Hawaii Honeymoon for $5K?
Dec 3rd, 2005, 04:22 AM
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Hawaii Honeymoon for $5K?
My fiance and I are getting married June 18 2006. Is it reasonable for us to think we can vacation in Hawaii for $5K including airfare from the east coast (NJ/NY)?
Please suggest what island(s) would be best, as well as good hotels, flights, restaurants, etc that would meet our budget needs. We like to do stuff, explore, etc, but arent huge water sports fans or anything like that. I would love to go horseback riding, though. We arent too much into crazy nightlife, but like to have a good time - so one of the mellower islands would probably be best for us.
Oh yeah - we've got 2-2.5 weeks. Thank you so much!!!
Please suggest what island(s) would be best, as well as good hotels, flights, restaurants, etc that would meet our budget needs. We like to do stuff, explore, etc, but arent huge water sports fans or anything like that. I would love to go horseback riding, though. We arent too much into crazy nightlife, but like to have a good time - so one of the mellower islands would probably be best for us.
Oh yeah - we've got 2-2.5 weeks. Thank you so much!!!
Dec 3rd, 2005, 05:04 AM
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Including airfare may be difficult at best. Air can easily eat up half of the $5K, not leaving much for hotels, transfers, activities. You're not likely to get a non-stop flight from NY, having to connect on the West coast of maybe Dallas, St. Louis or Chicago... but easily 12+ hrs flying time (layover only add to this).
If you haven't already done so, stop into a Liberty* Travel office; they specialize in Hawaii - get one of their Hawaii Travel brochures. This will give you an idea of what prices will be at different level (cost) properties; on the different islands.
Many of the Costco stores also have travel departments, another resource to check for their.
*or any other travel agency where you live
Hawaii is lovely for a honeymoon, but you might do better with your limited budget to consider the Caribbean where prices are lower in the summer months and doubt hurricanes will start till into August. There are plenty of lovely island, many without lots and lots of tourists, romantic, less flying time.
You can also consider Central America - some lovely places in Panama or the Pearl Islands off the coast of Panama and not in the hurricane zone.
Some resources and options, that may help in your planning.
If you haven't already done so, stop into a Liberty* Travel office; they specialize in Hawaii - get one of their Hawaii Travel brochures. This will give you an idea of what prices will be at different level (cost) properties; on the different islands.
Many of the Costco stores also have travel departments, another resource to check for their.
*or any other travel agency where you live
Hawaii is lovely for a honeymoon, but you might do better with your limited budget to consider the Caribbean where prices are lower in the summer months and doubt hurricanes will start till into August. There are plenty of lovely island, many without lots and lots of tourists, romantic, less flying time.
You can also consider Central America - some lovely places in Panama or the Pearl Islands off the coast of Panama and not in the hurricane zone.
Some resources and options, that may help in your planning.
Dec 3rd, 2005, 06:38 AM
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I just posted about some great east coast airfares for your exact time period.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34715662
If you do your homework you can certainly do two weeks in Hawaii for under $5000. We've done it twice to Kauai and currently planning our third. I'll shoot you an email that might give you some ideas. The big savings are available by going with a condo rather than a hotel/resort setup.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34715662
If you do your homework you can certainly do two weeks in Hawaii for under $5000. We've done it twice to Kauai and currently planning our third. I'll shoot you an email that might give you some ideas. The big savings are available by going with a condo rather than a hotel/resort setup.
Dec 3rd, 2005, 06:47 AM
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Depending upon where you stay and how long, I'd that it is doable. I've been visiting the islands since 1975. We spent two weeks in Kauai this summer and we spent around $5500. I planned and made arrangements without an agent. We flew from the west coast, we stayed in a lovely cottage in Hanalei, ate breakfast and lunch in and dinners out. We spent most of our time on the beach and hiking and did not do any organized tours.
You ought to be able to find airfare for around $800 - $900 per ticket. There are many posts here from people who were able find reasonable airfare from the east coast. Maybe some of them will post.
Condos would stretch your money further. Limiting yourself to a few paid tours and tourist activities would help make your money go further too.
Hawaii is a great choice for a honeymoon! Congratulations.
-Bill
You ought to be able to find airfare for around $800 - $900 per ticket. There are many posts here from people who were able find reasonable airfare from the east coast. Maybe some of them will post.
Condos would stretch your money further. Limiting yourself to a few paid tours and tourist activities would help make your money go further too.
Hawaii is a great choice for a honeymoon! Congratulations.
-Bill
Dec 3rd, 2005, 11:50 AM
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I think this is do-able. We have gone to Hawaii for the past 2 summers, and are going again next summer. We fly from Boston, and usually pay about $650-$750 per ticket.
