you have been to Hawaii, your super-helpful posts are no longer needed. Ta-ta.

12/22/2009 1:09:28 AM

Actually I have been. I had a fucking blast with the family a few years ago.

12/22/2009 1:31:42 AM

OldBlueChair yeah, I lived there for 18 years.

I snorkeled a lot, but never really scuba dived. in my opinion, snorkeling is a much better experience. The reefs are all relatively shallow and the visibility is high, so you don't need to be extraordinarily close to observe things. If you're going to go to hawaii, snorkeling is a must. But try and do it away from a common tourist location, those areas tend to have damaged reefs and scared fish. And be respectful, don't break off pieces of coral or step on the reefs.

12/22/2009 1:34:58 AM

oh i definitely wont. I have a love for all things beach related...animals, other wildlife. I'm not gonna be that tourist.

although I did tell the bf to find me a turtle family nearby, feed and make friends with it, then let me go visit them. I'm excited about seeing all the sea turtles (from what I've been told/seen, they're everywhere).

12/22/2009 1:37:47 AM

im going to hawaii in 8 days!! im so pumped, my #1 goal is to see a sea turtle

i'll report back on what i do. i'm going back in march and prob going to visit other islands (going to oahu this time)

12/22/2009 1:42:13 AM

they are everywhere. it's illegal to harass them, but we used to grab their shells under water and they would tow us for about 50 yards before you had to let go and swim to the surface.

12/22/2009 1:43:30 AM

that sounds so fun! i dont think i'd touch one, i'd be too scared i just want to be cruising along in the water and see one chillin next to me

12/22/2009 1:45:37 AM

You will, and you'll probably see dolphins and this time of year you might see a humpback whale.

12/22/2009 1:51:48 AM

they always look so friendly and happy in underwater pictures. floating into the pic like "what up, niggas" or something:

12/22/2009 1:52:34 AM

Quote :

"But try and do it away from a common tourist location, those areas tend to have damaged reefs and scared fish. And be respectful, don't break off pieces of coral or step on the reefs"

I agree, we had some local dude that took us. It was kinda shady, but he took us to a place right down the beach from the Magnum PI house, which was pretty badass.

12/22/2009 1:52:39 AM

1985, any recommendations for dining? I'm all about trying unique/different foods

12/22/2009 1:55:58 AM

umm. well, a local staple is the loco moco, its nothing special, just eggs, gravy, rice and a hamburger patty. everyone there loves them though.

I'm not a big fan, but kalua pork and lau lau are the two main hawaiian dishes. kalua pork is kind of similar to pulled pork, but smokey, and on a bed of cabbage. Lau Lau pork wrapped in taro leaves wrapped in bannana leaves. ( thats the stuff the serve at luaus )

You get a blend of cultural food, so local food isn't necessarily Hawaiian, a lot of it is of Asian decent.

chicken katsu is pretty good. try some li hing muy (lee-hee-moey) candy (its made from plums), or kill two birds with one stone and get li hing muy shaved ice.

and if you want real hawaiian food, get a spam musubi

[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 2:07 AM. Reason : .]

12/22/2009 2:00:13 AM

that will work. Especially anything fish and fruit related!

12/22/2009 2:01:59 AM

well, fish:

Ahi is tuna, and its good there because its fresh. They don't really cook it any different than anywhere else though.

you'll also probably see grouper on the menu, mahi mahi, ono (I think they call it wahu here?) is good. none of it has a real hawaiian feel though, its just fish, served with rice (everything comes with rice)

I'm sure you'll try lilikoi ( passion fruit). try starfruit, we had an orchard growing up. lychee is good, but even better is rambutan (looks like a large hairy lychee). guava you can pick anywhere, along with waiwi (vie-vee), its a little yellow/red fruit that grows everywhere. nothing there is deadly, so feel free to eat anything you come across. hit up some farmers markets to check out the fruit, but you can probably find them cheaper/free somewhere else. pineapple is ok, if you get it, get the white pinapple. it has more flavor.

