Getting to Oahu

The only 2 ways of getting to Oahu are clearly airplane and boat.  I choose to fly as cruises aren't really my thing.  The best deals are usually found directly on Hawaiian Airlines or Alaska Airlines. Virgin Airlines often has great fares as well.  Albeit the national airlines, ie. Delta, American, United all fly to Hawaii, the other carriers tend to cost more.  If you do go with another carrier, I suggest checking your options on Kayak.com first.  During off peak season, you can often fly for about $430 round trip with Alaska or Hawaiian. This fare includes all taxes and fees. During peak season, flights can be upward of $1000.  Typically you want to avoid flying from mid May to early September, as these are peak times.  I usually avoid dates close to holidays as well.  I can usually find dirt cheap flights from mid September to early November and mid January to early May.  Again, you'll want to avoid holidays, school vacation times, and major events on the island such as Golden Week or the Honolulu Marathon.

Both Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines offer a points/rewards system that my prove to be beneficial. Both airlines currently offer credit cards with substantial mileage bonuses, it may be possible to earn a free round trip flight during non peak season.  Both offer discounts for a companion that flies with you as well.  Keep in mind that both have annual fees.  I do find the offers to be quite great though.  I'd rather pay a $75 or so annual fee than $450 or so for a round trip flight.  I've once flown in a party of 3 on Hawaiian Air. I was able to use a free flight for 1, and get 25% off of 2 other flights. Total cost for all 3 including the annual fee and all taxes and fees came out to just under $800.  I have also learned that Hawaiian Airlines uses both Barclays and Bank of Hawaii for their credit card. I have signed up for both and received the same offer on both cards. (I make nothing off these suggestions)

Some other options to consider for free or cheap flights would be to earn bonuses via one of the following credit cards that offer rather substantial bonuses upon approval and spending a little money: Chase Sapphire Card, American Express Gold and/or Platinum, Barclays Arrival World Mastercard. Perhaps I will go into further detail on how to best churn credit cards for money and travel in the future. For now, I suggest you do a little research of your own.

There are cruises available to Hawaii. The cruises can be great but keep in mind that you will be spending the bulk of the trip out at sea. The cruises will generally port once at each of the main islands for the better part of a day. The cruises can be great but may not give you the best Hawaii experience considering the little time that is actually spent in Hawaii.

Hawaii can definitely be affordable with a little work and planning. Those that are most flexible with travel dates and times will always get the best deals.