How to Travel Hawaii on a Budget
Hawaii is generally a very expensive place to travel. There isn’t much of a backpacking scene-especially outside of Oahu. It makes sense; the real estate supply is very limited in paradise, Hawaii uses the strong USD, the public transportation isn’t easy to navigate as a tourist, and the demand to travel to Hawaii is very high. The tourism economy caters to the luxury traveler and most accommodation is high end resort style. With all that being said, there are ways to stick to a budget and travel Hawaii frugally, especially if you are willing to rough it a little.
Use miles & points for your Hawaii vacation
If you’re traveling from mainland USA. Redeeming miles on Alaska Air, Hawaiian Air, American Air, United, or Delta will offer some of the best value for your miles. I’ve gotten a round trip from the East Coast of USA for 15k American Air miles and I didn’t have to pay a hefty tax for traveling abroad because you’re not leaving the US. Redeeming miles for a flight from mainland USA to Hawaii is the best value I’ve ever found for my miles. You can use your miles to fly into one island, then use your miles to fly home from another island- all for the same as using miles for a roundtrip into one island only. Inter-island flights aren’t expensive if planned in advance.
Accommodation can be very expensive, especially if you want to experience one of the high caliber resorts. Consider opening a Marriott or Hilton credit card with a lucrative sign up bonus to subsidize the cost of hotels in Hawaii. Hawaii is an ideal destination to splurge on hotel points as the resorts here are world class.
Don’t Travel during US holidays- Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving week, Spring Break or Summer.
Avoid US holidays. A lot of wealthy families will travel to Hawaii when their kids are out of school, driving up costs. You will find better deals in lesser demanded months- February, April, May September, October.
Time share Sales Pitch
You can negotiate free tours in exchange for sitting through a painful Timeshare sales pitch. I received a Molokini crater tour & a luau dinner voucher in exchange for wasting the first half of one my days of vacation in a timeshare sales pitch. This is a high pressure sales situation, but just make sure you are stern and don’t stay longer than you have to. Do not even go in with an open mind of “investing” in a time share as it is a terrible investment. Is a couple hours of your vacation time worth leveraging for a free excursion?
Camping
Hawaii has some epic camping opportunities. I would recommend paying for a designated camp spot and not attempting to wild camp as that is greatly frowned upon. There is a large homeless population in Hawaii. There are plenty of state parks and private campgrounds that offer affordable, safe, and beautiful campgrounds. Bring your own gear, rent a cheap car, and then camp every-night. This is the cheapest way to see Hawaii.
Van life
Similar to above Van life is gaining popularity as a relatively cheap way to see Hawaii. You are paying for your transportation and accommodation in one. This is what I did for the first half of my Maui Vacation. I preferred Van life to camping as I had a bed in a van covered from the elements. It was really nice to to see the island outside of normal touristed hotel zones and connect with the local culture. I wouldn’t recommend a large van or RV, roads in HI can be tough and having a smaller agile van is ideal.
Eating at Safeland and Foodway
Hawaiian grocers offer high quality food- especially their poke. Like instead of a Sub sandwich line they will have Poke bowl lines with good quality sushi. When I was camping out of my van I would just stock up on premade food from Safeway and Foodland. Hawaii has a really unique food scene more similar to Japan’s convenience store food. Make sure to try the local “delicacy” Spam Musubi! Eating out at sit-down restaurants is going to break the bank in Hawaii.
Eating at Food trucks & Food Stands.
Hawaii has a thriving food truck scene which is more expensive than eating at Safeland & Foodway, but a cheaper alternative to a sit down restaurant. You can still eat really quality food from food trucks in Hawaii. Food stands are also very popular in Hawaii- for example, the Road to Hana has world famous banana bread, really fresh fruit, and coffee stands at major mile markers. The starfruit and avocados were some of the best quality fruit I’ve ever had.
Staying at hotels or Airbnb with kitchenettes & free breakfast
Pretty obvious one here, but cook your own basic meals. The Residence Inn Wailea had a kitchenette & free breakfast so I saved a lot of money by loading up on a buffet breakfast and cooking a basic meal for dinner.
Utilize sharing economy- Turo, Airbnb
I had to rent a car for a day and I found the cheapest prices on Turo- a peer to peer car rental platform. You can also rent single rooms on Airbnb’s and find a quality host family. Renting out a single room listed on Airbnb will for sure be cheaper than a hotel and will hopefully lead to a connection with your local host family.