In 2018 the Save My Cents (just my husband and myself) flew from NYC to Hawaii to visit Big Island, Kauai, and Oahu and spent $700 per person in cash for a 11 day trip! All costs and retail value estimates were done at the time of the vacation (February 2018) and may be different / inflated now.
Here is a breakdown of how we did it. All costs are for TWO people.
All photographs are my personal photographs and may not be copied or re-shared.
Flights – 102K United Mileage Plus miles. Retail value: $2,300
These included flights from Newark to Big Island, Big Island > Kauai, Kauai > Oahu, Oahu > Newark. When we did this trip, you could use United miles to cross-book to Hawaiian Airlines codeshare flights for the island hoppers.
Car rental: We did car rentals on all 3 islands, which in combination cost us ~21,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. Retail value: $323
Day 1:
Flew from Newark to Big Island
Transportation: $36 for roundtrip airport bus
Food: Split an entree, Ebisuya Sushi: $12
Hotel: Aaron’s Cottage, booked with 6,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, retail value $100
Day 2:
Sights: Hawaii Botanical Garden ($40), Akaka Falls ($2), Volcanoes National Park ($80 annual pass… in 2018 we visited lots of national parks).
Food: Cottage gave us breakfast, Lucy’s Taqueria for $18, a forgettable dinner for $16
Hotel: a cottage booked with cash, $130
Day 3:
Sights: Sunrise at Volcanoes National Park, drove to Waipio Valley and did the hike to just the beach, drive to the west side of Big Island
Food: $10 breakfast at Cafe 100, we skipped lunch that day, got groceries at Foodland Farms for $18. $5 for a Shave Ice at the Original Big Island Shave Ice truck, highly recommend
Hotel: Mauna Kea Autograph Hotel. 45K Marriott points + $15 parking. Got free water. We got upgraded. Retail value of stay: $870
Day 4:
Sights: Kailua-Kona, Mauna Kea (bring ramen to have at the top while you wait for stars!), did not see stars that night
Food: $14 lunch at Da Poke Shack (We split 1 bowl), and $8 for more shave ice
Hotel: Courtyard King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel, Big Island, Kailua-Kona, 30K Marriott points + $18 parking, free water. retail value $250
Day 5:
Sights: Relaxed / snorkeled at hotel, drove back to Hilo
Food: $26 lunch at 808 Grindz, $5 shave ice, $24 dinner at Ebisuya Sushi again
Transportation: $28 gas. We then returned the car early. Got a taxi to our cottage $20
Hotel: Aaron’s Cottage, booked with 6,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, retail value $100
Day 6:
Flew to Kauai
Sights: Waimea Canyon
Transportation: $21 cab
Food: $20 lunch, $5 shave ice, $24 dinner at Verde, $16 groceries
Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn, Kauai, Lihue, 35K Hilton points + $50 in fees. Retail value $200.
Day 7:
Sights: Na Pali coast boat tour $300, sunset in Hanalei
Food: $84, Bar Acuda
Hotel: The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas, Kauai, Princeville, 20K Starpoints (this was before SPG became part of Marriott), $15 parking. Upgraded to a suite. Retail value $680.
Day 8:
Sights: Kalalau Trail
Food: Groceries $10, Ice cream $6, Dinner $30 at Coconuts Fish Cafe
Hotel: Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa, Kauai, Poipu, 25K Hyatt points, free parking with World of Hyatt membership, free water (with water bottles). Retail value $900
Day 9:
Sights: Hangout / relaxing
Food: $12 lunch at Da Crack, $8 shave ice from Loco Coco, $30 dinner from Thai Street Food Truck
Transportation: $40 gasoline
Hotel: Kauai Palms Hotel, Kauai, Lihue, 7,000 Chase UR points, free parking. Retail value $100
Day 10:
Flew to Honolulu
Sights: Pearl Harbor (paid $15 for an audio tour), Oahu North Shore
Food: $30 lunch at No. 7 Japanese Food Truck, $20 dinner at Kyung’s Seafood (we shared 1 entree)
Transportation: $10 parking (drove off of Waikiki and into a more residential looking area), $15 gasoline
Hotel: Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Honolulu, 6K Hyatt points + $85, free breakfast, no water except at breakfast. Retail value: $200.
Day 11:
Sights: Walked Waikiki beach, returned rental car
Transportation: $5.50 bus
Food: $22 taco lunch in Waikiki
Total cash outlay: $1,399 or ~$700 per person
Ground transportation: $176
Hotels not paid for with points, hotel parking: $313
Sightseeing: $437 (most of this was the $300 boat tour)
Food / groceries: $473
Total value of travel hacked items: $3,400 or $1,700 per person
Flights: $2,300
Rental car: $323
Hotels: $3,400
Total value of trip: $4,800 or $2,400 per person
Interested in travel hacking to save money on your next trip? Follow me at @savemycents on Instagram and @savemycentsfb on Facebook for helpful hints on saving money and reaching your goals.
To make space in your budget for travel or other personal values, find a special coupon to get Your First Budget Spreadsheet for free in my blog Budgeting: How to start with your first budget.
