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EXPIRED Hawaii: Pleasant Holidays vacation packages

L.A. Times User Pics, Hawaii/Maui photo gallery With fall airfares to Hawaii so low, is it still possible to save more money by buying a vacation package to the islands? Having looked at Orbitz’s offerings in a previous post, I decided to investigate another travel discounter I’d used before when booking trips to Hawaii, Pleasant Holidays. They’re advertising $100 off Hawaii vacations for travel until September 19th, or a $150 activity credit for trips taken between September 20th and December 31st, 2007.

Deal or No Deal? When I tried booking a week-long vacation at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the Big Island in mid-September, the Pleasant Holidays package for two people, including round-trip flights from LAX, hotel room and a compact rental car, cost $3508, including taxes and fees. When I tried reserving that same vacation directly with American Airlines and the hotel, which is offering room-and-rental-car deals on its website, I paid $3086.82, a savings of more than $420.

Then I tried booking a budget-conscious vacation to Maui for eight days in late September and early October. The Pleasant Holidays package price for two, including round-trip flights from LAX, a garden-view room at the Aston Maui Lu in Kihei and a compact rental car, was $1667. The DIY (do-it-yourself) price for booking directly with American Airlines, ResortQuest Hawaii and Alamo Rent a Car was $2029.03, over $360 more than with Pleasant Holidays.

Have you had a good or bad trip with Pleasant Holidays? Tell us about it by posting in the Comments section below.

When: To get the advertised special savings, you must book your Hawaii vacation with Pleasant Holidays by August 11th, 2007.

Caveat: When I booked my Pleasant Holidays vacation package online, there was no confirmation that I had been given either the $100 discount or the $150 activity credit, so it may be best to book these special deals via phone instead.

Why Go: Pleasant Holidays has been around since 1959, so they’re one of the most reliable travel agents selling Hawaii vacation packages.

Why Not: You’re always taking more of a risk when you book your flight, hotel and car through a middleman instead of directly with the airline, hotel and rental car company. You also have to do additional research, to see if the travel agency is truly offering you a better deal or not.

Critique: The Pleasant Holidays online booking agent is not simple to use. Also, it was unavailable during the late evening hours several times over the past week, which made finding and pricing their vacation packages more difficult.

Connect: Almost all of the hotels that are bookable through Pleasant Holidays offer Internet access for guests; various surcharges usually apply.

Contact: Pleasant Holidays, (800) 742-9244

– Sara Benson, L.A. Times Travel Deal Detective

[Photo credit: L.A. Times User Pics]

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 2, 2007 at 4:40 pm by Sara Benson and is filed under Fall, Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Kauai, Maui, Oahu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.

One Comment on “EXPIRED Hawaii: Pleasant Holidays vacation packages”

Laurie Says:
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:58 pm
We traveled last November to the Hapuna Prince and Booked directly with the hotel (best price). This was helpful for two reasons. First, we got exactly the room we wanted with breakfast and a resort credit. Second, after joining Prince’s loyalty club we were not require to pay in advance (not even a deposit). It’s a beautiful and resonable hotel. We also booked airline directly to avoid changes and to get a United Flight with the option of Economy Plus. On a long flight, two seats side by side with extra room was a joy.