After living most of my life in Hawaii and working many years as a tour guide, I know that if you want to experience the real Hawaii, you’d best do it on your own. For starters, stay where the locals stay! | | A waterfall on Kauai |
The moderate priced hotels and motels are generally located in the capitol city of each island.
- Lihue on Kauai,
- Kahului on Maui,
- Kaunakakai on Molokai,
- Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii.
- Lanai City on Lanai
- Honolulu on Oahu – but avoid Waikiki! Book a hotel downtown!
On the outer islands the resort areas are generally outside the main town and are considerably more expensive. Granted, they are much nicer and offer more entertainment. But why spend your hard earned cash there, when you could stay in a perfectly clean and comfortable accommodation in the main town and spend your money on fun activities, restaurants or on buying gifts to bring home?
Another alternative if you are planning to stay more than a few days, or if you have a larger group, is to rent a condominium instead of hotel rooms. This will allow you to have a kitchenette and lower your meal costs.
Groceries usually are less expensive in the larger chain stores located in or near the main town on each island. Again, this is because you will be shopping where the locals shop, not paying resort prices.
Make use of the discount booking websites such as cheaptickets.com or priceline.com on the internet to book your rooms. They often offer fly, drive and stay packages. Just be sure to specify the main town on the island you are visiting as the location so it will return suggestions outside the resort areas!
Staying on the outer islands, you will need to rent a car. The City & County of Honolulu on Oahu has an excellent public transit bus system and you really can get by without a car on Oahu.
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