Aloha, I can’t wait to tell you about my affordable Hawaiian Vacay! It was so fun and I was glad that I had the opportunity to travel during my last free summer as a student! Funny enough, Hawaii wasn’t my first choice. My best friend and I had planned to go on a cruise for our 25th birthday, and the cruise got cancelled! It was in the middle of finals and I was SCRAMBLING to find something new. However, I just let go and let God so I could focus on my exams.
Not two days later, Southwest Airlines hit my email with a trip to Hawaii for $258 roundtrip from Los Angeles! I called my best friend and luckily, we were on the same page. An hour later, we both had a seat on the plane and were so excited. I had never been to Hawaii so this was going to be a new experience for both of us and nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced on that beautiful Island.
Getting to Hawaii was a bit of a headache…
When we booked the tickets out of LA, I was under the false impression that getting to LA from Houston would be super cheap. In fact, I thought it would be so cheap, that instead of paying the $353 round trip from Houston, the difference between the two ticket prices would be worth it. I was wrong.
Miss #1
Flights to LA were about $230 roundtrip for me and about $400 for my friend who was coming from Oklahoma. Not my best decision making, but I was determined to make this trip a splash! We had all of our tickets booked and were finally on our way. Fast Forward to the middle of July, I had a plan of leaving my apartment by 6 am. I woke up to an email that my flight to LA had been canceled…and rebooked for a few hours later.
No biggie. Sure we wouldn’t get leave the airport during our original five hour layover to go eat Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles. But, I was still going to make it with plenty of time to make our Honolulu flight. I got to the airport, flew to LA and landed with no problems!
Miss #2:
When I landed, I had to go grab my bag out of security, then re-check it because they were different tickets. I met my friend at baggage claim and we headed to the ticket counter.
We checked our bags and headed back into the terminal only to find out that LAX might be one of the most inefficient airports I’ve been to (and I’ve been to a lot!) The security line was very long and slow. But no worries, we slid through and made it up to our gate to charge our phones for the five-hour flight.
Miss #3:
Before boarding we were told by the check-in agent to go to our gate for the COVID prescreen. The COVID online protocol to get to Hawaii was already tedious, but we had completed the forms and gotten our QR codes. We walked up to our gate agent and were told that we passed the pre-screen and it was back by security. With about 30 minutes left until boarding, we ran back and got in line. However, the line was extremely slow and there were only 2 agents doing the prescreen. We made it all the way to the front of the line just to be told our plane was boarding and we couldn’t get prescreened.
Upset is an understatement. We ran back to our gate with the fear that we would have to do a full screen when we landed in Honolulu. But, our fears were quickly smoothed when the flight attendant told us if we had our QR codes we would be good to go. We sat back and enjoyed the 5 hour flight over nothing but water.
After a great movie – Crazy Rich Asians – an average snack bag and a few Cokes to keep us alive for the 5-hour time shift back, we finally landed. The airport is beautiful and completely outside. As soon as we landed, we were immersed in the warm, Hawaiian air.
Hit #1:
After waiting a while for our bags, we got a $30 Lyft to the hotel that was right by Waikiki Beach.
Our hotel was about $1600 and we stayed at the Hilton Waikiki Beach. It was a beautiful hotel with very comfortable beds and nice sized bathrooms. Each room had a good sized balcony that faced the mountains or the beach. It was so dark when we arrived, however, that we couldn’t see anything. We got a pretty good deal on our hotel for $199 for 6 nights. We definitely could have chosen a cheaper hotel like Holiday Inn Express Waikiki which is very popular. However, we were steps from the beach and in a nice hotel that was in a safe neighborhood. We felt good about our choice and were willing to pay extra for guaranteed comfort.
After checking in and finally making it to our rooms, we fell into a deep sleep!
Hawaii’s beauty is indescribable
One time during class, one of my professors asked us, “Has anyone here been to Hawaii? It’s beautiful,” to which one of my classmates responded, “No, we’re poor.” Luckily, Southwest Airlines and Carnivial Cruise made it possible for me to change my answer to yes! I have been to Hawaii. And she was right. It is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.
We woke up at 6 in the morning (yay time difference) to a beautiful mountain range. When we walked out onto our balcony, the sun was just coming up over the mountains. It was so beautiful and about 70 degrees. We just sat out there and enjoyed the scene.
