i went to hawaii for under $1000!

my boyfriend and i recently took a vacation to hawaii last minute (about 3 weeks notice!) and while i was so excited i felt a little anxious about how i’d have it covered. here’s what we did to book a cheap and super fun trip~~~>

1. TRAVEL - plane tickets : bought by my bf about 3.5 weeks in advance. he watched the prices for weeks before and went with flights with layovers to get a cheaper cost. we booked without picking seats (if you’re traveling alone and don’t mind where you sit it’s just an extra fee) and we each traveled with a personal item (backpack) and a carry on (small duffle), which were free. we had plenty of room and literally only had to pay for the plane tickets alone.

cost - about $400/each

rental car: we used the app turo since we are under 25 and picked a small sedan with unlimited miles so we could drive wherever we wanted. this was super cheap on gas and pick up and drop off were right in the airport parking lot so it was very easy.

cost - about $250/ each

2. SLEEP - don’t let fancy hotels or expensive air-b-n-bs fool you. we looked at so many options including hostels and camper vans. but we discovered a campsite on the cutest farm! this camp site had areas where you could pay to park and sleep so depending on the vehicle you rent, you’d be all good! there are also tents available to rent. we opted for the pitch-your-own site and brought a compact tent from home. we packed lightly on clothes anyways so it was no trouble putting a small setup in our bags. the site had a community area with a kitchen, plugs ins for electronics, a bathroom and amazing outdoor shower. the farm also sold its fruit and eggs on site!

cost - about $30 a night/each x 4 nights = $120🤯

3. FOOD - the food is so cheap if you go to the right places!!! the local hole in the restaurants have the most fresh seafood and unbeatable prices. most of the food trucks around the island had plates between $8 and $15. servings were very big and we were able to share a lot or have leftovers. i highly recommend aloha sushi! we got 3 hand rolls and fresh nigiri for the both of us for only $15!!! we ate out for every meal and between the two of us spent about $40 a day per person on meals. we went out for one nice dinner but ate pretty cheaply everyday.

cost - about $160 ($40 a day x 4 days)

4. FUN - there is an insane amount of things to do for free. the remaining $50 was spent on souvenirs (which we didn’t get much of) and pay for parking or admission. we went on so many hikes! koko head crater is a must see. we went to a light house hike as well and these both had free public parking. the waterfall we hiked to was $5 for parking. and the beach parking was mostly free if you find the right spot or walk a bit over. the shopping in downtown oahu is pretty crazy. they have every fancy store you could think of. we window shopped and walked around the mall area for many hours one day, and the beach is directly across the street. we also visited a buddhist temple that was $7 for parking. this is also a must see! admission to pearl harbor is also free! we spend about $12 each on snorkels and spent hours in the water with the fish. surfboard rentals are around $9 an hour which we took turns on and it only took an hour before we got burned out. there is a lots of touristy areas that sell day passes like the Polynesian cultural center or the Dole plantation but you can enter for free and walk around. driving around the island to sightsee also took up a lot of our time. lastly we attended a free concert at a local indoor skatepark and it was so sick! the best energy all around and a killer way to end the trip.

cost - $49 for everything mentioned.

extra info - the climate was amazing. it was about 73 the whole time we were time. the humidity was 30% so camping was no problem. it rains everyday and there’s always gusts of wind so keep that in mind. THERE IS STRAY KITTIES AND CHICKENS ALL OVER THE ISLAND!!! although camping may be weird for some, we did the trip this way because we figured we’d be spending so much time doing activities and getting sandy from the beach everyday. okay we saved sooo much money and with everything mentioned it adds up to exactly $999. so depending on your budget you can do so much more but i wanted to show what you CAN do if you follow these tips! we sacrificed a bit of luxury for a lot of fun and finical ease. i totally recommend you give it a try too.