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I wonder if Corky and her family are the ones being Punk'd. I've never been a fan of travel agents, but now I know for sure I will always plan my own vacation!!
Wow, thanks for the tip on locking things in the car. I should know better, as my car was broken into twice right on my driveway.
As for Maui, my travel agent said it's way too commercial there...
I agree with your travel agent, Maui is way too commercial. Even though Maui is less populous than Oahu, Maui gets four times the visitors that Oahu does. In any given month on Maui visitors outnumber resident. CA ought to just annex Maui there are so many Californians there.
Honolulu has the tourist sights, but when you get on the North Shore and Windward, Oahu is much less touristy and commercial than Maui.
If someone wants the remote, tropical experience, North Shore Oahu or Kauai is the way to go, not Maui.
I agree with your travel agent, Maui is way too commercial. Even though Maui is less populous than Oahu, Maui gets four times the visitors that Oahu does.
Are you the travel agent?
Anyway, your statement is not only false regarding visitor arrivals to Maui - it isn't remotely close.
2013:
Oahu Visitors: 5,100,169
Oahu Only: 3,790,373
Maui Visitors: 2,362,629
Maui Only: 1,448,913
Kauai Visitors: 1,113,523
Kauai Only: 594,817
Big Island: 1,450,247
Kona Side: 1,210,856
Hilo Side: 532,238
Big Island Only: 662,698
Visitor Growth was highest on Oahu at 4%, so not only does Oahu get the most visitors, it is growing the most.
The flaw with "Maui Highlight" is that it represents those who go to Maui - and then on to Oahu.
Please see the official state of Hawaii visitor arrival statistics. It is simply impossible for Maui to have as many visitors as Oahu just by the nature of the number of hotel rooms.
This is my first time using a travel agent. Usually I plan everything, but for this trip, my planning time is limited and with 5 islands, I didn't know what to do. The agent I'm using lives in LA but goes to Hawaii often. She's stayed at all the places she booked us at.
I guess, as with everything, it's all a matter of preference. Oahu will give us some history, some city life, some nature... it seems that everyone in my family will get a little of what they like. Then we go to the big island to Volcano park (then on to the coast for the remainder of the trip).
This is my first time using a travel agent. Usually I plan everything, but for this trip, my planning time is limited and with 5 islands, I didn't know what to do. The agent I'm using lives in LA but goes to Hawaii often. She's stayed at all the places she booked us at.
I guess, as with everything, it's all a matter of preference. Oahu will give us some history, some city life, some nature... it seems that everyone in my family will get a little of what they like. Then we go to the big island to Volcano park (then on to the coast for the remainder of the trip).
Honestly, I planned both of my vacations using one Frommers Hawaii book. I think the best thing it did for me is briefly lay out what I call the character of each island in the span of a few pages (Oahu has both cities and great beaches, Kauai is great for greenery and a much more laid back atmosphere, etc). Reading that helped me pick Oahu the first time and Maui the second time.
Once I picked an island, I went though the dedicated chapter and checked off everything I wanted to do. Frommers has little icons next to each attraction and hotel to denote who may be most interested. For instance, there are icons for kids and teens and as well as couples. Once I checked off the activities, I picked a hotel (the pros and cons of each are in the book), double checked the ratings on Trip Adviser, and booked it. The whole process took me about a week and most of that was carefully combing through the attractions and sites.
Does the agent have kids? What does she like to do? Sometimes how people vacation skews their perception of what makes a good vacation. For instance, I avoid resorts like the plague. I can give adequate advice on small hotels, little shops, shows and festivals that tourists may never hear about, and other things you may miss if you go stay in a tourist trap. But I don't know the first thing about resorts.
I think things will work out for you, but remember there are ways your plan your trip in a fairly short amount of time if you have the correct resources.
Exactly! People need to get a travel book/website to help plan a trip - Frommers, Fodors, TripAdvisor, etc....
Those sites/books are dedicated to travel and are the best source to plan trips.
Forgive me viper, i mean no stink about saying this. But im trying to understand your logic? If someone is moving to hawaii or vacationing, isnt the airfare the same for example. I understand if we are slammed with people asking questions that we would want to priorities things? But we are far from being slammed. Further just my opinion, alot of people who move to Hawai'i do often end up just being longer staying tourists. So why can't we show aloha and answer a tourism question?
Forgive me viper, i mean no stink about saying this. But im trying to understand your logic? If someone is moving to hawaii or vacationing, isnt the airfare the same for example. I understand if we are slammed with people asking questions that we would want to priorities things? But we are far from being slammed. Further just my opinion, alot of people who move to Hawai'i do often end up just being longer staying tourists. So why can't we show aloha and answer a tourism question?
Huh? If you want to show "aloha" - then direct them to a source where they can actually get the question answered - that is the best thing someone can do for them. Travel sites have dedicated itineraries based on length of stay - off the beaten path areas, entertainment ideas, kid suggestions, ratings and comments from users, tips, restaurant reviews, hotel reviews, suggestions based on budget, deals, when to go, etc.....
You don't go to Car and Driver to find an Italian Restaurant do you? You go to Car and Driver to get a review on an Italian Sports Car.
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I've never been a fan of travel agents, but now I know for sure I will always plan my own vacation!!
