There are many options on the Internet for finding best priced flights when you know the destination airport.   We have been flying to the Big Island for years from the mainland and other Islands and wanted to pass along some use tips when searching for the best flight price and times.

First if you are staying on the Kohala Coast (Mauna Lani, Waikoloa, Mauna Kea) or in Kailua-Kona then you will want to fly into the Kona Airport (Code: KOA).   The Kona airport is an outdoor airport by the sea.   When you land you will walk off a ramp or stairs onto the tarmac like it was years ago. They have been able to maintain an outdoor airport without jetways and terminal due to the year round warm sunny weather.

There is a second airport on the island in Hilo (Code: ITO).   This airport has far fewer flights from the mainland and is a 90 minute drive the resort areas so Kona is generally preferred.

Flying from the Mainland

There are a few routes to get to Kona from the mainland.

1. Nonstop flights to Kona (Direct Nonstop flights from Vancouver BC (YVR), Seattle (SEA), Portland (PDX) , San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SAN), Phoenix (PHX), Anchorage (ANC) – seasonal , Chicago (ORD) and Denver (DEN).   The airlines flying these planes are typically 757 and 737 jets with economy seating 3+3. There are a few widebody jets including the Chicago 787 flight and occasionally the San Francisco flights on 767s

2. Connecting via Honolulu.  If you are flying from any other city than above its sometimes useful to consider flying to Honolulu and taking the 25 minute connecting Hawaiian Airlines, Mokulele Airlines or  Island Air to Kona.   There are larger planes that fly direct to Honolulu (HNL) from New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Washington DC (IAD), Houston (IAH), Chicago (ORD), Salt Lake City (SLC), Atlanta (ATL), Dallas (DFW), Toronto (YYZ), Calgary (YYC), and Vancouver (YVR) in addition to the cities above.   The airlines often use larger 767 or 777 wide-bodied planes for these routes which feel more spacious and sometimes have features like WiFi Internet (for a fee).

We have sometimes found that flights are dramatically less expensive when flying through Honolulu versus the direct flight to Kona.   Some of the tips we look at are:

1. Price the round trip to Kona direct or connecting through one of the mainland cities above.
2. Price the round trip to Kona specifying Honolulu as a stop. This can be done by selecting airport experience or pricing as a multiple destination flight.

We sometimes try combinations where we pick multiple destination on the airline site and price from mainland city to Kona but then Honolulu back to mainland city.     Of course you will need to book a Kona to Honolulu short flight leg on an inter-island airline if you use this approach.  If you do this check with the airline as to whether they will allow “inter-airline” baggage tagging so that you won’t have to pick up your bags in Honolulu.  If you do need to pick up your bags and re-check in, make sure to allow for sufficient time between flights!

Flying from another Island

When flying between the Hawaiian islands you will need to take one of three airlines (Hawaiian Airlines, Mokulele, and Island Air).   Hawaiian Airlines flies the bigger jets while the others fly smaller turbo props.     The airlines are smart and know that a large number of their customers are tourists that typically checkout of a home or hotel in the morning and then travel in the time before the check-in time at the home or hotel at their destination. This means flights between 10am and 4pm tend to be much more expensive (as much as double ) the costs of flights earlier or later.   If you can book well in advance or have flexible travel times you can save some money.   You can fly direct from Kona to Honolulu, Oahu (HNL) and Kahalui, Maui (OGG).

Flying from Japan

Nonstop flights from Tokyo to Kona are planned to resume in July 2023. Kona is the only other airport other than Honolulu in Hawaii with a customs clearing facility allowing nonstop flights from Tokyo. This will make it easier for guests from Japan to visit the Big Island without having to connect via Honolulu.

Flying from the Rest of the World.

We see lots of guests from all over the world.   There are flights from China, Korea, New Zealand and Australia to Honolulu and then its an easy 25 minute connection to Kona.   Flying from Europe usually involves flying to Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago or New York.   Despite the long distance and 11 or 12 hour timezone change people from all over the world come to the Big Island for its amazing weather, beaches and of course the Lava!

Where ever you are traveling from we hope you find an amazing deal and have safe travels to Paradise.

Spending the winters away from the cold harsh winters is a dream for many Canadians.   For these “snowbirds” what better place is there than Hawaii to realize that dream. Whether you are ready to start being a snowbird right away or purchasing a home in Hawaii in preparation for some day there are certain things to consider specific to Canadians.

