honda hrv snorkel

How much does a vacation in Hawaii cost?

My wife and I spent two weeks on Maui last month (June, 2019), so I can provide some up-to-date costs. Airfare Airfare depends of course on where you are flying from and to. We got a relatively good price of $600/person for an Alaska non-stop from Oakland (California) to Kahului. You can get better prices if you are willing to fly early in the morning. Rental Car Unless you are going to spend your whole time in the confines of a resort, you will need a rental car. Almost every rental car company you’ve ever heard of (and some you haven’t) can be found on Maui. (And they have recently been reorganized to make access a lot easier from the airport.) You can rent anything from a subcompact to a honking SUV. We rented a Honda HRV (to have enough room for my extra gear) for $900 for 2 weeks. Lodging We stayed in three places with a range of prices. First was Peace of Maui, a basic bed and breakfast near Makawao in the middle (“upcountry”) of the island. For $150/night, we got a room with a bed and refrigerator, and shared bathrooms and kitchen. This is good for a group (and in fact we were a part of a group), or if you like meeting new people. Not so good if you want more privacy or luxury. Next I camped at the Kipahulu Campground of Haleakala National Park, south of Hana on the east side of Maui. For my entrance fee of $25, I got to stay for 3 nights. (I should add 2 x $40 extra airline baggage fee for the duffel bag with my tent, sleeping bag, pack, etc. Camping has its pros and cons - close to nature but no luxury. There are not many campgrounds in Hawaii. The second week we stayed at the Papakea Resort just north of Kaanapali on the west side of Maui. We got this through VRBO, and with taxes and various fees it came to about $300/night. For this we got a lavishly appointed one bedroom condo with living room, kitchen, and balcony just a few yards from the ocean. You can get other, less desirable condos in this resort that are not on the water, for $150-$200/night. Full service resort hotels, like the Sheraton at Kaanapali, tend to run $400/night and up. Food You have a range of choices for eating in Hawaii, which I would term “not so expensive to hyper-expensive”. If you have a condo with a kitchen, you can buy and cook your own food. We usually get stuff for breakfast and lunch. Condos also usually have shared BBQs on which you can grill. Restaurants are plentiful, particularly in the popular resort areas, but tend to be pricey. Of course your bill will depend on what you have — appetizers, entrees, dessert, and drinks. At a good restaurant, an chicken entree might be $20–$30, fish $30-$40, and a steak $50. My rule of thumb is $50-75/day/person. Activities There are many activities that you can do in Hawaii, depending on your interests, your abilities, and how much you want to spend — bus tours, sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving, parasailing, biking, hiking, and so on. These start around $100/person. We did a day-long boat trip to Lana’i for $250/person, which included snacks, drinks, lunch, a tour of Lana’i City and optional snorkeling gear. I belatedly realized that there is a ferry to Lana’i from the same dock in Lahaina for $60 round trip per person (but no drinks and no stopping for photo ops with the spinner dolphins). So, for a reasonably enjoyable but not lavish one week Hawaiian vacation for two people, my rules of thumb would be: Airfare $1200 = $600/person x 2 people Rental Car $ 300 = 7 days Lodging $1400 = $200/day x 7 days Food $ 700 = $50/day/person x 2 people x 7 days Activities $ 400 = 2 activities x $100/activity/person x 2 people TOTAL $4000