Alaska Airlines will begin flying daily nonstop flights between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and two destinations on the islands, Honolulu and Kauai’s Lihue, in October.

Alaska Says Aloha

Seems going cashless is a trend among airlines these days. This weekend, Aloha Airlines joins the fray. Passengers will not be able to purchase alcoholic beverages or in-flight entertainment using cash on trans-Pacific flights. Instead, they’ll have to put the goods on plastic. Amex, Discover, Visa and Mastercard are accepted.

Plastic Only on Aloha Flights to Mainland

For many of today’s frequent travelers, the no-tech vacation is something of a conundrum (Wait, no television? Then how am I supposed to watch The Inferno III?). In fact, the last time most of us were anywhere near being “off the grid” involved an unsolicited power outage followed by disbelief, then sheer panic. Don’t try to deny it.

But as much as we love (and we mean love love, not like love) technology, destinations without plasma televisions, resort-wide wireless Internet access, in-room telephones and the latest gaming consoles give us something that’s often impossible to pin down on the grid: ourselves.

Don’t worry. We’re not talking about destinations where you’ll end up twisted into a yoga pretzel drinking green tea before a mandatory colonic treatment in the “spa.” We’re talking about 10 places you can visit where the sound of the surf is louder than the television in the next room, where news of Anna Nicole’s paternity test doesn’t cause a mad rush to the business center’s Internet kiosks and, finally, where wake-up calls are more likely to come from birds outside than bedside phones.

Check out our list of 10 No-Tech Escapes here.

Starwood Preferred Guests can take 50 percent off room rates at Starwood Hawaii properties when they book and travel by June 3, 2007. Last-minute trip to Hawaii, anyone? At the Sheraton Maui Resort, that means the nightly rate drop from $540 to $270. At the W Honolulu Diamond Head, the deal brings rates down from a steep $585/night to a more manageable nightly rate of $293. If you want to book the deal, you’ll have to do so directly through Starwood (866-716-8141) and mention Rate Plan SPG50OFF.

Grabbed this from press release land this morning. Stay at any of any of Four Seasons in Hawaii in the coming months, and you could get a free night’s stay, depending on the length of your trip. The deals vary by property. The Four Seasons Resort Lana’i’s Lodge at Keole is offering a free 4th night to guests who book three nights between now and Dec. 18, 2007. Room rates start at $295. Over at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea (pictured), guests can score a free 5th night with a four night stay booked May 9-June 30 or Sept. 1-Dec. 18.

Check out each Four Seasons property’s individual deal at the link below.

How to Spend a Free Extra Day at Four Seasons

Want to know where the stars of ABC TV’s Lost like to hang out in Hawaii? The stars reveal their favorite places on the islands in Getting ‘Lost’ in Paradise via MSNBC.

What strange creatures lie beneath the murky deep pictured in this shot from one intrepid TravelPoster? Never before seen aquatic monsters? A smaller cousin of the Loch Ness, perhaps? Man-eating piranhas? Snakes? Snakes on planes?

Actually, the underwater inhabitants here are part of the Kahala Hotel and Resort’s main attraction: Dolphin Quest Encounter. Six Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins live in this 26,000-square-foot natural lagoon, where trainers conduct daily programs to educate and entertain guests.

Engaged couples planning Hawaii honeymoons will want to take note of Outrigger’s new honeymoon registry service at the TheBigDay.com. Along with Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, the web site allows couples to register to receive funds for honeymoon trips to hotels, beach resorts and adventurous destinations and all over the world.

Registering for honeymoon travel instead of the traditional gift registry is a great option for couples who don’t want or don’t need gifts for the home and kitchen. These days, there are so many 30-somethings who’ve already been living on their own for years who get married. They’ve already got everything they need for day to day living, but they lack that extra wad of cash necessary for a fabulous trip.

Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Launches Honeymoon Registry

In an effort to make beverage service easier for both flight staff and passengers, Hawaiian Airlines has announced that it will no longer accept cash as payment for beverages on its interisland flights. You’ve got to do the truffle shuffle in the aisle instead.

Actually, you just have to have a credit card. After testing the no-cash policy on its Pacific flights, the airline has decided to use the same portable credit card devices on all of its flights.

Hawaiian Interisland Flights Go Cashless

Travelers can find lots of meaty “best of” picks in Conde Nast Traveler’s 2007 Gold List, its definitive guide to the best hotels and cruise accommodations the world has to offer. Search by location or categories like rooms, service, design, food and activities. If, for example, you wanted to know which hotels have the most impressive rooms on each continent, you’d find these results:

United States

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (Hawaii)

Inn at Palmetto Bluff (Bluffton, SC)

Rancho Valencia Resort (Rancho Santa Fe, CA)

Africa

Bateleur Camp (Kenya)

Chobe Chilwero (Botswana)

Singita Private Game Reserve (South Africa)

Asia

Amandari (Indonesia)

Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan (Indonesia)

JW Marriott Seoul (South Korea)

Australia and Pacific Nations

Rialto Hotel on Collins (Melbourne, Australia)

Park Hyatt Sydney (Australia)

Huka Lodge (Taupo, New Zealand)

Canada

Auberge du Vieux-Port (Montreal)

Pan Pacific WHistler Mountainside (Whistler)

Auberge Saint-Antoine (Quebec)

Caribbean and Atlantic Islands

Hotel St. Barth Isle de France (Guadeloupe)

Sandy Lane (St. James, Barbados)

Malliouhana Hotel & Spa (Anguilla)

Central America and South America

Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo (Costa Rica)

Swisshotel Quito (Ecuador)

Ritz Carlton Santiago (Chile)

Europe

Buckland Manor (Gloucestershire, UK)

Chateau Les Crayeres (Reims, Frances)

Four Seasons Gresham Palace (Budapest, Hungary)

Mexico

Las Casa Que Canta (Zihuatanejo)

Four Seasons Resort (Punta Mita)

JW Marriott Mexico City

Middle East

Four Seasons Cairo Nile Plaza (Cairo, Egypt)

Four Seasons Cairo at the First Residence (Cairo, Egypt)

Burj Al Arab (Dubai)

The complete guide is too exhaustive to publish here, but this is definitely a good resource to browse if you’re planning a luxury getaway, honeymoon or world adventure for the coming year.