Budget Travel to Hawaii: Oahu, Maui, Big Island

Getting to Hawaii is always going to be cheapest in December and January.  Do some serious flight searching and see what you can find.  We flew Hawaiian airlines out of Oakland to Oahu for $460 (including taxes) round trip. I bet you could find it for even cheaper from the west coast on United.  Hawaiian is a really nice airline, tho. They gave us a free mai tai on the way and wine on the way back!

Once we got to Honolulu airport, we had to ask and look at the map to find where the city bus pick up was.  The city bus is $2.50 a ride.  Pick up is out front on the far pick up lane.  There are several buses that go by, and we learned from a nice guy waiting, that we needed the "L" version of the 19 to get into downtown Waikiki.  You need $2.50 in change for each person (or a $5 note for both).  Traffic in Oahu is terrible, and the bus ride will take about 45 minutes, but of course you will be super excited to be there!

We took the bus to our hostel, which is the Seaside Hawaiian Hostel, and is mere blocks from the beach.  It requires a minimum of a 2 night stay, and you can do a bed in a dorm room for about $22, and then a private or en suite room as well for more.  They serve free coffee and toast in the morning.  Remember that a lot of traveling young people will stay at hostels, so bring earplugs! ;)  There are a couple other hostels, I think, but Jesse chose this one, based on reviews.  If you book on hostelworld.com you may find the price is even cheaper. And going with a friend will help you afford a private room, if you aren't 21 and dorms aren't your thing. ;)  The bathrooms were absolutely acceptable and clean and I did not feel grossed out one bit.  The shower was hot and clean.  There is a big kitchen and fridge, if you'd like to make food, which will help you save money.  Write out some easy things to make so that when you get there it's not an issue and you don't have to use your precious brain power for thinking about what to buy!  It all needs to go to thinking about how awesome Hawaii is! :)  Staying in a hostel is a small price to pay for staying in Waikiki!

That late afternoon, after we got to the hostel and ate, we just walked around soaking it all in. We walked all the way up the Waikiki beach, which was awesome.  Then through the parks on the way back.  I needed a cardigan after the sun went down, but Jesse just wore a t shirt.  Honolulu is rather expensive for people who aren't from San Francisco, so be aware food and drink will be an expense.  You could have a look on Yelp and select the one and two $$ signs and locate some places that are acceptable to you.  Or you could just buy some pasta at the store and make it at the hostel.  But if you do just a bit of searching, you'll find something with "normal" prices.

In Oahu, you can take the city bus anywhere.  The first day, we took it up to the trail head for Makapu'u Point, where there are beautiful views of the coast.  We chose this trail because it was shorter and easy to get to by bus. It was one bus.  AND, it's free!  But there are many trails, with all kinds of terrain, and some with waterfalls, etc.  If I were to do it again, I'd research which hike I wanted and how to get there before I left the mainland! Just Google "Hikes on Oahu" and then Google map how to get there from your hostel/hotel.  We bought sandwiches and put them in our backpacks and ate at the top.  It was not cold at all, just windy!  We walked all the way down to the bottom, through the valley, to the main road. It comes out slightly to the left of a country club, where there is a bus stop in front of.  I wanted to hitch hike, but Jesse wasn't into it.  :)  We didn't have the right change, so went into the country club store and they gave us some. There was a restaurant in there too, but we wanted to get back.  There is also a restroom.

The next day I went on a dolphin tour, which was my big splurge, and Jesse went skydiving.  The dolphin tour picked me up from the hostel.  Jesse read reviews and decided Dolphin Excursions was the best bet. And it was great. They were really nice and friendly and informative.  It took about an hour to get to the spot.  I didn't see any dolphins while I was in the water, but saw them from the boat, which was small.  You do not need to rent the wet suit,  it's not that cold! :)   But, since it's not guaranteed you'll see dolphins, it's up to you if you want to risk it, as it cost about $100.  They do feed you afterwards, however! And then drive you home.

