Update: Congratulations to our winners - everybody who entered won! The contest has now ended. No one got every answer exactly right but everyone showed a jolly good effort.

To celebrate our 2 year anniversary we’re giving away Bishop Museum Tickets! Bishop Museum is a wonderful place to visit if you’re traveling to Oahu. To enter just answer the following trivia questions and submit your answer as a blog comment. Remember there’s a limit of 1 winner per household, and the museum tickets expire December 31, 2010. It takes about 10 minutes to figure out the answers to the quiz.

Trivia Questions

Question 1 - What HawaiiGaga.com beach page stars an endangered species monk seal?
[Hint: We've photographed 1 in Oahu, 1 on the Big Island, and 2 on Kauai]

Question 2 - According to our weather guide, what area of Hawaii receives the least amount of rainfall?
[Hint - Hawaii Weather Guide]

Question 3 - What Kauai condo are we describing here:

“_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is an oceanfront condominium complex about a 5 minute walk from Brennecke beach, or 7 minutes to Poipu Beach park. The complex features a swimming pool hovering just at the edge of the ocean.”

[Hint - See our Kauai condos page]

To Enter

Add your answer as a comment. Winners will be emailed at the email address you specify in the blog comment.  Note: Private information is not shared and used only to administer this giveaway.

Rules

-Limit of 1 entry per household.
-Tickets must be used by December 31, 2010.
-We reserve the right to judge incorrect answers as correct when a good effort is shown.
-Employees, family, friends, and associates of HawaiiGaga.com not eligible.
-Only open to residents of the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
-Void where prohibited by law.
-No purchase necessary to win.
-HawaiiGaga.com is not responsible for lost or undelivered entries or winner notifications including those that are flagged as spam by our or your spam blocking software. Winners have to send mailing information within a week of being notified.

You’re probably already aware that in Hawaii, vacation rentals offer outstanding value compared to hotel rooms, especially if you’re traveling with family or friends and need a place with 2 or more bedrooms. Since vacation rentals are essentially homes they offer all the amenities you would expect - fully equipped kitchens, laundry facilities (most often in-suite), high speed internet, and so on. Many even have things like beach equipment, books and other accessories that vacationers find useful.

So by deciding on a vacation rental compared to a hotel you’re already on your way to saving money on your vacation. Another nice aspect about vacation rentals is that the price is often negotiable. All you have to do is ask. Here are some tips when asking for a discount:

• Let them know if you’re not going to use all the bedrooms in the rental
• Are your dates flexible? Can you squeeze into a vacant time slot that would otherwise go un-booked?
• Tell them if you’re a senior or in the military.
• Tell them what your budget is and see what they can do to work with your budget.

The greatest opportunity for discounts is when doing a last minute booking as owners are more eager to fill a rental that would otherwise stand empty. Here however you risk losing out on a great place and you may even struggle to find something in an area you like. If you find yourself scrambling to find a place, remember to also check RedWeek.com’s Hawaii Timeshares. Timeshare’s are rentals that have multiple owners, and the owners often trade or rent out their week of ownership when they can’t travel them self. Like rentals, time shares offer deeper discounts on last minute bookings.

Given how the quality of rentals vary, if you see a place that you like it’s best not to wait. Rather, book as soon as possible and use the above tips to try and manage something within your budget. But if you do find yourself planning a last minute trip you could find some great savings. HawaiiGaga’s Hawaii deals page shows many discounts on last minute travel.

Just a 2 minute drive up the road from Poipu Beach Park is Poipu Shores, a 3 building condominium development boldly located at ocean’s edge. Poipu Shores commands one of the best coastal views of any Poipu resort with views extending beyond Poipu Beach and down Kauai’s southern coast. What makes the view especially dramatic is the ocean’s never ending assault on the lava rocks fronting Poipu Shores, creating spectacular splashes less than 60 ft from some of the units. In fact the startling splashes are even visible from inside some ground floor units - imagine making breakfast only to be startled by a huge splash outside your window. In the winter months, whales can been see directly in front of the condos, while turtles abound year round.

We’ve created a virtual tour of Poipu Shores so you can see the beautiful coastal views for yourself. HawaiiGaga has found  some of the best units at Poipu Shores and you can also venture inside them in the virtual tour!

Poipu Shores Condos, Kauai