If you have been paying any attention at all to travel industry news, you know that airfares are way down this summer. As it turns out lost 401ks, defaulted mortgages and lots of laid off people have really put a damper in a whole lot of people’s travels plans. This in turn means airlines are dropping fares to encourage people to still get out of the house this summer and sit home on a stupid staycation.

For those of us lucky enough to be skating relatively unharmed through the recession, but maybe just have a reduced budget for that summer vacation, you probably didn’t think you’d be able to afford a vacation to Hawaii. A notoriously expensive destination, it turns out Hawaii is pretty darn cheap these days. I think all those stock market crashes have kept broker types home and away from the 5-star resorts in Hawaii.

This morning, I noticed some fantastic deals on Orbitz from Los Angeles to Honolulu. The Orbitz deals start at just $431 for round-trip airfare plus 3 nights in a hotel. And, no, that is not a typo. Nor are your eyes playing tricks on you. Round-trip airfare and 3 nights at a Waikiki hotel for under $500. Incredible.

If you score a great airfare to Hawaii (instead of getting a package deal) you also shouldn’t have any problem scoring a great deal at a Hawaii hotel. If you are headed for Maui, there are plenty of great deals to be had at Hotels near Lahaina. Going to the Big Island? Check out hotels near Kona. If you score on the particularly great airfare deals to Honolulu you can stay in one of the great hostels near Waikiki and manage to get in a whole Hawaiian vacation for less than you spend on toothpaste in a year (well, maybe not really, but pretty darn close.