Hawaii on a Budget

[dreamin]

Every winter my goal is to escape the coldest months of January, February & March. But I have to do it on a budget. This year we timeshared in AZ, CA, and Las Vegas (RCI Extra Vacations) for the first 5 weeks, returned home for 2 weeks, and then flew to Hawaii. My flight was booked 5 months in advance and my husband's was a last minute decision booked 1 week in advance for the same fare! Car rental was booked 5 months in advance. We stayed in 8 different timeshares over the 40 days that we spent in Hawaii. Only 3 of the timeshares were reserved before I left home. The other 5 were booked once we got to Hawaii at 1 to 14 days prior to check-in. Two of the timeshares were just one-night stays to fill in between weeks. I used a combination of RCI Points, Vacation Internationale credits and bonus nights, and a DAE rental. Points were reduced because of last minute bookings. We went to 3 islands and stayed in 5 different locations. Inter-island Hawaiianair flights were booked roughly 2 weeks before the scheduled flights when the price dropped to $69 for a mid-morning flight.

Here's a list of the resorts we stayed at. I have just submitted reviews on TUG for all of them. I know this type of budget travel won't appeal to many but we had a great time and enjoyed the variety of resorts and locations. We love Hawaii so it was all worth it!

Pono Kai - Kapaa, Kauai
Kauai Beach Villas - Lihue, Kauai
Kapaa Shores - Kapaa, Kauai
Wyndham Ka'Eo Kai - Princeville, Kauai
Fairway Villas - Waikiki
Imperial Hawaii Resort - Waikiki
Royal Kuhio - Waikiki
Kapulanikai - Kihei, Maui

 

[pianoetudes]

Our last Hawaii trip was in 2014, where a loaf of bread costs $8. I don't consider it's a budget trip. We go to Mexico in winter time. That's a real budget.

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[Luanne]

Our last Hawaii trip was in 2014, where a loaf of bread costs $8. I don't consider it's a budget trip. We go to Mexico in winter time. That's a real budget.

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I don't think the OP necessarily said Hawaii is a budget trip, just how they were able to do it on a more reasonable budget.

I remember when my best friend and I went to Oahu for a little over a week back in the 1970's. All of the tour books were like "Europe on $5.00/day" and Hawaii was "Hawaii on $10/day". Even back then Hawaii was more expensive.

I've never spent $8.00 for a loaf of bread when we've been to Hawaii (and we've been going almost yearly since 1986). Don't know where you were shopping.

 

[DeniseM]

I think one's perspective of the cost of things in Hawaii depends on where you are from. If you are from the mid-west or south where the cost of living is lower, it probably seems higher than to someone from CA or a large East Coast City where prices are higher at home. That being said, I have never paid $8 for a loaf of bread in Hawaii either.

Also - comparing Hawaii to Mexico is a false equivalency. There are many people who are not interested in going to Mexico, no matter how cheap it is.

 

[Luanne]

Also - comparing Hawaii to Mexico is a false equivalency. There are many people who are not interested in going to Mexico, no matter how cheap it is.

That.

 

[bizaro86]

I think one's perspective of the cost of things in Hawaii depends on where you are from. If you are from the mid-west or south where the cost of living is lower, it probably seems higher than to someone from CA or a large East Coast City where prices are higher at home. That being said, I have never paid $8 for a loaf of bread in Hawaii either.

Also - comparing Hawaii to Mexico is a false equivalency. There are many people who are not interested in going to Mexico, no matter how cheap it is.

There are also people who wouldn't be interested in going to Hawaii at any price for a variety of reasons*, but they are similar vacation experiences. Maybe not an equivalency, but certainly a relevant comparison.

*I probably can't get too far into some of the reasons without being political, but some of the non political ones are longer flight, time change, and difficulty getting travel health insurance for the US. That last one is especially relevant for seniors, as many insurers either charge a substantial US premium or won't cover US trips for seniors/pre-existing conditions due to high health care costs. I personally would never enter the US without travel health insurance.

