 |
Continental Airlines Flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Continental Airlines, which operates a daily non-stop flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL) regularly scheduled to depart at 2:57pm and arrive at 6:27pm. Usually a Boeing 757-300 is flown for this route. The average travel time from San Francisco, CA to Honolulu, HI is 5 hours and 30 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
During your Honolulu vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Dream Cruises
If you aren't lucky enough to be in Hawaii during humpback-whale season (roughly Dec-Apr), you can go dolphin-watching instead. Dream Cruises offers year-round dolphin-watching cruises that check out friendly pods of bottle-nosed and spinner dolphins near Yokahama Bay on the northern end of Oahu. This might be your only chance to get "up-close and personal" with these protected marine mammals. During whale season, the company guarantees that if you don't see whales, you can sail again for free. Departing from the Kewalo Basin is a range of cruises, including a snorkel/splash tour that anchors off Waikiki for snorkeling, swimming, and lunch; and a 2-hour sunset dinner-and-dancing cruise with views of the Waikiki skyline.
Turtle Bay Resort
This North Shore resort is home to two of Hawaii's top golf courses. The 18-hole Arnold Palmer Course (formerly the Links at Kuilima) was designed by Arnold Palmer and Ed Seay. Turtle Bay used to be labeled a "wind tunnel"; it still is one, though the casuarina (ironwood) trees have matured and dampened the wind somewhat. But Palmer and Seay never meant for golfers to get off too easy; this is a challenging course. The front nine, with rolling terrain, only a few trees, and lots of wind, play like a British Isles course. The back nine have narrower, tree-lined fairways and water. The course circles Punahoolapa Marsh, a protected wetland for endangered Hawaiian waterfowl.Another option is the George Fazio Course -- the only one Fazio designed in Hawaii -- a par-71, 6,200-yard course. Larry Keil, pro at Turtle Bay, says that people like the Fazio course because it's more of a forgiving resort course, without the water hazards and bunkers of the more challenging Palmer course. The sixth hole has two greens so you can play the hole as a par-3 or a par-4. The toughest hole has to be the par-3, 176-yard second hole, where you tee off across a lake with the trade winds creating a mean crosswind. The most scenic hole is the seventh, where the ocean is on your left; if you're lucky, you'll see whales cavorting in the winter months. Facilities include a pro shop, driving range, putting and chipping green, and snack bar. Weekdays are best for tee times.
Puu o Mahuka Heiau
Go around sundown to feel the mana (sacred spirit) of this Hawaiian place. The largest sacrificial temple on Oahu, it's associated with the great Kaopulupulu, who sought peace between Oahu and Kauai. This prescient kahuna predicted that the island would be overrun by strangers from a distant land. In 1794, three of Captain George Vancouver's men of the Daedalus were sacrificed here. In 1819, the year before New England missionaries landed in Hawaii, King Kamehameha II ordered all idols here to be destroyed.A national historic landmark, this 18th-century heiau, known as the "hill of escape," sits on a 5-acre, 300-foot bluff overlooking Waimea Bay and 25 miles of Oahu's wave-lashed North Coast -- all the way to Kaena Point, where the Waianae Range ends in a spirit leap to the other world. The heiau appears as a huge rectangle of rocks twice as big as a football field (170 ft. by 575 ft.), with an altar often covered by the flower and fruit offerings left by native Hawaiians.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Honolulu area, including:
Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki
The first hotel at the entrance to Waikiki is this striking $150 million modern structure (actually, twin 33-story high-tech towers with a view). Though it's expensive, it's a spectacular and very popular hotel. The high-ceilinged lobby is a mass of pink Italian marble with English slate accents; a grand piano sits in the midst of the raised seating area, where high tea is served every afternoon. A glass-encased elevator with views of all of Honolulu whisks you up to your room. All bedrooms face the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, with floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass windows that let you enjoy the view (sorry, no lanais). All of the comfortably appointed rooms are basically the same, but the higher the floor, the higher the price.Following Japanese standards, the level of service is impeccable; no detail is ignored, no request is too small. The location is perfect for shopping -- Ala Moana Center is a 10-minute walk away -- and Waikiki's beaches are just a 5-minute walk away (both are also accessible via the hotel's own shuttle).Facilities: 2 excellent restaurants (Japanese, Hawaii regional cuisine and a terrific buffet at a great price); outdoor bar; outdoor pool; 27-hole golf club a half-hour drive away in Ewa Beach (reached by hotel shuttle); small but newly renovated exercise room; Jacuzzi; concierge; car-rental desk; business center; room service (6am-midnight); babysitting; coin-op washer/dryers; laundry service; dry cleaning; executive-level rooms.
Royal Kuhio
Families, take note: This is one of the best deals in Waikiki. All the units in this high-rise condo are privately owned, and some are owner-occupied. Several companies handle apartments here, but Paradise Management offers some of the best deals. Each of its units has a full kitchen, separate bedrooms, and a living area with a lanai. Because the units are individually owned, they're all decorated and furnished uniquely. It's 2 blocks from Waikiki Beach and within walking distance of everything else of interest. And this is one of the few places in Waikiki where parking is free. Hot tips: Ask for a corner unit (they're the nicest); if you plan to go in February, be sure to book a year in advance (it's the condo's busiest month).
Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel
After a $30 million renovation on a very old and tired hotel, Aston opened this kitschy 717-room (85% with ocean views) property in late 2002. The location could not be better -- directly across the street from the beach. The rooms couldn't be smaller. The theme is Hawaiian nostalgia with a "contemporary island feel." But what you really have is a former budget hotel that has been repainted (garish colors -- screaming yellow or disgusting red), and a few decorating oddities that do not work. For example, the closets have beaded curtains (instead of doors) of a hula dancer who dances when the wind blows through. Sounds great, but not practical, every time you go into your closet you have to fight with the *#@! beads. We stayed here just a month after the opening and already the beaded curtain was falling apart. In the bathroom, another impractical idea is the arched shower curtain for a rectangle bathtub. Every time you take a shower, the semi-circle shower curtain lets all the water run on the floor. One of the good ideas is the "Breakfast on the Beach" deal where you get a free breakfast, which you can pack up in an insulated carrying bag and walk across the street to eat. This is a full, hot breakfast too, with several food stations offering everything from burritos (veggie, ham or cheese), pastries, fruit, and cereals to Japanese breakfast of miso, rice, and fish. If you can get a hot deal on the Internet ($104 was the going rate when we stayed here), it's worth it. But if you have to pay rack rates, you can do better.
|
|
|