I would agree with the other posters that condos would be the best way to save money. Also, try Priceline or Hotwire for hotels.
I would agree with the other posters that condos would be the best way to save money. Also, try Priceline or Hotwire for hotels.
Dec 3rd, 2005, 12:00 PM
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Try pricelining your hotels and car rentals. You can get in a 4 star resort for $100 a night. We got the Marriott Resort in South Kohala by bidding $101. But w/ taxes and resort fee, it comes out to be about $130 though.
Dec 3rd, 2005, 01:06 PM
#7
My favorite Waikiki hotel is $125 night, so if you can snag airfare for two people at $1500, figuring 14 nights $1750 max for hotels, leaving about $125 per day for expenses, sounds OK to me.
I'm guessing you might do better off with a travel package of some sort, bundling air/car/hotel, but I've never done that myself so can't advise.
I'm guessing you might do better off with a travel package of some sort, bundling air/car/hotel, but I've never done that myself so can't advise.
Dec 5th, 2005, 08:00 AM
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If you are careful then you should be able to do this, but you will need to get a good airfare and stay at a moderately priced hotel or condo.
Lets start with the airfare:
1. Start pricing airfare from all of the online agencies and the airlines themselves. Do this every day or so to get an idea of what a "normal" price is and get an idea of what a "good" price is. I don't know what that might be although others have mentioned $600 - $800. Know what dates will work for you and your spouse and have an agreement that if you find a "good" fare that you can buy it immediately without consulting each other. Sometimes fares are available for only a few minutes.
2. Choose travel dates that are when children are in school. Fares are higher when school is out. If you go right after your wedding then you should be ok although it is pretty close to school out time.
3. Consider a stopover on the west coast. Hawaiian and Aloha run specials from west coast cities. Sometimes United matches them as well. You may be able to snap a good fare from the west coast and combine that with a good fare from NY. $450 from west coast to Hawaii plus $250 from east to west coast is $700/ticket and definitely possible. But be careful to leave enough time to change planes. This might be even more attractive if you plan on flying to Kauai or the Big Island since you can fly direct from west coast to those islands. USAir/American West are gearing up for a fare war between Pheonix and Hawaii so look for a cheap ticket there and a cheap ticket to Phoenix.
3. Typically flying to Honolulu is cheaper than flying to the neighbor islands. But given you say you want a mellower island then don't save money by limiting yourself to Oahu.
4. Check all nearby airports - JFK, EWR and if you are in Jersey then perhaps PHL. You might save enough to make the drive worthwhile.
I will recommend the condo instead of a hotel since you will definitely save money on accomodations and food. Eating out every meal gets expensive very quickly - with a condo you can make your own meals but still go out as your budget allows. General guidelines for picking a condo
1. Get a garden or mountain view condo. The view and sound of the water is nice but you do get used to it and will pay a premium for it.
2. Condos right on the beach are more expensive. Are you willing to walk or drive to the beach ?
3. The majority of condos are owned by individuals that buy them for investments or as a second home. Some hire property and rental management companies to rent out and maintain the condo while others rent directly. Management companies take 50% or more in commission so direct renters can get better deals by going direct to the owners. However management companies have many properties and so if there is a problem in your condo you can potentially move. If I rent you my place and their is a problem then I have no place to move you.
4. Different areas of the islands are more "upscale" than others and may cost more.
Since this is your honeymoon, consider saving some of your budget to stay at a fantastic hotel/resort for a few days at the end of your trip.
There are ways to save while on the island.
1. Shop where the locals shop. Avoid the supermarket in the resort area but go to one where the locals live.
2. Go to the farmers markets and buy local produce. It is much much better than the stuff shipped in from the mainland anyway.
3. Shop at Costco, KMart and Wal Mart.
4. Pack lunches and water bottles.
5. Avoid the tourist restaurants, especially the ones that are "MUSTS". Eat at plate lunch places like the locals do.
6. Avoid the touristy stuff unless you'd really enjoy it. Going to the beach, hiking, snorkelling and lots of other fun stuff is free/cheap. Unless you are dying to take a helicoptor ride then skip it. They really aren't safe anyway.
7. Rent a compact car. A convertible or jeep with the top down is awesome but may not be worth it to you. Also the vast majority of the places you might want to go don't need a 4WD. Since the state of Hawaii passed the gas cap law they guarantee that gas prices are much higher than the mainland so you save money on gas too. Lastly find some car rental discount codes and get the Costco travel broshure for coupons. I could write a whole thread on strategies for car rentals
Travel agents are great if you have better things to do then figure out your travel plans, but they earn a 10 - 30% commission and you'd probably do better on your own using the internet if you have the time to do the work yourself. Agents selling packages will typically use the bigger resorts and will sell you something generic. The other thing I don't like about packages is that they hide the individual prices for the air, hotel, car, etc.
