New Zealand is running a summer promotion called “Summer of Senseless Sales. It Makes No Damn Sense.”  Every week this summer, they will be offering new deals in hopes of drawing tourists to their shores.

This week’s deal: Purchase any Air New Zealand flight from the U.S. to New Zealand and receive a 7-day car rental for just $1 USD.

If you’re interested in this deal, you’d better hurry.  The flight and car rental must be booked by June 14 for travel between July 1 – September 30, 2010.  Call 1-800-262-1234 to make your reservations.

Technorati Tags: air new zealand, deals, new zealand

To introduce its newest plane, the Airbus A330, Hawaiian Airlines is offering $330 roundtrip tickets from the West Coast to Honolulu and Maui.  The full list of cities is below:

Las Vegas – Honolulu
Los Angeles – Honolulu
Oakland – Honolulu
Phoenix – Honolulu
Portland – Honolulu
Sacramento – Honolulu
San Diego – Honolulu
San Francisco – Honolulu
San Jose – Honolulu
Seattle – Honolulu
Portland – Maui
Seattle – Maui

Tickets must be booked by June 11 for travel between 8/9/10 – 12/9/10 (blackout dates from 11/19-11/29).  Book now at HawaiianAir.com!

Technorati Tags: hawaii, hawaiian air, honolulu, maui, special

OK, I know what you’re thinking.  The Maldives are not part of Polynesia so why am I writing about them?  Has my lack of fresh Polynesia air in the last 2.5 years rendered me delirious?  Not quite.

In my defense, the Maldives are a gorgeous destination with crystal clear blue waters, stunning island scenery and luxurious overwater bungalows – sound familiar?  Even the pictures that come up in a quick Google Image search look like they could have been taken in Bora Bora.

My main motivation for writing about the Maldives is to let you know about an awesome “Eco Season package” offered by the Six Senses Resorts.  The Soneva Fushi and Soneva Gili properties are offering 5 FREE nights in exchange for a little elbow grease.  All you have to do is book and pay for 5 nights and work 5 hours a day on local community projects during that time.  In exchange, you’ll get an additional 5 nights stay for free.

You can choose from different projects depending on your skills and interest.  My favorite is the marine conservation project – divers and snorkelers will be taught how to boost coral reef recovery and learn more about how to protect the dwindling shark community.  That’s a cool project – I’d be interested even without the extra incentive.

The full list of community projects to choose from is below:

• Marine Conservation – divers and snorkelers will be taught how to boost coral reef recovery and learn more about how to protect the dwindling shark community.

• Waste Management – learn how to create home-made compost, charcoal and biochar, to encourage locals into self-sufficiency and thereby reduce importation of food that can be grown at home.

• Carbon Mitigation – plant trees on nearby islands to give Soneva neighbors much-needed shade and to mitigate levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

• Youth Education – give local island schools a 30-minute talk on the importance of waste management and composting and discuss Western culture and geography. Guests are invited to share their own relevant expertise in whichever field they specialize.

• Boost Local Island Income – assist local families by learning the skill of making cadjan roofing material to sell and public rubbish bins for raising awareness of waste management. This not only helps create revenue streams for the islands that struggle to find alternative methods, but also helps to keep their islands in pristine condition.

The Eco Season package is valid for stays from June 1 to October 12.  You can combine stays at both properties or stay the full 10 days at one resort.  The resort websites don’t list the offer, so I’d suggest contacting their reservations departments.

I’d love to see this idea catch on at other resorts.  It’s a great idea that allows visitors to learn about the islands while benefiting the local community at the same time.

Technorati Tags: maldives, voluntourism

Air Tahiti Nui is offering roundtrip flights to Tahiti from 91 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for $1226 per person!  Basically, you’ll fly Air Tahiti Nui from Los Angeles and get an additional domestic add-on flight for free.

This is a great deal!  You can depart from April 20 – May 31 and return by June 15, which is right during the wedding season so newlyweds-to-be take note!  And if you are flying from the East Coast you won’t find a better price – the last time I went to Tahiti from New York in 2007, flights were around $1600 per person.

Full details on the fare sale are here.

Technorati Tags: air tahiti nui, sale, tahiti

Australians rejoice!  Tahiti Tourisme is offering the Moorea Madness discount card, which entitles visitors to special rates at various service providers and retailers on Moorea.

Discounts you can receive include:

• 15 per cent off available tours with Albert Transport including lagoon excursion, 4WD and All-terrain vehicle safaris and circle island tours
• 10 per cent off adventure experiences including diving at Moorea Fun Dive, canyoning with Rando Pacific, hiking with Tahiti Evasion and bicycle rentals with Moorea Fun Bike
• 20 per cent off dolphin swims at the Moorea Dolphin Center
• 20 per cent off jewellery and sculptures at Dany Creations boutique
• 10 per cent off spa treatments at Helene Spa, Manea Spa at Moorea Pearl Resort & Spa and the Hilton Spa at Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa

The discount cards are available at any registered travel agent.

Technorati Tags: discounts, moorea, tahiti