How Much Is a Trip to Hawaii for 5

This page has been updated with the most recent data in May 2021.

You've seen ads for Hawaii featuring photos of beautiful beaches lined with palm trees and the bluest of blue water. Now you want to go, but you have no idea how much a trip to Hawaii costs. Where do you start? Good news, you've found the right place to help you estimate a Hawaii vacation budget!

In this article, I'm providing you with the easy-to-use estimates to calculate your personal Hawaii trip budget. It can't be exact, but it will give you a rough idea of how much to start budgeting for a Hawaii vacation.

Before we jump to the calculator, it's worthwhile to discuss why there's not an easy answer when it comes to determining a Hawaii vacation budget. The challenges are that there's no one-size-fits-all answer since multiple factors influence the budget.

Let's look at some of the main factors that influence a Hawaii vacation budget:

• When you go to Hawaii. Some dates/times are cheaper than others. When demand is down, so are the price of flights and hotels. See my post on the best time to go to Hawaii for tips.
• How far you're flying. For example, West Coast flights are usually cheaper than Mid-west or East Coast flights because there is less distance, i.e. less fuel and cost.
• Whether you typically prefer budget, mid-range or luxury hotels
• The length of your stay
• Whether you prefer fine dining or eating on the cheap.
• Whether you want to go on guided tours or you're willing to create your own tours

I could go on with more examples, but these factors are the biggies. Hopefully, you can see that there's no easy answer when someone asks me how much money do they need to go to Hawaii.

Though we can't wave a magic want to determine your perfect budget for a Hawaii trip, you can review the following numbers to generate your budget to Hawaii. Just remember, these are rough numbers that can vary from city to city, island to island, etc.

I recommend that you print out this page to follow along for estimating your cost to visit Hawaii. At the bottom of this post, you will see an icon to generate a printer-friendly version of this page.

Flights

As I mentioned, fares vary but they are mostly dependent upon how far you're flying and when you're flying. You can always use a fare finder to determine a more exact estimate from your home airport. I really like the simplicity of  CheapAir.com for finding fare estimates using their "Flexible Date" tab. Another site to check for comparison is Airfare Watch Dog, which is our go-to site to alert us to fare sales. (See our strategies for getting the cheapest airfare to Hawaii to save money.) For rough numbers, estimate the cost of flights (including taxes and fees) as follows:

• East Coast to Hawaii – $900 per person (Note: we fly from the East Coast to Hawaii. Over our many trips to Hawaii, we've spent as little as $575 and as much as $1250 per person.)
• Mid-West – $750 per person
• West- Coast – $475 per person (We've seen fares as low as $258 on a fare sale.)

To estimate your flight costs:

______ cost per person   x  ______ number of travelers   = ______ estimated cost of flights

Accommodations

The cost of accommodations mostly vary based on the type of property – budget to luxury. (In our many trips to Hawaii, we've paid as little as $150 per night to as much as $525 and up.) For April 2021, the statewide average Hawaii hotel rate was $300 per night per reports issued by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

You can find hotels and condos that are fairly nice and clean for less than the average — especially if you are willing to book a room or condo without an ocean view. (See our article for advice on saving money on Hawaii accommodations.) You can also spend quite a bit more if you're aiming for a luxury Hawaii vacation.

In addition to the hotel rate, don't forget to add taxes, which might surprise you at a rate of 14.962%. So, to that $278 average hotel rate, add another $44.89 for taxes for a total of $344.89.

To estimate your cost for lodging using the statewide average follow this formula:

$344.89 (avg cost/night)   x  ______ number of nights   x ______number of rooms you need = _______ estimated cost of accommodations

(Of course you can spend more or less than $344.89 per night, but that gives you a starting point to estimate the cost to stay in Hawaii.)

Rental Car

You will most likely want a rental car for Hawaii sightseeing adventures. If you are staying on Lanai or in Waikiki, you might not need a rental car, but for all other Hawaii destinations, I highly recommend getting a rental car. (See more about where we advise renting a car in Hawaii.)

