For anybody who does long distance travel, there are tons of
tips out there that will help you get to and through your destination with a
relatively small budget. What I found on
my most recent trip to Hawaii
is that maybe there aren’t as many budget travelers out there as I
thought. I found it interesting that
upon arrival and after discussing what we wanted to do on the island of Oahu,
another traveler who was not with our party quipped, “You mean you have money
left over after getting here?” We
laughed, but I wondered how much his trip costed.
This was my first trip to Hawaii and I traveled
in a group of 11 to celebrate my aunt’s retirement last year. We did use a travel agent and I would
definitely recommend that to anybody organizing long distance travel for the
first time. However, this wasn’t my
first long distance trip and I do travel domestically often. If this is also your case, it is very easy to
organize your own flights. There are so
many sites that offer this service for you for no additional charge, plus you
can often go on the airline’s website and find special sales at any given point
in the year. I have a friend who checks
United Airline’s webpage for quick weekend getaways to other countries on a
regular basis. Trips to Belize from Houston,
TX can be found in the $200-$300 range often.
Now that my trip to Hawaii
is complete, I feel like I could have found better flights to and from
Houston. My group traveled from
different cities and the travel agent wanted to make sure we all met in certain
airports at the same time. This wasn’t a
necessity for me. I actually had to
leave Houston at 5am and fly to Dallas for a 3hr layover just to meet up with
the rest of the group coming from Nashville.
It was a long day for me. I
certainly could have met them in Hawaii and left Houston at a later time. I had the same experience coming back and
left Hawaii at 1pm only to arrive in Houston at 10am the next morning after
several long layovers. I also wondered
if I could have found better flights had I not had them all on the same
airline.
Hawaii’s number one economic resource is tourism, so
naturally, there are a ton of things to do.
Our travel agent suggested that we add sight-seeing tours to our package
before we left. DON’T EVER DO
THIS—especially if you are working with an agency. We were met with a guide at the airport who
packed several groups of us up on a bus to take to our respective hotels, then
told us there was an orientation the next morning. This orientation was just to explain “Do’s
and Don’ts” for the island—and included a free breakfast. (Of course, we wanted the free
breakfast!) Lo and behold, during the
presentation we were told about all of the fun and exciting things to do on the
island and were offered package deals at MUCH CHEAPER RATES than initially
quoted before we left. I literally did
everything I could possibly think of to do on that island for around $260. You can check my Instagram for more
pictures. And when I say everything, I
do mean EVERYTHING! We went to an
authentic luau one night that was about four hours long and included
traditional food. The company that drove
us to the other side of the island for this event also pointed out different
facts about the areas through which we were passing to get there. On the way back, we saw the hospital where President
Obama was born and where he attended high
school. These history lessons were
ubiquitous to all of our bus rides. On
the way to our ½ day trip to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial (included
in the package), historical areas were pointed out to us so that we knew more
about the base and the events of that day in addition to recognizing how
military life affects the island. The
military is Hawaii’s second economic resource.
That night, we attended a magic show that amused kids and adults alike
which also included a light meal. To
round out our package, we took an all-day excursion around the island, stopping
at several parks and places that are widely used and visited by locals and
movie producers alike. We learned a lot
of history on these excursions thanks to our very knowledgeable bus driver-tour
guides. We stopped at the Dole
plantation, we learned about the agriculture (#3 economic resource) and
aquatic life, and I even got to harvest my
own pearls at one of the jewelry stores that was on a tour stop. |
| Glass art from Under the Koa Tree |
One point I want to make is to be very careful of how you
choose to spend your money. We stayed at
a resort that had all kinds of tourist traps located inside. I had one lady give a detailed explanation of
some very intricate glass art made by a local artist as if she were justifying
its high price tag, only to find the exact same art sold at a store called Under the Koa Tree for less than half the price. Waikiki, where we stayed, has less than a
three-mile radius. Under the Koa Tree
wasn’t even a full block away from the hotel and featured several local
artists’ works at very reasonable prices. One thing that stuck out from our
orientation is to be mindful of the tour guide kiosks that line the
streets. Those people tend to make
overrated promises that essentially steal your money.
There are definitely obvious things like going to the beach
that are included for free in any trip to Hawaii, but I’m not the beach bum
type. Once that sand started grinding on
the bottom of my feet, I’d had my fill.
I enjoyed my trip exponentially and really feel like I had the best time
for my money. Food, which I left out for
a reason, is not cheap. But our resort
was down the street from a Denny’s where I ate breakfast when it wasn’t
free. My very first server also showed
me how to get the most bang for my buck there by ordering a la carte instead of
getting the meals. I came out cheaper
getting the $4 pancakes, eggs and bacon meal then adding hash browns and a
juice, than getting the same food in a meal.
I found this to be too much food the first time I ordered it and left
the hash browns off the next time. I had
breakfast in Hawaii for the exact same price I’d get it in Houston. Partly because I sing, partly because I’m always on a diet, I typically only drink
juice in the morning at breakfast, then drink water for the rest of the
day. I’ve found this also keeps the
price down when I eat out.
 |
| My Koa Wood Necklace |
Lastly, if you happen to be reading this from another
country (such as somewhere in Asia) and you’re considering visiting the US or
Hawaii for the first time, you don’t need to bring your whole life savings with
you on this trip, no matter how long you’ll stay. One of our tour guides told us a story of a
foreign couple who accidentally left their bag on the bus. Frantic, they called him to retrieve the bag
and wanted to know if all of the contents were still in it—mainly the $14,000
in cash they’d had in the bag. Even if
you’re going to be in Hawaii for several weeks or up to a month or so, you do
not need that much money for this trip, no matter what you’re doing. In the off chance that you do, try opening an
account with one of the local banks or credit unions and getting a debit card
to use for the time you’re there. The
cards are insured and you can close the account and take all of your money back
when you leave. Or you can utilize the
hotel safe. My trip was only a week and
I needed less than $1000 for everything I had to do, minus the flights. I picked up quite a few souvenirs at the vendors outside Dukes Lane Market to bring home with me. I got embroidered t-shirts, leis made from Koa nuts, and a handmade tiki from this market. You can find some good stuff there. I recommend going later in the day when the prices are cheaper and the vendors are more willing to bargain. I hope these tips help those of you who have never traveled or rarely travel long distances.
