Ok, the time has finally come where I can tell you about my recent trip to Hawaii and how we saved to get there! If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen a few quick tips. Or if you came to the MECCA Conference on Saturday, you would have seen a few more. But now it is time to give you a bunch of money-saving ideas this week during my “How to Score a CRAZY Deal to Hawaii” post series! I hope you like it and it can help you get to Hawaii if you have never been and plan an awesome trip without shelling out a bunch of cash. 🙂
(Apology: I was notified by the home-owner that I had left the house number visible in this picture and definitely need to apologize! It was a complete oversight on my part and usually those types of things don’t slip through the cracks. This picture has now been updated to protect the location of this home.)
Here is my first Money-Saving Travel Trip: (If you saw this on Instagram last week, I’ve added more tips you didn’t get to see.)
Definitely use something like Vrbo.com, HomeAway.com or AirBnB.com to book a house instead of a hotel. This is ideal when you have a lot of people going on vacations, couples or just want a little extra room. We rented this house in Oahu, North Shore area, for only $150 a night!! Since we had two couples, that’s only $75 a night!! Say what? Not to mention the week we went on vacation was high-season. So all of the hotels were at least $400 a night. Since we wanted a more “surfer” style vacation the first half of our trip this worked out perfectly!!
The best part about renting a house is that they usually come with “Extras” at no charge. Our house had bikes, body boards, beach towels and everything we might need included!!
QUICK TIP: If you are wanting to go to Hawaii specifically, you will find that a lot of people end up renting their homes out over Christmas break because they end up flying to the Mainland to visit their families. So it actually works out perfectly. If you know anyone in Hawaii, you might also want to reach out to them to see if anyone they know is leaving for vacation so you might be able to rent their home instead- without having to go though a 3rd party service.
I have booked through these different Home Rental sites multiple times and have NEVER had an issue. And when I posted on Instagram about using these sites instead of hotels, I had a bunch of readers sing their praises as well! If you aren’t quite sure about using them, maybe give them a try on something more local or low-key. If you wanted to do a staycation or a short trip to somewhere a little warmer this Winter, that would be a great time to try them out and see how awesome they really are!
On all 3 of those sites, you can see reviews from other people who have actually stayed at their home. It’s a great way to get honest reviews of what they thought, what was nearby and it will help you feel a little more comfortable about it if you are a first time home renter.
Money-Saving Travel Tip #2:
No matter where you are going on vacation (even HAWAII), check sites like Groupon and Living Social for deep discounts on activities while you are there. I’ve shared this tip before but I know some of you may not be using it. ;) So here is your reminder!
When we were getting ready for our trip to Hawaii, I found out they were taking 50% off the Honolulu New Year’s Eve Party on Groupon. As parents, we usually stay in for New Years with the kids and fall asleep way before Midnight. So I was really excited that we might actually have something fun to do on New Years for the first time in about 8 years!
Not to mention that one of my favorite musical artists, Far East Movement, was going to be there counting down the New Year! So I was all in! (P.S….. their music is SO great for working out!! Just make sure to get the edited version or you will be sorry. LOL) We had SO much fun!
Not only that, but Groupon had discounts on other excursions and fun things to do like Swimming with Sharks, Catamaran Tours with Turtles, Whale Watching Escapes and even a discount to the Polynesian Cultural Center! So if those types of things might be on your list for activities to do while you are in Hawaii, make sure you check the daily deal sites for discounts. (**Make sure to check fine print. I have seen some deals are only valid for that state’s residents. Each and every deal changes though. So if it does say that, you can keep watching for it to come around again without that exclusion.)
Ok more tips are coming later this week!! I’ve got lots more for you. So stay tuned! We’ll talk about food, flights, saving money at hotels and more!
Now, you can head over to read “How to Save on Hawaii- Part 2” and over here to read “How to Save on Hawaii- Part 3”. 🙂
Kari
This is awesome. We gave our kids a trip to Cancun in May for Christmas. Have you ever seen any deals on these sites for Cancun?
Melea Johnson
YES!!! Definitely search for them. They are there. 🙂
Tracy
I totally agree with you about VRBO. I lost sleep for months the first time we used it. I just had all these crazy worries and it ended up being a dream. It’s great, you have more privacy, usually free parking instead of paying $20 a day, a kitchen, etc. it seriously was great.
PS I envy this other couple who got to reap all of your genius. You should be charging people to vacation with you.
Melea Johnson
haha! Well, it was my sister and her husband… I probably wouldn’t charge her anyway. 😉 And she has brilliant money-saving ideas too.
jen eagar
We are going to cali soon, i used vrbo to book for the first time. We have a house in laguna beach for 1000 for 1 week, what a steal. Hopefully i can recommend soon, so far it is great. Our family with 4 kids has outgrown 1 hotel room so this was the way to go!
Ashley Bartz
Could you post a link for the Laguna Beach house? Sounds awesome!
Ashley Bartz
Melea, could you post a link of the house you rented? Looks like somewhere I’d love to stay!
Melea Johnson
There actually isn’t a link. 🙠They don’t usually rent out their house because they are professors at BYU Hawaii. They rented it out just for Christmas break because they were heading to the continental U.S. to visit family. But there are TONS just like it on vrbo or Airbnb. Hopefully you can find one just like it! 🙂
jen eagar
https://www.vrbo.com/20545
Laguna beach house
Tavia Wall
I have a time share booked for March and have been waiting for a good time to book my flights. I have seen a few good deals through Columbus travel but only if you book a motel through them as well. Where do you recommend for finding good rates on flights?
Melea Johnson
I would try Fly.com and use the fare calendar. Ill talk about flights more probably tomorrow as my next post. 🙂
Diane
I am going to Oahu the end of February…We have a timeshare so that is covered….I work for Delta so flight is covered….I am not very savvy with the websites you mentioned…any suggestions?
Thanks !!
Diane
Kendra
Hi Melea! Thank you so much for these awesome tips! We are planning a trip to Hawaii in September, and it never occurred to me to check Groupon for deals in Hawaii. I just looked and saw they have a deal for the PCC. We are planning to go there so I was pretty excited… Until I read the fine print. You have to be a Hawaii resident and show ID to get that deal. I’m so bummed! So, I would just recommend everyone read the fine print before purchasing these type of deals to make sure you qualify.
Melea Johnson
Yes, good thought! Sometimes they do say Hawaii Residents only.. and sometimes they don’t. Most of the time anyone can use them. And you might even see that PCC groupon without having to be a Hawaii resident. So I would keep watching. 🙂
Shaylene
Would you suggest getting the Oahu card from Costco? Planning to take my 5 kids over Christmas and trying to do it as cheap as possible but still give them great experiences.
Melea Johnson
I haven’t used the Oahu card. I would see what it gives you and then see how many of those things your family actually wants to do. Then cross check prices on each activity’s or place’s website to see how big of a discount you are really getting. If you aren’t going to do a big majority of things on the Oahu Card, it might be cheaper to purchase a few things individually. If you are going to do a bunch of them, $169 for it is a great price and a great way to save! 🙂
Michael Richards
I can’t say enough good about vrbo.com. My wife and I went to London and Paris for our 10th anniversary a few years ago and rented an apartment in Paris for the week we were there. It was amazing! Living like locals, right in the heart of Paris without the hotel feel. And VRBO was amazing to work with. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Nicole
Thank you so much for posting about VRBO.com. I just booked a condo in Hawaii for my husband and I. I would have never know about this website, if it was not for you!!!
Melea Johnson
Yay!! Excited for you guys to go!
KaDee
Could someone send me their airbnb link so that we both get $25 off?