 

[cerralee]

My husband and I have a lot of Hawaii in our plans. Our daughter moved to Honolulu about two years ago with our young grandson. I have used RCI for several last minute weeks at Imperial Fiesta, and Lifetime Hawaii, always last minute at reduced
tpu's. I've got two weeks in a two bedroom at Imperial Fiesta for November through DAE and hope to find additional two weeks for early December. What is nice is if I don't have anything come through I can always go to my Daughters apartment and drive her crazy for a bit! It is expensive...I can borrow her car for the time we are there and just pay parking. It saves on eating in, I really couldn't afford eating out every night!

 

[DeniseM]

OK - but this is the Hawaii Forum, so a response that Mexico is better is a bit of a tangent.

Distance depends on where you are located - I can fly to Hawaii in 5 hours.

 

[Luanne]

We all have our personal preferences and biases when it comes to travel.

We prefer Hawaii. We own a timeshare there, so that makes it "affordable" to stay. We lived on the West Coast for years, so that made it relatively easy to get to Hawaii (both in time and dollars). We didn't need any special documentation to travel there.

Even now that we live in New Mexico we stop in the San Francisco Bay area for a few days both coming and going. It gives us a chance to spend time in San Francisco, and to see our dd who lives in that area. Best of all worlds.

 

[geist1223]

We love Hawaii. We love Mexico. Last January we saw $8 Bread at the Grocery Store at the Queen's Market Place on Waikoloa Beach Drive by the Marriott. There was also Bread that was cheaper. The Grocery Store up by Paniolo Greens was quite a bit cheaper.

 

[VegasBella]

I'm confused by the OP. Sounds just like a travel experience rather than anything about budgeting. I opened the thread hoping to learn a few tricks for keeping my Hawaii trip costs down.
We are going in a few weeks. It will be our first trip to Hawaii. I expect we will enjoy it and want to return. We have tried to keep costs down by booking flights with credit card points and by renting a timeshare condo through a GPX sale. Booked the car through Costco. And trying to keep costs down by only planning a few things that cost money: snorkeling tour, a show, maybe surfing lessons. We will eat in our room and pack sack lunches, we will spend lots of time at the beach or doing driving tours to keep costs down.

As far as Mexico goes, I totally understand where bizaro86 is coming from but like Denise said, this is the Hawaii forum. We plan to visit Mexico again too and expect to enjoy Hawaii and Mexico equally. But they are fairly different experiences. For us, since we're US citizens, Mexico is another country and there are various legal differences in going there.

 

[mauitraveler]

Vegas Bella,
Sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned! One of the things that we like to do is pick up the brochures at the airport (This Week on Maui, Maui Gold, etc.). Every island would have its own version of these brochures. Often, in the different brochures, we might find a coupon that pertains to something that is of interest to us and saves us a little bit of money. As they say, "every little bit helps!" Have a great trip! CJ

 

[bizaro86]

As far as Mexico goes, I totally understand where bizaro86 is coming from but like Denise said, this is the Hawaii forum. We plan to visit Mexico again too and expect to enjoy Hawaii and Mexico equally. But they are fairly different experiences. For us, since we're US citizens, Mexico is another country and there are various legal differences in going there.

No big deal to me, I go to Hawaii approx 2x as often as Mexico, but was just commenting on the "false equivalency" comment.

 

[dreamin]

It looks like I should clarify a few things. I've been to Mexico many times.....Acapulco, Ixtapa, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel, Cancun, Cabo.....but this post was not intended to start a discussion on comparing the two vacation destinations.

