Anyone have any ideas on how to do Hawaii on a strict budget?

[snowiit]

Also I wish I could find a better rental car rate for Oahu. Our last four nights will be spent at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikaki. We are using Hertz because you can pick up and drop off at the hotel, then just taxi to the airport.

We are planning on staying at the HHV but over a year from now. I would love to hear your opinions and tips when you get back! Have a wonderful trip!
Nancy

 

[kjh]

I wish I had seen this sooner. I live on Oahu (I am sure there are other Disers who do too) and would be willing to help. I read the first page and jumped right to the last because 11 pages is a bit much to read.

 

[kjh]

I only have one child so far and she's only 21 months old....I see a lot of suggestions wanted for kids in a older age ranges so I will do my best.
If you've been to Sea World or an equivalent, save your money and don't go to Sea Life Park. It's great for those who don't have access to Sea World or the likes but to me it paled in comparison to Sea World (Both San Diego and Orlando).
I am a Honolulu Zoo member, and while they are doing their best to make it a great zoo, the savanah area is both good and bad. It's great to see animals in more natural settings but it also allows them to hid more. but I have to say that it is the closest I have ever been to a tiger at any zoo. If you go to the zoo and you see the tiger cage the far right has a bench a little off the path (just off actually) and you can sit there or stand and watch the tiger. If the tiger is pacing you'll be less that 7 feet from it.
Hawaiian Waters Adventure park is a good park to go to on a hot day. I haven't been there for a year or so though.
Ko Olina/Ihilani has man made lagoons. There are 4 of them, #4 being my fav. They're free and it's a safer place for kids to play in the water. It's like a little beach with rocks at the mouth keeping most of the waves at bay. Be warned though during the summer they close the parking lot off when the parking lots reach capacity. Usually if you get there by 10 am you have agood chance (or you might have to sit in your car and wait).
For the toddlers they have a Discovery Center. I haven't taken DD yet but my friend took his son who is 20 months and he loves it. They're on the internet, google discovery center hawaii and you should be able to find it.
If you go to the North Shore be sure to stop at Matsumoto's for shaved ice and Stortos for sandwiches. YUMMM.

 

[horsegirl]

I just came back from 10 days in Hawaii. We did the Big Island for 6 nights at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort near Kona and then 4 more days in Oahu at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider. Both resorts were great!

The locals call the Hilton "Disneyland West" ... it is a huge complex with boats and a monorail (!) to get from one building to another. They have 3 pools (2 huge and one adult-only) and a protected lagoon that opens to the ocean. It's a great place to get your "fins wet" and snorkel for the first time. Sea turtles live in the lagoon and will often swim right next to you. If you have the guts for a timeshare presentation, you can get 5 nights at the Waikoloa for $799 (http://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/visit/hwaikoloa.html) and $160 per night is a great price for this place. The downside is that the Waikoloa is pretty isolated and food is very, very expensive.

The Moana is a historic hotel right on Waikiki beach. The waves at the beach were great for timid swimmers and kids. They were gentle (no more than 2 feet tall ... during our stay, they are higher in the Winter I think) and the water was quite shallow for quite a ways. You can rent surf boards and boogie boards right on the beach. We also bought an inflated air mattress for $5 (it would have been less from the ABC store) that we used every day. It was hard to leave the beach! I had plans to drive all over Oahu (it was our second trip to the island) but I felt a little sick and my family was perfectly happy to play in the water and sand. It was great to have the relaxing beach on one side of the hotel and the bustling city on the other.

Food was much cheaper on Oahu. We found a diner (the Sunset Diner on Sunset/Kuhio) that served a great breakfast of 2 pancakes, 2 slices of bacon and 2 scrambled eggs for only $2.25! They also had 2-4-1 Orange Juice. There was a place next to it calls Tsunami's that also had great, cheap food but we thought the service was better at the Sunset (although it was a bit more expensive). Try both places and pick your favorite on the 3rd day .

We also stayed at the Sheraton Kauai on a previous trip. I *loved* that hotel which included a full breakfast and daily mai-tai happy hour with entertainment in their extra resort fee (it was $25 per day when we went, but may be more now).

I'll be happy to answer any questions .

