9 Things to do in Waikiki Hawaii under $20
Below is.a list of budget friendly things to do in Waikiki Hawaii. Going on holidays does not have to break the bank or your budget.
1. Waikiki Beach or the surrounding beaches. Go for a walk and find your perfect spot. Also you can hire umbrellas and day beds on the beach but if you want to save money grab a towel from your hotel and head to the ABC’s store to grab a cheap umbrella.
2. International Market Place. This place is so cool! Its an indoor/outdoor shopping centre. Even just walking around this place is fun and you don’t need to spend a dime!
3. Honolulu Zoo. Spread out over 42 acres and insanely cheap entry. Not only do they have lots of animals but they also have amazing grounds with beautiful tress and flowers.
4. Honolulu Aquarium. Amazing marine life, need I say more. Its also another great place to visit on a budget with adult tickets super cheap.
5. ABC Stores. ABC stores are a mixed bag of goodies with lots of things to buy for cheap.
6. Kapiolani Park. These gardens on a sunny day are not to be missed. A perfect way to chill out and relax if the beach is not your thing.
7. Friday Fireworks. These are run by the Hilton hotel but you don’t need to be a guest to enjoy them. Just head down to the beach.
8. Royal Hawaiian Centre. Another shopping centre but there is so much in here and the design is just gorgeous. There are so many food options for everyone.
9. Diamond Head. You don’t need to be super fit. If you want to go at a good to for the best view head up the just before the sun rises or sets.
Lets go to Waikiki Hawaii!
1. First tip for travelling, if possible get flights that are on sale and if you can get away with it take carry on only. If you book through a budget airline like we did for this trip our flights were SUPER cheap but baggage was more than the flight itself so if you can pack light!
Its so crazy to think that we were able to even go on this trip in March 2020. Back in August 2019 I spontaneously booked flights to Hawaii as a birthday gift for Sam (and well for me too). Jetstar were having a half price sale and it was too good not to book them. $1000 return for both of us. Only catch – carry on baggage only. For me this was hard but I managed.
Fast forward 7 months and off we went for a week long adventure. We decided that this holiday was going to be chill, easy and have no real plans which for those who know me will say “what Hayley without a plan!” I know! We kept this trip for simple and cheap as we had not long been back from Europe so a big budget for this trip was not going to happen.
Saturday 29th of Feb 2020 - The adventure to Waikiki Hawaii Begins
Off to the airport for flight number 1. Our first flight is Brisbane to Sydney and then Sydney to Honolulu. Its funny flying scares me so much but i love airports! I have been through Brisbane airport more times than I can count but this was the first time I have even been to Sydney international airport. We only have a short delay in Sydney but it gave me just enough time to have a look around and some food. Now airport food is expensive and how I get around that is either buying from a chain food place like Subway or Roll’d or Mcdonald’s.
2. Another tip is if I can I will pack my own snacks from home that way I know exactly what I am eating and how it was prepared. Side note when travelling internationally with food make sure you declare it. I got stuck in Brisbane customs one time over a chocolate bar, forgot it was in my bag.. Oops.
Saturday 29th of Feb 2020 - We have arrived at Waikiki Hawaii
We get 2 Saturday’s! That’s what happens when you travel from Australia. We stayed in a hotel that was literally a street away from the beach and that leads me to my third tip of travelling to Waikiki Hawaii on a budget.
3. You do not need to stay right on the beach. There are so many cheaper hotels that are a street away from the beach and that is exactly what we did. We also didn’t need anything fancy for the week. It was $1300 for 2 people for the week. The hotel across from us was more than double the price!
We stayed at a very small hotel called Stay Hotel Waikiki and it had everything we needed. It was literally a 2minute walk to Waikiki Beach. The best thing ever was this place let us check in early, REALLY EARLY. Our flight landed at Honolulu airport at 7am and by the time we got to the hotel it was roughly 9am, checkin wasn’t until 4pm. They were nice enough to let us check in at 12pm. I was super thankful so we went and got some breakfast came back to the hotel and slept. Good old jet lag.
Sunday 1st March 2020 - Getting to know Waikiki Beach
One thing I absolutely love doing when I go to new place is to just walk around. Its great exercise and sometimes you find some amazing hidden gems. We didn’t have many plans for our trip to Waikiki Hawaii and we decided to wing the rest. The good thing with Waikiki is that you can just walk up and down the streets and see so many beautiful places. You can hire surf boards or day beds and spend the day at the beach. You can go shopping or in our case just walked around the shopping centre. In the International Market Place there is this AMAZING tree and tree house that you have to see, best part its free! We spent a good hour in the tree house reading all the information displayed on the walls and admiring the tree.
