Hawaii roundup: Fly inter-island for $28; Mauna Kea Beach Hotel reopens; in-flight sushi on Hawaiian

The Hawaiian islands are begging for a visit. Read the recent post on L.A. Times’ Outposts: “Report: Hawaii’s tourism industry in state of crisis.” If you plan to help the cause with your own dollars — after all, it’s a win-win situation, of benefit to the Hawaii economy, the state’s people and your own well-being — here are a few items to note:

Inter-island flights sale | Hop from one island to another for just $28 one-way, pretax, this month. Mokulele Airlines is having a sale (purchase by April 8 for travel between now and April 30), but I found prices just as low on go! and Hawaiian Airlines.

A fare of $28 one-way amounts to just over $34 after taxes. On all three airlines, I found the $28 rate for Honolulu departures to Kahului, Maui; Lihue, Kauai; or Kailua-Kona on the Big Island.

Airplane food | On Hawaiian Airlines flights between Honolulu and the U.S. mainland, you already get a free meal a la breakfast burrito, pasta or a sandwich, depending on the time of day. But if you’ve got a hankering for something a tad fancier, you can now pay $10 for an “upgraded meal” in economy class. The $10 meals include chicken Caesar salads, Greek salads and even sushi plates. [Pacific Business News]

Hotel reopening | The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, a Prince Resorts Hotel on the Big Island, has just celebrated its official grand opening. The hotel underwent $150 million in renovations, due to damage from a 2006 earthquake. [Honolulu Advertiser]

Whales | Get a glimpse of these sea giants before they move on. On Maui, humpbacks generally hang around until April or May. See these whale-watching tips.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Betty the whale in Maui. Credit: bbf; Your Scene / Los Angeles Times]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 2:45 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Airline travel, Deals, Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Kauai, Maui, News, Tips & Advice, Oahu, Spring. 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.