May 6th, 2008
How much money should you budget for a Hawaii vacation?
Gulp! AAA says Hawaii vacations cost $793 per couple per day. Um - who on earth is compiling this data and have they ever been to Hawaii? Somebody is smoking some wacky backy if they think it’s going to cost a couple $793 per day for food and lodging alone. Honestly, in all our trips to Hawaii, we’ve never even come close to spending that amount per day. If you are staying at the Four Seasons on Maui or the Big Island, you could approach nearly $800 a day, but that is by no means near an average stay in Hawaii.
AAA based their estimates on hotel rack rates. Nobody pays rack rates. Let’s use some real data to estimate an average lodging and food budget. According to the latest hotel data, the average cost of a hotel room in Hawaii is $199 per night. For reference, we paid $150 per night for a nicely furnished, fully equipped, two-bedroom condo on the Big Island less than two months ago.
For meals, I’d estimate an average cost per couple as follows:
- Breakfast - average of $18 per person based on ordering breakfast in a resort from an a la carte breakfast menu. So the total cost per couple would be $36.
- Lunch - average of $20 per person, which would be $40 per couple.
- Dinner - average of $50 per person, which would be $100 per couple. I’m assuming resort prices for at least an entree each and sharing dessert. You might even be able to squeeze in some cocktails, too.
Of course, you could spend more or less, but I’m putting an average cost based on what I think is easily achievable at hotel prices. By the way, you can eat much cheaper than these prices outside of the hotel. From our travels to Hawaii, we would rarely spend that much money on meals.
So now let’s look at the total costs:
Lodging: $199 per day
Meals: $176 per day
Total: $375 per day
So, $375 per day is a far cry from $792 per day. Wouldn’t you agree?
I’ve written many articles on how to save money on your Hawaii vacation. Here are my top money saving strategies that will have you laughing at AAA:
- Save money in Hawaii by vacationing in a condo
- 5 best Hawaii vacation money saving tips
- 3 ways to have a luxurious Hawaii vacation on the cheap
I often post excellent deals here at Go Visit Hawaii, which will help you achieve a Hawaii vacation for far less than AAA’s estimate. (If you haven’t already, consider subscribing to my free updates via e-mail or RSS so that you’ll stay on top of the best deals.) Since I’ve been to all the islands, I’ve got a good perspective on where the nice places are and where you might want to steer clear of. Rest assured, I’ll never suggest you stay at the YMCA or a roach motel.
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7 Responses to “How much money should you budget for a Hawaii vacation?”
It depends… Like I would most likely stay in a Hostel and that brings the cost of room to 35-50 bucks a night for a private 2 person room. Not because I’m cheap but I like the experience better. Rental car is 50 a day, and food you can do 60 a day… Gas, 10 bucks a day I think.
So I think I could do it 200 bucks a day and be pretty well off… however, that’s not most people
Hi Joe - thanks for sharing how much you’d budget. That’s pretty good going!
I don’t know if you picked up on this, but the AAA estimate is just for food and lodging. It doesn’t include rental car. Sheesh!
I think you can buy whatever they were smoking up on the top end of Maui.
Our recent 3 week trip to Maui cost us about $270 a day. That’s for everything, airfare, condo, car rental, food, gas, gifts and so on.
David
I saw that… IMO… It’s very misleading. The way I read the report… That’s how much people spend… NOT how much it costs. (BIG Difference)
For example… If you’re on a honeymoon, you’re likely going to spend some extra cash to create that perfect memory at romantic restaurants and beachfront luxury hotel rooms with a view, etc. Versus – Staying at a budget hotel a away block from the beach and eating fast food.
Sure… You could live like a rock-star and spend a fortune on your Hawaii vacation if you wanted to but it’s not a requirement.
I’m sure Las Vegas would be the most expensive if gamboling losses were figured into the equation. But there again… You don’t “Need” to spend money on that if you don’t want to.
@ David - you did very well on your trip! Thanks for sharing your budget with us.
@ Dave - I think the whole report is misleading. It’s ok for comparing the relative cost difference ofvarious destinations, but that ends its usefulness. They’ve grossly over estimated the cost based on using rack rates. I’m bothered that AAA is continuing the perception that Hawaii is too expensive for the average American.
Holy cow! That estimate is way off our budget! We spent a total of about $5500 for 15 days on our first (an only thus far) trip to Hawaii. That includes air, inter island air, car, accomodations, cars, luau, helicopter, Trilogy, PCC & food. Add a bit more for gas & all the stuff I bought. We didn’t eat fancy every.single.night though. I was happy w/ Da’ Kitchen! Breakfast was in the condo and sometimes we’d just make sammy’s for lunch. I, for one, usually only have either lunch OR dinner.
Lissete - Thanks for sharing how much you spent. You guys did a lot for way less than AAA estimates!
I’ve struggled with how to list the food budget. Someone would have to have a very healthy appetite in order to have an $18 breakfast, $20 lunch, and then $50 dinner.