perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439 
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Nov 28, 2016 20:08:39 GMT
My husband and I have been offered the use of a time share on Oahu for a week. We can choose the dates and they'll pay for a rental car for us to get around the island as well. We will be staying on Oahu and not traveling to any of the other islands and air fare, incidentals, and food are on our own dime. I'm asking here because the couple who is giving us this great gift doesn't want us telling anyone about it to avoid potential drama from others, so no Facebook or asking friends.
I don't need to get your suggestions of where to go (although I don't mind. It's been more than 20 years since I've been there.) but I do need some budget numbers. How much would you budget for a week of food, entrance fees, etc.? We plan to go to the PCC, Waimea Falls, the Palace, and hopefully that lovely bay with the great snorkeling whose name is escaping me right now, along with some other touristy things. I would like to do one nice dinner in the $50/plate range (w/o alcohol because we don't drink) so restaurant suggestions on that are welcome.
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 28, 2016 20:43:34 GMT
What a great gift.  It's been too long since we were in Hawaii to give you help with good, current numbers but DH still likes to bring up the infamous $5 cucumber I bought to make a Greek salad 20 years ago. The last time we were on Oahu we had a condo at the Ko Olina Golf Course (way before the Disney Resort opened) and grocery shopped at Costco. You can look at Foodland and Safeway fliers online to get in the ballpark. |
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Nov 28, 2016 21:07:02 GMT
I think that's the same place we're staying. Or in the general area. They said there was a Costco close by. My first two years of college were at a small private university near the North Shore. I remember going to the grocery store once in a while (lived in the dorms thank heavens) and milk was $4/gallon. DH thinks we're going to save a ton cooking for ourselves, but I think he's got no idea how much food costs in HI and how little we are actually going to be at the condo.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 2, 2024 4:09:28 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 21:21:20 GMT
I think that's the same place we're staying. Or in the general area. They said there was a Costco close by. My first two years of college were at a small private university near the North Shore. I remember going to the grocery store once in a while (lived in the dorms thank heavens) and milk was $4/gallon. DH thinks we're going to save a ton cooking for ourselves, but I think he's got no idea how much food costs in HI and how little we are actually going to be at the condo. Costco and Walmart on Oahu have prices that are fairly close to prices on the mainland. Be warned they will be CROWDED so plan a late night (WM is open 24 hours) or early morning week day visit. Gas prices may be the biggest shock. I've been off island too long to know what they are now but a little googling should be able to locate average gas prices on Oahu (and look specifically by island because the smaller islands tend to have higher costs) |
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Post by bc2ca on Nov 28, 2016 21:42:19 GMT
I think that's the same place we're staying. Or in the general area. They said there was a Costco close by. My first two years of college were at a small private university near the North Shore. I remember going to the grocery store once in a while (lived in the dorms thank heavens) and milk was $4/gallon. DH thinks we're going to save a ton cooking for ourselves, but I think he's got no idea how much food costs in HI and how little we are actually going to be at the condo. We were there when the kids were little and the manmade lagoons were phenomenal and empty. They were too far off the beaten path at that time to attract a lot of day traffic and it felt like we had a private paradise. Not the right place if you are looking for surf, but just fabulous for ocean swimming and playing in the sand with little kids. I'm sure they are more heavily used with the Disney resort in the area now. We did light breakfasts at the condo and packed picnic lunches for most days IIRC. Our condo owner was great giving us local recommendations for dinners, but it was way too long ago for me to remember specifics. Open Table is a good source for restaurant recommendations and to get a look at prices. SaveSave |
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Post by cmpeter on Nov 29, 2016 2:29:39 GMT
We generally just go to Safeway. We found that the Costco portions were too large for our family of four for a week. We do breakfast in our timeshare kitchen and eat out for most other meals. We might manage a picnic lunch once or twice. It's not easy pulling your self away and back into the kitchen while on vacation! We always stay in the Waikiki area, since that's where our time share is. We will be there in February and some of the restaurants on my list to check out (based on comments from the Trip Advisor forums) are: Tiki's Grill & Bar Willows Hawaii House without a Key Hula Grill La Marina Sailing Club Hau Tree I haven't really started looking closely at them, just keeping a running list. :-) If you haven't checked them out...look at the Oahu Trip Advisor Forums. Very active and lots of great advice there. www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g29222-i37-Oahu_Hawaii.htmlWe like to rent our snorkel and beach gear (chairs, umbrellas, coolers, etc) from Snorkel Bob's. They have also set us up with a couple great sailing/snorkel trips. snorkelbob.com/My dh and son loved renting ATVs at Kualoa Ranch. Dd wasn't old enough, so she and I hit the spa for the day. Wish I could remember the name of the place we went to...total dive on the outside (like we almost didn't get out of the cab), but so fabulous inside! www.kualoa.com/ |
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Post by ten&rose on Nov 29, 2016 3:39:26 GMT
We are stationed here so I can quick look up things.
