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Home » News » Our $13k Hawaii Trip in February for only $2500
Hawaii in February

Our $13k Hawaii Trip in February for only $2500

It seemed like everyone we knew had been to Hawaii except us. I mean, even our 2 girls went to Hawaii for Thanksgiving last year. So we booked a 10 night trip to Hawaii in February with a budget of just $2500.

Were we able to stay under budget with flights, hotels, meals and fun? Read on to learn what we loved and the several mistakes that we made.

Table of Contents Click to Show
Hawaii February Vacation tl;dr
10 Day Hawaii Vacation Budget
Weather in Hawaii in February
February Weather was Perfect!
Fly to Hawaii for Free from Nashville
Well, Cheap But Not Quite Free
Scored an Empty Exit Row in Southwest
Southwest Pre-Clear to Skip Hawaii Health Screen
Aloha Honolulu!
Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach
Globalist Perks at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki
1 Day Drive on Oahu
Target in Hawaii Saved Time & Money on our Trip
Stumbled across Waimanalo Beach
Ono? Oh, Yes! Great Little Dive Restaurant at Waimanalo Beach
Waimanalo Beach’s Modest Neighborhood
Why Waimanalo Beach is the Best Beach on Oahu
Sunset on Waikiki Beach
Night Out in Waikiki
Drinks at the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki Beach
Polynesian Cultural Center
Why the PCC was Disappointing
Day 3 on Oahu Didn’t End Well
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor Tickets
We Lost Most of our Pearl Harbor Pictures
Lost iPhone in Hawaii
A Coconut Cost Me $1100
Wasted Half a Day in Paradise
Was Verizon Store in Honolulu Great? Not At All
No Aloha Spirit from the Verizon Manager
At Least the Honolulu Apple Store Treated Me Well
Verizon People Just Keep Failing
Verizon Account Overdue! What?
Doing Laundry at Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach
Heading to North Shore
Turtle Beach Problems
No Sunset at Turtle Beach
No Turtles at Turtle Beach
More Rocks than Sand at Turtle Beach
Island Hopping from Oahu to Big Island
Open Air Courtyard at HNL Airport
Which Side of the Airplane Has Views of Hawaii?
The Big Island of Hawaii
How Big is the Big Island of Hawaii?
1st Stop on the Big Island: Target
The Best Thing on the Big Island?
Aloha Mix Food Truck
Black Sand Beach & Turtles
White Green Sea Turtles
Four Generations from TN have Walked Panaluu Black Sand Beach
Kilauea Volcano National Park
Volcano House
Great Location, Where’s the Lava?
Nāhuku Thurston Lava Tube
Can we Find an even Better Lava Tube?
Kilauea Volcano
Volcano Overlook, Yes. Observatory, No
How to Dress for the Weather at Kilauea Volcano
Kilauea Volcano at Night
Kilauea Volcano on a Clear Night
Circle Drive Big Island
Hilo Farmers Market on the Big Island
Flying out of Kailua-Kona Airport
How early should you arrive at KOA Airport on the Big Island?
3 Nights on Maui
Roosters in Hawaii
Andaz Maui At Wailea Resort
How We’ve Had 6 “Trips of a Lifetime” in 1 Year
Road to Hana
Why You Need the Road to Hana App
Secret Lava Tube Cave
Hana Gold Cacao & Chocolate Farm
Venus Pools on the Road to Hana
Difficult Hike to the Venus Pools
Cliff Diving at Venus Pools
Driving the Road to Hana in the Dark
Feast at Lele Luau
4 Reasons Why Feast at Lele was a Great Luau!
Free Drinks at Feast of Lele
Whales and Turtles on Maui
Whale Spotting in February
Free Canoe Whale Tour
Snorkeling with Zuzu in Maui
Close Encounter with a Green Sea Turtle
What are all these Clicks & Noises I Hear?
Packing up from Maui
Last Few Hours in Maui: Beach & Food
Gas Prices in Hawaii
Maui Airport Lounge
Unimpressive Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Lounge
Back to Honolulu on Oahu
Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach
Heading Home: February Trip to Hawaii
We Flew to the Super Bowl
Hawaii Trip Souvenirs
How Much We Spent on this Hawaii Trip
Travel Hacking Saved Us $1,100 Each Day!
Next Trip to Hawaii
Hawaii in the Summer?
What to Do On Our Next Hawaii Trip
More from our February Hawaii Trip

Hawaii February Vacation tl;dr

It’s our first trip to Hawaii! And we loved it! We did so many things and saw so much on our 10 day Hawaiian vacation in February that it passed by way too quickly.

Our last day in Hawaii near the entrace to the Andaz Maui
10 Nights in Hawaii in February went by in a blink.

