"I used Hawaii.com and a special from the Hawaii.com newsletter to reserve two nights at the Sheraton Waikiki, along with a sunset cruise (on the Outrigger catamaran that leaves from Waikiki Beach). I shopped many sites for pricing and availability and found the best deal through the newsletter. Also, booking the sunset cruise as part of the package was very easy and a great deal. If you do this, REMEMBER to print and bring your cruise voucher, as it's proof that you pre-paid. You must have it when you check in for your cruise at the Outrigger desk.

"My bride, Diane, and I had a rental car, which gave us the freedom to explore Oahu at will. I recommend this, unless you plan to stay in a single area of the island your whole visit.

"We stayed four nights in a private home on the North Shore (Sunset Beach). I found this, and many other options, through a Web site offering vacation rentals by owner and struck up an e-mail dialogue with the owner of the rental we chose. Once I started talking with the owner, I was able to get some insider tips and information. Our rental home was a short, 2-minute walk to the beach, which was great. We didn't need to drive or worry about our belongings, and felt very safe in the house, which was up a dead-end residential street with only 14 homes on it.

"I strongly recommend asking locals for tips in addition to scouring the Web for information. We did a luau at Paradise Cove, but did not book it in advance, as we weren't sure which one we would end up choosing or which night we would be going.

"Another thing that really helped was on the first night in Hawaii, Diane and I each wrote a list of six things we wanted to do on the Island. They were divided into an A and B group, then we traded the lists and discussed and planned the other activities we would do. As a result, we did a Pearl Harbor tour one morning (get there before 10 to avoid a long wait) and snorkeled at Hanauma Bay in the afternoon. We also had "beach time" on our lists, and planned an entire day of nothing but relaxing on the beach. Since we had a vacation home, we were able to cook-in that day, along with making breakfast at our leisure. We would certainly take this approach again, as we were able to do things on our schedule and enjoy our time together so much more than had we been eating out every meal.

"We spent a whole day exploring Waikiki — the sights, the shopping, the dining were all great and something we would have liked to have more time to do.

"Looking back, one thing we would do differently is plan more idle time. I suggest a beach day every other day, as it gave us a chance to really relish the Paradise that is Hawaii. We also would probably extend our stay by a few days, as the worst part of the whole week is that feeling you get the morning of your departure. Your mind scrambles to find a way to stay another day, at least, then reality sets in when you return the rental car and wind your way through security at Honolulu Airport and finally board the plane.

"One thing is certain...we WILL be back. Often!

Aloha!!"

— Al & Diane in Nevada