# Spending money?



## New2time (Jan 3, 2013)

My husband and I are still debating about trying to work in a Hawaiian vacation this upcoming summer....okay....honestly...it's mostly me... 

We have never been to Hawaii at all so I have no idea what to expect...outside of the obvious........plane tickets, rental car and the timeshare.........what other expenses should we expect on a trip like this? Are "tours" usually required to see the sights? We will probably eat some meals in the room but we do want to eat out some....what is a recommended amount of spending money needed for a couple for a week? Nothing overly fancy just want to see the island and relax mostly. We are Wyndham owners so we will probably stay in a Wyndham resort...thinking maybe Wyndham Kona. 

Also, when would be the best time to get a deal on plane tickets for a summer trip? 

thanks in advance for the information.


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 3, 2013)

Tours are not necessary at all, and they are expensive.  Just get a good guide book and a rental car - you can do more on your own.

I don't know how to recommend a dollar amount of cash - but I don't recommend taking cash anyway.  Just use a debit card or credit card, it's safer than cash.  Be aware that everything is more expensive than the main land.  Expect an avg. of 20% more, and you won't be surprised, maybe a little bit more than that compared to your area.  I just asked my husband what he would estimate as daily out-of-pocket expenses in Hawaii and he said probably about $100 a day average.  However, we seldom do any "fine dining."  

Summer airfare is high - figure out what airlines fly to Hawaii from your local airport and start watching airfare faithfully.


----------



## Passepartout (Jan 4, 2013)

As Denise said, get a good guidebook. or two. We found gas to be about $4 when it's $3 at home. Milk is almost $5/gal, eggs $3/doz, so you get the idea. Lunches out will run close to $20 each with a drink, dinners probably double that if you don't drink a lot of alcohol. You'll want to pay for a luau. Book ahead. Plan on about $100 each. Not counting airfare, rental car, and lodging which you can plan on and pay ahead, we probably spend about double what we spend at home. Give or take some.

Jim

Obviously your results will be different than mine.


----------



## vacationtime1 (Jan 4, 2013)

Hawaii is frightfully expensive.  But its best features are free.

Your rental car, rented snorkel gear (try Snorkel Bob's), comfortable shoes that can withstand walking on lava fields, and a good guidebook (Wizard Press is best) will get you to places of exquisite beauty for little or no "extra" money.

The good restaurants are absurdly expensive (I think Jim's and Denise's numbers are far too low), but you can buy fresh seafood, grill it at your unit, and eat it on your lanai and get 90% of the benefit of fine dining for a fraction of the cost.

We avoid the tours and the luaus completely.


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 4, 2013)

vacationtime1 said:


> The good restaurants are absurdly expensive (I think Jim's and Denise's numbers are far too low),



We are very casual people, and probably don't eat anywhere that you would consider a "good restaurant."


----------



## Passepartout (Jan 4, 2013)

DeniseM said:


> We are very casual people, and probably don't eat anywhere that you would consider a "good restaurant."



That's us too. We'd rather eat in a mom 'n' pop place, rubbing shoulders with the locals than a chain joint we'd find in the 'What's happenin' on (insert island name here)' handout.

But, it's true, some fresh fish, grilled on the lanai alongside slabs of grilled pineapple, washed down with a local microbrew or other tropical libation is darn hard to beat. And doesn't cost a lot.


----------



## philemer (Jan 4, 2013)

We budget $100/day for the 2 of us not including rental car, airfare & condo exchange/MF. So for a 2 week vacation we would budget $1400. That covers gas, food at home, some rest. meals & drinks, souvenirs, tours (gotta see the whales up close & personal) and misc. 'stuff'. The less you eat out the lower your cost will be.

We usually lock-in our condo space first & then look at airfare starting, up to, 10 months out.


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 4, 2013)

BTW - my $100 per day did not include major grocery shopping (we probably spend $150 per week) or for-pay activities like tours.  It's basically what we spend on daily dining and walking around money.


----------



## LisaRex (Jan 4, 2013)

We save a considerable amount of money on food by eating in most breakfasts and lunches in our villa.  We also grill out a few dinners.

Tours are not necessary, though I usually book at least one or two because I like them. Trilogy's trip to Lahaina is especially recommended.  And it includes both breakfast and lunch. 

For rental cars, be sure to read other threads on coupons and codes.  I always use Costco corporate code and Entertainment $30 off coupon at Alamo.  Some local places offer good rates, too.  Book early and then check back often to see if you can beat the rate. 

We accumulate miles solely for our Hawaii and St. John trips.  Just having one $1100 ticket paid for helps a lot.  

