Hawai�i Superferry

Very cool and about time -- some people are planning to use a large catamaran fast ferry to move people between O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui and in 2009, Big Island. This boat will take vehicles and a passanger trip will cost around $40 to $70 depending on route and time of week. From the Hawai�i Superferry website:

Interisland travel, the way it was meant to be.
Picture this: You and your family are headed to a neighboring island. As your ferry embarks on its short voyage, you find yourself gathered around a table in a comfortable lounge, enjoying a light lunch and watching the sunny shoreline recede. You have never seen the islands from quite this vantage; it's beyond beautiful.

After lunch, while the kids play games in the keiki area, you wander to the foredeck to keep an eye out for land. When you see your destination rise over the horizon, your heart swells a little. Now this is interisland travel.

Safely docked in the harbor, there's no waiting for bags, queuing up for a rental car, fiddling to find the parking brake or making sure the AC works. Instead, you hop into your vehicle�trunk packed with suitcases, snorkel gear, and everything you need to have a great time�and drive off, invigorated by your brief voyage at sea.

Hawai�i interisland travel aboard the Hawaii Superferry begins July 2007*, with daily service from Honolulu to Kahului, Maui and Nāwiliwili, Kaua�i. Service to the Island of Hawai�i begins in 2009.

Jen and I try to get to Hawai'i once/year during winter -- have a few places there that are magic to us and we love the people. This sounds like a lot better way to get inter-island than cramming yourself into a little tube and spending over $100...