Gas is $2.76/gallon right now. I would snorkel at the Koolina lagoons or if you're here in the summer, sharks cove. Hanauma Bay is very touristy. The PCC is very very very expensive and I'm not convinced it's worth it - also very touristy. The Valor in the Pacific area is very nice. Arizona is free, the Missouri and Bowfin have a cost but are very interesting. There is also an aviation museum on Ford Island.
You could hike Diamond head, Manoa Falls, Lyon Arbouretum is amazing. The Dole Plantation is kind of cool and not horribly expensive. The train ride was worth the cost.
I pay $4+ a gallon for milk at the commissary. Out in town it's more. Eating out in Hawaii is very pricey no matter the meal. I'd aim for eating out at lunch and cooking for breakfast and dinner.n You could do easy/cheaper stuff. Safeway and Foodland are the local stores. You can look up their ads online. For a family of 5 I spend almost $200 a week at the commissary.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Nov 29, 2016 3:47:43 GMT
We are stationed here so I can quick look up things. Gas is $2.76/gallon right now. I would snorkel at the Koolina lagoons or if you're here in the summer, sharks cove. Hanauma Bay is very touristy. The PCC is very very very expensive and I'm not convinced it's worth it - also very touristy. The Valor in the Pacific area is very nice. Arizona is free, the Missouri and Bowfin have a cost but are very interesting. There is also an aviation museum on Ford Island. You could hike Diamond head, Manoa Falls, Lyon Arbouretum is amazing. The Dole Plantation is kind of cool and not horribly expensive. The train ride was worth the cost. I pay $4+ a gallon for milk at the commissary. Out in town it's more. Eating out in Hawaii is very pricey no matter the meal. I'd aim for eating out at lunch and cooking for breakfast and dinner.n You could do easy/cheaper stuff. Safeway and Foodland are the local stores. You can look up their ads online. For a family of 5 I spend almost $200 a week at the commissary. DH and I felt like we wasted half a day going there. However maybe people with kids find it more fun. When I was a kid growing up there, we always took field trips to the Bishop Museum and I loved it. We also loved the Missouri tour. |
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Nov 29, 2016 3:56:12 GMT
We're doing the PCC because it's a nostalgia thing for me. I'm sure we'll set a day and a half aside for Laie. It's where I went to school and I worked at the Luau restaurant my last semester. I'm looking forward to it. We won't put a whole day into the PCC, probably early afternoon with dinner and the show. I wouldn't feel like I got to see Hawaii if I didn't see the PCC. We'll tour BYU-H campus as well and hopefully get to see my friends who still live there. One of my college friends is the Math department chair. He married another good friend of mine and I hope we get to see them while we're there if only for a quick lunch. Maybe I'll go full nostalgia and eat saimen at the McDonald's.  Thanks for the great advice. I had forgotten about the Bishop Museum. On the list! |
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Post by jamielynn on Nov 29, 2016 4:10:32 GMT
We just got back a few weeks ago - but have never spent time in Oahu. If you have specific questions about Hawaii I can try to help out from a tourist prospective. We have been there quite a few times.
The one thing that strikes me in your post is mentioning you would like to do one meal in the $50/plate range. I think quite honestly most dinners out will run that. My experience is even the "affordable" stuff in Hawaii can be pretty expensive. For example, the children's menu that my toddler eats off - many of the lunch plates at very "average" places are $12-15 some with, many without the drink.
I would say you very easily in a sit down setting just lunch will be spending $20-25/person if you drink a soda on lunches. Looking at one of the places that we eat frequently I can see the online menu shows appetizers start in the $12 price range, salad bar $18, even the basic dinners (like spaghetti) run $25 and meat dinners more like $50. To me it isn't so much the cost of the food, rather the fact they can charge that much on the islands as most people aren't doing a lot of cooking.
We really enjoy having our Costco membership out there and getting some meals to cook at the villa we rent. For us having a kitchen (with a small child) is a must. (We do usually stay a week plus at each location so we do use most of the costco items up in the time we are there, and if we don't there are notes in the villas that the housekeeping staff really appreciates if you leave leftovers for them). I also really like sandwiches/salads and have been known to run into Safeway and grab those for a quick picnic lunch on the way to the beach with our little one.
Groceries from the grocery stores, even the more affordable true grocery stores (versus the general stores like whalers cove or ABC stores) are expensive. For example, the processed Walmart brand of bread - is around $4 currently out there; strawberries last month were in the $9/lb range (out of season) the processed bagels and english muffins run about $1 each in the multi packs (so like $5-6 for what we pay $1-2 for locally here). Other items are the same as the mainland, soda, packaged snacks/crackers, juice boxes - that was at walmart I should add.
