Our focus turns to Hawaii hotels and vacation rentals where we found some extraordinary prices and surprises. Here’s what is happening and what you can do to control the cost of a Hawaii vacation.
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47 thoughts on “Cost of A Hawaii Vacation | Part 2: Hawaii Hotels and Vacation Rentals Skyrocket”
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Could you please tell me if there are any luaus in Kuuai in October. We are staying Princeville. Thanks so much.
Hi Karen.
There are a number of luau’s around the island. Suggest you try searching or use the Kauai Revealed guidebook for more information to help you decide. Others may recommend their favorites as well.
Aloha.
We visit Hawaii around 2x per year. A couple years ago, our mini van would typically cost $50/day plus taxes. The last 2 trips it ran $100/day plus taxes. I was searching for our upcoming 15 day trip and all my normal sites (costco, priceline, expedia etc) were all showing prices ranging from $2,900 ($156+tax/day) to $3,700. I started looking at small SUV pricing when the search took me to Kayak. I was able to book our minivan for ~$1900 thru Kayak via Hertz. $1000 saved. Thought I’ld share.
We’ve vacationed in Hawaii 20+ times in the last 30 years, including the Big Island in 2021. We won’t be going to Hawaii in 2022 and won’t return until hotel/vacation rentals and rental cars drop from the ridiculously high rates. Don’t perpetuate the problem; refuse to travel to Hawaii until prices return to “normal” high Hawaii levels. Hawaii will still be there in the future. In the meantime, travel to cheaper places, maybe closer to home, and have fun doing it! Mahalo!
We are on Oahu now. All the added fees for hotels make them more expensive. Even my timeshare yearly fees have gone up$1000 since 2005. Gas is cheaper than in California. Beware of the little stores in the hotels as food is very expensive. ABC offers a lot. Restaurant food is expensive. $25 for a hamburger. It is not crowded this week. You can get dinner reservations at the last minute. A dinner out can be $50. I will still vacation here in paradise. I have been coming over the past 50 years.
We’re resort stay individuals if you check daily they’re deals to be had.
I booked our up coming May trip to BI last November for a weeks stay at Fairmont Orchid with car for under 3k. To be fair our flights were booked with points.
Im currently booked for our October trip to either Maui (GW) or BI (Hapuna Beach). Maui trip is pricier, but includes a lot of perks where BI package is 2k lower in price.
We’ve not stayed at Hapuna Beach before we’ll check it out on our May trip.
It’s relatively easy to rent a timeshare – no need to buy and make a long term commitment. Generally these are more friendly sized than the large resorts. They will have pools, probably game rooms, etc but probably lower resort fees. Companies like Hawaii timeshare exchange, Trading Places, and Redweek all usually have a selection of rental units (studio, 1 + 2 bedroom). You usually get a full kitchen to cut down on costs. most have BBQ grills. $300 nt for 2 bedroom approx.
Each year we go to Maui, we pre-book the same spring break week for next year.
I had to compare to our 2019 price because 2020/2021 were Covid cancellations but I was shocked at the price increase of ~30-35%!
You can always find good flight deals to Hawaii, but everything else is insane.
All that said, Hawaii has everything we want, so we’ll continue to pay… for now.
Increases in condo dues, utilities, property taxes etc.. nothing ever goes down unfortunately.
Aloha Rob and Jeff. Kitty K was talking about her timeshare. Maybe those who have them are/could rent the out to vacationers to Dave some money on lodging expenses. I’ve been looking at some deals on Hawaiian Airlines website and there are some that are affordable. Airfares, hotel and car between 1800.00 and 3500.00.
As a local I want to say we are having the same issues as the tourists – tho somehow it feels worse since we live here and cant get into a restaurant, find a parking space at the beach, or a reasonable cost at a hotel for a stay-cation. Even with the Kamaaina rate we just paid close to $400 a night for a 5 night stay in Napili. Just try to go to Lanai!!! That is the Worst!! $2400 a night!! We used to go there for every holiday at under $200 a night. its a rich man’s world here now.
We are going to be staying at the Wyndham Bai Hai April 2 Thursday the 9th, could you please help me find good beaches for snorkeling near there and best place to park. You have been so helpful in planning our month long trip. Daughter now joining us and wants to snorkel. Thanks so much.
Hi Charlie.
