 |
Midwest Airlines Flights from Seattle (SEA) to Honolulu (HNL)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on Midwest Airlines, which operates 2 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Seattle (SEA) to Honolulu (HNL), departing between 8:40am and 5:21pm. Usually a Boeing 757-300 or Airbus A330-300 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Seattle, WA to Honolulu, HI is 6 hours and 7 minutes.*
* Some flights must connect with additional service on this airline.
During your Honolulu vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Hawaiian Railway
All aboard! This is a train ride back into history. Between 1890 and 1947, the chief mode of transportation for Oahu's sugar mills was the Oahu Railway and Land Co.'s narrow-gauge trains. The line carried not only equipment, raw sugar, and supplies, but also passengers from one side of the island to the other. You can relive those days every Sunday with a 1 1/2-hour narrated ride through Ko Olina Resort and out to Makaha. As an added attraction, on the second Sunday of the month, you can ride on the nearly 100-year-old, custom-built parlor-observation car belonging to Benjamin F. Dillingham, founder of the Oahu Railway and Land Co.; the fare is $15 (no kids under 13), you must reserve in advance.
North Shore Surf and Cultural Museum
Even if you've never set foot on a surfboard, you'll want to visit Oahu's only surf museum to learn the history of this Hawaiian sport of kings. This collection of memorabilia traces the evolution of surfboards from an enormous, weathered redwood board made in the 1930s for Turkey Love, one of Waikiki's legendary beach boys, to the modern-day equivalent -- a light, sleek, racy, foam-and-fiberglass board made for big-wave surfer Mark Foo, who drowned while surfing in California in 1994. Other items include classic 1950s surf-meet posters, 1960s surf-music album covers, old beach movie posters with Frankie Avalon and Sandra Dee, the early black-and-white photos by legendary surf photographer LeRoy Grannis, and trophies won by surfing's greatest. Curator Steve Gould is working on a new exhibit of surfing in the ancient Hawaiian culture, complete with Hawaiian artifacts.
USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park
The USS Bowfin is 1 of only 15 World War II submarines still in existence today. You can go below deck of this famous submarine -- nicknamed the "Pearl Harbor Avenger" for its successful attacks on the Japanese -- and see how the 80-man crew lived during wartime (kids love this). The Bowfin Museum has an impressive collection of submarine-related artifacts. The Waterfront Memorial honors submariners lost during World War II. Allow 3 hours to a half-day for a visit.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Honolulu area, including:
Turtle Bay Resort
This property has recently undergone a management change (for years it was a Hilton) and just completed a $35 million massive renovation. When the resort was built 30 years ago, there was hope that it would become a "gaming operation" (i.e. Las Vegas-type gambling), but that never materialized. With the renovations, the lobby is open and airy with floor to ceiling windows to the dramatic ocean shoreline view. The resort is spectacular: an hour's drive from Waikiki, but eons away in its country feeling. Sitting on 808 acres, this place is loaded with activities and 5 miles of shoreline with secluded white-sand coves. It's located on Kalaeokaunu Point ("point of the altar"), where ancient Hawaiians built a small altar to the fish gods. The altar's remains are now at the Bishop Museum, but it's easy to see why the Hawaiians considered this holy ground.All the rooms have ocean views and balconies. The renovated rooms feature marble floors and counter tops in the bathroom, good reading lamps over the beds and comfy bedding. The 42 separate beach cottages have been renovated (hardwood floors, poster beds with feather comforters, even a personalized butler) and have their own check-in and private concierge (like a hotel within a hotel).The biggest change is the new Zen-like spa with six treatment rooms, a meditation waiting area, an outdoor workout area, plus complete fitness center and a private elevator to the rooms on the second floor, reserved for guests getting spa treatments.Facilities: 4 restaurants (from a terrific Sun brunch to casual local cuisine); 2 bars (live entertainment Thurs-Sat at the Bay Club Lounge, plus a poolside bar for sunset cocktails); 2 outdoor heated pools (with 55-ft. water slide); 36 holes of golf; 10 Plexipave tennis courts; spa with complete fitness center; 3 Jacuzzis; watersports equipment rentals; concierge; activity desk; business center; shopping arcade; salon; room service; babysitting; coin-op washer/dryers; laundry service; dry cleaning.
Queen Kapiolani Hotel
Named for Queen Kapiolani (1834-99), the wife of Hawaii's last king, David Kalakaua (1836-91), this hotel harks back to the days of the Hawaiian monarchs. The 19th-century flavor of the place reflects those grand days, with 10-foot chandeliers in the main dining room and a full-size portrait of the queen in the lobby. The plush decor, however, doesn't extend to the budget rooms, which are quite small. For just a few bucks more, get the superior room. Not only is it double in size, but also its shoreline views are vastly superior. The property's location is great: just across the street from Kapiolani Park, a half-block to the beach, and within walking distance of the Honolulu Zoo, the Waikiki Aquarium, and the activities of Waikiki, including municipal tennis courts.
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.
|
|

|