When we left our room and went to call the elevator, we saw the water on the other side of the hotel and we were not ready. The varying shades of blue and the tan beaches were like a dream come true. We were in awe of how beautiful these natural wonders were.
As we walked down the street and saw some hotels, or rode in Ubers, the buildings there were so beautiful. Some of the hotels were several decades old and held all of their tradition and history. I felt like I kept trying to take mental images because my phone’s camera was not doing it justice. The flowers on the trees were so bright and colorful. Even some of the birds had very pretty feathers, helping them stand out.
I literally cannot describe how beautiful Hawaii is.
Don’t get me started on the food!
Hit #2-30
The food there was a hit every. single. time. From our hotel, to a small shack on the beach, every meal we had was fantastic. Most of the time, the food was soooo good, that I was sad when I was too full to finish – which didn’t happen often.
From our hotel, I had a couple of their menu items. Their pulled pork sandwich was amazing and topped with a pineapple slaw. They even had these funky fries that were curled in a spiral and so crispy. I also tried their club sandwich one day, and that equally did not disappoint.
We hit up all the brunch spots around us. There is a restaurant called Eggs N Things were they had a 2 hour wait, but it was worth it. We hung out on the beach that was right across the street from the restaurant until it was our turn. Once inside, I had a fresh pineapple juice, banana and nutella french toast, and very large slice of ham. This wasn’t my cheapest meal at $37, including tip. But I put pieces of different meals together. You could easily eat here for less than $20.
One morning we went to Leonard’s Bakery. This little donut shop had a 40-minute line, but again, so worth it. They sell pastries, specifically Malasadas. Each Malasada was around $1.30-$1.50. Eating just one custard-filled or chocolate filled Malasada would fill you up.
The best part about Hawaii was their fruit. I haven’t had fruit that fresh since I visited Costa Rica. Every time I had a sip of juice or bit into a pineapple, I felt like someone had just plucked it off a tree and given it to me. They even put pineapple smoothies and coconut smoothies inside of the actual fruit! Delicious and photo friendly.
We visited a Ohana Mexican Grill, Shorefyre Grill, Bluewater Seafood Grill and many other delicious little restaurants off the beach. Most meals were anywhere from $10-$30 a plate, with an average around $20 with a tip.
Salt water and sand – a medical regiment
Hit #31:
The beach was the best part of my affordable Hawaiian vacation. First of all, it was free, and second of all, it was literally a three-minute walk from the hotel. The first day, we waded in the warm waters and just went with the flow of the water. However, the next day, we went to their ABC Convenience stores and they had $4.99 inflated tubes that we could wade in. We absolutely grabbed a couple and hit the water. We climbed in our tubes, and just floated up and down with the waves.
The sand was a little rocky, but the beach was excellent and super safe. We left our bag on the beach in a place where we could watch it from the water and no one even came near it. Everyone was just enjoying the beach and minding their business. There were surfers and boats far out, and lots of swimmers all ages closer to the shore. The beach was busy, but not so busy that it was overwhelming.
The hike of hell to the view of a lifetime
Miss #4 -> Hit #32
My friend will literally get on me for saying this was a miss, but only because I don’t like the outdoors. However, if you are an outdoorsy person, then you will love Diamond Head. if you’re like me, well you’ll think it’s cool, but it’s not something you need to experience twice. I’m not quite sure what Diamond Head is, but we hiked it after taking a $13 Uber to the base of it from Leonard’s Bakery. That’s right, I hiked Diamond Head with warm Malasadas in my stomach.
It’s a large rock formation that I think used to be a volcano. It was very busy and it cost $5 to hike. After buying our ticket, we started our ascent. Straight up. Needless to say, I was exhausted about 1/8th of the way. The beginning of the trail was a nice wide sidewalk. However, then the trail turned into a rocky path with a thin handrail on one side. There were a couple of spots with stairs that got hikers to the very top.
When we finally arrived at the top about 40 minutes later, it was breathtaking. We were so high, helicopters were on our level. We looked out over the edge and saw nothing but blue water as far as the eyes could see. The view definitely made the hike worth it…and so did the pineapple smoothie at the base of the trail!
We took a $20 Uber back to the hotel for some much deserved R&R.