12/22/2009 2:13:18 AM

where the bf will be living are avocado, mango and lemon trees, if I recall correctly. I will definitely attempt to try all the fruits you've mentioned. Never had white pineapple!

[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 2:24 AM. Reason : trees in the yard, that is]

12/22/2009 2:23:46 AM

If you like sushi be sure to find a good sushi place. The sushi I had when staying on Maui was amazing!

Quote :

"im going to hawaii in 8 days!! im so pumped, my #1 goal is to see a sea turtle"

You shouldn't have any problem with that. When I was there I saw 3-10 turtles every time I snorkled. They're all over the place. But like it was mentioned, it's a fine to harass/touch them.

12/22/2009 9:10:16 AM

is it considered harassing if the turtle asks for it/wants it/dressed like a slut?? lol jkjk

12/22/2009 10:07:48 AM

oh my...

12/22/2009 10:12:47 AM

^^ 10/10 hahaha

12/22/2009 10:20:21 AM

definitely eat some avocados, they are the best you'll ever have.

12/22/2009 11:07:36 AM

Not the best quality, but I took these with a disposable waterproof camera.

12/22/2009 11:17:34 AM

I'd probably swim under the turtle and a little ahead of him and fart so he has to swim through the bubbles. Would that count as harassment though?

12/22/2009 11:29:36 AM

I was following a sea turtle (not directly behind him but back diagonally) and he took a shit.


It was gross

12/22/2009 11:54:48 AM

I touched the turtles, but I was very careful to make sure no one else was around to see me do it. The Four Seasons has an awesome snorkling point which is part of 'turtle town'. They were swimming in large groups there every day.

12/22/2009 1:49:23 PM

^^Eww...Gross.


[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 1:50 PM. Reason : l]

12/22/2009 1:49:44 PM

Quote :

"I honestly am not trying to be a dick here, I am just shocked that anyone uses a travel agent"

not all travel agents are created equal. we used one for our honeymoon to jamaica and there wasn't a fee because he gets his commission from the resort. he also said he'd beat any online price we could find, which we went home and found, and he beat it by $200. of course, we tried using one for a vegas trip this summer and the price was horrendous, so i guess it depends on when and where you're going

12/22/2009 7:54:05 PM

KaYaK you're kind of a douchebag.

Quote :

"This is even worse. The fact that her company is paying for her to use a travel agent makes absolutely no sense at all."

A lot of companies have a person on staff that arranges all of the flights/hotels for people that are travelling. This person can be described as a "travel agent", especially when explained to those outside of the company, such as when you are telling your niece about traveling through work.

12/22/2009 8:16:35 PM

Quote :

"KaYaK you're kind of a huge fucking douchebag."

12/22/2009 9:37:02 PM

12/22/2009 9:48:22 PM

Someone inside a company who arranges travel for employees is not a travel agent.

I don't care if I am coming across as a dick. You^ are coming across like a complete moron for thinking a travel agent is the best way to go.

12/22/2009 10:02:51 PM

God forbid someone uses the term travel agent to refer to someone within her company. I'm done fueling your douchebag persona.

12/22/2009 10:14:05 PM

Oh, and guess what. That lady in the company arranging the trips, is using the internet to do it.

12/22/2009 10:52:52 PM

Quote :

"not all travel agents are created equal. we used one for our honeymoon to jamaica and there wasn't a fee because he gets his commission from the resort. he also said he'd beat any online price we could find, which we went home and found, and he beat it by $200."

plz explain KaYaK, since you know seem to anything and everything about the travel industry.

12/22/2009 11:34:34 PM

To further prove Kayak wrong...

The trip I am making to Jackson Hole was booked through the Jackson Hole travel agency. The price they got for airline tickets was $140 LESS A TICKET than the cheapest I could find through every single search engine. They were able to get us a ticket for $360 for the same American Airline flight on all the other sites for $500. On top of it, the hotel room they booked us was $400 cheaper for the entire stay than what I found online, and they paid for 2 of the 8 airline tickets (part of a promotion).

