Pack a Uke, or bring one home!

Lori

Lori

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I am going to Hawaii (Maui/stop over in O'hau/ Kaua'i)in about a month, and expect I might buy a ukulele while I am there. So, what would you do? Should I pack a uke (it would have to be a small one) or just realize I probably will be buying one (or more) while I am there. I am concerned about the luggage limits that have shown up in my research. Since we will island hop 2 times, I am concerned they will charge me for every piece of luggage. So, if I do buy something, especially a tenor or baritone/ guitarlele, I might have to ship it home.

So what would you do? Pack a uke, or bring one home? The main thing is I don't want it to risk it going into the baggage handling process. I need to know I can hand carry it everywhere. Of course, how safe is shipping???

–Lori
 
Lori said:
I am going to Hawaii (Maui/stop over in O'hau/ Kaua'i)in about a month, and expect I might buy a ukulele while I am there. So, what would you do? Should I pack a uke (it would have to be a small one) or just realize I probably will be buying one (or more) while I am there. I am concerned about the luggage limits that have shown up in my research. Since we will island hop 2 times, I am concerned they will charge me for every piece of luggage. So, if I do buy something, especially a tenor or baritone/ guitarlele, I might have to ship it home.

So what would you do? Pack a uke, or bring one home? The main thing is I don't want it to risk it going into the baggage handling process. I need to know I can hand carry it everywhere. Of course, how safe is shipping???

–Lori
Click to expand...

Personally I wouldn't ship. In my experience of the Hawaiian airlines they are incredibly relaxed about luggage, especially if you're carrying a ukulele! I had no problems while I was there and my family tend not to travel too lightly. The only problems I had was once I got home to England...

I would go empty handed and buy one straight away!
 
Bring One Home!

Yes, I agree with upskydowncloud :D

You've said you're more than likely to buy anyway, so just make your purchase towards the start of your trip (not an impulse buy, of course) and you're set.

I'm quite envious of your dilemma. Good luck and let us know what you end up with.
 
I'd bring a sandwich to a Deach.

I was in Hawaii a couple of weeks ago and flew with a tenor (in a hardcase) and a large(ish) backpack from Honolulu to Hilo then to Lihue with no problems (Hawaiian Airlines). On the way back to Canada, I flew United and carried my tenor uke (still in a hardcase), the same backpack and a side bag while my fiance carried a soprano in a hardcase while dragging a large carry-on with bags of souveniers/magazines/chocolates/chips bungee-corded to the top of the bag (everytime we switched flights we had to unstrap everything to get the carry-on under the seat and re-strap it when we were ready to leave). The backpack and the carry-on weighed about 30lbs each. On one flight, we were the last to board and when the tenor uke wouldn't fit anywhere (you have to put it in the overhead compartments), one of the airline attendants offered to put it in the closet with the crew stuff. Long story short, I didn't have any problems carrying my uke. In fact, Samuel from Larry's Music (Kapaa) told me he regulary travels from island to island with a backpack and TWO ukes (in hardcases) - one low G and one high G without any problems.
 
Another advantage to buying one right away would be that you'd have your vacation time to give it a good workout. If you discovered any problems you could take it back to the dealer for tweaking or replacement.
 
I spent a month in hawaii with at a cousin's house on oahu abd I traveled to maui to visit the ohana there. I took a tenor uke that I had just gotten b/c I figured I didn't have money to buy one. I ended up getting blessed with a koaloha so I boarded 4 different airlines with a large backpack and two ukuleles in hard cases. The wife and I placed the ukes under our seats. They can fit under two seats. No problems. There was a thread about this and someone gave a link to a faa document where it states musical instruments don't count as carry on.
 
Rubbertoe said:
I'd bring a sandwich to a Deach.
Click to expand...

:biglaugh:

If you bring one, you have plausible reason to decide not to buy one, and that is simply NOT acceptable. Don't bring it - and go straight away to buy one when you get there, because you NEED it.
 
I've been flying with my uke since about May and have never had anyone (except for one person) say a thing about my uke. (The one looked and said, "Oh, it's an instrument? Okay.") I fly at least monthly to different places.

