Travel

How we travel hacked Hawaii

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.

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