I titled this "Hawaii on a Budget" because I have often read on TUG that to plan a trip to Hawaii you need to start an OGS 1-2 years ahead. That is likely true if you need a particular resort and capacity. My point was that you can get good accommodation at much reduced Points or TPUs if you are willing to look for last minute opportunities, thus saving your Points or TPUs for other vacations. Or you can get rentals at discounted rates. It has also been said on TUG that you need to book your airfare well in advance or be willing to pay high fares. This wasn't the case for us as the airfare was the same 5 months in advance and 1 week in advance. No guarantees of course. I think I was just lucky that someone probably cancelled their flight plans at the last minute and I was able to grab the deal. Also, it is well known on TUG that Hawaiian Air inter-island flights go up in price as the seats sell, so it is recommended to book early to get the best fare. This is definitely true but on this trip I learned that around the 2 week mark they reduced their fares drastically as there were many unsold seats at popular flight times.

My post was intended for someone who would like to go to Hawaii but felt they couldn't afford the accommodation or didn't have enough Points/TPUs. Or for the person who can't plan a trip months or years in advance. There will always be last minute opportunities and savings to be had.

There are no "bargains" once you arrive in Hawaii. Restaurants, luaus, admission to attractions, activities, car rentals, etc. are all high priced and we tend to avoid those because they are not affordable for us. We make use of our kitchen facilities and eat healthy meals because of all the fresh fish and produce that is available in Hawaii. When we do eat out, we ask for recommendations on where locals eat, which usually results in good food at a reasonable price. Beaches and amazing scenery are free!!

VegasBella....which island are you going to? There is much to see and do on all of the islands that won't cost you anything.

 

[itchyfeet]

I have never used Hawaii and budget in the same sentence.

 

[easyrider]

One of the best ways to do Hawaii on a budget is to go when others aren't. May is considered off season and my favorite time is after Thanksgiving but before Christmas. I doubt that I save much but it does seem less crowded in many places in Hawaii with the exception of Honolulu and Kauai. Kauai is nice but has a terrible traffic problem all year long. Honolulu is just too crowded.

Airfare is usually better midweek. Sometimes not that much better but sometimes way better.

We usually find that the local newspaper has some interesting events or deals that we might enjoy.

Costco has discount tickets to some events and attractions. Costco also has the $1.50 hotdog and med drink dealio.

Checking Craigslist for deals will result in occasional finds. Last December in Kapaa we rented bikes for 12 days from a local for very little. He rents all kinds of stuff including decent golf clubs and paddleboards.
https://honolulu.craigslist.org/kau/vac/6120695813.html

In Lahaina on Front Street there is a local that rents beach equipment. Chairs, umbrellas, ice chests and whatever. We saw the sign in this guys front yard and stopped in and ended up renting beach stuff. Most Fridays are art nights in Lahaina. Free to look and listen.

Bill

 

[WinniWoman]

My two cents is that I would rather go to Hawaii than Mexico simply because Hawaii is in the United States and you can immediately "feel" that when you are there, which is more "comfortable" to me- IMO.

When we were there many years ago-in July- 3 of us (hubby, me and our son)- our 25th wedding anniversary-2 islands (Kauai- my favorite- and the big island)-3 weeks-we exchanged a red and white week we owned (the red gave more power to our white the RCI rep. told me) and rented at one of those resorts in between for a few days. I put my search in two years ahead and the availability came up a year before our trip. This was before the TPU system. One was a silver crown resort (Banyon Harbor) and one was a gold crown (Paniolo Green). We never ate out except a Luau and a dinner when waiting for our red eye flight back home from Honolulu. Oh- and I think we grabbed a sandwich going there at the stop-over airport. We went food shopping on the islands and ate in.

So- we had the airfare, the timeshare maintenance fees, the rental cars and gas, the food (which- even if we were home we still have to eat so I really never count food costs on a vacation since we go to the supermarket mostly). Everything else in Hawaii was mostly free to do- beaches and snorkeling and sightseeing, etc. There might have been a few low cost incidental things we had to pay for, like a national park entrance fee, etc.. The one thing we sprang big bucks for was the sunset/stargazing tour up Mauna Kea on the Big Island and it was worth every penny IMO. I would say for us it was one of the most incredible things we have ever seen/done.

We also had to by snorkeling gear and had snorkeling masks made with our eye prescriptions in them before we left home and that was very expensive. Then I learned too late that you could rent masks in Hawaii with different prescriptions that would probably work ok. Although we got a ton of use out of them, we never used the masks after that trip. Live and learn.