I also frequent FlyerTalk and will sign my husband and me up for credit cards if they offer great signing bonuses.  For instance, CapOne offered 110,000 CapOne Miles a year or so ago when they did a mileage match.  That one was worth $1100.  Chase Sapphire had one that was worth $600.  Cash back.  It helps us that we're paying nearly $50,000 in tuition a year as that helps us overcome any spending threshholds required to get these great bonuses.  The downside is that, well, we're paying $50k in tuition a year.


----------



## timeos2 (Jan 4, 2013)

Just so you aren't shocked here is a typical example of the extra cost in Hawaii. We rented a beach house on Oahu. The only place we could walk to was Dominoes Pizza. Went on line to place an order and they had a $5.99 pan pizza special - "except Hawaii". So we ordered it. When we picked it up the Hawaiian price was $15.65.  And that was still not "regular" Hawaiian price, that was also a "special". It was good though, and we enjoyed it on the beach in paradise so what is an extra $10 for that experience? Nothing. Go & enjoy. And expect to pay and not even care.


----------



## talkamotta (Jan 4, 2013)

Didnt notice which island you are going to.  We buy most of our food and cook it in our unit.  We buy our food and alcohol from Costco.  If we go to the Big Island the Costco is close to Kona and it was very reasonable.  Buy the revealled book for the island you are visiting.  The best things about Hawaii are free (might need a national park pass).  The best restaurant Ive been to on Hawaii was the Kona Brewery (not very expensive and the beers on tap are the best).  

If it werent for my maintenance fees I wouldnt think Hawaii wouldn't be that much more than any other vacation.  Air is a little more, but I used ff every chance I get.  So I pay a little more on food but I dont pay for admission to a park.  I pay the same on car rentals no matter where I go.  (average less than $200/wk for midsize car). 

The bottom line is you pay for what you like to do.  I dont have a new car, my 2005 Subaru is wonderful and paid for but I will pay what I need to so I can go where I want.  Hawaii should be on everyone's bucket list at least once.  

Oh and if you can....GO FOR MORE THAN JUST ONE WEEK.


----------



## gwenco (Jan 4, 2013)

*We spend less in Hawaii than at Disney!*

We  have stayed on every island with the exception of Oahu. That being said, due to staying in timeshares or the great package we got on Orbitz this past February, you can cut down on costs. I love taking tours on different trips as the tour guides really give you the "inside story" of each location.  You can also pack some food items for your condo in your suitcase as well - ie, peanut butter, pasta, frozen sauces, etc. If you are flying either United or Delta, get a credit card before hand so you can have at least one large suitcase checked free of charge! As like the previous posters have stated, bring little cash but bring some as the vendors along the highways and the macadamia nut stands are cash only.  We ususally treat ourselves to a really nice dining experience which is oceanside. You can't beat a Hawaiian meal watching for the green flash from an open air hotel/restaurant
The luau's are expensive but a must do at least once.
Enjoy!


----------



## alwysonvac (Jan 4, 2013)

New2time said:


> Also, when would be the best time to get a deal on plane tickets for a summer trip?



If you're not tied to a school calendar, it will be cheaper to fly in the fall  when the kids are in school and less crowded too.


----------



## 55plus (Jan 4, 2013)

*Hawaii Bound in two weeks...*

My wife and I go to Hawaii every year for several weeks. We leave in mid-January and return in February. We fly into Honolulu International (HNL). Flights are cheap this time of year. This year they cost us $512 round trip from Milwaukee. We stay in our timeshare (Wyndham at Waikik Beach Walk). We don't need a rental car because everything is right there. We take a shuttle from the airport to our condo. Usually within a day or two of arriving we rent a car for the day, drive around the island and stop at a military base (I'm retired military) to grocery shop and stock up for the amount of time we'll be there. This makes for a very inexpensive Hawaiian vacation and gets us out of the cold Wisconsin weather for a few weeks.


----------



## BevL (Jan 4, 2013)

For sure it is cheaper than a major disney vacation because there you HAVE to pay for entertainment, really.

We might do a dinner cruise or something but we don't take actual tours.  Much prefer the Hawaii Revealed and do it ourselves, that way we can stay longer where we like and skip the stuff that we're not interested in.

Groceries are more expensive there.  I think we're used to higher prices in Canada although their produce, as one might expect, is not great quality and twice the price we usually pay.  I bring spices and stuff from home because I get stuff like that in bulk here and can just bring a bit that I need.


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 4, 2013)

We go to the farmer's markets and road side stands for produce, which is cheaper and better.


----------



## nygiants11991 (Jan 5, 2013)

We budget $100 daily per person and we don't ever feel like we can't do something we want to do.  Some days you spend less, some days you spend more.  We do eat in our room, but not all the time.  In a 7 day trip we will  usually have one  extravagent meal with cocktails that puts us over the $100 daily allotment, but the next day we may eat all our meals prepared from our room.  Breakfast in the room, pack a lunch because we are going to drive the island and view the beautiful sights and then use the bbq for dinner.  I thnk if you budget $100 a day per person you will be fine, unless you are accustomed to eating every meal out or when you do eat they are at high dollar places.  We also don't do a lot of excursions.  We do one or two in the weeks time.  Those can run up the budget.


