There are a lot of little things about preparing for Hawaii vacation that visitors may (and often) forget before making a trip to the Aloha State. Aloha Bruce and Emmy Award winner Lanai Tabura, both highly experienced world travelers, offer their Hawaii Vacation tips on those sometimes overlooked details on our latest Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast.

Bruce reminds us that reviewing your travel documents often is key. Lanai admits to turning up to the airport on a wrong day more than once because he wasn’t careful about reviewing his printed itineraries.

Lanai says that often people don’t use travel documents because everything is booked online now. Our hosts talk about how relying on customer reviews on a variety of websites don’t offer the kind of local knowledge that will make a Hawaii vacation truly unique, rewarding, and unforgettable. Bruce & Lanai share laughs over bad reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other things that don’t offer any real insight into a Hawaii vacation experience.

Lanai talks about the benefits of packing light, and that there are laundry services throughout the Aloha State that make it easy to keep your Hawaii vacation baggage load to a minimum. Lanai marvels at the fact that people will bring blankets and pillows onto their flight, and that in his extensive travels, he sees it all the time. “Bring a jacket,” he says.

Bruce notes that people nowadays are booking their travel far in advance of their desired dates for cheaper fares, so it’s important to know what you’ve actually booked.

Aloha Bruce reminds listeners that even a driver's license may be invalid for identification purposes if it doesn’t have the “gold star” now issued with new licenses and state identification cards. Lanai says that he uses a passport card to make travel easier and efficient.

Bruce offers his insight into “direct connect rates” and how important it is to book at least three months out. He prefers booking far in advance and says that he’s already doing a lot of booking for the end of 2020 already. “Don’t procrastinate, people!” says Lanai.

Our hosts discuss other important Hawaii Vacation Tips including the importance of paying attention to terms and conditions, and that cancellation fee policies often take customers by surprise. Lanai says that booking through an actual person or agency like Hawaii Aloha Travel is the best way to avoid cancellation fees if something goes wrong before or during your Hawaii vacation. Both Bruce and Lanai agree that they have many repeat customers precisely because of the personal service that they enjoy.

Our hosts agree that trying to visit multiple islands in the Aloha State during a short Hawaii vacation is not a good idea. Lanai says that for a weeklong Hawaii vacation, it’s best to limit your interisland travel to two islands, whichever they may be. Bruce says that ideally, you should plan four days for each island. Bruce and Lanai talk about how much time is spent traveling between islands and airports, even though the flights are under an hour.

The experts talk about how to make the most of the time you have for your Hawaii vacation. Lanai talks about recent clients that made plans for a trip to Hana on Maui without taking into account the time it takes, and that he was able to reroute their itinerary to maximize their enjoyment. Bruce and Lanai share their unique insight on how to plan a Maui trip while taking road traffic into consideration.

Our hosts note that being flexible during a Hawaii vacation (or any vacation) is the key to making the most of it. Lanai offers tips about traveling with children and says that it’s a good idea to bring their homework along if they’re going to miss school for the trip.

Bruce reminds listeners all of Hawaii Aloha Travel’s customized packages and tours and encourages everyone to find HAT and Lanai Tabura on their social media platforms. No one knows Hawaii better!