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Aloha! I'm working on planning our very first vacation to the Island(s) and wanted to run a question by you guys. Not including the cost of accommodations, flights and rental vehicle (since I can plan for those exactly and know the cost in advance - and actually have those paid for in advance) how much should I budget for the cost of living/fun if I were planning to stay for 10 - 12 days (probably on Oahu)?
We will be bringing our dog and I'm also planning that all out and making sure I've crossed all my t's and dotted my i's in that regard (including the flight, quarantine regs and securing dog friendly lodging). Since we won't be coming until probably about February or March of 2011, I have plenty of time to plan that end of things as well.
What I'm less sure about is how much cash/funding we need to plan on to have enough for living and having fun while we're on the Island. Since it's such a big to-do getting doggies on and off the islands we will probably not leave the island for another island once we land. As I said, I'm looking mostly at Oahu. What I need to know is how much to expect for food, fun and transportation while we're there. My husband and I are all about the beach and other natural/nature type activities. We aren't really into "night life" such as clubs, etc. but would probably like attending a luau or something similar while we're there. We love to snorkel and do (light) hiking and other outdoor activities. We also love to just get out and explore (like, just get in the vehicle and drive around discovering "undiscovered" wherever we happen to be - off the beaten path type things. As far as food, we're pretty laid back and simple - we LOVE good food but it doesn't have to be "fine" dining/five star restaurants. Actually, we probably prefer more "local" type places, the more laid back, the better. Even fast food is ok with us. Also, the place I'm looking at staying is a private house with a full kitchen so I'll likely be cooking some of our meals. The house is in Punalu'u (good thing we like to drive? ) and is right on the beach so I suspect we will be spending several days just warming our toes in the sand. ;-)
Would a couple of thousand dollars be enough for 10 - 12 days of doing those types of things, or do I need to budget more? If more, how much more?
Once you clear quarantine in Honolulu, it's no big deal to transport your dog interisland, especially since the flights are so short. There is no additional anything beyond what you would have on the mainland for traveling with your dog. The hard part is getting in.
Location: Was in Western New York but now in Hilo Hawaii
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Originally Posted by thisbloominglife
Koa - no, it's not a service dog. Just our dog we can't bear to be parted from for more than a day or so at a time.
Iʻm not jumping on you or chastising you I just think we need to think this through.
I understand the bond we have with our dogs look at my profile. With that said we as dog owners have a responsibility not to abuse the bond. Our dogs will do anything for us and we will do the same but is it fair to ask your dog to go in baggage for from Georgia to Hawaii and go through Ag inspection maybe fail some do then to sit in your little hotel room while you go here and there. Will you trust with your dogs life to a sitter that you donʻt know? I know that I am interviewing sitters and Kennels for when I have to go to the Mainland. My dog lost almost 5% of her weight on her trip to Hilo from NY and I drove across the country giving her a break every 2 hours to keep her comfortable. Enough about me Iʻm sure your dog would be fine on the trip but you will stress and worrie the whole time and not have fun you will end up shortening you day trip/dinner snorkel to go check on your dog. Iʻm sure you have family or friends that could watch your dog/family member as close as you do on any given day.
Alright now I will start thinking on how much you will need to go to Hawaii and get back to you
The Maui News just ran an article that included a bit on visitor spending. I am going to guess that the amounts they state were per person, per day, including accommodations, but based on 2 people. I say this because $175 per day on Maui is high unless you have accommodations in there, but would be low if it was just one person in that hotel room.
Some parts of the article you may find relevant: Oahu saw an 11 percent increase in visitor spending while Kauai and the Big Island each had a hike of 3.2 percent. Molokai and Lanai reported drops in visitor spending of 11.3 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively.
Total expenditures by visitors who came by air was up 12.7 percent to $874.2 million. That was the largest increase since April 2006, when the measure grew 15.6 percent.
Among major islands, Maui also had the most visitor per day spending in March at $175, a 9.4 percent increase over the same month in 2009. Lanai had higher daily visitor spending at $192, but that was an 18.1 percent drop for the month. Molokai reported individual visitors spend an average of $81 per person.
On Oahu, individual visitor spending was at $168 (up 2.6 percent) in March, followed by Kauai at $147 (down 5.6 percent) and the Big Island at $141 (up 1.5 percent).
You could budget a lot more for your trip if you didn't bring your dog. It may, in total, cost you $1000 to bring it along for 10-12 days. Boarding it may cost $15 day.
I would have more stress if I brought a dog on vacation to Hawaii. There are many dangerous things for dogs here and you will be rather limited on hotels and restaurants, beaches and other activities due to bringing your dog.
I am guessing that thisbloominglife isn't planning on boarding her dog while on Oahu. By renting a private house, they can keep the there, maybe crated?, while they go out to dinner or a luau.
I would also guess they plan to bring the doggie with them on outings, and are well-versed at doing this where ever they go.
Since participating on this forum, I've only learned a bit about the strict regulations on bringing in pets, but it sounds like the OP has done her homework and is planning ahead. While the plans might seem daunting to me, she obviously thinks it all worthwhile. Now she just needs advice on other aspects of their visit.
If it is a purse sized dog, then it can go many places and probably wouldn't even change their itinerary much. If it is a labrador or great dane or something large, then they will be really restricted by where they can take the dog. However, as you noted, Calico, they've already decided on the dog and are probably used to the sorts of restrictions traveling with a dog produces. Although, I've not tried it. Is Hawaii more restrictive about dogs than other places? I know there's a lot of "no dogs" signs around. I thin it depends on the dog, though.
As far as your daily expenditures, figure things cost more in Hawaii and you can always take the money you didn't spend back home afterwards. Gas is around $3.65 a gallon on the Big Island, I suspect it is a bit cheaper on Oahu. Food can run from about $7.50 for a plate lunch to $75 for a nice meal in a semi-fancy restaurant. You'll probably want some gifts and things to take or mail back plus some of the tours, shows and luaau sorts of things. Figure in a tank of gas every other day, a $30 - $40 show or luaau every day and then $60 a day for food (unless you are adding in beer/wine & nicer restaurants) and then toss in a big chunk of emergency money just in case and there are ATM's and such so you don't have to carry the stuff around.
I am guessing that thisbloominglife isn't planning on boarding her dog while on Oahu. By renting a private house, they can keep the there, maybe crated?, while they go out to dinner or a luau.
I would also guess they plan to bring the doggie with them on outings, and are well-versed at doing this where ever they go.
YES! Yes! All of this! We will be staying in a private vacation rental house that accepts pets so he will not be trapped in a tiny hotel room for hours on end. Actually, I spoke to the owner of the house and asked her if it would be ok if the dog is allowed to move about the house freely (as he does when he's at my own home alone) when we went out and she said it was just fine with her and that that was what the pet deposit was for. We won't even have to crate him. We have taken him on many trips with us previously and put him in similar situations and he's been happy as a clam (lol - a dog clam? ). While on vacation trips we take him with us as many places as possible. He LOVES the beach! He will be with us to as many places as will allow him/in which it would be safe/fun/comfortable (for him) to bring him along. Really the only unknown/new thing here is the flying. Believe me, if I could DRIVE to Hawaii I would!
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) and is right on the beach so I suspect we will be spending several days just warming our toes in the sand. ;-) 