The Honolulu Zoo should be on your bucket list
Zoos aren’t my favorite place to go, but my friend loves zoos so we had to make a stop at the Honolulu Zoo. It was about a five minute walk from our hotel, so no need to pay for transportation. When we got there, the line was long, but it was moving really fast.
Hit #33:
The zoo was fairly cheap, about $14 for adult admission. Once we got in, there was a very clear path for everyone to take to avoid Covid spread. I’ve been to a fair amount of zoos, but this one was so cool. They have really cool animals that were out and about for us to see. They had beautiful tigers and lions, giraffes, swans, cranes, flamingos, monkeys, lemurs, snakes, all sorts of different animals. It took us about an hour to walk through the whole zoo.
Miss #5:
The elephants weren’t out, so we didn’t get to see them. Also it was pretty hot, so we stopped for some delicious gelato on the way back!
Marketplaces galore
In Hawaii, they don’t seem to have malls, but they have Marketplaces. Their Marketplaces are all open air, so the entire time you’re shopping, you’re essentially outside. They also had the nicest stores in all of their marketplaces like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes, Burberry, etc. I obviously can’t afford those stores (yet) but they were still so cool to see because they have different fashion than in the continental.
Their marketplaces also had some delicious smelling food. In their Ala Moana Center, they have a huge food court full of authentic Asian/Pacific-Islander food and non-traditional fast food chains. Their international market place stretches between two blocks and had beautiful trees growing in the center of several stores that match all fashion tastes. The marketplaces were definitely good places to window shop, and maybe one day I’ll be able to actually shop.
Travel Hawaii wisely
Miss #6:
We took a couple of travel L’s. The first one was on their GoX scooters. These scooters are similar to Lyme scooters except they have much stricter rules. We decided to take them to the Aloha Tower Marketplace that was about 3 miles away because it may be cheaper than an Uber or Lyft.
We downloaded the apps and got the scooters started with $1 + $0.25/minute. That quickly added up before we even got to our location, we had each spent about $25. Then, unlike Lyme scooters, you have to park them in a designated spot or you will be fined $50. So we had to drive the opposite direction about a mile before we found a designated spot which costed another $15. Definitely took an L with those and stuck to Ubers.
The missed flight and the extra fellowship
Miss #7:
To put the cherry on top to a wonderful vacation, we overslept the morning we were supposed to leave. I set my alarm to 5:30 pm instead of am, and we were supposed to leave the hotel by 6 am. We didn’t even wake up until about 10 after. We jumped out of bed and were climbing into an Uber 10 minutes later. Our Uber pulled up to the airport about 20 minutes later. We’ve got about 40 minutes to go until our flight and the lines are long.
After waiting in line for about 10 minutes just to drop our bags off, we’re told we have to go through agriculture first. So we get out of line, go to agriculture, scan and come back. We drop our bags off and run to security with about 20 minutes to go. But when we get to the security line, it’s about 200 people long.
The woman working assures us that most of the people in line have flights that are about to leave and they may hold it for us if enough people were still in line. You can guess what happened.
We took about 20 minutes to go through security and ran up to our gate just as our flight was pushing back from the gate. After running to the gate, we’re so tired we can’t even be upset. We went to the gate agent, got a new flight and got to work rebooking our connections.
Turns out, we were going to miss all of the flights back to our home city and had to rebook flights from LA to the next morning.
Hit #34
Luckily, I had a couple of friends who came in clutch, picking us up from the airport and giving us a place to stay. We ended up getting to go to Roscoe’s after all. Not only that, but we got to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in years. So even after that crazy travel slip up, some good still came out of it.
Hawaii was so good to me and I can’t want to go back. Total cost to get there and stay for six nights was about $1200 a person. It may have been a tad cheaper had I booked directly out of Houston. We ate and did our activities and traveled to our destinations for about $400 a person. I hope you are able to make it to Hawaii, and if you are, please leave me a comment telling me how your trip went! Mahalo for reading!
Next trip: one of the other islands! My suggestion is Big Island. Oahu is quite commercialized. It’s a good intro to the area, but there’s so much left for you to see!
What happened to Pearl Harbor?!!
Oh yes, thank you for the suggestion! I definitely plan on going to one of the other islands! We pretty much only saw Waikiki so we were even limited with Oahu. I’ll definitely need some more time to really explore the islands!