Depending on what you rent and which method of booking, rental car rates will vary. See our tips for saving money on rental cars in Hawaii.

Prior to the 2021 rental car shortage, including taxes, you could have expected to use a rough number of $40 per day for an economy or mid-sized car. When the demand for rental cars bottomed out in 2020, rental car companies sold off much of their fleets. Then in 2021, when more people started traveling, rental cars became difficult to find and extremely expensive in Hawaii. If you're lucky enough to secure a rental car booking at all, expect to pay anywhere from $100 and up per day.

To estimate your cost for renting a car, use this formula:

$100 per day   x  _______ number of days =  _______ estimated cost of rental car

Dining

Estimating the cost to dine in Hawaii is yet another one of those factors that can range from a little to a lot.  As a rough round number, I think estimating $70 per person per day is doable without skimping too much or overdoing it. (See our tips for saving money on dining and meals in Hawaii.) That would be $15 for breakfast, $15 for lunch, and $40 for dinner. (By the way, it's not unheard of to drop $25 or more for breakfast or lunch at high-end Hawaii resorts.)

To estimate your budget for meals, use this formula:

$70 per person per day x _______ number of people x _______ number of nights =   ________ estimated cost for meals

National and State Park Entrance Fees

Up until 2020, very few Hawaii state and national parks charged an entrance fee. Unfortunately, new fees have gone into effect across the islands in 2021. As such, we recommend planning some of your vacation budget spends. Each park has a different fee structure, so, again, there's not a one-size-fits-all estimate. Some have a per-car entry fee while others have a reservation fee, plus parking fee, plus a per person entrance fee. For budgeting purposes, we recommend an estimate of $50 per person for the entire trip.

$50 per person per trip x _______ number of people = ________ estimated cost for entry fees

Total Budget for Your Hawaii Vacation

Now, add up each of the four estimates to get your budget.

Estimated cost of flights _______

+

Estimated cost of accommodations _______

+

Estimated cost of rental car _______

+

Estimated cost for meals ________

+

Estimated cost for park entry fees _________

==================================

______________ = Your rough budget to vacation in Hawaii

Example Budget for a Couple Traveling to Hawaii from the East Coast for a Week

Now, using the numbers above, I calculated the following for a 7-night Hawaii vacation for two people flying from the East Coast.

Flights = $900 per person x 2 people = $1,800

Accommodations = $344.89 per night  x 7 nights = $2,414

Rental car = $100 per day x 8 days = $800 (I use eight days instead of seven since most times the return hour is later than pick up.)

Dining = $70 per person per day x 2 people x 7 days = $980

Park entry fees = $50 per person per trip x 2 people = $100

The grand total for this example is $6,094.

Other Expenses to Consider

These estimates do not include:

• Guided tours, such as helicopter tours, guided hikes, snorkeling excursions, etc. Hawaii offers many free and inexpensive things to see and do. Check out our post with advice on saving money on Hawaii vacation tours and activities.
• Resort fees and/or parking fees which some hotels charge while others don't. Be sure to determine parking costs as you consider your accommodation options.  Parking fees in Waikiki and Ko Olina on Oahu and  Kaanapali and Wailea on Maui can be particularly expensive.
• Rental car refueling costs. Gas costs depend on the length of your stay and how much you plan to explore by car. Just one word of caution, Hawaii's gas prices are higher than the US Mainland.
• Island hopping in Hawaii via ferry or plane
• Souvenirs

Final Thoughts

I want to reiterate that your exact costs depend on your preferences and a bit of luck. You might catch an airfare sale and save $100 to $300 per person. You might find a hotel deal that includes breakfast. I could go on and on.

You can definitely spend less in each of the main categories. On the flip side, you can certainly spend more – a lot more. It's all up to you. I just wanted to provide rough numbers that are, in my opinion, realistic, middle of the road costs.

How much money do you budget when you go to Hawaii? What is your length of stay with that budget?

How Much Is a Trip to Hawaii for 5

Source: https://www.govisithawaii.com/2012/08/29/how-much-for-a-trip-to-hawaii-budget-calculator/

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