Budget

[lundve]

DVC member here - and a family of 5 - planning on a week in a one bedroom so lodging is covered. I’ve been pricing flights so I know what to expect there. Since we will have a kitchen I foresee only one bigger dinner or supper out each day.

We want to do a trip to Pearl Harbor and a couple other Hawaiian adventures, probably not off island though.

We don’t drink alcohol so that’s not a factor for the budget. I know how to price a parks trip and a cruise trip but what about this?

Anyone wanna help me ballpark it? Groceries, eating out one meal a day, and excursions for two adults, two teens and one child?

 

[cgattis]

With a party of 5, I’d recommend renting a minivan and then your excursion cost is basically zero. You have to get to and from the airport anyway, and that won’t be cheap with five. Not sure if you’re DVC or not; if not, I believe it’s $37 a day to park.

Pearl Harbor is essentially free if you just do the memorial; other museums on the site have a fee. The monument also includes a small museum and a movie, and it’s definitely worth doing for the free part alone.

Hiking Diamond Head is free (or maybe a couple of bucks?), as would be hanging out at any beaches (unless you rent or buy gear—SUP, body boards, snorkels, etc). Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay was less than $10 each, IIRC. Surfing lessons or canoe rides will cost a bit more (google for the range). I think some of the museums have a small cost as well. But essentially there’s plenty of free stuff all around! Not to mention you’ll want a couple of resort days (or at least solid half days) to enjoy Aulani.

Food will be expensive—think 25-30% above what you pay in the parks, for snacks, quick serve, and sit-down. And that’s many places, not just at Aulani! But with a car, you can go to cheaper places while you’re out and about. Plus, as you say, but some groceries for in-room meals. We also brought some food from home, leaving space in our luggage for souvenirs . The ABC store (Island Country Market) Across the street has pretty reasonably priced grab-and-go options (and beer) too.

lots of others here can give you better grocery tips, but I’m listening to the tree frogs and planning my Maui trip, so thought I’d jump on in.

And not that you asked, but I recommend having the Aulani Photopass guys take your pics at sunset (ish) two or three times to make sure you get some good ones! Just like in the parks, YMMV and with 5 people, you know how hard it is to get one that’s good of everyone. Have fun planning—you’ll love it!!

 

[nkereina]

I agree with PP that you will most definitely want to rent a car. You did say you're DVC and I assume you're staying on points, so parking will be free. Renting a car gives you the flexibility to get to and from the airport, make grocery stops, visit wherever you want, and easily be able to go off site for meals.

We did our grocery shopping at Target in Kapolei, which is the next stop on the highway, and found prices to be mostly comparable to the ones back home in NY. With a family of 5, you may do better at Costco if you're members, which is also in Kapolei. There's several chain restaurants and reasonably priced restaurants in Kapolei that have prices more in line with what you may be accustomed to back home. Keep in mind that Ko Olina, where Aulani is located, is a planned gated tourist community. Everything at Aulani and surrounding resorts, as well as the few restaurants and shops in walking distance of the resort, will have tourist pricing which is as high as you'd expect.

There's a lot you can enjoy on Oahu with little to no cost. Aside from what PP mentioned, the Haleiwa area is beautiful and fun to stroll and stop at the different beaches along the way. Laniakea Beach is a fun stop to see turtles. We also loved strolling along and hanging out in Waikiki - fun atmosphere and beach. I would avoid doing Waimea Valley which has a hefty price tag of $16 per person, which we didn't find worth it. We also loved the Kailua area and the beaches there were the best we visited. I'd also suggest Kualoa Ranch and I believe they have tour packages which offer savings as well. If you're interested in a luau, the Paradise Cove luau is walking distance from Aulani and I believe is cheaper than the one at Aulani.

We didn't use it, but there's also a Go Oahu pass/card that includes multiple attractions, depending on what you're interested in. Aulani offers some excursions, but with a car, you can likely book it yourself at a cheaper price point.

 

[braysmommy]

For Pearl Harbor no need to pay for an expensive tour but you can reserve tickets online 60 days out through National Parks.
https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/233338

 

[lundve]

We are DVC members and would be using points so it’s nice to know that we’d save money on that significant parking fee. I had already decided that car rental would be in the cards if we wanted to grocery shop.

Flights and Rental Car excluded - does guessing maybe $1500K for groceries, dining, and trips sound right?

 

[braysmommy]

We are DVC members and would be using points so it’s nice to know that we’d save money on that significant parking fee. I had already decided that car rental would be in the cards if we wanted to grocery shop.