Hey Robinb, I am glad I bumped this last night. First of all your little cutie is such a beautie. What a great pic. I saw the Waikoloa on the travel channel the other night and when I searched on the web, it looked too pricey. I also checked out the Sheraton and loved the historic ambiance. But you didn't tell us how much that was.....care to share? We have five of us, so not sure either of these hotels will work for us. I just bought frommers Hawaii travel with kids, so plan on reading that, but just love all the disers advice.

 

[vhoffman]

For Robinb,

We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village (HWV) last year for three nights, but never used the swimming facilities. (a fantastic place!). We have enough Hilton Honors points for 5 nights, either at Hilton Waikoloa or Hilton Hawaiian Village (HHV). We decided to stay at HHV on Oahu this time for something different. We spent our last day of our trip on Oahu and had dinner at HHV and just strolled around, thought it was well worth coming back for. However, I'm still debating about going back to HWV. Of course, it depends on whether you want to see the Big Island or Oahu. I've read many comments to the effect that the pools at HWV are not heated and quite cold. Since my kids love the pool I really would hate for them to be disappointed. Did you use the pools at HWV and were they cold? There's still time for us to change our plans, we could even spend 5 nights at HWV then our last night at HHV so to be in Honolulu the day of departure. Last trip we "island hopped" our last day--big mistake! We flew from Big Island to Honolulu, took a circle island tour of Oahu, ended up with a dinner at HHV, then a taxi to the airport. The day was great in every way except we were absolutely exhausted by the time we got to the airport. I mean, I literally thought I was going to pass out standing in the security line!

We've since decided that our next trip we would spend our last night on Oahu to have a more relaxed departure. We're simply too old for that kind of thing (mid-forties! )

So, guess I'm rambling here, but what I wanted to ask of Robinb is--are the pools at HWV cold? Are they too cold to use? Thanks,

 

[chris1gill]

chris1gill: We are getting an SUV in the summer for close to 2 weeks so hard to compare. But, the cheapest anywhere has been through Costco. From the Costco website's travel area I went to Alamo and got the car and a coupon there. It is already at least a hundred dollars cheaper than other agencies so I don't feel too bad. I think we're paying about $550.

My3kids, wouldn't the AAvacations still be cheaper? If you grab the 180 rate per week, add 45.00 for taxes... that's 225.00, add an extra week, you're at 450.00, so 100 less than your 550 (that is if this special is during your dates, you must scroll down the page to see it)

I tried the Alamo discounts myself, but wasn't able to get such good rates (I think Alamo raised them in the last three days)...

 

[JenniferW]

Not sure of our plan yet, but wondered...

Out of these choices when is the best time to go...end of August, beginning September, Mid Sept or end of Sept? Want to get some decent deals on air and am going to start looking this week. Thinking of going to Maui and the Big Island. Will be going with a 3 year old and an infant. I've been to the islands before, but it has been quite a while ago and not with kids or at that time of the year.

Any thoughts?

Jenn

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Not sure of our plan yet, but wondered...

Out of these choices when is the best time to go...end of August, beginning September, Mid Sept or end of Sept? Want to get some decent deals on air and am going to start looking this week. Thinking of going to Maui and the Big Island. Will be going with a 3 year old and an infant. I've been to the islands before, but it has been quite a while ago and not with kids or at that time of the year.

Any thoughts?

Jenn

Have FUN!!!

I took my 2 yo in Sept (almost two anyway). We just did Oahu but was there for my sis' wedding. It was a quick trip. (only 4 days on the ground and 2 days flying).

Time zone adjustment is the most difficult. My daughter fussed a bit on the plane from LA to HNL. The sky was saying it was daytime but her body clock was saying it was sleepy time. I will admit that she was a lap child (save the lectures everyone ). Had she had her own seat, she certainly would have been more comfortable.

Anyway--we landed and it was daylight and she was fine--but as soon as we got in the Taxi--and it was dark....she zonked out for the night and was up vewy vewy early the next morning.

This time--we are landing at 4pm--hopefully they will stay awake until hte hotel and we can keep them busy a bit to get them to stay up a little longer. They will be 6 and almost 4 this go around.

My youngest slept on the LA flight---so if your kids manage to sleep that would be a very good thing and make it easier on trying to keep them up longer.

