Is a low-cost Hawaiian vacation possible?

One of the disappointing aspects of the Travel Show was the realization that the price of traveling to Hawaii seems to have increased from just last July and that an inexpensive or even cost-effective Hawaiian vacation has vanished, just like the Hawaiian pre-missionary tikis.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a Hawaiian vacation which spares enough cash for me to buy more tikis to surround my new bar from Bamboo Ben (which was one of the glorious aspects of the Travel show)?

(Otherwise, it'll be the Half Moon Inn or someplace on Cabrillo in Santa Barbara and I'll have to pretend!)

I stayed in a fantastic house in the hills of Kauai with laundry, living room, kitchen and a view of waterfalls and the ocean and zero sightlines to any neighbors.

We had a whole floor to ourselves.
Use of the kayaks, bikes, other stuff.

We cooked there some and saved plenty of money that way and only paid $100 per night for the place. There were places cheaper than that too, even in Hanalei, with not as much privacy... but still nice.

Go off-season.

Our activites were hiking and visiting gardens and snorkeling and scuba.
Only the scuba was pricey.

Also, we brought mixers with us and bought rum so we could make our own drinks in the spectacular setting where we stayed.

That allowed us to really splurge when it was time to. Plantation Inn. A Pacific Cafe.

I cashed in FF miles for the tickets there and back.

I hate you for bringing this up, by the way.
sigh
I'm gonna spill a drink on you when I come to LA. And it won't be an inexpensive one.

i'd be happy to lend you two books ~ of Oahu's hole-in-the-wall restauarnts. cheap eats is always an easy way to save money!

drop me a pm..

elicia

Chris,

The island you decide to go to has a lot to do with it too. For example, it's cheaper to fly to Oahu than to Maui.

I suggest going to one of the lesser populated islands like Maui. The flight is more expensive, but you can save money elsewhere. Stay away from the resorts. You can rent a condo with a kitchen 20 feet from the ocean for under $100 bucks a night. The kitchen is a plus, because you can cook and save a bunch of money. There are also tons of places where you can rent what they call "recreational" automobiles for dirt cheap. When I say recreational I mean a busted up 80's Jeep with a cracked windshield, no carpet, and no top. Some may find it a bit primitive, but I thought it was pretty damn cool. It's an adventure after all! You can also save money by not staying in a town, but on the outskirts. A 5 minute drive out of town can save you a ton of dough when it comes to where you're going to stay. There are a lot of great books out there, but it's been so long, I can't remember which ones I had when I went. I believe it was the Frommers Guide to Hawaii. It had all the info you need to know. Restaurants, places to stay, things to do, where to rent vehicles, etc. I'll see if I can't dig it up.

Aloha,
Shelley and I, in the past have travelled with Pleasent Hawaiian Holidays.
http://www.pleasantholidays.com/PleasantHolidaysWeb/MainDestinationDisplayView.do?key_MainDestinationOID=code__.__HAW
For round trip from LAX and a 5 nights in a C+ hotel we've paid around $500 each. I could be happy eating plate lunch and homemade sandwiches, laying on the beach all week.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3081266/
Here is a list of cheap things to do. We went to the arboretum, the walking tours, saw the royal hawaiian band, went to the aloha tower, got blessed in the shinto shrine in Honolulu, bought cheap leis in Chinatown, went to the free teahouse in waikiki, went to free day at the Honolulu academy of arts and went to queen Emmas Summer palace. (not all in one trip). But it was free or inexpensive to do all these things, cheap bastard that I am.
Mahalo,
Al

suntrips.com also has some good deals for going out to hawaii. be warned - I know some people that have horror stories about the flights (delayed, cancelled, etc).

the flight/hotel packages at pleasant holidays and suntrips are sometimes cheaper than buying a flight out there at regular price.

Maggie and I backpacked Maui and Lanai, with a rental car to store gear we weren't using. This was extremely cost effective and we got to see things and meet people we othewise would have missed. There's nothing quite like the night sky as viewed from the crater of Haleakala!

Book well in advance, avoid summer travel, and you should be able to get a RT flight on a major airline for $400-500 from LA to Oahu.

I also have heard horror stories about Suntrips and other charter companies so I would avoid them.

Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays sometimes have good deals but usually the hotel choices aren't that good (big chains) and by the time you add it up (the rate quoted is per-person) sometimes it costs more than booking the flight, lodging, and car seperately.

Stay for a week or two. You can usually get a cheap weekly rate on a rental car.

I loved this older little hotel in Kona called the Kona Tiki Hotel. It's right on the ocean (cliffside but great beaches are close by). The rooms all have kitchens and face the ocean, the ones on the ground floor have patios while the 2nd. and 3rd. floor units have lanais. None have TVs or phones. There are tiki carvings on the doors. There is a great pool with lava rock walls so close to the ocean that waves sometimes crash over the wall into the pool. There are even barbeques for the guests so you can cook up some fresh fish and save money that way. The best thing is the price which ranges from $65-85 per night, but you'll need to book way in advance, and they don't take credit cards.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60872-d111596-r2332712-Kona_Tiki_Hotel-Kailua_Kona_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html

If you don't mind roughing it, camping is a cheap way to go. For example, there are some gorgeous canyons and beaches on the leeward side of the Big Island that you can camp at for free.

On 2005-03-02 11:05, thejab wrote:
Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays sometimes have good deals but usually the hotel choices aren't that good (big chains) and by the time you add it up (the rate quoted is per-person) sometimes it costs more than booking the flight, lodging, and car seperately.

Keep in mind that the rate quoted on these packages is usually per person based on double occupancy, so if you are traveling alone you will have to shell out some additional cash.

I suggest picking up a copy of "Hidden Hawaii" (Ulysses Press). It's loaded with info on budget hotels and camping.

I went a year and a half ago. Had two $500 flight vouchers from being voluntarily bumped on an earlier trip. Late September flights from Orlando to Honolulu were $515 so the flight was $15. I work for the government and if you ask hotels for government rates you can get some good discounts. Hilton Hawaiian Village was about 40% off. We stayed in the Rainbow Tower with a view of the beach for around $135 a night. Found an online rental car promotion and got a Chrysler convertible for 10 days for around $425. Planning months in advance and hunting out our own deals by far beat out any package deal we saw advertised. Had a fridge in the room so we could go to the grocery store and stock up on sushi, tako poke and all kinds of good stuff cheap. Booze was pretty cheap compared to here which surprised me. Arrange your departure so that you leave late at night (this worked for Orlando, dunno about LA) and its like a free extra day. We checked out at noon or one but the HHV will give you a complementary room to use after check out if you have a late flight. Hung out at the beach and at the bar all afternoon and early evening, cleaned up and then went to the airport for a late night departure and slept on the flight.

Tikidug's place on the Big Island is a good deal IMO at $750 a week.