Frugal Hawaii: the cheapest and most effective way to see the 50th state
When I was working and earning money, we visited Hawaii five times … we flew out, rented a condo, and stayed for a week on a particular island.
Now retired, we see Hawaii on a cruise … it’s a much less expensive way to enjoy all the islands you want to see.
We recently completed a 14-day round-trip cruise from the Los Angeles cruise port … we saw the Big Island of Hawaii, Honolulu on Oahu, Nawiliwili on Kauai, and Lahaina on Maui … all with just unpacking one Once … our hotel room moved from island to island.
With some purchases, you should be able to find a round trip cruise package from Los Angeles between $ 800- $ 1,000 per person … this price includes all your accommodation, meals (the cruise gives new meaning to the phrase everything- you can eat), entertainment and as many activities on board as you want.
Compare this to flying from the US, renting a car, staying in a hotel, or renting a condo.
This is what we used to do … take the condo route. We ate a lot … we had limited or no entertainment and usually stayed on an island all week.
Let’s do the math for flying instead of sailing.
- Airfare $ 600- to $ 1000 per person
- Rent-A-Car for the week including gasoline $ 400 per couple
- Meals $ 100 per day per couple
- Condo rental, $ 1000 per week
That works out to a total of $ 3,500 to $ 4,100 for one week, compared to … assuming the upper limit on cruise prices is $ 2,000 for two weeks.
So let’s go over the advantages of cruising versus flying.
- Obviously it is much cheaper
- You see four islands versus just one
- You have daily “maid” service
- You eat all your meals in an elegant environment
- They pamper you 24 hours a day
- You have more activities and entertainment on a boat.
When you look at all the benefits of cruising to Hawaii, it’s surprising that even more people are flying to Hawaii …
On our particular cruise, our ship also called in Ensenada, Mexico … since most cruises are registered outside of the United States, they must call outside of the United States at least once … I don’t know why … it’s just the way it is.
We were only in Ensenada for four hours and, like most people, we did not leave the ship.
So the next time you’re considering a visit to Hawaii, take a look at using a cruise ship instead of flying.
You will find it more relaxing and definitely more profitable than traveling by plane.
Mahalo for reading.