I would search places near where you are staying and look at menus online for food costs if you are planning to eat out and needing to stay on a budget with that.
Another thing that always stings me on the islands (and probably more than just there) is cleaning fees. Is your friend offering the rental covering that? I know we typically pay in the $200-300 range just for cleaning fee when leaving the rental. If you switch places mid-way through the trip which it sounds you won't be doing - you do that each time you change if it is a unit (versus a hotel). Is your host covering parking fees and resort fees where you are staying? Those are pretty steep as well. I want to say the hotel nearest to where we stay it is $30/day resort fee (I can't remember if that might even be per adult) plus I think it is $20/day parking fee. I do know some places actually charge each time you come in to park, so it is often easier to just do valet for a similar cost. On the valet note, many dinner places offer that, or I know where we go, that is the only parking option - so plan to bring cash for that type of thing as well. (The property we stay at the resort fee/parking is figured into the nightly cost so our only "add on" is the cleaning fee).
The gas within the last month was only $1/gallon higher than it is here. Someone else quoted around $3/gallon and that is what we saw as well.
See if your property has free lawn chairs, snorkel gear, ect. I know the ones we stay at have those, and generous amounts but they are first come first serve and most families don't seem to return them nightly as requested. I will second snorkel bobs and getting the gear for a week vs daily is the way to go if you rent it.
As for activities there are tons of free things you can do, and there are also some very wonderful expensive things to do. We love going to the luau, but didn't get to one this trip. I think that is in the $70-100/person range for the one we like. We have never done any of the "extreme" activities like the helicopter rides, ATV, cruises ect. We are kind of more relax on the beach and do little day trip kind of people (especially with a little traveller along with us).
Have a great time, I can't wait to get back hopefully sooner rather than later!
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Post by scrapbookwriter on Nov 29, 2016 4:38:49 GMT
I think that's the same place we're staying. Or in the general area. They said there was a Costco close by. My first two years of college were at a small private university near the North Shore. I remember going to the grocery store once in a while (lived in the dorms thank heavens) and milk was $4/gallon. DH thinks we're going to save a ton cooking for ourselves, but I think he's got no idea how much food costs in HI and how little we are actually going to be at the condo. I attended the same small private university My experience was probably a little different than yours. I was an adult student with young children. My husband was a vice president at PCC. We lived there three years. Once a month we made a Costco run - so much cheaper than Foodland! Buying prepared meals at Costco to heat up in your condo could save your budget. Costco is also great for souvenirs: chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, aloha shirts, graphic tees, random other Hawaiian items. On a return visit to Hawaii, we bought snorkel gear at Costco rather than rent it. Buying worked out to be cheaper considering how many days we were using it. Plus, it was new. Crazy Shirts has an outlet location at Ward Center. The deals are really great. The village presentations at PCC are my favorite part of the park. I never got tired of learning about the cultures of the represented countries. I loved meeting students from around the world. I always felt there wasn't quite enough time in the day to see every presentation. Don't forget the student cafeteria and the Seasider restaurant as inexpensive meal options. Have fun! |
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Nov 29, 2016 4:44:40 GMT
Lol. I'm not sure i could eat at the caff. My other three semesters were spent working there. I still remember that sticky film I'd have all over my body after every shift. Made some great friends though. What years were you there, scrapbookwriter ? |
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Post by scrapbookwriter on Nov 29, 2016 4:56:07 GMT
Lol. I'm not sure i could eat at the caff. My other three semesters were spent working there. I still remember that sticky film is have all over my body after every shift. Made some great friends though. What years were you there, scrapbookwriter ? I graduated in 1997 - probably before you were born I rarely ate in the cafeteria, but I loved the Seasider. I often had breakfast there between classes. The food was really good. Many evenings we took our kids there for ice cream cones. We would usually see friends there - teachers, my classmates, ward members, my children's classmates at Laie Elementary. I loved living in a small university town. I had a night class in McKay 101. The room was so over-air conditioned I would practically turn blue. During the class break friends and I would run to the Seasider for hot chocolate to try to warm up. I burned my tongue every time. Those were the days. |
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perumbula
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,439
Location: Idaho
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Post by perumbula on Nov 29, 2016 4:59:29 GMT
ah, ice cream at the Seasider. That brings back the memories. I was there from fall 92-spring 94, so we may have actually overlapped a year or so. |
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Post by ten&rose on Nov 29, 2016 5:23:47 GMT
I forgot you are Mormon so the PCC would be a bigger deal. For beaches. I like Bellows AFB. The public side is open after 1200 on Friday through Sunday evening. If you're bringing your tribe you'd probably eat up Costco sized packages. We have snorkel gear from Target and it has held up fine. Our boogie boards are from there as well. Seriously PM me any questions you have. We are stationed here now so I can get up to date info. |
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Post by ten&rose on Nov 29, 2016 5:25:18 GMT
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