Hawaii

Yes, you read that right, Hawaii! This past fall, my husband and I had the once in a lifetime (but hopefully we can go back someday!) opportunity to head to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary. Hawaii was a bucket list item for both of us and we were so excited to spend 9 nights away, just the two of us, for the first time in our entire marriage. Even our honeymoon was shorter than this trip.

For the last 7 years we’ve been in the thick of having and raising babies. I love it! But there’s just something so special about getting away with your love for a time of refreshment and renewal.

Now, y’all know I love a good deal and I’m the queen of budgeting, so I thought I’d share how we saved for, budgeted for, and afforded a trip to Hawaii on a budget, while all the while enjoying and splurging on some fun adventure while in Hawaii in 2023.

Plan Ahead

Back in 2018, on our 5th anniversary, we started dreaming up something bigger for our 10th. It was then, in 2018, that we started saving for Hawaii 2023! We began saving on autopilot, making a goal of saving $5,000 for our big getaway.

The last 6.5 years have been all about having and raising babies. I love this season. I love being a mom. But being a mom, especially a nursing mom, means I could never really get away from my kiddos. So when our 4th was born in March of 2022, we started thinking ahead to when I would be done nursing and when we could sneak away, just the two of us, for an extended period of time.

I’m all about being frugal, but there are some things worth going all out on – my marriage is one of them. Most years, we just settle for a date night or a weekend away. But the more kids we have and the more distractions take over our daily life, the more I crave some solid alone time with my husband. Back in the fall of 2022, we started planning our grand adventure and narrowed in on Hawaii, and more specifically, Maui.

Our first stop was finding people to watch our kids. Grandparents for the win! They are the real MVPs! Both sets of our parents had fun planned for our kids. I honestly am not sure who felt like they won more on this trip, us or the kids! They did not even miss us!

Hawaii ACCOMMODATIONS

We booked our Airbnb 9 months in advance, with free cancellation just in case. I LOVED the location, price point, amenities, proximity to the beach, and other things our Airbnb offered us. Our total for 9 nights away was just over $2,000! This is amazing for Maui!

We also booked our flights through Southwest well in advance. I actually ended up canceling and re-booking the flights cause they were much cheaper in August (after the fires). The total for two round trip flights was roughly $1000, or $500/per person.

We also booked a rental car as we knew we would want to see sights around the island and planned on driving around quite a bit. Our total for a rental car for 9 nights was $380. This was an amazing deal, given just a few of the excursions would have cost well over $1000 if we had done a tour bus type option, not to mention ubering to and from our Airbnb and other ubering we would have done throughout the week. We ended up getting a hybrid from our rental car provider, which meant our total on gas spent for the entire trip was under $50! That is amazing, considering the price of gas in Hawaii and how much driving around we did.

Closer to time, we booked a few excursions, but the big stuff (rental car, flights, and lodging) was booked well in advance, saving us money as well. For bigger trips, it seems booking well in advance gives you better prices, more options, and allows you to continue to save for your trip based on expenses planned. All of our accommodations did allow for free cancellation, which we did pay a premium for, but it felt worth it having 4 kids at home in case something came up leading up to our trip!

Budget Hacks

If you decide to someday go to Hawaii, here are a few budget hacks:

1. Opt for an Airbnb type option over a resort. Honestly, I could not find a hotel for under $600/night (and that was on the cheaper side). But, there are plenty of condos for rent on Maui that are beachfront, offer pools and amenities, and are in great areas for less than $200/night plus fees (at least for our dates).
2. Food can be an absolute budget buster in Hawaii. Since nearly everything is imported, the price tags on things are sky high. A friend mentioned to me ahead of time, “Since you’re flying Southwest and bags are free, maybe you should take some food!” So we did! We ended up bringing a smaller suitcase full of snacks and non-perishable food. Honestly, this probably ended up saving us a couple hundred dollars on meals and food. And it was nice to have easy options for our hikes and trips our first few days.
3. Look for local rental car places. Often, when you book flights, there are some kind of deals on booking a rental car as well. We found local rental car agencies in Maui to be much better pricing than what the bigger well-known companies could offer. And don’t forget my credit card hack when you book a rental car!
4. Look at flying in or out mid-week. We did a Wednesday through a Friday/Saturday and had great deals on our flights. In hindsight, I think I booked our flights too early and would maybe wait until 3-4 months prior next time when Southwest is running a sale. Thankfully, I re-booked and ended up getting us back $500 in flight credit (bringing our total down to just over $1000)!
5. We are not fancy people. So we did normal things in Hawaii that we do here. Like eat PBJ and whip up some overnight oats. We made coffee in our condo. We felt a little fancy bringing our own grinder and french press along, but it was GOOD COFFEE! We even brought some supplies along to make our own mocktails so we could enjoy a few without going out. Dining in, laying around at the beach, and snorkeling, were free activities we did a lot of. It was a restful and enjoyable trip, even with our frugal hacks.
6. We booked excursions using Tripadvisor and Paypal and were able to use promo codes, Chase offers, and 5% cash back to help reduce the cost of these activities. We did a snorkel outing on a boat, a luau, an audio guided tour of the Road to Hana, Sunrise at Haleakala National Park, hiking the Pipiwai Trail, a nice dinner at Mama’s Fish House, etc. We didn’t completely cheap out on this trip and I am so thankful for the fun we had together! It was money and time well-spent!

Our Experience

I would absolutely go back to Maui in a heartbeat. The weather, the laid back atmosphere, and the people and hospitality were top notch as well.

I very much enjoyed a few of our free/cheap excursions. We drove the Road to Hana, saw the sunrise at Haleakala National Park, and hiked the Pipiwai Trail. I also loved our dinner at Mama’s Fish House. I had to book this divine dinner 6 months in advance just to get a table! We ate great food, had lots of relaxation, laughed a lot, and enjoyed just being together.

I’m already planning (and saving for) our next anniversary trip! Where should we go?