That evening we walked around Chinatown and the old palace and other buildings. There are museums around this area that are probably not that expensive.  But just walking around here was amazing, as it's so unique.  We didn't really research free or inexpensive things to do, but I'm sure they exist.  We just knew we wanted to hike, so we did that.

The next day, we left by way of the Honolulu airport to go to Maui.  We flew Island Air for $80. The airport is in Kahului. In Maui, we rented a car from the airport for $45 a day.  This was a pretty low price.  But renting a car is a necessity in Maui.

We stayed at the Lahaina Inn in Lahaina.  Lahaina is about a 30 minute drive from the airport.  The rental cars don't have GPS, so you can use your phone.  I have Metro PCS, which is not a great service, so my GPS was sometimes slow and sometimes non-existent. :)  But, relax, you're in Hawaii. :)  Get a good map from the rental car place. We forgot to do that, and had a crappy map.

Lahaina Inn was great.  It was built in the 1930's, so yes, it's older.  But we love that.  It was clean, professional, and cute.  And expensive! For US, but not for Maui! :)  $145 a night, including tax.  Again, look at all different websites to see if you can get different quotes.  Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, etc.  There is a hostel called Banana Bungalow, in Kahului, so accessible by bus easily, that has dorm rooms for $40 a night and $100 for a private double, $120 for a private triple (before tax).  So, really compare and contrast.  We were also lucky and got a balcony room at Lahaina Inn!  And it is a perfect location, close to everything.

Also, I saw many signs for camping!  ;)  I love camping, but lugging gear to Hawaii isn't really an option.  But if you want to do that (I don't know if Hawaiian airlines charges for checked bags), you could rent a car and then camp.  You'd have to research amenities at the campgrounds - a grill for cooking, bathrooms. Sometimes, campgrounds are really great and can save you money.

The first day, we drove down south, to the end of highway 31.  It finally ends in a lava field.  You can get out and walk down the coast along a beautiful trail even further.  We saw about 10 other humans the whole hour.  It was gorgeous.
We stopped in Kihei to eat on our way back. There is a cute little area between Alahele Pl and Keala Pl with a good pizza place, shave ice, little cute shops, etc.

The next day we drove to the north, along the highway 30 to the 340.  It was a crazy drive!  It takes a couple hours, because it's so bendy.  And you will want to stop to get out and take pictures. We learned later that rental cars aren't supposed to go on it, because the road gets really narrow and curvy.  But of course it was so cool!

We made a point to be on the beach to watch the sun set, which was always so cool.

We ate in Lahaina, which was not as expensive as Honolulu, but still not cheap.

We were going to return our rental car and take a bus back to Lahania, to save money.  But we got food poisoning, and didn't want to be stuck on a bus for too long!  Yes, awful.  We think it was from these crab rangoon things we ordered at a place called Lahaina Coolers. So don't go there! haha.  So Jesse went to book another car online and found one at Budget for only $30 a day, which is great.  I would try to find this rate.  I've also heard if you rent a car in town you can find it for $20 a day.  Jesse thinks it's because he made a booking for the next day, and Budget had the cars and wanted to get rid of them.  Who knows.

The next day we drove the southern road, to Hana.  This is a better road.  It does curve a lot, but the road is wide.  There is nowhere to stop after Mama's Fish House.  I've heard that place is good, so stop there before hitting the road!
Do some research on how to get to what you want to see in Hana.  There is a cultural center and museum, a red sand beach (which we went to - a bit of a tricky walk along the cliff, but doable), a black sand beach. The Seven Sacred Pools are very popular, but further down the road and we didn't go. We had to get back to Lahaina because we were having dinner with a friend of a friend.  He and his wife made us a meal! So that was nice!