4. Walk and exploring is free!! After travelling so much we have come to find that sometimes its actually cheaper to book things to do when you arrive rather than prebook and pay before you go. We have lost a bit of money pre booking before so we decided not to pre book much for this trip and wait and see what we find by strolling around.
Monday 2nd of March 2020 - Did someone say sloths!
A place that was recommended for us to visit was Honolulu Zoo. They have my favourite animal in the world there – SLOTHS! It is so cheap to visit as well, $19 for an adult ticket! I have been to many zoo’s in my life and this was hands down the cheapest. The zoo is huge, 42 acres and has more than 1000 animals. The animals have amazing habitats that have been purposefully designed to feel like the wild. They also do information session through the day where you get to learn more about the animals and the zoo itself. We watched the feeding of the sloths. I did ask if i could join them in the cage but they said no. Hey a girl had to try. It was such a great day and we spent the whole day there. My legs were pretty sore but thankfully for us the hotel was only 2 blocks away so it was close which also means we saved money by not using a cab or uber to get home. Money win right there!
Tuesday 3rd of March 2020 - Venturing out of Waikiki
Today was what I would call a travel day. We ventured out from Waikiki Hawaii to Kualoa Ranch. This day started early! 5am to be exact which was early for us on this trip as we had been sleeping in most days so far. We met up for the bus at another hotel about a 15mins walk from our hotel which again was awesome we didn’t have to spend money on an Uber. Kualoa Ranch was awesome! They have so many different things to do. Sam had been bugging me for MONTHS to go horse riding so what better place than Hawaii to do it! Horse riding was actually more fun than I thought it would be. We also did a movie film set tour and got in a bus and drove around the property (which is massive) and got to look at all the different sites that had been filmed there. The trip included lunch so we were able to enjoy a view of a beautiful farm and in the distance you could see the ocean. If you were going to spend money doing something in Hawaii I would highly recommend heading to the ranch.
Wednesday 4th of March 2020 - $4 Margs, yes please!
We were so tired from our trip yesterday that today we chilled out. When we were exploring a few days ago we found a bar that did super cheap frozen cocktails so of course we had to go back and today we did. I NEVER get day drunk but this day I did. They had $4 margs and $5 frozen mai tai’s and a few other frozen cocktails and they were so good. They also had really cheap tacos so it was the best lunch I had in Waikiki Hawaii.
Thursday 5th of March 2020 - Family time
We just so happened to be at Waikiki that same time as our aunt and uncle so we spent the day (and night haha) with them and met some of their friends. Honestly it was such a chill day with eating, drinking and enjoying the beach. We splurged for dinner and had an amazing meal and for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the restaurant. The night ended up at a sports bar which is not my scene but it was fun until someone threw up on the dance floor. I knew it was time to head back to the hotel after that.
Friday 6th of March 2020 - Amazing view of Waikiki Hawaii
It was our last day in Waikiki and one thing I really wanted to do was walk up to Diamond Head. My goal was to walk up and watch the sunrise over the water. Turns out, everyone else had the same idea haha. It was busy at the top of the mountain but thankfully there was enough room for everyone. It had actually rained as we were walking up that a small part of me was worried that we would get all the way to the top only to not see anything but thankfully the clouds started to clear up when we got up there. I am not fit AT ALL so if you are worried that you are not fit enough to do the hike don’t – it wasn’t as bad as what I thought it as going to be. Beside the view from the top is worth it.
Saturday 7th of March 2020 - Farewell Waikiki Hawaii
Just like that the trip was over. The week went very fast but that is always the case when you are on holidays. We had to take 2 flights heading back to Australia. Flight number one was Honolulu to Melbourne and then Melbourne to Brisbane. We got excited as it looked like we were about to have the whole row to ourselves until the very last second someone else joined the row with us. The flight home was pretty uneventful however our 2nd flight got delayed a few times so it was super late by the time we got back into Brisbane and because of time zone changes we lost a day as well. We were pretty lucky as Australia went into the first phases of lock downs a few days after we got back. Both Sam and I got tested when we returned as I was sick but thankfully our tests came back negative.
Even though Waikiki had LOTS of tourists and was super busy it never really bothered me. I liked that there was lots of areas to explore and heaps of food options for any price range. You definitely can do Waikiki Hawaii on a budget but you could also spend a lot too. Waikiki Hawaii has something for everyone.