Our favorite up there is Tunnels beach. Parking is a challenge but you can walk back from Haena Beach Park. Others may suggest different snorkeling beaches. Also suggest you check the Kauai Revealed guidebook.
Aloha.
But the best place to snorkel on Kauai, we believe, is the area immediately west of the Beach House on the south shore. Absolutely teeming with fish that will eat fish food out of your hand. Pick some up at Whalers in Poipu. But remember to wear water shoes. Lots of rocks and coral.
Aloha, thanks for the interesting article. Not trying to advertise our condo by any means, but you can find some inexpensive direct ocean front condos in Maui, such as ours, for around $200 a night in Honokowai and Kahana. Most buildings were built in the 1970’s, most have been remodeled at least once. Anyway, just thought I’d spread the word. Some owners have caught on and raised rates substantially, others have not.
I love your newsletters!
Mahalo
We recently looked at prices at a large resort in Waikoloa for same time period as 2020 when we had to cancel. Same room went from $297 in 2020 to $603 now. Comments on hotel were short staffed, restaurants menus pared back and prices hefty even for HI, turning down guests at restaurants even when tables empty due worker shortage. Will have to rethink our plans. Of course pricing is up for lodging and meals here in CA also, but it was still a shock.
I know many people don’t care for Timeshares, it’s definitely “paying for your vacation in advance” but we bought into one in 1995 and have used it almost every year in Kauai and other places. Yes, there are maintenance fees, but the points required for a stay don’t go up. We have been very pleased with ours and have found it a good way to stay at a really nice place without high costs.
The inflation the US consumer is facing is worse than anything in our lifetime.
If the government will not cut back on spending the value of the dollar will continue to plummet. Who will travel if food and housing consumes most of our income. We are in a fight for our very existence.
We are frequent visitors to Maui and have always stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea. We get one of the more expensive rooms that had ran about $1k per night. When we were booking for this year the same room was over $2k per night…way too rich for our blood so we pivoted to Kauai.
We are fortunate enough to not have to worry about dining costs and compared to Maui the restaurants seemed much cheaper.
At the end of the day paradise isn’t cheap!
Planned a big trip to Hawaii including NCL cruise for my 50th bday…that was almost three years ago! With the exorbitant prices of everything from airfare to beach wear it doesn’t look like we will be visiting any time soon, many others I’ve discussed this with are in agreement. Living in northeastern Canada with a weak dollar and vast distances in between means spending $50,000 on a family vacation!!! Who has that kind of money for a two week vacation? Hawaii is closed to Canadians😔
Just got back to the mainland after spending 70 days on Maui. Weather was absolutely perfect! Traffic usually a nightmare! Restaurants required reservations if you could get thru on the phone. We found the best thing to do was stop in person at your favorite restaurant and beg for a reservation. Grocery prices were high, and a lot of shelves were bare. Gas and rental vehicles were out of sight. Beaches and points of interest were very busy. Unless we hit the lottery, this is last trip.
Booked my car rental months ago and was surprised by how high it was. Checked back a month later and it had dropped by over $300. Checked back last week and it d dropped another 150 of both Maui and the Big Island. Just the way I plan and pay for trips and I’m sure that I’ll be checking back again.
After over 30 years of travel to Hawaii there is nothing in your articles that has surprised me. If you stay in a hotel instead of a condo then your costs will be much higher.
Thank you for your continued up to date info! We love Hawaii and have been visiting the Big Island every year for about 15 years including the Covid years. The price for the condo we always stay in has been increased by $350 per night for Jan. 2023. That means for a 2 bed/2 ba.over $750 per night before taxes. We feel this is price gouging and we are not going to return until this all calms down. We will go to Baja or Costa Rica next Year and we will wait and see about 2024.
Hi Ebosco.
Thanks. Enjoy your time in Baja or CR, and we look forward to your return.
Aloha.
Sure glad I got to go when working for Island Holidays. At least the folks who are pushing for limited tourism will get their wish pretty soon.
As with most Hawaii businesses, our employees travel for work on other Islands. The accommodation taxes and rental vehicle taxes are unfair to local business
On Oahu we stayed on Wakiki beach and I would say main thing about eating out is to be flexible. Do you really want to wait 3 hours to eat at Marugame or be disappointed because you can’t go to a luau. We used open table and also kept our eyes open. Even though we wanted to go to Basalt for dinner- we had a great breakfast there. We ate twice at Seoul Korean House. We at Dukes two times-
We had many great meals, many shaved ice-even had a shrimp lunch on our tour around the island.
