I sold my first item on Craigslist! I found our old antenna for our tv and I didn't really think anyone would want it but I just wanted to see what all was involved with posting something for sale on Craigslist. What do you know? Someone wanted that antenna. We met at Target and I am now $5 closer to Hawaii!!! *looking around to see what else I can list on Craigslist*
So we have enough miles to fly to Hawaii and back for free. For all you people who have been to Hawaii or have looked into it, how much money do you think we'll need for a week of lodging, transportation, food and fun stuff? And a helicopter ride. Because this may be my only chance to ever go to Hawaii and I want to see it from a helicopter.
14 comments:
David and I made our first purchase on Craigslist this past weekend. It is such a great resource! It is true that one person's trash is another's treasure! Plus, we have the luxury of looking on the Atlanta or Greenville Craigslist websites for more options!
Hmmm, I'll have to ask JEU about the cost of our honeymoon and get back to you. But here is one money saving tip: Do NOT splurge on the 1 hour helicopter ride. 30 minutes in that little tiny thing with 4 other people is just fine and you'll still see plenty of Hawaiian beauty. I was fine for the first 50 minutes, but I think the last 10 minutes of our heli flight were some of the worst in my life...never felt so sick.
We saved lots of money while in Hawaii once by getting a hotel room with a frig. We bought breakfast foods and deli stuff to make sandwiches at lunchtime. It was great - plus, it's always good to come back to the room for a bit in the middle of the hot day. Let yourself get at least a partial ocean room...and stay on the beach. If this is your chance, you should get to have those luxuries.
oh girl. it's expensive there. just be prepared. when i have a bit more time i'll let you know of some good websites.
ok 30 min helicopter ride.
We've thought about getting a condo or something but I think just the two of us a hotel room probably will be just as cheap and easy. I would def like to have a fridge- or have breakfast included yum!
beth I thought you might have some ideas!! We are still over a year away (next July) so we are hoping to be able to save enough money to not have to worry about the money while we are there!!
I was just talking to a girl at work about Hawaii. She went for 6 days and stayed with a friend (free) and she still spent $2300 on herself several years back. So, it's expensive!! But oh how I would love to go...maybe our 20th! :)
Beth is computerless until J gets home. She will definitely have some answers for you.
wrong beth...oops!
I went to Honolulu in high school for a dance team competition. Since everything was paid for, I can't help with pricing. But there are a few things I remember - Hawaii has a low sales tax, like 5% or something. Also, an evening luau is lots of fun and pretty. But don't waste your money on a hula show, that was boring. But there is a dinner cruise that does a hula show, so you get a cruise, dinner, and show all in one. Some girls did surfing lessons and had a blast with that, as well as snorkeling. I didn't do either - just hung out at the beach. :) That was fun too.
I'm sure Andrea will have tons of good advice since she lived there.
OK... about Hawaii... it's very expensive there BUT there are ways you can save money...
- If you're staying in a Hotel that has a mini fridge, you can make your own lunches (buy bread, meat, cheese, etc)... that will save a lot. Also, all the 7-11s have these things called Spam Musabi for about 50 cents... it's rice, seaweed and spam and it's AWESOME! It's a great lunch if you're out - and it doesn't cost much! :) haha!
- If you like camping, my favorite beach there has a camping area and it ROCKS! You can save a TON that way! (the only prob with that is where to put your luggage - and don't think - the trunk of my car b/c the locals are PROS at breaking into cars - don't ever store stuff there)
- I can go on and on... if you like water and swimming, then it's fun just to go to all teh different beaches - you'd definitely have to rent a car to do that. Waimiea is GREAT - they have this HUGE rock you can jump off of!!! Hanauma Bay is incredible for snorkling. Shark's Cove is great for snorkling (and its's free)
- the hike up to Makapu'u lighthouse is so cool! Most of the hike is paved (so it's sort of a different hike) but it's so cool up top, and you can see all sorts of military pill boxes from WW2... and it's super windy up top with a cool view!!
- The Dole Pineapple plantation is pretty cool - they have a maze and tons of Koi fish and the BEST pineapple ice cream called "dole whip" - but you can actually get that at the airport.
- OK, I could go on and on...I don't have any hotel recommendations though(I stayed/lived with people there)...
Whoo hoo!! I miss Hawaii!!!!
oh, and a lot of the hotels on Waikiki have those polynesian/hula shows... you wouldn't actualy have to pay (just eat dinner there)... instead of paying a ton to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center (which is actually pretty cool but expensive)...
Oh, and the bus is pretty good...
Ala Moana shopping center is pretty fun...
Hilo Hattie's is a tourist store - but it's great!
Man, I sure miss hawaii :)
If you want to know of a cool church to visit while you're there too, let me know :)
They also have all these crazy worship sites all over the island for polynesian people to worship their gods. It's really interesting and there are all sorts of things to look at.
There are waterfalls EVERYWHERE!!! and pools of water and awesome cliffs to jump off of... you have to kind of search for them though - they aren't in any tourist books and you shouldn't drink ANY of the water (even on accident) - you can get really sick - but it's AWESOME!... you can just pull off the side of a road and walk throught the woods and you'll almost always find one - it's cool!
Y'all are making me EXCITED! WOOHOO!
Beth e just moved back to the mainland from Hawaii after living there 4 years so that's why I knew she's have some pointers!
EXPENSIVE but worth it...start saving so you can do the things you read about...don't skimp!! Go to a Luau and EAT ALOT!! Stay OCEAN side...I mean if you are planning plan well.....J and I loved the place we stayed...it had 3 restaurants...from cheapo/family to wayyy $$$! Every night there was a man in traditional dress that lit all the candle thingies around the resort and at the end he climbed up to the top of the mnt thing and did a dance..I made J watch it every night! HAHAHA
We did not do the helicopter cause the week before the main company crashed into a waterfall and J said NO WAY! we loved it...but even Subway was $$$. the resort we stayed had a kitchenette and a MAJOR breakfast spread was included...so we rarely ate lunch and then had dinner out! The BEST place we ate for dinner was Mama's Fish House on Maui! It was everything I thought of when I dreamed of our trip! Oh and I also got very excited that a lady in traditional dress greeted us when we got off the plane with leis and our name on a big sign! ITS just beautiful there......so SAVE UP and then SPLURGE!!!!
I needed to come read all this, since mark and I are using our miles to go next summer!
I also have to laugh every time I see merritt write "frig" - sometimes I call it that in my head, since it makes me smile. Took Mark a while to figure out what the heck I was talking about. :)
Seriously - Mark and I are banking on the hotel-with-a-fridge thing in NYC this summer, too.
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