blackmons

I know this is a really hard question and it depends on so many things. We are a family of 5. Our last child is going off to college next year. I'm thinking of one last family vacation and I know they would love Hawaii. Approximately what would it cost, not including air fare since we have miles, for 5 to 7 days in Kuaii, renting a condo, throwing in a couple of excursions such as snorkling, kayaking, or ziplining, renting a car. Would $4,000 be enough? $5,000? I've heard Hawaii is very expensive. I also don't want to save money by risking bad weather in the off season. Is this too general of a question or are there other families of 5 out there that can give me advice? Thanks.
Laurie

highflyer

Short answer? Yes, $4000 is enough for a week in Hawaii. We're a family of 4 that has been to Hawaii twice and we've stayed in resorts, hotels and B&B's on Big Island and Oahu. Our budget was less than $4000 for 12 days(not including flights).

I googled one 3 bed condo in Kona and came up with $1200 for a week's rent.
Eating out all the time will seriously stretch your budget but I presume you intend to eat some meals at the condo.

You'll get plenty of advice here.

jpiwaron

I'd budget $5,000 That ought to cover whatever you want to do.

Debi

I'm not a family of 5, but previous poster gave good advice. I don't know where you're from, but you can eat as cheaply or as expensively in Hawaii as any other big city in the US (they have the same chains...). It's easy to get prices - just do the searches on the excursions. You also might want to consider looking at other islands that might have more hotel options. Maui is good for number of options, as well.... For the prices of the excursions, just do little searches, and you'll get lots of options (snorkling kauai, zipline kauai, etc). For rental cars, I've seen prices of around $150 per week (probably doesn't include taxes) - so that's not that expensive. If you don't have airfare, Hawaii just isn't as bad as you think for prices. Just do a bit of research on the prices of the excursions, and go for it. What a great idea for that big last family vacation!!!!

beth_fitz

We are not a family of five but we go to Hawaii almost every year and keep our spending pretty low.

If you do some research and get a condo for somewhere around $200 a night (around $1400 for a week) you should be able to budget around $4000. Our timeshare at Banyan Harbor is a two bedroom townhouse that sleeps up to 6 and I think you can rent one similar for less than $200 a night. It is in Lihue and walking distance to the beach at the Marriott.

You can go to Walmart, Costco (membership required) and Safeway to get groceries which will help with cost.

Since you are a family of five you may need more that a compact car so it will cost you a little more but I'd say no more that $300 for the week.

There are lots of things to do on Kauai that are free and then you can spend some money on the excursions you want to do. Snorkeling doesn't require much more than the equipment since there are many places on the island to do it for free. If you want to go out on a tour it will most likely cost anywhere from $75-100 per person. Ziplining is going to cost at least $100 per person. Kayaking will run anywhere from $60-100 per person depending on where you want to go.

I can say that I have been in Hawaii in April and September and the weather has been good. It will rain at times but not normally all day.

blackmons

Thank you, thank you. These are all great recommendations. Actually, I'm not even positive we'll stay in Kuaii -- maybe we'll go to the big island. We're a family that likes to keep busy and see a wide variety of things. I know I have a lot of research to do, but I first wanted to make sure it would be affordable. We probably would need to go during my son's spring break, the end of March. Thanks again.
Laurie

highflyer

I do think the Big Island would be a good fit for you.

Marginal

I think I'd budget for $6000 a week. If your youngest is going off to college, then you have 5 adults to house and feed, not 2 adults and three little ones. You are going to need at least a two-bedroom condo with a sleeper couch.

You will need to figure out how to pack 5 adults into a rental car, so you are going to need a larger (and more expensive) rental.

beth_fitz

There is plenty to do on Kauai to keep you and your family busy for a week. Kauai has better beaches for snorkling than the Big Island.

GoTravel

blackmons, have you booked your flights yet?

FF seats are really tough to get these days but if you are flexible, you can do it.

Here are some tips, don't fly Fri-Monday. Try and book your flights on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.

Split your family up. Two may have to go on one flight and three on another. Don't sweat splitting your family up but get on the same airline. Here's why.

The closer you get to your dates, if your flights do not sell out, they start opening those seats to FFers.

Every single time I've used my FF miles I've never gotten the flights I've wanted right off the bat. Usually a couple of days before, I can call the airline and the flight times I want are available.

Because you are using FF miles, they don't charge you to make changes.

Lastly, book as far out as possible. Get your airline tickets before you get your accommodations.

Good luck!

suem117

We are going to The Big Island in about a month and we did our car on Priceline...My husband did his researh and kenw what we would have to pay for the kind of car we wanted and then decided what we wanted to pay. We are getting a full-size SUV for 300 for 6 days. I am not sure you can beat that by going directly to the company. Hope this helps. You will love Hawaii.

namaka

My first question is have you ever been to any of the hawaiian islands? Why are you choosing Kaui or the big island? Is there a specific reason; snorkeling?

Oahu for example has something for everyone and with that, there are some ways to cut costs. Taking the bus instead of renting a car perhaps. Or if renting a car to go to Haunama Bay, as opposed to taking a tour.

blackmons

I was in Hawaii many, many years ago. But it was through my husband's work (he golfed every day and I was with the wives -- but shopping and golf are not my thing.) It also rained every day. So I really don't count that trip. I guess I just brought up Kauai because it seems so popular. I really have not researched this. As for the Big Island, I seem to remember driving through miles and miles of hardened black lava and thinking that was interesting. I like our trips to be interesting -- not just sitting on the beach all day. I like variety. I don't like "touristy", but that may be unavoidable. We went to Costa Rica some years ago and zip-lined, went white water rafting, hiked, saw amazing wildlife, and soaked in natural hot springs -- we were in heaven. My youngest, who is going off to school, wants to replicate that "tropical paradise."
Thanks to everyone for all your helpful advice.
Laurie