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Originally Posted by soupcxan My wife and I are going to Hawaii for 7 days later this year, we've never been. Thinking of spending splitting the time between Oahu and Maui.

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Originally Posted by soupcxan Can anyone comment on the new Superferry service between the islands? Should we take our rental car on it or return and re-rent?

The travel agents & dealers are much better set up to offer you a fly/drive package. It's such the custom that it can be tough to separate the car price from the airfare.

What A8 said about rentals. The SuperFerry just got back in the water after a few weeks in drydock, so the Kahului run may not be as controversial as it was. But it had a nasty habit of getting canx by weather or pier damage and stranding people... perhaps to sleep in their cars. Don't even get us started on the politics and protest controversy-- it's easier to build a nuclear power plant in Diamond Head crater than to run the SuperFerry.

Plying the Maui-Oauh route in December is serious open-ocean and mid-channel weather. The ship is a SWATH but it still had to cancel an occasional run due to high (20-foot+) seas. Seasickness complaints were common and it's a three-hour route.

When I priced a three-day package between Oahu & Kahului with airfare against the SuperFerry, the fly/rental price was actually cheaper. Since then the SuperFerry's fuel surcharge is probably even higher. The SF also left Oahu early in the morning (which would have meant an even earlier showtime to avoid rush-hour traffic) and didn't offer near the flexible flight times that the airplanes offer.

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Originally Posted by soupcxan What's a reasonable budget for the trip (excluding airfare)? We are thinking a decent hotel will run about $175/night, are there any better price/value options for lodging (such as B&Bs)?

You're in & out pretty quickly for a weekly rental but you may find a better deal with a vacation rental from VRBO.com. The challenge is that December is high season, fully booked, and last-minute availabilities may literally be that.