Since you have lots of time you could trying ridicuoulsly low bids on priceline for air and car - you might get lucky.
Finally if you decide that Kauai is the right island for you then feel free to post a follow up or send email and I can point you to different condos, attractions, etc.
Alan
Lets start with the airfare:
1. Start pricing airfare from all of the online agencies and the airlines themselves. Do this every day or so to get an idea of what a "normal" price is and get an idea of what a "good" price is. I don't know what that might be although others have mentioned $600 - $800. Know what dates will work for you and your spouse and have an agreement that if you find a "good" fare that you can buy it immediately without consulting each other. Sometimes fares are available for only a few minutes.
2. Choose travel dates that are when children are in school. Fares are higher when school is out. If you go right after your wedding then you should be ok although it is pretty close to school out time.
3. Consider a stopover on the west coast. Hawaiian and Aloha run specials from west coast cities. Sometimes United matches them as well. You may be able to snap a good fare from the west coast and combine that with a good fare from NY. $450 from west coast to Hawaii plus $250 from east to west coast is $700/ticket and definitely possible. But be careful to leave enough time to change planes. This might be even more attractive if you plan on flying to Kauai or the Big Island since you can fly direct from west coast to those islands. USAir/American West are gearing up for a fare war between Pheonix and Hawaii so look for a cheap ticket there and a cheap ticket to Phoenix.
3. Typically flying to Honolulu is cheaper than flying to the neighbor islands. But given you say you want a mellower island then don't save money by limiting yourself to Oahu.
4. Check all nearby airports - JFK, EWR and if you are in Jersey then perhaps PHL. You might save enough to make the drive worthwhile.
I will recommend the condo instead of a hotel since you will definitely save money on accomodations and food. Eating out every meal gets expensive very quickly - with a condo you can make your own meals but still go out as your budget allows. General guidelines for picking a condo
1. Get a garden or mountain view condo. The view and sound of the water is nice but you do get used to it and will pay a premium for it.
2. Condos right on the beach are more expensive. Are you willing to walk or drive to the beach ?
3. The majority of condos are owned by individuals that buy them for investments or as a second home. Some hire property and rental management companies to rent out and maintain the condo while others rent directly. Management companies take 50% or more in commission so direct renters can get better deals by going direct to the owners. However management companies have many properties and so if there is a problem in your condo you can potentially move. If I rent you my place and their is a problem then I have no place to move you.
4. Different areas of the islands are more "upscale" than others and may cost more.
Since this is your honeymoon, consider saving some of your budget to stay at a fantastic hotel/resort for a few days at the end of your trip.
There are ways to save while on the island.
1. Shop where the locals shop. Avoid the supermarket in the resort area but go to one where the locals live.
2. Go to the farmers markets and buy local produce. It is much much better than the stuff shipped in from the mainland anyway.
3. Shop at Costco, KMart and Wal Mart.
4. Pack lunches and water bottles.
5. Avoid the tourist restaurants, especially the ones that are "MUSTS". Eat at plate lunch places like the locals do.
6. Avoid the touristy stuff unless you'd really enjoy it. Going to the beach, hiking, snorkelling and lots of other fun stuff is free/cheap. Unless you are dying to take a helicoptor ride then skip it. They really aren't safe anyway.
7. Rent a compact car. A convertible or jeep with the top down is awesome but may not be worth it to you. Also the vast majority of the places you might want to go don't need a 4WD. Since the state of Hawaii passed the gas cap law they guarantee that gas prices are much higher than the mainland so you save money on gas too. Lastly find some car rental discount codes and get the Costco travel broshure for coupons. I could write a whole thread on strategies for car rentals
Travel agents are great if you have better things to do then figure out your travel plans, but they earn a 10 - 30% commission and you'd probably do better on your own using the internet if you have the time to do the work yourself. Agents selling packages will typically use the bigger resorts and will sell you something generic. The other thing I don't like about packages is that they hide the individual prices for the air, hotel, car, etc.
Since you have lots of time you could trying ridicuoulsly low bids on priceline for air and car - you might get lucky.
Finally if you decide that Kauai is the right island for you then feel free to post a follow up or send email and I can point you to different condos, attractions, etc.