Flights and Rental Car excluded - does guessing maybe $1500K for groceries, dining, and trips sound right?

It depends are you planning on doing a luau or Kualoa Ranch? For a family of 5 it will add up fast! How much do you spend at home for a typical weeks worth of groceries?

 

[Disney_Fan_01]

We are DVC members and would be using points so it’s nice to know that we’d save money on that significant parking fee. I had already decided that car rental would be in the cards if we wanted to grocery shop.

Flights and Rental Car excluded - does guessing maybe $1500K for groceries, dining, and trips sound right?

we normally budget $250 per night for our family of 4. It kind of evens out as you balance relatively cheap pizza meal for under 50 to an expensive dinner that cost $200. Dining out will be your most expensive part of the trip outside of resort, flights and car.

 

[lundve]

It depends are you planning on doing a luau or Kualoa Ranch? For a family of 5 it will add up fast! How much do you spend at home for a typical weeks worth of groceries?

It averages $900 - $1100 a month so $250ish a week for groceries a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner mostly cooking and eating at home. (Hubby eats all meals here too as he works from home) We might go to Chick Fil A and Chipotle once a month but rarely eat out saving those bigger meals for vacation trips.

 

[lundve]

we normally budget $250 per night for our family of 4. It kind of evens out as you balance relatively cheap pizza meal for under 50 to an expensive dinner that cost $200. Dining out will be your most expensive part of the trip outside of resort, flights and car.

That’s sounds like us too - something less expensive for lunch/dinner ala a quick service one day and more expensive (ala Chef Mickey) another night. So the 6 year old is a solid kids meal kinda kid - is that meals and activities at $250 per night?

 

[cgattis]

Check out the Aulani website for current pricing, but the Makahiki breakfast and dinner buffets were quite pricey, but we wanted to do both once. Many say breakfast is a better value, and though I did enjoy my red velvet Iron Man waffles with coconut syrup (mmmmm), we much preferred the dinner. My two kids and I ate an obscene amount of crab legs and I put a good dent in the stone crab claws too! DH ate prime rib, so we definitely got our money’s worth. Plus we sat outside listening to the live music and it was just beautiful—it was my favorite meal in 14 days in Hawaii. There’s plenty of “kid” choices too, like all Disney buffets, but with some approachable “different “ stuff too.

Also, not sure how you feel about this, but done folks will send their kids to Aunties for their dinner option and then do Ama Ama (or a nearby hotel restaurant) for a nice meal for two. Or some with older kids have gotten them pizza in the room and gone to dinner while the kids watched a movie.

 

[lundve]

Also, not sure how you feel about this, but done folks will send their kids to Aunties for their dinner option and then do Ama Ama (or a nearby hotel restaurant) for a nice meal for two. Or some with older kids have gotten them pizza in the room and gone to dinner while the kids watched a movie.

Great idea - I’ll look at the menus.

Ohhh that’s a good idea - with 16 and 14 year old brothers the 7 year old will be fine with them back in the room for a night or two. Plus as a bonus it would keep food costs down...

 

[Disney_Fan_01]

That’s sounds like us too - something less expensive for lunch/dinner ala a quick service one day and more expensive (ala Chef Mickey) another night. So the 6 year old is a solid kids meal kinda kid - is that meals and activities at $250 per night?

I would say $250 is a conservative estimate just for food and groceries. Activities at the resort need to be factored separately. I would say add another $50 per activity such as snorkeling, paddle boarding and others. Perhaps another $200-300 total for a week for activities at the resort. All activities in oahu are relatively cheap or free so no need to budget for that, but consider some expensive things like spa, shopping, etc if you are going to do those things. We budget $1000 for these as I like to pamper my wife

 

[Mommy2Logan]

It depends where you will be eating. Breakfast at Ama for two adults one 4 year old was $100 with tip and tax. Lunch by the pool was about $50-60 before alcohol (Tacos or Cocounut Shrimp baskets, etc). Dinner for happy hour at Monkey pod was around $65 before alcohol. Dinner at Mina's Fish House at Four Seasons was around $200 before alcohol. You can get a pizza at Aulani at the cafe for $25. That was the cheapest meal we found. It wasn't great but we didn't mind considering it felt like it was practically free compared to what we were spending elsewhere. There's is an ABC market across the street for buying some sandwiches and snacks.