Time zone adjustment will be the most difficult. Since my daughter was still a youngin'--in 4 days..she never really fully adjusted. She fell asleep pretty much as soon as the sun set every night. With your infant--it will be a challenge. But depending on how long you are staying---give it a cuople of days to kick into a regular sleep pattern. My same child adjusted to going ot England just fine several months earlier. As I traveled solo--it just worked for me to not push the issue.


All activities were focused wtih her in mind. We did climb diamond head--and my little hiker did walk up the pathway (until it became climbing) and she climbed a good portion back down.

I would consider a sitting service for some of the things that can be done on the islands you are going on. I hear the sunrise bike ride down the volcano on Maui is a must do, but definitely not for the kiddos.

Pack favorite snacks in luggage to save on this purchase once you get there. We did pack some things--and other things we did buy. We will do the same this trip as half our stay is in a condo with kitchen. So no sense paying extra for things that I can pack. The "food" back will become the souvenir bag on the return home.

September (we traveled in the latter half) on Oahu was really nice--very temperate and warm (but not hot except for that hike). Water was still at a decent temperature for me to swim in. We are traveling in October this time, so not certain if I will be swimming much. LOL.


My 2yo at the time LOVED market shopping, eating the fresh fruit, eating pizza (pineapple on it of course!), boat ride at pearl harbour, anything with FISH, anything with birds, playing at the beach.

If you plan on hiking--see if you can travel with the hiking backpacks--then the kids can come along. I was going to take one with me--then a hurricane headed towards our home and due to evacuations I was unable to get it and really didn't care. We did just fine without it. But we didn't plan much hiking either.


That's all I can think of.

My daughter did sleep on the flights home--all except the last leg (we had 3 legs).

 

[rparmfamily]

Thanks for the input on activities w/children. Ours is a family trip, so our 3 yr old DS and 5 yr old DD will be with us.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Oh--I also picked up teh book Hawaii for Families. A highly suggest a family hawaii book as it is very nice to have it focused on family appropriate activities. I also purchased the book Oahu Revealed to supplement our information just b/c it was a really cool book. Not family focused---but a different spin on the information as well as more detailed on our destination since the family book was for the other islands as well.

I think family books are great--b/c sometimes when planning..we think we can't do something b/c the kids are coming along--when in fact a lot of things can be modified for family enjoyment.

We did this with our Paris trip a few years back and I covered just about everything I wanted to do as an adult as the book showed me how to do it with the kids tagging along.

So for any locale where people might say "What??? The kids are going WITH you????"--a family book is the way to go.

 

[my3kids]

My3kids, wouldn't the AAvacations still be cheaper? If you grab the 180 rate per week, add 45.00 for taxes... that's 225.00, add an extra week, you're at 450.00, so 100 less than your 550 (that is if this special is during your dates, you must scroll down the page to see it)

I tried the Alamo discounts myself, but wasn't able to get such good rates (I think Alamo raised them in the last three days)...

No, the rate for my period for the SUV (full size) was $473, I think. Couple that with just over $100 in taxes and it would be more than the Costco rate. I can't get 2 weekly specials because I'd be turning it in on the 13th day. You can't return a weekly rental early or it revents to the rack daily rate. The extra period was roughly equivilent to the weekly rate anyway.

Thanks for trying though! I love to save money.

 

[snowiit]

I wish I had seen this sooner. I live on Oahu (I am sure there are other Disers who do too) and would be willing to help. I read the first page and jumped right to the last because 11 pages is a bit much to read.

Aloha! Thanks for jumping right into the middle! We sure could use a local's help. (meaning all of us planning visits in the near or far future!) We won't be there for over a year, but being the obsessive planner I am, I will be doing mucho reading and planning between now and then. Since my mother is taking us (bless her!) she wants to stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It looks beautiful. Our worry is paying a fortune for food. I think it would be great if some locals would give us tips on good meals without robbing a bank! Thanks again kjh for jumping into the fray!
Nancy

 

[robinb]

Hey Robinb, I am glad I bumped this last night. First of all your little cutie is such a beautie. What a great pic. I saw the Waikoloa on the travel channel the other night and when I searched on the web, it looked too pricey. I also checked out the Sheraton and loved the historic ambiance. But you didn't tell us how much that was.....care to share? We have five of us, so not sure either of these hotels will work for us. I just bought frommers Hawaii travel with kids, so plan on reading that, but just love all the disers advice.

