Hawaii Discount Car Rentals is a travel wholesaler that represents several automobile rental agencies, such as Dollar, Thrifty and Enterprise, on the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Oahu and Molokai. If you travel to the Hawaiian Islands, you will want to rent a car to explore all the wonderful sights that await you. My suggestion would be to rent the smallest, most economical car that will serve your needs. Some of the drives, like the road to Hana on Maui, are on serpentine one-lane roads. In addition, gasoline is between $3.15 and $3.45 per gallon.

On HawaiiDrive-O.com you may compare the rates of up to five rental car agencies. Not all car rentals are available on all islands. Thrifty car rentals are available on all islands except Lanai and Molokai. Find Dollar car rentals on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii. There are also two brands that are designated as A and B. I guess these brand prices may not be advertised.

These rental agencies offer different makes of cars as well as various rates, discounts, services and upgrades. You will want to do your research, so that you may find deals like no surcharge for drivers 21-24 or perhaps an upgrade to a full-sized car. There are several articles on the website that you may want to read here…

If you are on a cruise in the Hawaiian Islands, most of the car rental agencies will pick you up from the pier! Make Your reservations today! Just click here.

My mother, father and older brother and sister were born in New York City. I was the first native born Texan in my family. The first time we visited New York City, I was only five years old and remember being cold, ill, and wondering how Santa Claus was going to find us in a motel in New Jersey. I do remember seeing the Statue of Liberty and visiting family members.

As I grew older, I was happy to visit my family in New York. Growing up within a nuclear family means you miss family reunions, Christmas at Grandma’s and having a safe place to go when you need it. My extended family lived in the Bronx area of NYC. This is a very old part of the NYC and the apartments were built just after WWII. It was always exciting to stay there because you could not plug in more than one appliance at a time or you would blow circuit breakers. However, we could walk to Macy’s and to buy pizza, large hot soft pretzels and Italian ices. I could have lived on those four items.

My mother and I went to New York City three or four times before I left home. Each time, I was a little older and we did more sightseeing. We toured Manhattan and Brooklyn in a double decker bus. I liked the buses much more than the subways. We did use the subways to visit my aunts on my father’s side of the family. We ate lunch in the middle of Manhattan.

One tour gave us a ticket to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but my mom did not like museums, so I went on my own. On the way, I met some young people and found out about all the things to do in New York. I went on a tour of the countryside on a motorcycle with these new friends and saw some truly beautiful lakes and byways within an hour of NYC.

If you are planning to travel to New York or other major city, read the online travel guides at the Trusted Tours & Attractions website. While you are there, make sure you sign up for Trusted Tours & Attractions eNewsletter for a chance to win a $150 iTunes Gift Card!

Happy trails!

Hotels Combined

HotelsCombined.com is a new hotel amenity search engine / price comparison site. I believe Hotels Combined (HC) is linked to more hotel reservation sites than any other hotel price comparison website. Now you may search one website and find the best deal.

Navigation

I really like how the first page brings up what you need to plan a vacation. On the top of the page is calendar loaded check in and check out dates, number of guests in party and number of rooms requested. This will bring up rooms that are available and are the right size for your traveling party.

On the bottom half of the first page, you have three choices:

1. Browse by country on the HC website to locate the geographical region to which you want to travel.

2. Search by hotel name if you have a favorite place to stay or if you enrolled in a hotel award program.

3. Search for another city.

When you have entered your search parameters, click SEARCH.

Refining Your Search

The next page will contain broad search results, so begin by narrowing down the list. Choose your currency from the drop down list. You will need to pay in US$, but putting the rates into your own frame of reference will help you decide on a hotel.

Price is certainly a consideration, so enter your Minimum and Maximum Price per night. There is no sense looking for sold out hotels, so uncheck Show Sold Out Hotels. Now decide if you will stay in a one-star hotel or a two-star hotel. If not, uncheck these Star Ratings.

Amenities Listed

Now, we come to the amenities. The following is not a complete list of amenities, but it is a good place to begin. To find out about hot breakfasts, manager happy hour and other extras, you must read the hotel page.

• Business Center is for using a computer if you do not have one, ordering media equipment for a meeting, sending faxes and making copies. A business center is helpful if you are traveling on business.
• Room Service is nice but usually you pay up to 20% gratuity for the person bringing it. However, this means there is a restaurant on the premises.
• High-speed Internet is what you need to stay in touch on the road.
• Fitness Room is almost a necessity in today’s fast-paced work world.
• Restaurant on site is good, but usually the prices are higher than neighborhood places, but you can sign the charge to your room.
• Parking may not seem like a big deal until you pull into a big city and find out that in addition to parking charges, you must use their valet service and are expected to tip the valet who brings your car to you and the one who parks it.
• Swimming Pool goes along with the Fitness Room in that it is a great way to unwind. If you have children with you, it is a necessity.
• Pets Allowed is your way of know that Fluffy will be welcome, but you will be placed in one of the older rooms in the hotel. You may also wind up with fleas.
• Airport Shuttle is a great service in that it will save you much money in taxi and bus fees. Not only that, but you know you will wind up at the hotel in which you are booked.
• Concierge is your best friend if you do not know the city. They make reservations for you, arrange transportation, book a tour of the city, give directions and suggestions.

Our Essential Amenities

Whenever we travel, there are certain amenities that we must have in a hotel. The first thing I need is Internet access in the room, whether wi-fi or Ethernet. For my husband, there must be a large TV with remote control and a working air conditioner.

We both love spas, so a Jacuzzi tub en suite or an outside hot tub and swimming pool are nice. The bed must be comfortable and I need extra pillows for my back. We also look for a dorm-size refrigerator, a microwave and a coffee pot, if not a full kitchenette.

Extras that we also like are self-serve breakfast (usually two chafing dishes with meat and eggs), toast, bagels, waffles, cold cereals, milk, juice and coffee. A very nice touch is a wine social with a light snack and fruit in the evening.

Whether we travel for business, pleasure or both, we have learned how to make the most out of any accommodation.