I own an oceanfront condo in Poipu, and the best restaurant I know is my Lanai eating grilled fish and watching the sun set. Food from Costco and Big save.
Our last trip to Kauai we spent $1,000. at restaurants. It was a 2 week trip for 2 people. That’s less than $72.00 per day. At least 5 of those restaurants were fine expensive places like tidePools, beachhouse and others.. That does not include money spent at Costco and Safeway. Breakfast is always at our condo, Kuhio Shores, where we really like to have lunch at the BeachHouse… Next trip in May is for 3 weeks…
It is no wonder that fewer restaurants are taking reservations. Remember that reservations are for the benefit of the consumer, not the restaurant. If the restaurant has a choice between having a line of people out the door ready and willing to fill a seat immediately that is better for them than having to take a phone call and hold a table for a patron that may or may not show. So long as the restaurant is full to capacity they are not going to bend over backwards to take reservations.
Good information. When we were there in December we found that 3 weeks out we still couldn’t get the exact times we wanted for dinner. We stayed in a condo, so breakfast wasn’t a problem, and ate at small local places for lunch most of the time. Even at Roy’s on the Big Island they were short staffed, as were many of the places we visited for meals. So my recommendations are to reserve early, and be flexible with your desired times.
Hi Lee.
Thanks for your input on restaurants and your other 100 comments to date.
Aloha.
One way to save a little money is, to shop in the open air farmers markets, especially in Waimea town on the Big Island. The farmers market in Poipu Kauai is decent too. I know of a local fisherman who sells his fish. It helps to eat what the locals eat. You will need a kitchen and a BBQ.
Aloha Guys
Hi Roy.
Thanks. On the island of Kauai, we’d say the quintessential market is the Saturday location at Grove Farm in Puhi.
Aloha.
Many restaurants have limited their reservations, because they are seeing high no-shows. Owners say, guests book several restaurants, then choose one, but don’t cancel the others. Please cancel reservations if you have decided not to go, as a courtesy to benefit all owners and all prospective clients. Thank you.
Been on the Big Island since February 1. Most, if not all, of the restaurants I’ve made reversations with took a credit card when I made the reservation. I assume they will charge a no show fee if I don’t show. We always show–we aren’t known for missing a meal! Also received email and text messages the day before to confirm or cancel the reservation. If I owned a restaurant, I would do all of the above to reduce the chance of no shows.
Maybe they should charge a “reservation booking fee” applied to your meal bill when you show up. If you don’t show where you have made other reservations and don’t cancel them within a certain reasonable limited time frame the fee goes through.
That is such a shame! To book busy restaurants, decide not to use your Rez, but not cancel it is downright rude, & vastly inconsiderate.
Made the mistake last year of not having reservations, especially on Maui, so I made my restaurant reservations for our June trip back in January.
Made my dinner reservations already for my trip in May to Oahu on open table, daily
breakfast buffet is included with my hotel, plate lunch and saimin for lunch, I’m covered, aloha
Aloha! If you don’t mind me asking,…where did you reserve? We are headed there in October and I want to be prepared!
Very common here in Calif. to bring in a bottle of wine and pay a corkage fee. Is this allowed there?
Keep up the good work, you guys are no ka oi! Mahalo
Hi Valww.
You’ll have to check with the restaurant. There is nothing prohibiting it specifically.
Aloha.
We typically make restaurant reservations 30 days out for great food experiences and cook the rest of our meals in our condo after making a Costco or Sam’s run. Sam’s is great because we can order pick-up at the Pearl City location and then just swing by on our way to Ko Olina. Of course, we love stopping at Don Quijote as well for our Asian produce and seasonings. It’s like an Asian Walmart. We enjoy Foodland farms and Island Country Market but they do tend to empty the wallet quickly.
We went to KAUAI last August for 3 weeks and booked all the restaurants we wanted about 1 month in advance. We got all of them that we wanted. Since we have a timeshare, we eat out every other night. It worked fine.
Would love to know the restaurants you recommend on both the north shore and south. We have a week in Princeville as well as a second in Poipu.
Beach House, La Spezia, Tasting Room