Thanks for the compliment about my DD . I think that picture was taken on her 6th birthday.

The Hilton Waikoloa is pretty expensive. I know that they are running a special of $799 for 5 nights if you do their timeshare presentation. It's a low-key presentation ... even though we had a pretty rude salesperson on our tour. My DH has almost 1,000,000 Hilton Honors points (he travels on business 4-5 days a week), so we always stay there on HH points using the 175,000 point ALON award. The Hilton may work out for you with 5 people. I know that our room had a King bed and a fold out couch. The double-doubles should also have a fold-out but you may want to call and make sure that is the case.

We also used Starwood points when we stayed at the Moana. It sucks that my husband travels a lot, but it allowed us to fly to Hawaii free and stay for free.

I have a couple of suggestions for staying in Hawaii cheaper. There are a lot of condos and timeshares in Hawaii and many of them can be rented. Also, Priceline has some great Hawaii prices. For instance, someone recently got the Hilton for $135 and the Marriott next door for less than $100. Go to www.biddingfortravel.com for more information on how to bid on PL.

 

[robinb]

So, guess I'm rambling here, but what I wanted to ask of Robinb is--are the pools at HWV cold? Are they too cold to use? Thanks,

Unfortunaltely, the pools were fairly cold and it's not clear that they are heated. I would say they were colder than Disney pools in December/January. The lagoon at the HWV also has some cold water springs in it which make the water hard to see through and nippy in places. My DD is a fish, so we had no choice in swimming. At the main pool I spent a lot of time moving from one hot tub to another . I suspect the pools would be warmer when the nights stay warmer than in March.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Aloha! Thanks for jumping right into the middle! We sure could use a local's help. (meaning all of us planning visits in the near or far future!) We won't be there for over a year, but being the obsessive planner I am, I will be doing mucho reading and planning between now and then. Since my mother is taking us (bless her!) she wants to stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. It looks beautiful. Our worry is paying a fortune for food. I think it would be great if some locals would give us tips on good meals without robbing a bank! Thanks again kjh for jumping into the fray!
Nancy

A couple of the restaurants--chidlren can eat free at HHV. And an insiders tip from one of my books--anyone can walk onto Hale Koa property and purchase food as it is very reasonable and much cheaper than elsewhere. The pizza at HHV was delicious and did seem reasonable on our last visit.


At the HK--like the counter service and such--not too sure on the table service. We will find out in October. My mother is staying there--but we will certainly inquire the legitimacy of the statement. We did buy leis at the florist there on our last trip and we were not staying there and b/c it was a vendor--we were permitted. Not like going to the commissary or exchange where you would need ID to enter as on a base. So I can only assume the food claim is correct.

They have a Luau and Sunday brunch as well. We will be attending these with my mom--but I can check to see if a civilian can come along. Luau requires a ticket purchase, so I am not positive about that one.

 

[kjh]

snowiit just FYI, Hilton Hawaiian Village had some mold problems a year or so ago. I am not sure which towers it was isolated too and they should have had everything cleaned up by now but they did have to close down which ever parts were affected and they were closed for some time. Other than that, HHV is a good choice.
Food, what a good topic, I LOVE good food and I love it when it's cheap
If you want to try good hawaiian food (without going to a luau) many locals will have their own favorites. My personal is Young's Fish Market (in the Dillingham Plaza). It's not a typical touristy area but it definitely is a great place to grab food, a couple doors down is Sugoi's. They have plate lunches (meat w/ 2 scoops of rice and one scoop mac salad for the regular size, one scoop of rice and one scoop mac salad for mini in general) and bentos. If you like garlic, they make VERY good garlic chicken. Their garlic ahi is good too, I like my food spicy so I usually grab the spicy garlic chicken and/or ahi but beware, it is pretty spicy.
I could go on and on about where I love to eat. But I think it would be better to have you tell me where abouts you'll be and what kind of foods you're interested in and I can try to make suggestions.
Oh one more I forgot about when going to the North Shore, Giovanni's shrimp truck. there are more than one shrimp trucks (they sell plate lunches with garlic shrimp out of a lunchwagon looking truck) but Giovanni's is the best.
*edit: HHV's mold problem was in 2003...about 3 years ago and was in the Kalia tower. If you already have reservations maybe you could call and ask and just mention that you heard about the mold problem they HAD and would feel more comfortable in a different tower. The tower was only a year old when it ran into this problem. I googled HHV mold and found an article.