First thing you will have to consider is whether your will need to borrow money to purchase your dream home.    As Canadians there are a number of options including:

1. US Mortgage from US Financial Institution

This scenario involves approaching a US bank or lending institution that is familiar with Canadians.   It is often difficult to find a lender that understands what the CRA are and what a T4 is.   They won’t understand you do not have a W2 and a 1040.   Also an excellent credit rating in Canada is not the same as a US credit rating. Ironically the same rating companies exist on both sides of the border.   The US lending system requires a massive amount of paperwork so before you go down this path make sure to ask if the lender has dealt with Canadians before and successfully helped them get funded.

2. US Mortgage from US Division of Canadian Bank

RBC Bank is the one US affiliate of a Canadian bank that has a US division that can do mortgages in Hawaii.   The advantage is they understand Canadian credit systems, tax returns and lingo.   They are a good source of potential funding.

3. Leveraging equity in your Canadian Home

For those people that have built up significant equity in their Canadian home, perhaps the easiest way of buying a home in Hawaii is to obtain the funds from their Canadian lender.   By setting up a mortgage or line of credit against your Canadian home, it may give you the cash needed to buy your Hawaii home without the stress and paperwork that go with US lenders.   From a Hawaii perspective the purchase then becomes a simple cash transaction.   It is important to talk to an accountant familiar with US and Canadian tax law to ensure its set up properly and that you can deduct interest.

Looking for more information and help finding your dream home.

Contact us for more assistance:

Jeff Seifert

Realtor R(S)-78074

Paradise in Hawaii Luxury Homes, LP

808-270-1900

vacationrental@paradiseinhawaii.com

You never know how many friends and relatives you have until you own a home in Paradise on the Big Island of Hawaii!

We often hear questions around which homes have the best ROI (return on investment) when making a lifestyle investment in Hawaii. We always recommend first looking at what type of personal usage you want so you can make sure the investment will meet your family’s needs.

That said, there are some differences when purchasing a 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom or 4-bedroom vacation home on the Big Island. There are many factors that influence performance of vacation rentals, including:

• Supply and Demand – How many comparable properties are available for rent? The higher the supply the more work you have to do to stand out from the crowd. For example, there are far fewer 4 bedroom homes than 2 and 3 bedroom homes.
• Location – How close is the home to the pools and beaches? How are the views from the Lanai? These details are huge factors in attracting the best renters.
• Quality of Condo development – How new is the development? How are the amenities? How are the pools? Is there a beach close by? Some of these features really stand out and attract premium vacation renters.
• Other factors – Construction next door to your home can be a big detractor for most vacation renters.

Gourmet Kitchen in one of our Vacation Rental Homes

We have extensively tracked vacation rentals on the Kohala Coast and have found that most homes will rent at the peak times. The real trick when maximizing ROI is to drive occupancy without sacrificing nightly rates.

Hawaii enjoys remarkably consistent and pleasant weather year round. We have found that if you work diligently and have a superb offering that stands out, you can rent homes for 300-330 paid nights a year. There are many things that go into driving that level of success in a vacation home rental investment.

We have worked hard over the years to drive those levels of occupancy.  We have also developed detailed financial models for our 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom homes that we can share with clients.  If you are interested in learning more, please contact Jeff for a discussion how we can help you drive those kinds of levels of success.

Jeff Seifert

Realtor, R(S)-78074

Paradise in Hawaii Luxury Homes, LP

808-270-1900

vacationrental@paradiseinhawaii.com

Exciting volcano news – the current lava flow has changed direction and is now heading into the ocean through the National Park!

According to the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, the lava reached the ocean on July 26th (see map of current lava flow). Some of our guests have been able to hike or ride bikes to the lava flow in order to see the lava up close and feel the heat!

While staying at one of our vacation homes, Shawn and his sons (pictured above) visited the lava flow from the county viewing area at the end of Highway 130 near Kalapana. They rented bicycles when the viewing area opened at 3 pm and rode them down ~4 miles (one way) of loose gravel road to see the flowing lava. Alternatively, guests could hike the 4 miles each way (4-5 hours round trip). We recommend that guests take flashlights, good sturdy footwear, and plenty of water should you choose to visit the county lava viewing area.

For updates on the current lava flow, please visit the Hawaii Volcano Observatory’s website. To learn about accessing the current lava flow (including safety information), please visit the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park website and read the post from July 15th. There are also options for viewing from within the National Park if you plan to spend more time visiting the volcano.

For more ideas on things to do while visiting the National Park, check out our Volcanoes activity page!