honolulu on a budget`
 

We traveling to Honolulu for the first time to move our twin boys to Hawaii Pacific University. Any thoughts on hotels (clean but cheap) and restaurants that only the locals know?
Our great deal websites to look at? I have already started looking at Kayak.com.
Thanks!
kat

Resortquest has several condos. Waikiki Banyan has 1 bedrooms. Waikiki sunset has 1, 2 bedrooms.

www.resortquesthawaii.com

www.visit-oahu.com Free brochure. There are over 400 websites for lodging, restaurants, attractions in the brochure & on the site. Click on: OVB Yellow Pages

Lots of info including maps of Waikiki hotels & condos:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34812564

Very cheap, but clean and decent is the Pagoda hotel. Tends to be lots of locals staying there while their homes are termite tented or visiting from neighbor islands. It isn't in Waikiki...its a couple of blocks from Ala moana Center.

Are you interested in staying in Waikiki? Or you want to stay in downtown Honolulu?

thanks for the great tips...I will def look at them--I am such a newby that I don't really know the difference between Waikiki and Downtown Honolulu...I do know the windward campus is about 8 miles away from Honolulu. Any other ideas would be great-is there a costco close by also to purchase things for them or would it be best to ship from the mainland?

Budget hotels I like in Waikiki are The Royal Grove, The Breakers, and The Hawaiiana Hotel.

You might want to get a map :-) so you can understand the lay of the land before going!! Basically I guess you'd say Honolulu is the downtown and city area, Waikiki is the beach and tourist area.

Many (most?) vacationing visitors stay in Waikiki (where most of the hotels are located) and except for passing thru the international airport, going to a museum, or Chinatown don't get into Honolulu much.

"I do know the windward campus is about 8 miles away from Honolulu. Any other ideas would be great-is there a costco close by also to purchase things for them or would it be best to ship from the mainland?"

Where will they get student lodging?

Besides the one in Kaneohe, there is an HPU campus in downtown Honolulu. I have no idea where your kids classes will be.

For the short time you are there, you ought to stay in a Waikiki hotel or condo. You have a lot more choices there.

Waikiki is part of Honolulu. It is about 4-5 miles from Downtown Honolulu.

Buy a copy of 'Oahu Revealed'. It has great info & maps. You can order one from their site: www.wizardpub.com or many online bookstores. You can also see most of the hotels & condos in Waikiki on the site.

Yes there is a Costco in Aiea area.

Used to be a discount Crazy shirt T-Shirt store in Aiea too. Good rejects, seconds, great for kids.. who can wear T-Shirts and flip flops most of the year.

Aiea Chop Suey has great chinese food.

There is a China town too..

Ala Moana Shopping Ctr food court is fun and cheap..great intro to fast food Hawaiian style.

Zippys or L & L are local chain of family restauarants..great. Also anyplace that sells "plate lunches" is a great place for cheap good food. Onolicious

Plan on going to the Sunday Swap meet at the Stadium..can get great bargains

There are tourist magazines with 2 for 1 discounts coupons...

You can check out the Hawaii Star Bulletin Newspapare online..

Actually, there is a Costco in the Iwilei area. The address is 525 Alakawa Street. It's near downtown Honolulu. I think they closed the Aiea Costco. That would be the closest one to Waikiki.

I did a review of Aqua Equus on my non-commercial blog, http://beatofhawaii.com. We got it for $79. Very nice accommodation.

They closed the Halawa Costco and opened one in Waipahu, off the Ka Uka Blvd. offramp. The one in Iwilei is the one closer to town.

There is a Sam's Club in Pearl City, though.

Swap meet at the stadium Wed/weekend is a must for the cheapest stuff, great for that 2nd suitcase too.
Can't miss with L&L. Head to the other side of the island and find the shrimp shacks. (fun day trip on scooters) Hana Bay only a $5 bus ride away

Txs for the Costco update.. Waipahu..lots of great bargains and Costco does have many
local items..

Wanted to say too, food (and I imagine gas now) are the most expensive items as is housing and electricity. But we managed to live for 4 years like "locals" and did fine..
Makes we want to move back..if only I did not have elderly parents..aloha for now

Well you picked the right island. Have you looked into renting a condo? At times it's much cheaper then a hotel? Something to think about, and they have a kitchen so you can most meals right at home? Here's a great site that has vacation rentals..

Have fun!!!
http://honolulu.nyctourist.com/

I agree on the condo suggestion.
http://www.govisithawaii.com/2008/01...-savvy-choice/

VRBO.com is a good website for condos and another good one is Zonder.com which has a better search interface.