All about travel!

Welcome to the Aloha Travel Information Center! Here you can find a great deal of useful information about travelling. Please feel free to browse the site and learn as much as possible!

Airfaire and Lodging

Flying overseas is complicated enough, let alone having to figure out what is a good or not so good airfare. Aloha Travel has access to wholesalers that often provide tickets at less than published fares that start you with savings right off the bat. Add to that private apartments in a number of countries, especially in Europe, that are often better values than standard hotel rooms, and you have the foundation for a wonderful travel experience. Train tickets, rental cars, various attractions...we have what it takes to make your arrangements complete. Aloha Travel uses a number of suppliers to ensure that your arrangements are the best value for your travel budget. One call or e-mail does it all....let Aloha Travel set you on your way!

When should holiday travel be planned?

I know there seems to be lots of time between now and the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break holidays, but the truth is that now is the time to get your travel plans lined up and to think about coming to see us at Aloha Travel for your arrangements.

It’s an all-too-common occurrence—the family that visits our office a month before the holiday and wants to set up their trip, and availability is either extremely slim or totally gone. While we are very appreciative of the opportunity and will do all we can to get them what they are looking for, the reality is that one month before travel is too late to be booking. In fact, even three months ahead is too late for late March travel out of many cities.

Once the school district calendar is published, it will be looked over by many families in in order to plan their trips. The beginning of the school year is the ideal time to get holiday plans worked out, especially Spring Break. It is hard to overstress, the fact that Spring Break gets incredibly busy very quickly, especially to warm weather places, and in particular Hawaii.

Give us a call or drop on by and we’ll take some time to help you figure out what you and your family can do for the holidays. Believe us, it is not too early. If you are planning Spring Break or Christmas travel, you owe it to yourself to get the proper head start, and that is with a little helping hand from Aloha Travel.

What is the difference between the internet and a travel agent?

We get asked often “what is the difference between what I can find on the Internet and what you can do for me?” That’s certainly a fair question, and one that we're happy to try to answer.

It’s not an easy question to address, really. Both the Internet and the average travel agent have immense resources to draw from with regard to travel arrangements and prices. Both can provide you with plenty of information for you to base your final travel decisions. But there are certainly differences.

One aspect the Internet can be extremely competitive is domestic airfares. It’s no secret that airlines can discount their flights on their own websites or other multi-airline sites to price their flights lower than travel agents. That’s just the way things are these days and that likely won’t change soon. But aside from simple one-way or round-trip itineraries, the Internet loses its advantage. For those needing multiple stops on their travel itinerary, many online sites simply can’t do that, but the travel agent can, and often with multiple ways of finding that optimal flight and price. Another fact of air travel that online sites can’t help with is the relative condition of flights (in essence, how full or empty they might be). We can see each flight and advise our travelers accordingly on whether their choices are best or if there are any alternatives that might work well, and perhaps priced even lower than the original.

Another online disadvantage, in a sense, is that it can overwhelm travelers with data, making things seem awful confusing. This happens often when working on vacation packages to places like Disneyland, Hawaii and Mexico. You can get sensory overload staring that the computer screen for hours, trying to fine tune that family trip. Those are the situations where we can really help out. A good travel agent will consult with you and present facts and figures in a clear and understandable manner, explaining why certain flights or hotels may or may not be suited for you and your family.

One additional point….travel agents are here to help when things don’t quite go as planned, whereas many online sites leave you in the lurch and to your own capacities. While we never want things to go wrong to the point of needing to contact your agent, nonetheless we are here to get things straight to the best of our abilities.

Next time you’re thinking about a family trip, or any trip for that matter, give us a call or an e-mail. We are here to help at Aloha Travel.

Overall when are the best times of year to travel?

There are two months of the year that seem to be best suited for travel, if price and crowds (and depending on where you’re going, weather) are important: May and November. Those two months are historically not crowded, so the prices are more reasonable than other months. May is between the Spring Break and Summer vacation periods, and November is between the end of Summer and the first major school break of the year, Thanksgiving vacation. The rule of thumb: if kids are out of school, it will likely be a premium time to travel.

There are also distinct “high seasons” for some places. For instance, Mexico and Hawaii’s peak season lasts from mid-December through March. The same goes for the Caribbean, as well as cruises to tropical destinations. With Europe, it’s just the opposite. That is a super time of year to get the best prices, if you don’t mind the weather.

The Alaska cruise peak season runs from June through August. The overall season begins in late April or early May, and ends in mid September.

Tips for Families Traveling

Traveling with smaller children or seniors that may be mobility challenged requires knowledge and flexibility,  Here are just a few things to keep in mind when you're going alone on your trip....

- If you haven't traveled by plane in the past few years, know that airport security procedures are much more restrictive that ever before, and with small kids and seniors that don't move quickly, it will take some extra time to get through the screenings, whether it be clearing out their pockets of all metallic objects or removing shoes.  If your flight is in between 6 and 9am, allow even more time, as that is a busy time at any airport.

- If you have children along, remember to pack two important things in their carry on luggage or backpacks:  entertainment and snacks.  It's especially important if your child is, for instance, diabetic, where meals and snacks are most critical.  Throwing a few treats in along with the IPod or Nintendo will make everyone's plane ride (and airport stay) more enjoyable.

- Consider checking in online 24 hours before your flight time to save you time and effort at the airport the next day.  Online checkin is one of the neatest features to come along in the past few years and can help toward eliminating having to wait in those seemingly long lines at the ticket counter.  It makes even more sense with kids traveling with parents, as the time saved is multiplied and well appreciated.

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