Getting to the 2008 Honolulu Regionals doesn't require breaking the bank

[Jeff K.]

Originally Posted by Cory

I would say be mroe than careful. Odds are your robot will not get there on time. I believe I remember seeing last year or the year before that robots being shipped to back to back regionals in different timezones only made it on time like 25% of the time or less. This isn't just any regional either... it's an island.

The only reasonable way they would probably use is air. Meaning it only has a few hour flight, and is easier than taking train or truck on land. Our robot last year was one of the few that didn't arrive on time, from LA to Indiana. Hopefully, it will arrive on time, but overall, we can't wait to go back!

[TKM.368]

Originally Posted by waialua359

who knows how much its going to be from VCU back to Hawaii, then back to Championships, then back home.

Back to Championships and back home should be free from FedEx.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Jeff K.

The only reasonable way they would probably use is air. Meaning it only has a few hour flight, and is easier than taking train or truck on land. Our robot last year was one of the few that didn't arrive on time, from LA to Indiana. Hopefully, it will arrive on time, but overall, we can't wait to go back!

Well right... the flight time is around 5 hours from California. But when you're shipping your robot, unless you pay extra, it gets shipped at FedEx's convenience. So unless it goes straight to the airport, you could be in trouble.

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by TKM.368

Back to Championships and back home should be free from FedEx.

your right. I meant that its still 6k (estimation) from VCU - Hawaii - Atlanta. Not sure if Hawaii - Atlanta is free if we dont win the regional. Can someone confirm this? I am assuming we have to pay.
Atlanta to Hawaii would be free. It its about 1k to go from VCU to cali and cali to Hawaii about 2k, then we are looking at 3k one way.

[TKM.368]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Not sure if Hawaii - Atlanta is free if we dont win the regional.

It is my understanding that anything to Atlanta is free.

[rainy846]

I am kind of scared about the plane tickets right now.
The cheapest I found was $329 round trip (I guess that is pretty cheap for Hawaii, I don't know how much cheaper or more expensive it is going to be when we actually order it!) (normally for our away regional, it costs 500- 600 for students that is including plane ticket, hotel, and 2 team dinners as well as all transportation to and from the airport etc.)
I hope I will be able to bargain a little once i call them.

And I checked out the hotels. Even though they aren't EXTREMELY far from the university, but that is a fair amount of walking to and from competition area (1 mile each way is not fun when you are tired from a day of competition)
Anyone think it would be wise to rent a car just for transportation between the hotel and the university?
What are some other Silicon Valley team's plan??
254?
Input from Hawaiian teams on near by restaurants would be great!

[Cory]

Originally Posted by rainy846

I am kind of scared about the plane tickets right now.
The cheapest I found was $329 round trip (I guess that is pretty cheap for Hawaii, I don't know how much cheaper or more expensive it is going to be when we actually order it!) (normally for our away regional, it costs 500- 600 for students that is including plane ticket, hotel, and 2 team dinners as well as all transportation to and from the airport etc.)
I hope I will be able to bargain a little once i call them.

And I checked out the hotels. Even though they aren't EXTREMELY far from the university, but that is a fair amount of walking to and from competition area (1 mile each way is not fun when you are tired from a day of competition)
Anyone think it would be wise to rent a car just for transportation between the hotel and the university?
What are some other Silicon Valley team's plan??
254?
Input from Hawaiian teams on near by restaurants would be great!

$330 is WAY WAY WAY cheap. It will not get any cheaper. Buy them ASAP.

Btw, where did you find this price? I've been checking SFO, SJC, OAK to HNL and never found less than $450

We aren't sure what we're doing for hotels yet.

[rainy846]

ata.com
it is form oak to honolulu
but since they don't have the prices for march 26 to 30 yet, i used feb 27 to march 2... so it's just an approximate

[Jeff K.]

You guys are finding good deals, or booked before we did. We got tickets for around $500 flight roundtrip, but then for hotel are staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, roughly $400 per person.

[rainy846]

I bet some of our parents won't be really happy about the prices... ahhh!!!

we haven't booked anything yet... still researching
I think we are gonna go for cheaper hotels to save some money.

[waialua359]

ATA right now looks good. If your finding a hotel in waikiki, I would not walk to and from the University of Hawaii. That's pretty far before and after a FIRST event daily. If you can get a rental car, even 1 is better than none, where you can shuttle your team.
I really wouldn't worry about nearby restaurants, if you have a car. If you dont, then waikiki has their share of fast foods and eateries. Personally, I wouldn't eat in Waikiki, since its a tourist trap and everything is very expensive.
In other words, get a car/van if your teams can afford it. Plus, you can see the island during your free time.
Even our team is planning to stay in a hotel in waikiki during the event since our school is at least 1 - 1 1/2 hours away from event (depending on traffic) and dont want to miss the team socials at night.
Feel free to ask us more questions if any of you have them.

[TKM.368]

Originally Posted by rainy846

ata.com
it is form oak to honolulu
but since they don't have the prices for march 26 to 30 yet, i used feb 27 to march 2... so it's just an approximate

From what I can see around the competition dates, round trip from Oakland on ATA is $429 at the cheapest before taxes and fees (dates are available for booking from Oakland, but not some other starting cities). I'm afraid to tell you that you are not going to see prices in the $300 range as the competition is during peak travel season to Hawaii.

As for hotels, there are none that are within a desirable walking distance to the venue. If you don't rent a car, you can opt to use public transportation (TheBus.org) which is convenient from the venue to Waikiki and also the Ala Moana Shopping Center which is where the dining choices are a little more plentiful (food court). Be careful with the cheaper hotels - they may not be someplace you want to have students staying.

[rainy846]

We'll probably end up having near 30 people going. So 1 Van might be sort of busy. Any one know if those small shuttle buses things that seats 12 to 15 people needs a special drivers license? I think we can rent them for several days for $300 to $400.

Jim Beck is still talking to some Hotels for possible sponsorship (discount or if we are really really really lucky, free rooms) so we are waiting to near back from him.

Our coach is away, so I can't really decide anything now, especially since we don't even have a list of names of people who wants to go. I would need an approximate price. ( I wonder if we are allowed to book a whole flight =P with some other teams in the area)

[TKM.368]

Originally Posted by rainy846

We'll probably end up having near 30 people going. So 1 Van might be sort of busy. Any one know if those small shuttle buses things that seats 12 to 15 people needs a special drivers license? I think we can rent them for several days for $300 to $400.

Jim Beck is still talking to some Hotels for possible sponsorship (discount or if we are really really really lucky, free rooms) so we are waiting to near back from him.

Our coach is away, so I can't really decide anything now, especially since we don't even have a list of names of people who wants to go. I would need an approximate price. ( I wonder if we are allowed to book a whole flight =P with some other teams in the area)

Yes, the Regional Planning Committee is trying to nail down an agreement with a local hotel, but it might be difficult with the time of year.

You might consider renting the large passenger vans (I found some on Thrifty.com for 12 passengers) which I do not believe require a special license.

As for chartering a flight, you might try checking that out if other teams in the area haven't already booked their flights and you can get a large enough group.

[rainy846]

I guess I'll contact 254 and the Space Cookies