2023-07-20 04:24:09
Jesse Collier visits a coconut farm. Jesse Collier
Jesse Collier spent nearly $6,000 on a 10-day vacation for two.
Looking back, she says she could have saved money if she’d traveled in the off-season and cooked her own meals more often.
Collier also recommends using public transportation and eating more street food.
This is a machine translation of an article by our US colleagues at Insider. It was automatically translated and checked by a real editor. We welcome feedback at the end of the article.
The year was 2021. It was our first trip since 2019, and my husband and I decided to take a tropical getaway to Maui, Hawaii. After various closures, house bans and quarantine measures, Hawaii had introduced its Safe Travels program, under which vaccinated people could enter without quarantine.
I consider myself a budget traveler, I’ve even created a brand for travel without breaking the bank. Almost every vacation has consisted of finding great deals, a few strategic travel hacks, and timing out of season.
This time I spent nearly $6,000 on a 10-day vacation for two. That was more expensive than my 3-week honeymoon trip to four countries in Europe and by far the most I’ve ever spent on a vacation . I was so excited to be going back on vacation after what felt like an eternity at home that I was careless with the money, which didn’t sit well with me.
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Here’s how I could have saved a lot of money on my trip to Hawaii.
1. Reisen in the low season is cheaper
I traveled to Maui in the summer, which is a very busy and expensive time. Traveling in the off-season (aka low or mid-season) often means up to 23 times cheaper flights and much cheaper hotel and car rentals.
The beach is also less crowded, which is a welcome bonus. The kicker is that Hawaii’s high season is almost year-round: from December to March, tourists flock to Hawaii to escape the cold and watch whales. June to August is the busiest month because the kids are out of school and the weather is at its warmest and the chance of rain is least.
Spring and fall are considered the off-season, when you’re likely to find the best deals. A word of warning: October through April rains the most in Hawaii. So find out about the average weather in the weeks you plan to visit to know what to expect.
2. Pack at least one meal a day
If travelers want to save money, especially in large groups, I always recommend finding accommodation with a kitchen or kitchenette and cooking up some meals.
You can spend anywhere from $15 to $25 or more per person if you go to a restaurant for every meal. A quick purchase at Foodland or the farmers market will give you the same fresh ingredients for your meals, only prepared “at home”. Foodland is also known for its delicious – and reasonably priced – poke bowls. In my experience, breakfast and lunch are the easiest to combine and either eat quickly at the hotel or take to the beach.
By the way, if you’re looking for the coveted Maui Gold pineapple, we couldn’t find it in any grocery store, so head to the local farmer’s market for the delicious fruit.
3. A snorkeling trip on your own
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We did two catamaran snorkeling trips: one to Coral Gardens and one to Molokini Crater.
To be honest, the Coral Gardens tour was rather disappointing: the murky water didn’t do the corals justice (granted, I’m spoiled by snorkeling in clear Caribbean waters), and it was extremely windy, which is not the case with lunch on a boat is just comfortable. To add more salt to the wound, we didn’t see any turtles or other wild animals.
Our trip to Molokini was better but I was looking forward to seeing turtles and we didn’t see any on those two trips. We spent a total of $352 on these snorkeling tours, which, considering it costs $15 to rent a snorkel kit, is a bitter pill.
Some tours go to what they call “Turtle Town,” but I spoke to a local who said Makena Surf, near Wailea, qualifies as Turtle Town. She also recommended Airport Beach, Honolua Bay, and Kapalua Bay to see turtles.
Long story short, you don’t need a snorkeling tour to see some cool animals, just go to Boss Frog and rent some snorkels. We even got lucky a few times and saw turtles on the beach!
4. A portable coffee maker withtake
Sure, hotels and rentals often have coffee makers, but do you really want to drink that coffee?
Aside from the fact that these machines are said to be almost never cleaned, the coffee just tastes awful. Pack a bag of pre-ground specialty beans and an Aeropress or coffee filter, and as long as you have either a microwave, kettle, or stovetop to heat water, you’ll have quality coffee.
My husband runs a coffee shop and was so burned out that he decided not to make coffee at all on this trip. While I don’t blame him, we certainly paid for it as a latte was about $6-8 apiece.
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5. Rent a car 15 minutes from the airport
When visiting Hawaii, food, hotels, and plane tickets aren’t the only big expenses: We ended up paying about $976 for a 10-day rental car.
At that time prevailed nationwide extreme lack of rental cars, so I had to take what I could get.
If I were to go there again I would book a rental car 15 minutes by taxi from the airport as they say the further away from the airport the cheaper the prices. If you want a car waiting for you at the airport, I don’t blame you, but you pay an extra fee for it.
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6. More street food try out
Like many tourist spots, Hawaii has amazing street food: Poke, Shave Ice, Acai Bowls, Spam Musubi, Manapua to name a few. While we tried a few of these, we definitely would have saved some money if we had spent less time in restaurants and more time on a bench eating street food and feeling the sea breeze.
There are tons of YouTube videos and blogs about the best street food on each Hawaiian island if you want to get your bearings.
7. Take public transport instead of renting a car
As you know, rental cars are quite expensive, but Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island all have public transit systems. If traveling by bus is a must for your budget, I recommend you to look at the transport lines of each area and see if you can easily reach all the places you want to visit. If there are a few short stretches here and there that you can’t get to by bus, hailing an Uber or Lyft is always an option. Be sure to plan for the appropriate costs.
Hawaii is an incredible travel destination for people of all ages, whether you’re staying in a basic youth hostel or relaxing in a luxury resort. Hawaii is notoriously expensive, and the costs certainly add up, but by following these tips, you can alleviate some of the financial burden. Rather than fret over that credit card bill, you can return from Hawaii relaxed and rested — and, let’s be honest, with a little sunburn. It’s worth it.
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