This all said, the trip still cost quite a bit- but it was a 3 weeks stay.

The only time we were in Mexico was many years ago as a cruise ship port o' call to Cozumel and the nearby pyramids and some kind of swimming lagoon. Beautiful. Enjoyed it. But no desire to go back. (One thing that bothered me was that the adults send the little children to the docks to solicit money from the tourists coming off the ship. Not the reason I wouldn't go back, however.)

On the other hand, I cried when we left Hawaii. (PS- we had gone to Hawaii- all the islands- for our Honeymoon also-40 years ago!)

 

[taterhed]

I know, I'm on the 'expensive' east coast (I think Cali is higher!), but I can get a dang nice lunch in Kauai for less than I can in Virginia. Better and cheaper.
Costco in HI seems very much on par with NOVA as well. Gas at Costco was pretty much same price as home (not now, but last year).
the farmer's markets in HI can be very high....or very reasonable. Depends on the market, product and day.
Honestly though, I wouldn't call it extremely expensive. I just think you need to be a smarter shopper while on Vaca.
Just my2c.

BTW, Costco had Lagavulin 16 for $49 two years a go (on sale!). That was half-price from home. Talk about your bargains !!!

 

[DeniseM]

Kauai is nice but has a terrible traffic problem all year long.

Clarification - I would not say that "Kauai" has a traffic problem all year long. More accurately stated: there is a bottleneck through *Kapa'a* during rush hour every day.

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[DeniseM]

Dreamin - I understand your point, but since you didn't really discuss the costs/points involved in your original post, the bargain aspect of it wasn't clear.

That being said - it was a gutsy move going to Hawaii without all your reservations in place and I applaud you!

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[jhac007]

Clarification - I would not say that "Kauai" has a traffic problem all year long. More accurately stated: there is a bottleneck through *Kapa'a* during rush hour every day.

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Thank you for making this clear. The other comment was taken out of contents and could be very misleading to folks who have not been to Kauai!

 

[Luanne]

I know, I'm on the 'expensive' east coast (I think Cali is higher!), but I can get a dang nice lunch in Kauai for less than I can in Virginia. Better and cheaper.

Please don't call it "Cali". That drives the natives nuts. It would be like me calling where you live "Virgie".

By the way, "Cali" is in Columbia.

 

[taterhed]

Please don't call it "Cali". That drives the natives nuts. It would be like me calling where you live "Virgie".

By the way, "Cali" is in Columbia.

I'm sorry. I was honestly 'poking the bear.' I assumed somebody would chime in. And, if California is Cali, then Virginia would be the 'Virg' And, I'm here to say that Virginia is definitely on the verge of insanity bordering on D.C !!!!

Back on topic, I think the Southside traffic has definitely improved since the road construction has reached....what ever point it's currently at. Traffic wasn't near as bad as it was 2 years ago (or was it 3?). Sadly, Lihue to the river or beyond (north) still isn't a lot of fun at 5pm, but it's not like Honolulu

 

[easyrider]

Clarification - I would not say that "Kauai" has a traffic problem all year long. More accurately stated: there is a bottleneck through *Kapa'a* during rush hour every day.

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So your clarification is, every day, all year long, from 6 am to 7 pm, there is very bad traffic through Kapaa only ?

IMO, the traffic is very bad from Poipu through Kapaa with some of the worst being in Lihui. It takes about an hour to drive 20 miles from Kapaa to Poipu on the good days. I like Kauai but doubt I will go back until they add some roads. The population of Kauai has increased and the volume of tourists has increased but the infrastructure hasn't kept up.

Bill

 

[DeniseM]

We spent 4 weeks on Kauai last year, all high season, and I have only seen the kind of traffic that you are talking about during the morning and afternoon commute times going through Kapa'a - not all day long. We simply avoid driving through Kapa'a during those times.

When were you last on Kauai? They have added lanes to the highway though Lihue.