Hawaii what to do and where to go ?

[Mitsu3000gt]

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If you can find a Mazda Miata or something small and zip up to Haleakala Crater 10,000 feet ascent, it's so much fun.

Unfortunately both times I went there I was in a Chevy Traverse and Dodge Caravan.

My 7-day rental from National Car Rental showed about $500USD total for everything and Air Miles covered $400 with 3,550 Air Miles.

How much power is a Miata making at 10k ft? 60hp? Haha. That is a fun road if you aren't stuck behind one of the many Dodge Caravans going 20km/h.

Rentals usually cost me between $13-20 CAD/day depending on the vehicle. The most I have ever paid in Hawaii is $28 CAD/day when we needed a larger SUV. We got a JEEP one year too, and was that ever a piece of shit, but it was fun to offroad a little bit on Hawaii and made the drive up to Mauna Kea summit easier (they have staff that 'check' your vehicle now so you can't just rip up in an econobox like the good old days).

[bjstare]

My parents bought a Miata for their place down there last year, I'm really looking forward to caning on it next time we're down haha

[jaylo]

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How much power is a Miata making at 10k ft? 60hp? Haha. That is a fun road if you aren't stuck behind one of the many Dodge Caravans going 20km/h.

Rentals usually cost me between $13-20 CAD/day depending on the vehicle. The most I have ever paid in Hawaii is $28 CAD/day when we needed a larger SUV. We got a JEEP one year too, and was that ever a piece of shit, but it was fun to offroad a little bit on Hawaii and made the drive up to Mauna Kea summit easier (they have staff that 'check' your vehicle now so you can't just rip up in an econobox like the good old days).

It's a gradual ascent and 15mph U-bends I've counted at least 50 bends.

Go during a weekday and it's less busy.

My Caravan suffered brake fade on the descent in some areas, brake early and you'll be fine.

Mazda Miata or an S2000 will be perfect for stretches, although most hwys are max 45mph, some 55mph.

[jaylo]

23.5 hp loss at ~5,000 feet, 43 hp loss in ~10,000 feet

Still got 100+ hp on 2,300lb vehicle which is plenty.

[ercchry]

I took up a mustang... enough power to pass those minvans

[nismodrifter]

Hanuama Bay was amazing snorkelling, really enjoyed that. Diamondhead views were amazing. We went on a van tour, with downhill bikes, it was great fun!! Took us to the top of a mountain, and then we rode cruisers downhill, stopping at view points, we loved this!

[BavarianBeast]

Since when did Waikiki become such a dump? Spent a night there and could not believe the crowds and equal amount of homeless people on the beach and surrounding area. Tons of garbage all over the beach and sidewalks.. Even got lucky enough to see some dude shit his pants and let it run down his leg all over what would of been a nice picnic area.. I was there 15 years ago and remember it being a lot more pleasant?

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Since when did Waikiki become such a dump? Spent a night there and could not believe the crowds and equal amount of homeless people on the beach and surrounding area. I was there 15 years ago and remember it being a lot more pleasant?

I was there even in 2009 and it was a dump - I can only imagine it's worse now and have no desire to ever go back. Same as you point out, ridiculous crowds and homeless everywhere - for me anyway, that is not my idea of relaxing or a good time. Spent about 2 minutes there and everyone had enough by then. The other islands are a lot more pleasant IMHO.

[BavarianBeast]

Just got back from my trip to Oahu and Kauai.

Figured I would share some highlights..

Hiking Diamondhead
Surfing Sunrise @ Waikiki
Surfing sunset at turtle bay Oahu
Snorkel @ Hanuama Bay
Sunset & Billabong Pipemasters @ Bonzai Pipeline
Snorkel @ Kawela Bay ( Turtles for days)
Dining @ Paa'kai & Roy's at Turtle Bay
Hiking in Ko'ke/Na Pali State Park in Kauai
Helicopter tour around Kauai

Can't recommend doing a Luau unless you have kids, that was boring as shit.

Had an absolute blast and will be back soon. Trip was $$$$ though, about 2.5x more than doing the 5* all inclusive down in Mexico.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Had an absolute blast and will be back soon. Trip was $$$$ though, about 2.5x more than doing the 5* all inclusive down in Mexico.

Per person or for 2 of you? Hawaii is only as expensive as you want it to be for the most part - I go there because it's one of the cheaper overall destinations for my style of holiday anyway. Glad you liked it! Also if you go back you probably won't do as many paid activities and it might be cheaper for you.

[msommers]

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Hawaii is only as expensive as you want it to be for the most part

My Ride: R8, TTRS, VW BUS, E30



BB's Waimea Canyon pic brought me right back to the helicopter ride Mitsu so enthusiastically recommended to me years ago. So, so happy I listened, it was incredible.

[ercchry]

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Per person or for 2 of you? Hawaii is only as expensive as you want it to be for the most part - I go there because it's one of the cheaper overall destinations for my style of holiday anyway. Glad you liked it! Also if you go back you probably won't do as many paid activities and it might be cheaper for you.

The USD gets me every time... 5 day surf trip, shared a 4bed hostel room between two of us, ate at trucks and BBQ places the whole time, rented a Chevy sonic, and surfboard. Air fare was only $500, but the full trip was over $2k CAD (each)... we surfed, tried cooking a meal once too, but that was actually more expensive than the food trucks

[killramos]

My biggest takeaway from Maui over Christmas is costs were some next level shit.