 

[budbeerlady]

Can someone give us an idea of what groceries might cost us if we get a kitchenette? I figured we could do pop tarts for breakfast, PB&J for lunch and then go out for dinner on the main island. What does a box of pop tarts cost? I know that seems kinda silly but that would give me and idea of how much to up costs on the normal groceries we would buy in a weeks vacation. What have you spent for food, gas, tours, anything above and beyond hotel/airfare? I was hoping $1500 for a family of 3 for a week if we eat in breakfast and pack a lunch. Maybe do 1 tour but mostly drive ourselves around and see the area and beachse. We have our own snorkel equipment that we could bring. But maybe I am way too low? Thanks!

 

[rparmfamily]

Hale Koa has this listed on their website:

Food and Beverage Facilities
Food and Beverage facilities may be used by the following categories of personnel:
A. Personnel authorized room accommodations as outlined on the previous page. Room guests who do not have ID cards will be given a temporary Hale Koa identification card that will permit them to use hotel facilities while registered at the hotel.

B. Military club system members (active associate and honorary) identified by a valid and current membership card.

C. Guests accompanied by authorized personnel.

D. Foreign National Armed Forces personnel and their family members when authorized unlimited exchange privileges.

E. Members of military service organizations, including: Association of the U.S. Army, Navy League, Friends of Hickam, and Air Force Association, identified by a current membership card.



I don't know the layout of the hotel, but I know on base, if you wanted to eat at the Galley (or other service equivent) you need ID but if you want to eat at the McDonald's on base you don't. I know when we have been to Shades of Green not once have they asked for ID, and we've ate there and not stayed there.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hale Koa has this listed on their website:

Food and Beverage Facilities
Food and Beverage facilities may be used by the following categories of personnel:
A. Personnel authorized room accommodations as outlined on the previous page. Room guests who do not have ID cards will be given a temporary Hale Koa identification card that will permit them to use hotel facilities while registered at the hotel.

B. Military club system members (active associate and honorary) identified by a valid and current membership card.

C. Guests accompanied by authorized personnel.

D. Foreign National Armed Forces personnel and their family members when authorized unlimited exchange privileges.

E. Members of military service organizations, including: Association of the U.S. Army, Navy League, Friends of Hickam, and Air Force Association, identified by a current membership card.



I don't know the layout of the hotel, but I know on base, if you wanted to eat at the Galley (or other service equivent) you need ID but if you want to eat at the McDonald's on base you don't. I know when we have been to Shades of Green not once have they asked for ID, and we've ate there and not stayed there.

I don't know. I reported what a tourism book said.

We went as far as the florist on our last trip and in that case she was very very clear that the above qualifications were not necessary to purchase flowers (For my sisters wedding).

I'm not trying to suggest breaking any rules--it is just what the guidebook says. Perhaps they do not do the ID checks. I don't know.

 

[DVC Sadie]

A couple of the restaurants--chidlren can eat free at HHV. And an insiders tip from one of my books--anyone can walk onto Hale Koa property and purchase food as it is very reasonable and much cheaper than elsewhere. The pizza at HHV was delicious and did seem reasonable on our last visit.


At the HK--like the counter service and such--not too sure on the table service. We will find out in October. My mother is staying there--but we will certainly inquire the legitimacy of the statement. We did buy leis at the florist there on our last trip and we were not staying there and b/c it was a vendor--we were permitted. Not like going to the commissary or exchange where you would need ID to enter as on a base. So I can only assume the food claim is correct.

They have a Luau and Sunday brunch as well. We will be attending these with my mom--but I can check to see if a civilian can come along. Luau requires a ticket purchase, so I am not positive about that one.

The Hale Koa really frowns upon visitors who are not authorized using their facilities. We stayed for two weeks last year in Oahu and visited the Hale Koa for dinner. Unfortunately they did turn people away who were not with a guest. Since your mother is staying at the hotel you should not have any problem enjoying all that this resort has to offer. Have a great trip.