The next day we flew to the Big Island on a tiny little plane.  Hawaiian Air. It was $80.  We flew into Kona, rented a car, and drove to Hilo.  There is a hostel in Hilo called Hilo Bay Hostel and it was lovely.  Dorm $30, private $69, before taxes.  It's separated into male and female.  Again, an old building.  It's in the middle of town - everything right next to you - coffee, a little breakfast place if you take a right out the front door and then a right onto Keawe Street.  Just two or three doors down.  The coffee place right across the street (it's a renovated gas station) has breakfast sandwiches too.  We ate dinner at Cafe Pesto, and it was really good.   This hostel also had a little mini fridge in our room, so we could buy beer and have some beers at the end of the day.

The drive to Hilo from the airport is about an hour and a half. So probably plan your flight to land at least a few hours before sunset.  You will want to eat probably, before you set out.  Or bring sandwiches with you. There are no places to stop really, once you leave Kona.

Street parking in Hilo is 2 hour limit starting at 8am, but we were told they are very lax about it, and they were!

There are several other hostels, one right across the street from this one.  But these are the most centrally located. So it depends. If you have a car, you may want to be a little more rural! Why not! :)

We drove a bit down the highway 19 on our first day.  We did a lot of driving, because we like to see as much as possible.  And it's free. The parks along the coast are just beautiful.  Pull in the parking lots and hop out to take pictures.

The next day we went north on the 19, take the "scenic drive" when you see the sign for it on the right.  It's about 5 miles, and pops you out onto the 19 again.  Then also drive up to the Akaka Falls.  Park right outside the parking lot for free parking.  It's only a dollar to go in.  You don't need hiking shoes, it's totally paved.  It's a 1 mile circular walk, with the falls half way along.  Totally worth it.

Then we kept going north to the Waipio Lookout.  This is a valley where native Hawaiians lived for hundreds of years before colonials arrived.  It's free to park and beautiful.  The town of Honokaa is really cute, with some places to eat and shop.

Then we kept driving over to the "dry side" to see Hapuna Beach and get a couple hours of beach time.  It was really beautiful.

Then we continued down to Kona.  Kona was pretty touristy, which we were not really into. But it was cute, of course. There is the oldest church in Hawaii there, and an old palace. They were super cool.

Then we drove back to Hilo in the dark!  haha.

The next day we met up with another friend of a friend in the town of Volcano.  He took us in his truck to see the green sand beach in Papakolea.  If you don't have a truck, you will have to park about a mile away from the beach, and walk.  It would be easier with decent shoes. It's a sandy, windy, and gravelly walk over mounds.  It is really worth it, however and most people walked.  It's just so beautiful. And it's free!!!  No food or amenities at all. Completely natural.  There are locals that give rides to the beach and back from the parking area for $10, we heard, and we also saw lots of people in the back of pick ups.  There is quite a steep path down to the beach.  So if you're not into any type of hills, you won't be able to get down to the beach.  However, kids and dogs and people with coolers were doing it.

Then the next day we drove back to Kona, got a flight to Honolulu, and then a flight back to Oakland.  It was ten wonderful days, and I miss Hawaii so much!

The key to budget traveling is doing a lot of research, evaluating and reading.  Read the reviews, google map things, and see if you can find blogs like these about other people's experiences.  Use the local city buses, buy sandwiches, etc. Ask the locals questions, they are always happy to help!  Pack light, pack some Cliff Bars, and look for cheap and free stuff like hiking to do.  You don't need to be doing all sorts of activities to experience a place.  On the contrary.  Just walking around is the best way.  And that's free!  There is no need to skydive, water ski, surf, zip line.  Those are nice, yes, but you're in Hawaii!  Looking around is the best thing to do!

I'm estimating, each of us spent about $2300 each.  $1500 on flights, cars, rooms.  And $800 on food, drink, gifts, gas for the car, entertainment.  This is just my guess. I haven't calculated closely. So you could do 10 days on 3 islands for about $4000 - $5000 as a couple, WITH a car for 2 islands! We definitely spent more on food then we needed to, because we are gluttons and love to eat and drink. :)

Please feel free to ask any questions below!