Ten Honolulu Money Savers for 2009
Low- or No-Cost Guide to Transportation, Food, Lodging and Fun
Jan 25, 2009
It is possible to have a great time in Hawaii's capital while keeping your vacation budget balanced. The following ten tips will show you how.
1. Bedtime Bargains. No matter what time of the year, hotel rooms with oceanviews cost big money. Finding accommodations only a block or two from the water can cut costs by 50 percent and more. Another option is a home exchange, but be sure to choose an exchange company with a sterling reputation.
2. Feeding Time. Meals in the top hotels are as pricey as in their big-city counterparts on the mainland. Budget-minded visitors find that renting condos (or hotel rooms with microwave and mini-fridge) and preparing most breakfasts in-room saves money. Packing picnics with food bought at bakeries and outdoor markets is another money-saver. Shopping at the Oahu Market on the edge of Chinatown, for example, provides a Hawaiian experience in the bargain.
3. Do-It-Yourself Bus Tours. Oahu’s public transportation called TheBus has bus service to virtually every part of the island. Buses #52 and #55, which circle Oahu, leave the terminal at Ala Moana Shopping Center ($4). Since these buses stop frequently to pick up and discharge passengers along the route, the trip takes about four hours. This feature is a natural for people watchers and travelers who like to spend time looking at their surroundings. It’s also possible to get off TheBus at points of interest along the way and catch a later one.
4. Learn a Hawaiian Craft or Skill. To help perpetuate Hawaiian culture and arts, Waikiki’s Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center offers free lei- and quilt-making sessions as well as hula and ukulele lessons Monday through Friday. Other free classes focus on lomilomi massage and tapa cloth making.
5. Spectator Sports. Various free events are part of the annual Dukes OceanFest Water Celebration, held at Waikiki Beach in August. Surfing championships and golf tournaments --many of which are free to spectators -- also take place throughout the year. Other sporting events, which are open to the public -- such as national softball and skate board championships – are often free as well.
6. Sightseeing and Museum Hopping. While admission to the Bishop Museum is only $3, most Honolulu attractions, such as Sea World ($29) and Iolani Palace ($20) require significant chunks of most visitors’ entertainment budgets. While Hawaii residents are eligible for lower prices, non-residents who plan see a participate in a number of activities and do a great deal of sightseeing can save money by purchasing the Oahu Card, which involves 75 different attractions and saves up to 45%. Although there are occasional discount sales, regular prices for the 2009 1-day, 2-day, 3-day, 5-day and 7-day cards are $44.99, $74.99, $129.99, $179.99 and $219 respectively.
7. Free Entertainment. The good news is that Honolulu offers abundant free entertainment – hula shows, pre-season concerts by the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, art shows, parades. The stage at Ala Moana Center and Kapiolani Park are two of the most popular venues for free performances.
8. Walk-abouts. Kapiolani Park, in addition to being a favorite for special events, is a walkers’ delight. Not only is the park full of botanical pleasures, it’s a place inhabited by artists at their easels, kids flying kites, craft fairs and dozens of other interesting sights. Along Chinatown’s streets, the herbalists’ shops with their big glass jars containing such remedies as dried rattlesnakes, newborn mice (for curing asthma) and fetus of barking deer are fascinating. Passersby along the enclave’s Mauna Kea Street can also watch lei-makers as they fashion the islands' traditional necklaces of plumeria, pikake, carnations and orchids. Other great strolling streets include those in the Kapahulu and Kalmuki neighborhoods.
9. Ethnic Festivals. An estimated 100 ethnic celebrations are held on Oahu each year – Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Micronesian, Polynesian and Portuguese among them. It’s not necessary to be a member of the group to watch the fun. And while it’s possible to spend money at them, it’s also possible to have a wonderful time without spending a cent.
10. Special Events. While all events at Honolulu’s annual celebrations such as Lei Day (May 1) and Waikiki Spam Jam Festival (January 1-10 in 2010) may not be free, some of them usually are. The best sources for information about what’s going on are www.gohawaii.com and the weekly and monthly visitors guides – which, incidentally, are free.
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