Taxes for a studio were $4.20might; one bedroom $8.63/night.
Our car rental was $170 for 10 days thru dollar.....we were upgraded to a jeep. As long as you can get around Honolulu on your own a car is must (and if you are a
DVC member so you get free parking at the resort....otherwise it is $25 or $35/day).
If you have a full kitchen, a car is a must also. Target, Safeway and Costco are all within 10 minutes. Costco is said to have the cheapest gas. We almost filled up at the 7/11 at Kapolinia......but saved $.35 a gallon two blocks further by the Safeway.
We did our own excursions: We drove up to Waimia (?) point and then did the 2.5 mile hike each way. Do not wear flip flops and this is not enjoyable to do if you are overweight or elderly. Wear sneakers or hiking boots and wear a hat and bring water. There are some scary spots where you have to kind of cling to some rocks to keep your footing. But at the end you will be rewarded with the albatross santuary, wonderful views, sometimes monk seals on the rocks below and views of whales.
We also did diamondhead....you need to go early to snag a parking spot ($5...but it fills up fast and you have to wait in line for the next spot. Diamondhead was an extremely exhuasting climb. Don't need to do that again. We stopped at Nico's Pier 38 in honolulu on the way back for lunch. OMG, his lunch plates are wonderful and not expensive (fish and chips was awesome). The dinner menu is different and more expensive.
We did the northshore another day....waves were super high. We also did the shave ice thing and Giovanni's shrimp truck in that little beach town area. The garlic shrimp is to die for (only $13 I think). There is a big fly problem, so you constatly have to wave your hands around....but the shrimp is so good.
We also climbed across to the cove in front of Paradise Cove to do some snorkeling. Saw some smaller sea turtles and saw some pretty fish. It is kind of rock and some corals, so were those water/beach shoes. You can pick up goggles and snorkles at target.
We got food to go from Just Tacos across the street (had enough left over for lunch since we went on Taco Tuesday....cheap tacos). The ABC Island market also has some great ready made sammies, some unusual things made with spam, fried chicken, cheeseburger special, a small deli for slicing. They will also build a salad for you. A large is $8.99 I think. You get plenty of greens, a choice of one protein (chicken, tuna or that imitation sealegs stuff), a choice of quite a few dressings, and then three toppings to choose. I chose artichoke hearts, plum tomatoes and sliced hard boiled eggs. That lasted me for two lunches.
Everyone raves about Monkey Pods in the same center, but to be honest they were more than we felt like spending.
We found a place called En Fuego's. It is in the safeway parking lot. It is not mexican, it is local food. Shrimp scampi with a wine cream sauce was $12.99 with rice and green salad.....very tasty. Also a Hawaiin Combo plate was about $12.99....it had pulled pork and some other kind of pork wrapped in some green stuff. Alot of locals went there....it is nothing fancy. But I got the idea that the girl at the counter didn't especially like us non-locals; not very friendly.
Since we had a full kitchen most of our stay, we stocked up on eggs, bread, english muffins, sandwich meats, bacon, steaks for the grill, hamburger patties and cheese and rolls for burgers on the grills provided. Made our own breakfast daily, along with sammies for lunch. Dinner was either made on the grill or gone out for most of the time. Or take out to eat on our deck.
Hope this helps a little. We regretted not doing the Ranch movie tour on an ATV.....but the honolulu traffic is very intimidating and we just didn't feel like driving all the way out there again. You can do it thru disney, but more $$$, but they will provide the transportation.
