Tamara Woods writes a guest post today. She is a blogger, poet and
writer from Honolulu by way of West Virginia. Her first collection of poetry:
The Shaping of an “Angry” Black Woman will be on sale at your favorite ebook
seller. She is also the Sex and Relationships Honolulu Examiner and writes her
blog PenPaperPad.
Hawaii is a beautiful place. The people
are friendly, the scenery gorgeous and the food is tasty. However, paradise
does come with a big price tag. How can you afford to enjoy what Hawaii has to
offer on a budget? I’ll be concentrating
on the island I know best, O’ahu, which has the most known tourist spots,
Waikiki and Honolulu.
First and foremost: Plan ahead. It may be
more adventurous and fun to kind of fly by the seat of your pants, but the
island is in the middle of the Pacific, and as such it’s not as easy to get
some assistance if you run into a hard spot from family and friends. Try to
figure out how much money you can safely spend without being in total debt
after the trip.
Second: Lodging: Finding a place to stay
can break the bank. My suggestion is if you're going to be here for a full week
or longer, hotel accommodations outside of Waikiki are best maybe in Ala Moana.
You can also stay at a hostel or camp on the beach. Remember it’s not legal to
camp on every beach. Check out the Honolulu Camping site first. You can sign up for a camping site for free. You sign
up for the camping spot two weeks in advance at 5 pm Hawaii Standard Time. You
have to be quick to get a site. There's a description of the area,
and accessibility is pretty easy. Either beaches or more in the
mountains, which is where I like to camp when I'm missing home a bit and want
to be around more trees. This service and camping is free. Remember most places
have camping available from Wednesday to Sunday, so you have to make other
arrangements for the rest of the week.
Couch surfing is also a possibility, but
as with anything else involving strangers, be careful and use your best
judgment. Couchsurfing.org is the best spot to go about it.
Third: Yelp is your best friend. You can find out where all the good
cheap eats are, hiking, even where to buy stuff. Also, sign up for Groupon and
LivingSocial to get deals on things to do. And of course, there’s Meetup.com
where you can find some group activities for the week you’ll be around. I’ve
been living here for a few years, and I still use these methods to find cheap
things to do and places to eat.
Fourth: Traveling around the island. Many
people walk to places, especially in the Waikiki, Honolulu area. Things are
near to your fingers. Another good one is using TheBus system. It’s $1.50 one
way and you can get a transfer ticket to use on the way back. If you have a
SmartPhone, Google Maps will give you specific details on getting from point A
to point B.
FYI: If you want to travel from island to
island, you can’t just boat. You have to fly, which is an added expense.
You can definitely enjoy what Hawaii has
to offer on a budget with a little planning and creativity. Aloha!
Thanks Tamara for the travel tips! Check out her blog PenPaperPad. Follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook or circle her on Google+.
