It's Aloha Friday and that means we answer questions from podcast listeners. If you have a question you would like us to discuss and answer just email us at [email protected] and we'll answer the question on our Friday show. This week we hear from Milton who wanted to share his experience in Hawaii during his vacation.

On his first trip in 07 to Hawaii his cousin showed them the sights and his favorite places. They thought it was a great way to remember his cousin who took them snorkeling Hanauma Bay, The Shorebird, north shore, Wal-Mart, they had great times together. We also answer Lisa's question abut what restaurants will be open Christmas day, she is looking for something affordable while she is vacationing in Hawaii. We also have advice fro Jamie who is looking for a good company for a fishing charter on Oahu.

Hawaii Vacation News nuggets

Still riding the momentum gained from the peak summer travel season, Hawaii saw healthy boosts in both visitor arrivals and spending in September. Total arrivals increased 8.9 percent to 538,516 visitors and total visitor expenditures climbed 22.2 percent to $880.2 million compared to the same month last year. That translates to $160.1 million more spent by visitors in September than a year ago. HTA officials attribute the boost to higher daily visitor spending, which averaged $185.60 per person in September, up 11.5 percent from a year ago.

Nearly seven of every 10 Hawaii hotel rooms were full this past week, a marked improvement from last year, when approximately six of 10 were full. The average statewide occupancy rate was 69.5 percent for the week ending Oct. 30, up 8 percentage points from the same week last year. Oahu's occupancy rate was the highest: 79.7 percent, 6.6 percentage points higher than the same week a year ago. Maui saw the highest percentage point increase over last year — 11.3 points for an occupancy rate of 61.1 percent. Kauai's occupancy rate was 60.6 percent, up 5.6 percentage points from a year ago, and the Big Island's occupancy rate was 53.2 percent — 7.7 percentage points higher than last year. The statewide average room rate was 1 percent high