----------



## MOXJO7282 (Jan 5, 2013)

We've always found that at any of the Marriott resorts we've visited perhaps with the exception of Aruba we could spend as little or as much as we wanted on meals.

If we chose to eat in we could spend as little as $10-$15 a meal or if we went out as much as $200 per dinner, so its a matter of choice.

Yes you're going to spend a little more on the basics but not so much that it will break the bank.


----------



## BevL (Jan 5, 2013)

DeniseM said:


> We go to the farmer's markets and road side stands for produce, which is cheaper and better.



We did that as much as we could, but found there were somethings that we had to resort to the supermarket chains for.

Costco is a bit better for produce but if you buy a bag o' broccoli, you're eating it a LOT over the next week or two.


----------



## Passepartout (Jan 5, 2013)

We had 5 in the condo over Christmas and found the 6 packs of hearts of romaine lettuce at Costco. That provided core salad makin's and sandwich lettuce for the whole week for under $3.


----------



## MichaelColey (Jan 5, 2013)

Groceries are close to DOUBLE what they are back home for us, EXCEPT at Costco where most things are fairly comparable to mainland prices.  If you don't have a Costco membership, it's probably worth it even if it's just for a one week trip.

Eating out is also close to double what it is back home, so we eat almost all of our meals in the timeshare.

There are TONS of free activities.  Dozens of fabulous beaches on each island.  All free.  Some resort activities are free.  If they have a free hula show, do that rather than a $50-100 per person luau.  There are paid tours you can do, but most are totally skippable.

Gas is probably $1 higher per gallon.  Costco is probably $0.20 cheaper than anywhere else.

We actually find our Hawaii vacations fairly affordable (other than the cost of getting there), largely because of timeshares.  We can fix breakfast, pack a lunch and eat dinner back at the resort, and most of our activies (our kids LOVE the beaches) are free.

Also, regarding cash...  The only places I can think of that you really need it are farmer's markets and smaller shave ice stands.  Other than that, we use credit cards for just about everything.


----------



## MichaelColey (Jan 5, 2013)

BevL said:


> Costco is a bit better for produce but if you buy a bag o' broccoli, you're eating it a LOT over the next week or two.


If you plan meals that use a lot of the same ingredients, that helps.  But even if you don't, we found using half of a $4 bag of broccoli cheaper than buying a smaller $6 package at the grocery store.

About the only things we found the grocery stores competitive on (and even then it varied) was fruit and other Hawaiian products like cookies, coffee, etc.

Also, we usually pack a few dry items that we know we'll use (like pasta, canned goods, etc.).  We know we'll be coming back with plenty of souvenirs and other things, so we use the space heading out.


----------



## MichaelColey (Jan 5, 2013)

BevL said:


> For sure it is cheaper than a major disney vacation because there you HAVE to pay for entertainment, really.


You CAN do Disney frugally (but few do). The cost of a ticket over a longer stay (or an annual pass over several stays) isn't that bad. Nice timeshares in Orlando are dirt cheap to exchange into or rent. Off site (or in timeshare) dining is cheap.  Most entertainment is included in the passes.


----------



## DaveNV (Jan 5, 2013)

When planning a Hawaii vacation, the island you're going to be on also factors into the price.  Oahu and Maui have much more available, in terms of restaurants, shopping, and tours, as compared to Kauai or the Big Island.  So you'll want to factor in what you want to do with your time.  

As has been pointed out, if you eat in your room, you'll save a lot of money over eating out.  And if you explore on your own, you'll probably save more than if taking formal tours.  It all depends on how invested you want to be in your own vacation.

I've been to Hawaii enough that I rarely take tours anymore.  But as a first-timer, (at least on Oahu), you may find a "circle island" kind of thing worthwhile.  Then you can go back to areas that most interest you to explore on your own schedule.

Hawaii doesn't have to be "that" expensive, but planning ahead helps.

Have fun!
Dave


----------



## DeniseM (Jan 5, 2013)

I think your level of "sticker shock" really depends on where you live.  We live on the West Coast, so prices don't seem much higher, and eating out is about the same.  If you are from the mid-West or South, you may notice more of a difference.


----------



## LisaRex (Jan 9, 2013)

DeniseM said:


> I think your level of "sticker shock" really depends on where you live.  We live on the West Coast, so prices don't seem much higher, and eating out is about the same.  If you are from the mid-West or South, you may notice more of a difference.



Prices on the islands are not appreciably higher than what you'd find on any other tourist town, such as Hilton Head Island. 

St. John, on the other hand, blew my mind.