I carry on a purse, a small rolling bag and the uke, and have been fine all over the US so far. The only place I'd worry is out of Heathrow where they allow ONE carryon, period. And there are guards with machine guns inches from the inspection stations, so there is no messing about there.
---
eta: Looks like Heathrow has eased up since I was there in Nov 07, as well: http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/carry_on_restrictions.html
 
Last edited:
Amy said:
The only place I'd worry is out of Heathrow where they allow ONE carryon, period. And there are guards with machine guns inches from the inspection stations, so there is no messing about there.
Click to expand...

I'd heard they were tough, but shooting people for having more than one carry on goes too far!
;)
 
deach said:
You wouldn't bring sand to a beach.....
Click to expand...

Too true! I say buy one while you are there, cause that means you will have a story about it! Makes it all the more awesome!
 
If you truly believe you'll succeed on your first day in Hawaii at finding and purchasing a Ukuele, then I'd leave yours at home. But if you think it would possibly take more time than that, I would bring one as I wouldn't want to miss - even for a day - the unique enjoyment of sitting on a beach or somewhere in Hawaii with a beautiful view and playing. (And if you end up with 2 ukes, you can always check everything else and carry on the ukes np.)
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I was getting a bit worried about those short flights between islands, and the ukes. Some websites say an instrument is ok if it is under 45 inches (the sum of length + width + depth). Some tenor cases would be bigger than that. But then, they say that they might be able to take larger items if there is room. It sounded iffy to me. Glad to hear that the custom is to allow them!
My first stop in Maui will probably be Bounty Music and Mele Factory Store. It might be difficult after the 5 hr 30 min flight to get right into uke shopping, but since those stores are near the airport, I will have to see if the adrenaline will carry me through. It's tough, because I like to switch between high G and low G, so the possibility of getting two is strong. Midway through the trip, we will stop in O'hau, and I hope to check out the Sunday Aloha Swap meet. As far as selection and prices, what should I expect? Once I leave an island, I won't be able to double back and buy something. So, I have to kind of decide when and where to spend my money. I would hate to buy one place, and have it be wildly less somewhere else. Last stop will be Kaua'i, and though I have a few leads on music stores there, I don't expect to see as many ukes there. I probably will have worn out my poor husband on the activity by then anyway.

–Lori
 
What happens if you get stuck waiting on the tarmac at the airport on the way over with no Ukulele? :confused:

OR

The flight is seriously delayed and you have a big time wait? :eek:
 
...Do Both!...
 
Lori said:
Thanks for the encouragement. I was getting a bit worried about those short flights between islands, and the ukes. Some websites say an instrument is ok if it is under 45 inches (the sum of length + width + depth). Some tenor cases would be bigger than that. But then, they say that they might be able to take larger items if there is room. It sounded iffy to me. Glad to hear that the custom is to allow them!
My first stop in Maui will probably be Bounty Music and Mele Factory Store. It might be difficult after the 5 hr 30 min flight to get right into uke shopping, but since those stores are near the airport, I will have to see if the adrenaline will carry me through. It's tough, because I like to switch between high G and low G, so the possibility of getting two is strong. Midway through the trip, we will stop in O'hau, and I hope to check out the Sunday Aloha Swap meet. As far as selection and prices, what should I expect? Once I leave an island, I won't be able to double back and buy something. So, I have to kind of decide when and where to spend my money. I would hate to buy one place, and have it be wildly less somewhere else. Last stop will be Kaua'i, and though I have a few leads on music stores there, I don't expect to see as many ukes there. I probably will have worn out my poor husband on the activity by then anyway.

–Lori
Click to expand...

Lori,

Forget the swap meet for ukulele. Go directly to MGM's shop in Kaneohe, Oahu. His prices are better than the swap meets and his has complimentary setup. His service is great! He is at least $20 less than the swap meet for the identical items. I was there a couple of days ago and spent $240 and I had no ukulele to show for it. Two Oahu tenor cases, humidifiers, tuner, etc. all added up! Mike is a great guy and he'll take care of you. Mention the UU lead. I can pretty much guarantee his prices are the lowest you will find in the state, if not the world.
 
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