Hawaii 5 days on a budget

by Ashley Costello (Canada)

I didn't expect to find USA

I have always dreamed of going to Hawaii, but my husband had no interest and had mistakenly assumed that it was too expensive. I was able to find flights to Oahu for $399/pp CAD for flights in April. Instead of staying near Waikiki beach at hotels that cost upward of $400 US/night, we stayed at an Airbnb on the North Shore for $72/night. There was also the option of renting a VW camper bus, but we opted out on that this time. We were far from all the tourist areas, so we rented a car using points. We were warned in advance about the high cost of foods, so we went to the local grocery store and prepared snacks and lunches for most days, eating out only once or twice. We managed to see Diamondhead crater which you only have to pay to park, and Pearl Harbour, which is also free. With the money we saved, we splurged on the Polynesian culture center, which was a fantastic experience if you want to see how the different cultures were self-sustaining. There are also many trails that are no cost, and very scenic, we did the Moanalua Valley Trail, which took us over 5 hours. If you tackle this trail, take lots of water, a hat and go early in the morning! Another economical thing to do is to visit the Waimea Valley for $6 US pp for the day, we were there for a couple of hours and they were setting up for filming a movie in the next couple of days. We were able to drive around 75% of the perimeter of the island and as it turns out our favorite area was North Shore where we were staying! It was where the locals were surfing and it was more low key and less touristy. We have been to some very nice beaches all over the world, but nothing compares to the North Shore beaches! Every night the locals would sit on the beach and watch the sunset. They showed us that you count the waves and every 13th wave is a lot bigger than the others. The noise of the powerful ocean was mesmerizing and we ended up ending each of our evenings joining the locals to watch the sunset on a beach. We both agreed at the end of the trip that it was one of our favorite places we have been to and would like to go back. Don't ever assume that places are expensive. You might need to re-think what is important, if you can reduce your expectations and make some sacrifices in your travel plans, ie not eating out every night in expensive restaurants, you can afford to see the world. You just need to really think about what is important and be creative. Happy Travels, Ashley Costello 29 countries visited to date