----------



## daventrina (Jan 10, 2013)

Take ....
1/3 of the clothes ... 
and
3x the money


----------



## ThreeLittleBirds (Jan 10, 2013)

We are currently in the middle of a 3 week trip (Kauai/Maui). Like Denise said, it all depends on where you are coming from. I don't find the prices to be that much more. 

We also eat almost all breakfast and all lunches at the condo. We probably will eat dinner out a total of 5 times during our 3 weeks. We don't do fancy. We find the "bar food" at some places to be great. Duke's in Ka'anapali is a great example. The view is better from the bar, the food is 1/2 the price from inside, and much more our style (we do have a 5 year old). Plus, they always throw in a free hula pie, which more than covers desert for 3 people. 

We bought $250 in groceries when we got here, and will probably spend the same again on Sunday. Spent about $150 in groceries on Kauai. The only reason I would say we spend more on groceries than at home is because my boy eats twice as much -- ocean swimming makes you hungry!


----------



## daventrina (Jan 11, 2013)

ThreeLittleBirds said:


> We are currently in the middle of a 3 week trip (Kauai/Maui). Like Denise said, it all depends on where you are coming from. I don't find the prices to be that much more.


We don't either. 

But we aren't in to expensive dining out either. We with almost no exception eat breakfast in. Usually, if we are going to eat out it will be for lunch. 

We don't spend a bunch on "activities" but will attend a timeshare presentation to significantly reduce the cost of some things that we may want to do.

Hawaii has so many things that you can do that are either free or inexpensive.


----------



## ampaholic (Jan 11, 2013)

We went to Waikiki (Oahu) in April '12 for one week - we spent $3,950 dollars total - I feel we went "in style"

$1100 in air fare (got one for $99) for the three of us from Seattle and back.

We stayed at the Waikiki Beach Walk (about $750 in exchanges & fees) we rented a mid sized car for the week (about $750 as well) and we paid about $400 in other car expenses (gas, parking etc.).

We spent about $900 to $950 on eating, food, sights (snorkel rental etc.) and sundries (DW buys orchids!).

We had a real good time and it was well worth it for us.


----------



## chewie (Jan 12, 2013)

Styrofoam Ice Chest from grocery store $6

The grocery stores have the Hawaiian pancake mix with Mac nuts - $4

Hawaiian Sun coconut pancake syrup = $4 bottle

Eggs $3-4 a dozen - but better than any organic you can find on mainland

Then ....

Cook a nice heavy breakfast and thoroughly enjoy on the lanai.  Pack a sandwich with a bag of chips and soft drinks for the ice chest.  

Troll the main roads at the end of each day for the fishermen that come back in with an abundance of their day's catch of Mahi, Ono (Wahoo), Ahi Tuna.... fresh and rock bottom prices, and cook a nice supper that will cost you 1/5th of restaurant prices.

Shower, then repeat the same process for 2 weeks.

We found this process to be cheaper than a Mexico non all-inclusive vacation where we cooked maybe every every 3rd day.  

We still talk quite often about how much differently (and much better) the food tasted in Hawaii.  Deeper and richer flavors, and it seemed that there is a much bigger push for much less processed foods over there.  We can't wait to get back for 2 weeks this summer.


----------



## 55plus (Jan 12, 2013)

DeniseM said:


> We go to the farmer's markets and road side stands for produce, which is cheaper and better.



We saw a guy selling meat out out of the trunk of his car on the North Shore. At least that's what his homemade sign said. We didn't stop....


----------



## Liz Wolf-Spada (Jan 13, 2013)

I don't think of Hawaii as expensive. We have already paid for our week, (usually one we own, plus one we exchange), we have already paid for airfare (true, we are in California) and so we just have to pay for rental car and food and we need food anywhere. Sometimes organic fruits and vegetables are available cheaply even at stores. Milk is expensive, but I don't drink much of it, gas is expensive, but it is in California, too. We eat out a couple times, but spend about $30 or so, including wine or a drink, per person. We don't do expensive tours, as we have gone often enough to see what we what on our own. Beaches are free, as is parking. I can't imagine my life without a trip to Hawaii every year.
Liz


----------



## rifleman69 (Jan 13, 2013)

I can vouch for April being almost "dead" around Kauai.   Great time to go and you can do just about anything you want with no wait at all!


----------



## cgeidl (Jan 14, 2013)

*Three weeks for two*

Condo mf=1500
Car rental 600
Gas 150
Eat out once a day $25 for two.We use two for one gift card or it would be $50
21days=about$500
Flight from Phx and interisland 1000
Food for condo$300 including mai tais
Golf about6 times at military courses $360
Whole trip about $4500 for three weeks for two.
We have been about 25times to different islands and the longer you go the lower the average daily price.this trip willbeless as the condo fees and car willbe shared so $3500 will make do.


----------