Had I booked it myself, the trip would have cost everyone about $250 more a person.

Granted, this is an extreme example, but dont assume trael agents arent useful.

[Edited on December 22, 2009 at 11:39 PM. Reason : .]

12/22/2009 11:39:15 PM

Yeah I get cheaper air tickets through my job also. He just posted a rant about stuff he knew nothing about.

12/22/2009 11:50:47 PM

^^Yes, extreme example.

^Wow, you get cheaper tickets through your job. Congrats. That has nothing to do with this thread.


Yes, using a broker in a said location can happen. I am referring to travel agents based in a city outside of the place you are preparing to go.

Someone arranging a trip for you to say, the Bahamas, who is in the Bahamas is not a travel agent.

I am referring to people in your city or state that arrange trips for tons of people to tons of places.


The people in the locations have deals with the airlines/hotels for that location agreeing to do all their business with them. So of course they can get you stuff cheaper, but they are not a "travel agent" in the traditional sense.

[Edited on December 23, 2009 at 12:40 AM. Reason : ,]

12/23/2009 12:39:54 AM

^ My job uses a travel agent, ass.

12/23/2009 12:46:48 AM

You are a "terrible troll", in the traditional sense.

[Edited on December 23, 2009 at 12:55 AM. Reason : .]

12/23/2009 12:55:00 AM

^^^ you're still wrong, because the one i used is in greensboro

12/23/2009 12:58:57 AM

took the fam to waimea bay today...fun stuff

12/23/2009 5:09:17 AM

Screw Hawaii, go to Saipan

12/24/2009 2:35:33 AM

just got back from my first trip to hawaii! went to oahu this time, going back feb 17 to kauai for another week

did a lot of the typical stuff since you can't really skip it since most of it is the whole reason for going

here are a few things we did

-hiked up to the pill boxes at lanikai beach. beautiful views, you can see the mokes from here!

-hiked coco head & tried to spot some whales. it was too cloudy so visibility wasn't so good but if you have the fitness for it, i highly recommend this hike. the view at the top is incredible! you can also see hanauma bay from the hike.

-snorkeled hanauma bay. its a total tourist spot but you're guaranteed to see lots of cool shit.

-surfing at the north shore. i didnt surf but i watched and saw a whale! i also saw a sea turtle from the beach so that was a treat since i wasn't snorkeling and looking for one.

-dole pineapple plantation on the way back from north shore. the pineapple ice cream was really good but we skipped the train tour bc it was saturday and crazy busy

-spent new years at a friends condo in waikiki with a view of the ocean and fireworks. waikiki was nice but def overrun with tourists. but if you want to shop this is the place.

-my bf had to work for part of the trip so we bought a beach cruiser and i biked 3.5 miles to lanikai beach 3 days in a row. i had a view of the mokes and could go snorkeling. this was one of my favorite parts of the trip..just laying on the beach :-D

some pics..



side view from pill box hike



you can see the pill box we hiked to from the beach



here are the mokes



climbing coco head. this is about half way up!



thats hanauma bay behind me

[Edited on January 9, 2010 at 7:42 PM. Reason : dkfjjksdjf]

1/9/2010 7:39:37 PM

Quote :

"GREEN SAND BEACH at the bottom tip of the big island. insanely awesome. its about a 2 mile walk in 40 mph wind gusts if you don't have a 4WD, but the walk is actually pretty sweet too."

This was one of the more disappointing things I saw on the Big Island & wasn't really worth the trip down from Kona. Maybe we didn't have the right light or maybe I've seen too much of the California coast to be impressed with the Big Island's southern coast.

Now the Northern part of the Island and the VNP (including hiking to the top of Manoa Loa) was impressive.

1/9/2010 7:53:30 PM