Honolulu on a Budget

Hawaii was my dream Honeymoon destination. I went to Kauai when I was younger, and fell in love with Hawaii. When we first started considering Hawaii for our honeymoon, it seemed to be out of reach and so expensive. I researched and followed the prices for months, before we were finally ready to step out on faith to book the trip. We honestly found a deal we just couldn’t refuse.

1. Package deal

We couldn’t have gone to Honolulu if I didn’t discover the magic of a package deal. The more business you give a travel company the better deals they give you. In addition to better prices there’s better quality to the flights. When I first started looking at flights from Charlotte to Honolulu they were at least $1200 per person for a 23hr flight (including layovers). The good flights were an arm and a leg. With a package deal we were able to get a 15hr arrival and 12hr departure flight.

Take off to Honolulu

2. Travel on less popular days

We had two weeks of free time, so we chose to travel from a Tuesday to a Wednesday. We saved a lot by flying out on a Tuesday, it just worked out to be the cheapest day.

3. Room with fridge and microwave

I’ll keep this one short because it’s just my preference. I like to have a place to put my leftovers and snacks. There were two days where our meals were so huge, they lasted for two meals!

4. Take TheBus

We planned to buy the four-day pass and take TheBus during our whole stay in Honolulu. Yet after traveling there, I would only recommend the bus for getting to and from Waikiki. Our hotel was less than two miles from Waikiki, but the bus took about 15-20 minutes. For a whopping total of $5 per person round trip it was well worth it. TheBus was clean and felt very safe.

If the Waikiki location we were going to was less than one mile from the hotel we walked. It was really refreshing to walk through such a beautiful and tropical place.

Stopping for a picture on a walk back from Waikiki

5. Rent a car to tour the island

After three days we were fed up and ready to rent a car. We wanted to go to Makapuu Lighthouse and saw that it would take almost two hours by bus, even though it was only 12 miles away. I went to Expedia where I purchased my package deal, and started looking at rental cars. Miraculously the prices went down the $14 a day (44% discount) for a mid-sized car. Since I had already bought the package for the trip, they added an amazing deal for the rental car.

Top of the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail

Touring the island by car was so much fun. We’d pick one area of the island a day to visit the sites and stop by a beach. We went from feeling very confined to free to go anywhere! Gas prices were about $2.50 by the way and we didn’t even use a full tank!

 

Scenic overlook at the South end of the Island

Sunset Beach on the North Shore

6. Things not to buy on the island

Bring your sunscreen and bug spray from home. Both are so overpriced in the Honolulu area. A lot of stores were even sold out of bug spray, and they charged $10-12 per OFF spray. If you go to any destination in the rainforest, you will need bug spray. We stopped by the Lyon Aboretum and got tons of mosquito bites even with bug spray.

Just don’t buy dairy products at all! They are so overpriced on the island. The breakfast restaurants in the Honolulu/ Waikiki area were amazing and well-priced. They served huge portions that often kept us full until dinner time!

7. Aloha Swap Meet

If you’ve researched Honolulu, you probably know about the Aloha Swap meet. The souvenir prices were amazing. My only regret is that we waited until the last day it was opened during our trip to visit, and our time was limited. If I could go back in time, I would of gone at least twice. It’s only open on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday.

I hope this advice helps someone out there! I’ll do a post on why we chose Oahu as our honeymoon destination instead of the other islands if anyone is interested.