Three Beachfront Waikiki Hotels Under $100

Budget travelers will be pleased to know there are many hotels in Hawaii with rooms under $100 per night, including several with beautiful beachfront locations. The Aqua Waikiki Beachside Hotel has rooms from about $70 per night and the Aqua Park Shore Hotel has rooms from about $90 per night. Both of those hotels are across Kalakaua Avenue from Waikiki Beach and the Park Shore is also across the street from the Honolulu Zoo. The Aqua Ilikai Hotel has rooms starting at about $90 per night, and it is adjacent to Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon Beach, and within walking distance of Ala Moana Center and the Hawaii Convention Center. IMPORTANT NOTE: All three of these hotels have fabulous oceanfront locations, but of course there are reasons they have rooms under $100. It might be because the hotel is about due for an upgrade, or perhaps because an upgrade is in progress. Always ask a lot of questions when booking a budget hotel room, or for that matter, any hotel room. If you know what to expect, you won't be disappointed.

All Aqua Hotels in Hawaii

Waikiki Hotels on the Beach

Waikiki Hotels Across From the Beach

Waikiki Restaurants on the Beach

Whispering Walls of Waimea Historic Walk

The Waimea Valley on the North Shore of Oahu will present a night walking tour of the valley once a month during the Fall of 2009. The tours will be led by Lopaka Kapanui, historian and master storyteller of Hawaiian folklore and legends. The tour is called Whispering Walls of Waimea and it will include "stories and legends of the kahuna nui (High Priests) that once lived in the Valley, the very special pohaku that reside in the Valley, the healing power of the Valley's plant life, and the rumored children that play in the Valley but whose feet can no longer touch the earth." The tours will take place on Saturday, September 26, 2009, Saturday, October 24, 2009, and Saturday, November 14, 2009. For reservations or more information call 808-638-7766.

Whispering Walls of Waimea Tour

Daily Waimea Valley Tours and Activities

Waimea Valley Park

Chef Mavro Offering Special "Julie and Julia" Menu

Chef George Mavrothalassitis is offering a special Julia Child inspired menu at his award winning Chef Mavro Restaurant in Honolulu. The menu is named after the film "Julie and Julia" and it will be available through the end of September 2009. The three course dinner includes Boeuf a la Bourguignonne, Salade Frisee Aux Lardons, Tarte Tatin, and other French dishes featured in the movie and in Julia Child's cookbooks. Julia's famous "Reverse Martini" will also be available. Chef Mavro's restaurant was awarded the prestigious AAA Five Diamond Award in 2009 and in 2008 it was the only Hawaii restaurant included in Gayot's "Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S." The Chef Mavro Restaurant is located at 1969 South King Street in Honolulu. For reservations or more information call 808-944-9714.

Chef Mavro Restaurant - Official Web Site

Recipe for French Burgundy Beef (by Chef Mavro)

About Chef George Mavrothalassitis
French Cookbooks by Julia Child:

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II

Hawaii Museums Participating in Museum Day 2009

Visit Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Web site to print a Museum Day Card that will give you free access to many United States museums on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Hawaii museums participating in Museum Day include:
HAWAII ISLAND

Hilo: Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii
MAUI ISLAND

Lahaina: Baldwin Home Museum

Lahaina: Wo Hing Museum

Wailuku: Bailey House Museum
OAHU ISLAND

Honolulu: Hawaii State Art Museum

Honolulu: Hawaii Theatre Center

Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts

Honolulu: Mission Houses Museum

Honolulu: Pacific Aviation Museum

Honolulu: Queen Emma Summer Palace

Honolulu: The Contemporary Museum

Honolulu: University of Hawaii Art Gallery

Schofield Barracks: Tropic Lightning Museum
ABOVE PHOTO: The picture on the above right is the Wo Hing Museum on Maui, a historic building restored by the Lahaina Restoration Foundation in 1983.

Room, Breakfast, and Dinner in Hawaii from $160

Ohana Hotels and Resorts is offering a new hotel and meals package that includes a hotel room, daily breakfast, and daily dinner for two people, from about $160 per night at the OHANA Waikiki Malia and OHANA Waikiki East Hotels and from about $190 at the OHANA Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. The deal includes breakfast at the International House of Pancakes in the Waikiki Malia Hotel, Keoni by Keo's at the Waikiki East Hotel, or the new Jimmy Buffett's Restaurant at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. Participating restaurants for dinner include the three breakfast restaurants plus the Kani Ka Pila Grille at the Outrigger Reef Hotel, Round Table Pizza at the Waikiki East Hotel, and the Shorebird Restaurant at the Outrigger Reef Hotel. The OHANA "Room and Meals" offer is available for travel between October 1, 2009 and December 21, 2010. For more information about this and other Waikiki OHANA Hotel deals see

OHANA Room and Meals Deal from $159

OHANA Hawaii Best Available Rates from $79

Free Waikiki Trolley, Internet, Long Distance Calls

September 2009 Events in Hawaii

September events in Hawaii include the Aloha Festivals Floral Parade, the Hawaii Okinawan Festival, the Hawaii Statewide All-Girl Girl Rodeo, the Kona Slack Key Guitar Festival, the Parker Ranch Round-Up Rodeo, The Maui Marathon, the Dick Evans Memorial Bike Race, the Wings Over the Pacific Thunderbirds Airshow, the National Dragster Challenge, the Hawaii Writers Conference, the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, and many many more events, on all of the islands. September is a great time to visit Hawaii because airfaires go down at the end of summer, the beaches aren't crowded, and the weather is perfect!

September 2009 Hawaii Event Calendar