Need help with meat prices in Hawaii

[Shagley]

I noticed you are from Central Illinois. I grew up outside of Peoria. My parents, who we are taking this trip with, still live there. If you want to talk more about "southern Illinois" send me a PM since on this thread is probably not the place to have a personal conversation.

I sent you a PM

 

[barkley]

Yes, I realize we are probably over thinking this. And we have realized that we will either invest in a costco membership or buy from walmart and target. I was specifically asking about meat because my family does like to do more than just sandwiches but we also like to keep cost down and not eat out as much. We have chosen some experiences we feel are worth the money to eat out, but don't feel going out and having a steak dinner is worth it because we feel we can save cost by making that meal ourselves.

I realize some on this board, and rightly so, like to save a much as possible on vacation. I guess my family likes to be somewhere in the middle; save money where we can, but appreciate that we like to have different experiences and that is why we go on vacation. Having a steak dinner as a family is somewhat of a tradition and we were looking for ways to do what we like to do and save money at the same time.

I truly appreciate all the feed back on this thread because it has opened up ideas that we would not have thought of on our own; as getting a costco membership never even crossed our radar.

So I say, thank you, for all of the opinions and if you think of any others please feel free to share.

I would just suggest (based on personal experience doing this w/ our family) that for any meal you are thinking of doing where you are staying, that you sit down and think about all of the ingredients you need-then do an on line search for restaurants in the area you will be staying (not just the touristy places-the chain places as well) and see what kind of prices they offer for the same meals.

we've found that with some food items it ends up being cheaper to eat them out vs. preparing them. a burger meal for instance-between the meat (and any seasoning you normally use), the buns, the produce (lettuce, toms, onions) AND the condiments-mayo, catsup, mustard-it can cost us more just for the burgers than we can get burgers and a side dish for at a diner. same with steak-we would need (in addition to the meat) the seasoning, steak sauces (different family members-different tastes) AND the sides (usually a baked potato which entails the tato/butter/foil/sour cream/bacon bits/chives), and a salad or hot veg. it all adds up. breakfast, lunches and snacks are where we see the most bang for our buck cooking on vacation. water, soda and alcohol are also much less expensive to get and keep in the room.

back in the day when you didn't get charged for luggage I would schlep some items from home, now I try to minimize what we take so I don't get hit with those per bag fees.


we've found that one of the higher costs of eating out is the drinks/tempting appetizers/desserts, so we will often opt for places that offer food to go. we get our full meal with all the trimmings, head to the lodging and consume our own drinks while dessert is cooking in the oven or chilling in the fridge.

 

[beachbunny]

I've stayed at Aulani twice in the three bedroom DVC. Food on property is on the expensive side, but I did like Ama Ama. Makahiki is just a so-so buffet, but Aunty and the Disney characters make it fun - you'll just have to wait a LONG time for them to make their rounds.

Whatever you do, don't eat at the Roy's next door. It is the worst of the chain in Hawaii. If you want to dine at Roy's, go to the original location in Hawaii Kai. But I'd save my money and go to Alan Wong's.

If you're going to eat in your room, I recommend getting a tray of honey garlic chicken from Ko Olina Hawaiian Bar-B-Que (right across the street from Aulani) and making your own sides (there's a rice cooker in your room). For about $25 it's super ono.

For groceries and other staples, Kapolei is a short drive away. Costco, Target, and Walmart are comparable in price to the mainland. I don't think I've ever seen a tray of 10 steaks at a Hawaii Costco. It's usually 4 or 5. Costco also has a nice selection of poke.

It's one of my pet peeves that people continue to promulgate the myth that Hawaii is so much more expensive than other places. That's Hawaii thirty years ago before the big boxes found us. Have you been to London, New York, or Tokyo? Think of Hawaii prices being comparable to any major city and budget for it.

 

[beansmom]

we are going back to Maui in January. I have used my mypoints.com points to get a free Costco membership and we've earned $500 in free Safeway gift cards. We've done that since last October.

I try to use mypoints for everything i buy online.

 

[lurkernj]

It's one of my pet peeves that people continue to promulgate the myth that Hawaii is so much more expensive than other places. That's Hawaii thirty years ago before the big boxes found us. Have you been to London, New York, or Tokyo? Think of Hawaii prices being comparable to any major city and budget for it.

I think the same thing. Everyone thinks we're loaded because we are going to Hawaii for the 3rd time next year, but we have flown for free every time (United miles/credit card).

Once you remove the airfare (but add in a car rental), it's the same as a vacation down the Jersey Shore, and cheaper than sharing a house in the Outer banks (OMG, have you priced those houses lately). Our ocean front condo on Maui is costing $2600 for 10 nights, we will food shop and make about 1/2 our meals there.

Yes, groceries are more expensive, but that's the same in any vacation destination.

 

[Janet Hill]

It's one of my pet peeves that people continue to promulgate the myth that Hawaii is so much more expensive than other places. That's Hawaii thirty years ago before the big boxes found us. Have you been to London, New York, or Tokyo? Think of Hawaii prices being comparable to any major city and budget for it.

My daughter lives in Hawaii and she says the same. The only items where I noticed a big difference were milk and processed foods.

Hawaii is a big ag producer so eat the local meat, veggies, and fruit and it's comparable to anywhere in the US.

If staying at Aulani, go offsite to purchase a shave ice. The stuff at Aulani has the consistency of a regular snow cone that can be had anywhere.

 

[Plumeria9]

More about Costco - you can buy a box of gift macadamia nut chocolates (Hawaiian Host, etc.) it's like a small suitcase for a much better price than almost anywhere else. They also have other items that could be considered gift items to take home that they don't sell in mainland warehouses, such as children's Hawaiian story books. As far as the meat at Costco vs. Walmart or other, Costco meats are extremely high quality. A great place to get smaller souvenirs is Walmart. I still have some little pillows I love from my last trip to Maui (10 years ago!) that I got there. Enjoy!