Our first trip we spent around $550 a day on food and alcohol. Second trip we spent closer to $350.

 

[Disney_Fan_01]

It depends where you will be eating. Breakfast at Ama for two adults one 4 year old was $100 with tip and tax. Lunch by the pool was about $50-60 before alcohol (Tacos or Cocounut Shrimp baskets, etc). Dinner for happy hour at Monkey pod was around $65 before alcohol. Dinner at Mina's Fish House at Four Seasons was around $200 before alcohol. You can get a pizza at Aulani at the cafe for $25. That was the cheapest meal we found. It wasn't great but we didn't mind considering it felt like it was practically free compared to what we were spending elsewhere. There's is an ABC market across the street for buying some sandwiches and snacks.

Our first trip we spent around $550 a day on food and alcohol. Second trip we spent closer to $350.

alcohol adds up really fast, especially in Hawaii where drinks cost $15 on average. We try to go to dinner early around late happy hour time, 4:45-5ish. Then we get half off of Mai tais and appetizers at some places. Also, I stock up during our first day with a bottle of rum, vodka, and scotch. We tend to bring our own drinks at the pool during the daytime and only order drinks out for dinner. It still adds up fast and can easily get to half of dinner tab with 2 drinks each!

 

[Mommy2Logan]

Yes, definitely adds up. The original poster doesn't drink alcohol, so that will certainly help their budget!

 

[nkereina]

Whenever DH and I travel, I budget $100 each per day for food, drinks, and most activities although I try to pre-pay for any activities in advance. Usually its an overestimate, but sometimes its not if we're traveling to a particularly pricey place like Vegas or Hawaii. For a family of 5 for 7 days, I would maybe budget roughly $3000-$3500 for groceries, some meals out, and most attractions. I agree with PPs that things like a luau or dolphin encounter or catamaran ride or helicopter tour will really add up.

If you plan to eat out one meal per day, let's call that 6 meals - if each meal averages $210 including tip (that would be roughly $35 per person with a 20% tip), that alone would be almost $1300 just in your one meal out per day. Excursions and groceries will add onto that, plus ancillary things like the extra taxes at Aulani, gas, various tips for bellmen, etc.

IMO, its much better to overestimate and not need it all than it is to underestimate and skip out on things while there to save.

 

[Mommy2Logan]

I am curious what those of you who budget $100 each a day are eating and doing for excursions? That seems very low for Hawaii. I'm not suggesting it can't be done, but I am curious what you do for activities? I think the paddle board rental alone was $40 an hour.

 

[cgattis]

Also forgot to mention there are free hula shows (not luaus) in many places, including the Ala Moana mall and Waikiki Beach, right by the banyan tree I mentioned. If you want to see some hula and hear it explained, but not spend a ton of time or money, that’s an option. We really enjoyed the one at Waikiki (just google Oahu free hula shows for dates and times).

We also took our own snorkel gear to save on rental costs, hassle...and heebie jeebies LOL. You could also buy a cheap boogie board to share versus rent (although I think there are free ones for use at Aulani).

 

[nkereina]

I am curious what those of you who budget $100 each a day are eating and doing for excursions? That seems very low for Hawaii. I'm not suggesting it can't be done, but I am curious what you do for activities? I think the paddle board rental alone was $40 an hour.

For us, I budget $100 per day per person. Its just DH and I. I pre-pay for most of our excursions, so that cost is above and beyond the $100 per day per person budget, which is just the money I set aside for spending while there. That money is then used for food, maybe some souvenirs though we don't buy much, and any excursion I couldn't or didn't pre-pay for. Plus ancillary things like tips, gas, etc. Sometimes we probably spend more than $200 per day, sometimes we spend less, but it generally evens out for us so I use it as a baseline. We also typically eat casual meals, so we aren't budgeting for fine dining experiences like Roy's or something similar. It is very subjective because its all dependent on what you do.

For activities, we did tours to Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, and a Kualoa Ranch tour, all of which were prepaid. While there, we paid for Waimea Valley ($16pp), Dole Plantation ($10-ish pp from what I remember), and bought our own snorkel gear and floats which was maybe $40?

 

[Mommy2Logan]

Awesome. I always enjoy hearing how others are saving money and spending less. When we went to Aulani the first time were were definitely of the mentality of, "Its vacation. we aren't going to worry about the cost of things" and we sure lived it up. But then we wanted to go back five months later and the only way we could justify the cost if is we spent wayyyyy less. That $25 pizza really helped! And monkey pod.