Aside from that everything was pretty much perfect though. Except car spotting, I never want to see a mustang convertible or a wrangler again (too bad I have one of each in my driveway )

[BavarianBeast]

2.5x more expensive for the two of us. We rented our own cars and did most of the touring on our own other than the helicopter ride, Luau and surfing lesson. But I agree that it could be a lot cheaper, we were staying in expensive hotels which in turn really only had expensive dining options close by and expensive resort fees. Found that the average dinner was around $150-$200usd for starter, couple drinks and mains for two people. Hotels were through the roof in Kauai.

Here’s my favourite shot of the Heli ride



Hey now Msommers, life’s cheap when one of your rides doubles as your house!

[killramos]

Looks great, me and the wife definitely want to try something more off beaten track in Kauai next time during a slower season.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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My Ride: R8, TTRS, VW BUS, E30



BB's Waimea Canyon pic brought me right back to the helicopter ride Mitsu so enthusiastically recommended to me years ago. So, so happy I listened, it was incredible.

Lol did not see that. And glad you liked the helicopter One of the coolest things I've ever done. I've done it twice now and I'm due for another.

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The USD gets me every time... 5 day surf trip, shared a 4bed hostel room between two of us, ate at trucks and BBQ places the whole time, rented a Chevy sonic, and surfboard. Air fare was only $500, but the full trip was over $2k CAD (each)... we surfed, tried cooking a meal once too, but that was actually more expensive than the food trucks

My usual 10 day trip is something like this:

Flights: $380-600 depending on time of year / deals, etc. Almost always it's between $450-$550 direct or 1 stop. January 2016 I paid $380 direct to Maui which is the cheapest I've found.
Car: $13-20/day depending on what deal I can find on a Ford Focus size or similar.
Accommodation: $150-250/nt for a condo, split between 2-4 people
Meals: Costco / WalMart for essentials and eat breakfast at home. Lunch is usually cheap and dinner is usually $100-150 CAD per meal total per day (divided by 2 usually).
Activities: Usually minimal to none, since most things in Hawaii are free that I like to do (i.e. Hike, snorkel, etc.)

Rough per-person cost for us is usually around $2-2.5K depending on activities, extra meals, etc. A good all inclusive is at usually at least $2-2.5k+ for 6 days so I've always felt like Hawaii was pretty good value overall. You can spend 10 times that no problem in Hawaii if you want to though, no doubt.

$2K for 5 days is a lot in my opinion, but a good chunk of that is a sunk cost regardless of how long you stay (like airfare).

If you go at high season it's the accommodation that is the killer (just like everywhere else), but I have never been there over Christmas or New Years. The worst exchange rate I have experienced there was January 2016 when the dollar was around 1.46, and of course it was on Maui which is already by far the most expensive island haha.

[JustinL]

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Except car spotting, I never want to see a mustang convertible or a wrangler again (too bad I have one of each in my driveway )

My dad lives in Maui, so I go often and that's so true about cars. The salty wet air takes a big toll on steel.

[jwslam]

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Found that the average dinner was around $150-$200usd for starter, couple drinks and mains for two people.

And here I am eating at Zippy's...

[BavarianBeast]

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Looks great, me and the wife definitely want to try something more off beaten track in Kauai next time during a slower season.

Kauai was incredible, but I honestly have to say that nothing beat our 5 nights at Turtle Bay Resort on North Shore , Oahu. 10/10 there for me. Really got that aloha vibe there out of any of the islands I've been to.

[Manhattan]

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Lol did not see that. And glad you liked the helicopter One of the coolest things I've ever done. I've done it twice now and I'm due for another.



My usual 10 day trip is something like this:

Flights: $380-600 depending on time of year / deals, etc. Almost always it's between $450-$550 direct or 1 stop. January 2016 I paid $380 direct to Maui which is the cheapest I've found.
Car: $13-20/day depending on what deal I can find on a Ford Focus size or similar.
Accommodation: $150-250/nt for a condo, split between 2-4 people
Meals: Costco / WalMart for essentials and eat breakfast at home. Lunch is usually cheap and dinner is usually $100-150 CAD per meal total per day (divided by 2 usually).
Activities: Usually minimal to none, since most things in Hawaii are free that I like to do (i.e. Hike, snorkel, etc.)

Rough per-person cost for us is usually around $2-2.5K depending on activities, extra meals, etc. A good all inclusive is at usually at least $2-2.5k+ for 6 days so I've always felt like Hawaii was pretty good value overall. You can spend 10 times that no problem in Hawaii if you want to though, no doubt.

$2K for 5 days is a lot in my opinion, but a good chunk of that is a sunk cost regardless of how long you stay (like airfare).

If you go at high season it's the accommodation that is the killer (just like everywhere else), but I have never been there over Christmas or New Years. The worst exchange rate I have experienced there was January 2016 when the dollar was around 1.46, and of course it was on Maui which is already by far the most expensive island haha.

Back in 2016 when the exchange rate was brutal I also did a 10 day trip to Maui for $1200 CAD all-in. Still the trip I'm most proud of in terms of keeping costs low haha.

Flight was like $350, minivan for $18/day, lived out of $30/night hostel rooms and met a bunch of nice people from around the world, ate Costco pizza for most of my lunches and also bought a $2 styrofoam cooler at Walmart put in prepped sandwiches from Costco in there which saved bundles while splurging a bit with takeout for dinner, went on a snorkeling excursion to Molokini that was paid for by attending a 2hr timeshare presentation.

One of my favorite trips too irrespective of cost. Most trips I like to keep overall costs to under $180-200/day inclusive of flights and everything else.