What the other posters have said is true ... flights fill up quickly in Hawaii so it is best to book now if you know when you plan on travelling. Last time I travelled there were only a couple of airlines in Hawaii for interisland travel (Hawaiian and Go, could be more now) and both had different fares for each flight, and of course the cheaper fares will sell out sooner. If you wait until you get there you might end up only being able to find first-class seating and trust me, first-class for interisland travel is sooo not worth the extra expense. The flights are super short from island to island so do whatever you can to avoid paying for first-class seats that are not much more comfy than the regular ones.Your question mentions booking with a travel agency - check out rates on your own and compare them to travel agency rates. I know a lot of times it can be cheaper with travel agencies since they can buy in bulk. However, you will most likely find better deals on your own and avoid the middle man. Try the airlines Web sites first and compare to your travel agency rates. Or call a travel agency that is Hawaii based, like Panda.Also last tip - make sure to get your frequent flier miles for the interisland travel. I fly Hawaiian Airlines for interisland travel but was always able to get Northwest WorldPerks miles for those flights.Happy travels!
It s a toss up. If you wait until you get here, you will probably pay a little more than if you book a few weeks ahead of time. You may end up flying at a time of day you d rather not, or flying on a 9-seater (those are better for photography than they are for digestion). But unless you re traveling at a time of high traffic, you re not likely to get stranded on an island for an extra day or anything like that. Plenty of people do wait until they get here to make those interisland reservations. If you are very particular in your vacation planning (like me), where you know almost exactly what you are going to do on each day of your vacation, then you may want to book ahead of time. Also, if you are going to the smaller islands like Molokai or Lanai, you definitely want to make your arrangements ahead of time. Transportation to those places is so limited that a high school wrestling tournament, for example, could take up all the available seats for a weekend.
When I went to Kaua i and Maui a few years ago I booked it as a single multi-destination trip on Hawaiian Airlines and I think it saved me some money. Another advatage is that your return trip doesn t have to be from the same island you started on. Let s say you re planning to start out on Oahu. If you book only your round trip from home to Oahu and book your other flights later, you have to fly back to Oahu before you return home. If you book it as a multi-destination trip from the start, you could fly from Oahu to another island and fly home from there. That s one less flight and a lot less hassle.I d book directly through the airline s web site rather than using a travel agency. Travel agents add on service charges.
Book ahead of time directly with the airlines. There are 3 airlines that fly interisland:www.iflygo.com (Go! Airlines)www.hawaiianairlines.com (Hawaiian)www.mokulele.com (Mokulele)If you have less than 10 days in Hawaii, I don t recommend visiting more than 2 islands. There just isn t enough time to see the things you want to see on each island and you will spend a good portion of your vacation packing, waiting in airports, and turning in rental cars. Not fun.
Honestly, just to save yourself the trouble and stress, I d book them prior to leaving. The flights may be totally booked if you wait, or you may have to pay a lot more than you would if you bought ahead of time. If you re coming here on vacation, you won t want to have to stress about getting flights to the other islands.
Do it youself online. there are quite a few sites that you can search that will likely give you the best prices available. check out the website BookMe and you will be able to compare prices on all the reputable travel sites in just a couple minutes. it s very convenient and will save you a bunch of time and money. Also, make sure you buy them online... otherwise they charge much higher fees for phone orders. good luck.