Linda

Have rental cabin (w/kitchen) reserved for 1st trip to Hawaii this August (North Shore Oahu). Read on this forum about high grocery prices on the islands, and someone suggested packing non-perishables for trip out, then using the extra luggage space for all our island purchases on way home. Ideal evening meal on lanai is grilled whatever, rice and salad - will probably be fixing our own bk-fast and need some snackies too. Would you bother with this? What might you recommend we pack foodwise if so? Thanks.....

Mary

A couple of years ago we packed a sturdy box with "essentials": pasta, rice, breakfast cereal for the kids, good bread (which I packed frozen) and some cooking supplies that I felt I couldn't live without (herbs, good olive oil, etc.) Did it make a big difference? No. This year we hit Costco on the first day of our trip and found the prices to be very close to what we pay at home. Plus, they had great local fish, and fruit that rivaled what we found at local fruit stands. Even the items that are alway high in Hawaii-mainly dairy products- were reasonable. We also have found great prices on food items at good old K-Mart. They don't have as much as a grocery store but do have snack foods, milk, cheese, bread, and the best prices on Myer's Rum (which we consider an essential item in Hawaii.)
So to answer your question, we quit bringing food over and started buying carefully on the island. I always pack a couple of good kitchen knives but leave the groceries at home.

lcuy

Aloha Linda-What I would do is bring a big cooler with you. (fill it with your snorkles and stuff on the plane). The cooler will be good for hauling cold stuff as your house may be far from the market, and on beach and sightseeing days you can fill it with ice and snacks. If you're a member, there is a Costco right off the freeway At Waipio Uka or a Sams Club in Pearl City (follow signs to Leeward community College, across Home Depot). The 2nd Mililani freeway exit has Star Supermarket & Wal Mart. The north shore does have a Foodland supermarket. Prices will be higher than you're used to, but it won't be like shopping at a 7-11. Have fun!

Linda

Thank you so much, Mary and 1cuy, for the help. Can't handle the thought of a toting a cooler (I believe in traveling as light as possible - will buy styrofoam cooler for sightseeing on island) so based on what Mary says think I'll compromise and just take a few essential spices/herbs (spices are high everywhere, aren't they?) and our rice (just so I don't have to buy a 10-or-20 lb. bag there). Don't have Costco in the midwest, but we ARE Sam's Club members, so very glad to get directions to there. Thanks again.....

Richard Sullivan

Consider going to Chinatown to stock up on the cheapest and freshest produce on the island. Hit the Maunakea Marketplace and the Oahu Market for GREAT prices [you can even haggle] on local grown produce, chickens and eggs. At the Maunakea, a carton with eggs so huge that they had to use rubber bands to keep it shut was cheaper than a carton of puny "small" eggs at Waikiki super-ripoff-markets.
The advantage over Costco [I too am a member of Costco] is that locally produced food is rare at Costco, Safeway, and other places. And local tastes a lot better. Most of their fruit, vegetables, poultry and eggs are imported from California.