Planning Your Trip to Oahu - Honolulu, Waikiki and Oahu - page 368

deals that the toll-free operators are unaware of. If all else fails, try to get the hotel or resort to
upgrade you to a better room for the same price as a budget room, or waive the parking fee or
extra fees for children. Persistence and polite inquiries can pay off.
It's harder to bargain at bed-and-breakfasts. You may be able to negotiate down the min-
imum stay or get a discount if you're staying a week or longer. But generally, a B&B owner
has only a few rooms and has already priced the property at a competitive rate; expect to pay
what's asked.
You have somewhat more leeway to negotiate at vacationrentals and condos. In addition
to asking for a discount on a multinight stay, ask if they can throw in a rental car to sweeten
the deal; believe it or not, they often will.
Booking with an Agency vs. Doing It Yourself
If you don't have the time to call places yourself, you might consider a booking agency.
A statewide booking agent for B&B's is Bed&BreakfastHawaii ( & 800/733-1632 or 808/
822-7771; fax [phone]; www.bandb-hawaii.com ) , offering a range of accommodations
from vacation homes to B&Bs, starting at $65 a night. For vacation rentals, contact Hawaii
BeachfrontVacationHomes ( & 808/247-3637; fax [phone]). HawaiiCondoExchange ( &
800/442-0404; www.hawaiicondoexchange.com ) acts as a consolidator for condo and vacation-
rental properties.
In the past we have gotten letters from our readers asking about the website VacationRent-
als by Owner ( www.vrbo.com ). It is a great website, but we do not recommend it because
several of the owners do not have property managers on site or someone on call—in case the
plumbing goes out at 3am or you cannot figure out how to get the television to work. If you
decide to use this site, be sure to contact the owner and ask if they have someone on call if
there is a problem. If they do have someone on call, find out the details of how quickly that
person will respond: Is the handyman or manager on some kind of retainer so he'll respond
immediately, or will you be just another customer in line and he'll get to you when he gets to
you? This is a small point but it could ruin your vacation.
HONOLULU, WAIKIKI & OAHU
Area Code All the Hawaiian Islands are in the 808 area code. Note that if you're calling one island
from another, you'll have to dial 1-808 first.
Business Hours Most offices are open Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm. Bank hours are
Monday through Thursday from 8:30am to 3pm and Friday from 8:30am to 6pm; some banks are
open on Saturday as well. Shopping centers are open Monday through Friday 10am to 9pm,
Saturday 10am to 5:30pm, and Sunday noon to 5 or 6pm.
Car Rentals
Customs Every visitor older than 21 years of age may bring in, free of duty, the following: 1 liter of
wine or hard liquor; 200 cigarettes, 100 cigars (but not from Cuba), or 3 pounds of smoking to-
bacco; and $100 worth of gifts. These exemptions are offered to travelers who spend at least 72
hours in the United States and who have not claimed them within the preceding 6 months. It is for-