Alan
Dec 5th, 2005, 09:21 AM
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Based on your preferences, I would suggest you plan on one island for about 7 nights. Here's a thought:
$2,000 - roundtrip aifare JFK-LIH w/one stop (Lihue, Kauai)
$1,650 - 7 nights hotel at $200 per night with 15% tax - try Entertainment discount book for hotels with good discounts (We stayed Radisson Kauai for about this much - they are now under new ownership so not sure if they still participate) Or check Princeville-level hotels for "worst" view room prices. You'll be in Hawaii - go outside for the view!!!!
$350 - 7 nights convertible rental car (try to save again with Entertainment discount - but well worth the splurge to drive around the island)
$1,150- 7 nights food & activities
(Drive around to the North Shore beaches, rent your own snorkel gear, and take in all the amazing (and Free) sights. Visit the Lighthouse. Drive to Spouting Horn in the South. Have a few dinners at casual but fun Duke's at the Marriott and splurge for one nice dinner at The Beach House.)
Budget is tight but you can make it work. Just not for the 2-2.5 weeks that you say you have.
$2,000 - roundtrip aifare JFK-LIH w/one stop (Lihue, Kauai)
$1,650 - 7 nights hotel at $200 per night with 15% tax - try Entertainment discount book for hotels with good discounts (We stayed Radisson Kauai for about this much - they are now under new ownership so not sure if they still participate) Or check Princeville-level hotels for "worst" view room prices. You'll be in Hawaii - go outside for the view!!!!
$350 - 7 nights convertible rental car (try to save again with Entertainment discount - but well worth the splurge to drive around the island)
$1,150- 7 nights food & activities
(Drive around to the North Shore beaches, rent your own snorkel gear, and take in all the amazing (and Free) sights. Visit the Lighthouse. Drive to Spouting Horn in the South. Have a few dinners at casual but fun Duke's at the Marriott and splurge for one nice dinner at The Beach House.)
Budget is tight but you can make it work. Just not for the 2-2.5 weeks that you say you have.
Dec 5th, 2005, 02:47 PM
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I don't think you need to limit yourself to only 1 week. Just priced this out, I am sure someone could do better with more patience.
2 tickets JFK - LIH is $1730
2 Weeks Studio at Prince Kuhios (inc tax) for $ 1500
Economy car at Alamo $350
Total is $3580 fixed costs with $1420 left for food, tours, etc. Granted this is an economy car and not at the fanciest resort, but I'd always opt for more time on Kauai instead of a fancy resort.
Alan
2 tickets JFK - LIH is $1730
2 Weeks Studio at Prince Kuhios (inc tax) for $ 1500
Economy car at Alamo $350
Total is $3580 fixed costs with $1420 left for food, tours, etc. Granted this is an economy car and not at the fanciest resort, but I'd always opt for more time on Kauai instead of a fancy resort.
Alan
Jan 4th, 2006, 05:38 PM
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hey littleburrito,
congrats! as long as you guys aren't looking for the ritz-carlton and fine dining every night, you could totally pull it off. everybody has already given you great tips, but i just wanted to offer to you any local info or questions you might want answered about honolulu/oahu since i live here and i specialize in cheap dining--ha ha! also you can check out judysbook.com and look in the honolulu section. also, if you're game for something totally different, try renting one of the hales at malaekahana (it's on the northeast shore of oahu, so it's definitely more removed) for part of your stay. go to:
http://www.campingfriend.com/Friends...ile=Facilities
and click on the left hand sidebar where it says "yurts/hales" for photos. you have to call for availability (and they may already be booked for summer). i haven't tried the actual hales (only tent camping), but this campsite is nice and the hales have electricity! good luck and aloha!
congrats! as long as you guys aren't looking for the ritz-carlton and fine dining every night, you could totally pull it off. everybody has already given you great tips, but i just wanted to offer to you any local info or questions you might want answered about honolulu/oahu since i live here and i specialize in cheap dining--ha ha! also you can check out judysbook.com and look in the honolulu section. also, if you're game for something totally different, try renting one of the hales at malaekahana (it's on the northeast shore of oahu, so it's definitely more removed) for part of your stay. go to:
http://www.campingfriend.com/Friends...ile=Facilities
and click on the left hand sidebar where it says "yurts/hales" for photos. you have to call for availability (and they may already be booked for summer). i haven't tried the actual hales (only tent camping), but this campsite is nice and the hales have electricity! good luck and aloha!
Jan 4th, 2006, 06:45 PM
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I would try putting together a package on either expedia.com or travelocity.com.
We are leaving Saturday(!) for a one week trip to Oahu booked on Travelocity that cost approximately $2,500 total for two persons (non-stop airfare from Chicago and 3 star hotel).
Congrats!
We are leaving Saturday(!) for a one week trip to Oahu booked on Travelocity that cost approximately $2,500 total for two persons (non-stop airfare from Chicago and 3 star hotel).
Congrats!
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