We did more planning for this trip than we’ve done for any other trip before. We knew we wanted to hit as many sights and experiences as possible but still have some time to relax on the beach.

To give you an idea of how much we crammed in, here’s our Hawaii vacation by the numbers.

  • 10 Nights
  • 7 Flights
  • 3 Hawaiian Islands
  • 4 Hotels
  • 0 Checked Bags
  • 2 New Carryon Bags
  • 3 Rental Cars
  • 2 Luau’s
  • 1 Volcano
  • 2 Lava Tubes
  • 1 iPhone lost in the Pacific
  • 7 Green Sea Turtles
  • 4 Whales
  • 2 Loads of Laundry
  • 18 Beaches
  • 43 One Lane Bridges
  • 2823 Pictures & Videos

10 Day Hawaii Vacation Budget

Hawaii is super expensive. Could we really do 10 nights in Hawaii on a budget of just $2500?

And if you know that our 4 hotels were $395/night, $435/night, $2,129/night & $411/night, you’d think no way. That’s already over $10,000! Crazy, right?

booking with points and miles saved us over $10,000
With tax, our Maui hotel would be $2,129/night.

Here’s the secret.

We only paid cash for 1 night ($435) and more than half of our meals were free.

This website is about how Zuzu & I finally get to travel and a huge reason is taking advantage of the unbelievable rewards offered by credit cards as well as hotel and airline loyalty programs.

If we’d paid cash for everything, this was a $13,559 once in a lifetime trip.

Thanks to points and miles, we spent less than $2500 (well, if you don’t count the lost iPhone) and we’re leaving for our next adventure to Cancun in 2 months.

I hope you’ll be inspired by how #WeGetToTravel and that #YouGetToTravel soon too!

Weather in Hawaii in February

The weather in February was fantastic for our entire 10 day trip across 3 Hawaiian Islands. The average temperature was essentially a high of 80 and a low of 69 every day.

The only time we were cold was at the top of Kilauea Volcano because of the wind and some mist. But hey, it’s the top of a mountain so no surprise there.

Weather in Hawaii in February is great except when we were shivering at the top of the Kilauea Volcano
BRRR! IT’S COLD AND WINDY ON TOP OF A VOLCANO!!

The locals tell us that it only gets about 10 degrees warmer in the summer with an average temperate of 90 during the day & 73 at night. The moderate temperatures are due to the favorable trade winds that keep Hawaii in comfortable weather year round.

February Weather was Perfect!

Overall, the February weather in Hawaii was just perfect for a tropical vacation. We did agree that we’d love to come back and see what it’s like in the summer. Especially if the water is 4-5 degrees warmer!

Fly to Hawaii for Free from Nashville

One of the biggest reasons we’ve been able to travel for almost free has been Southwest Airlines.

By getting the right credit card, we got a Companion Pass for Sandra. She flies free any time that I fly.

BTW, the same Companion Pass offer is going on Right Now. Click here to see the details!

So I booked my round trip with points (earned on Chase credit cards) and she came along for free.

we used points and a companion pass to fly for free on Southwest Airlines
My flight: 22k points + $11.20 tax. Zuzu was just $11.20.

Well, Cheap But Not Quite Free

Total cost of our 2 round trip Hawaii tickets: $22.40 for taxes and fees.

Our Nashville to San Diego non-stop was full. 4 and a half hours in a plane is not alot of fun but it wasn’t miserable.

Scored an Empty Exit Row in Southwest

But our San Diego to Honolulu flight was about half empty. Not only did we get exit row seats with extra legroom, we had 3 seats to ourselves! Plenty of room to spread out on that 5 hour flight across the Pacific.

enjoying the extra legroom in an empty exit row on our southwest flight to Hawaii
Empty exit row is essentially First Class on Southwest!

Southwest Pre-Clear to Skip Hawaii Health Screen

Hawaii does health screening when you arrive. Not excited to do that after traveling for 12 hours.

Fortunately, we were able to get screened with Southwest Pre-Clear on our San Diego layover. We didn’t have to do anything after arriving in Honolulu!

Southwest Pre-Clear let us bypass covid screening in hawaii
Bypass Safe Travels Hawaii airport screening w/SWA’s Pre-Clear.

Aloha Honolulu!

Our flight from San Diego got to HNL airport at 8:30 pm local time or 12:30 Nashville time. By the time we got to our hotel in Honolulu, we were pretty beat.

Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach

Our home for the first 5 nights was the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach. It’s just across the street from the most famous beach in Hawaii.

Read my full review of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach here.

The cash rate, including taxes & fees is $395/night. Instead of paying $1,975 cash, we used 100,000 World of Hyatt points to get a free 5 night stay.

view of Waikiki Beach at night
1st view of Waikiki Beach from our lanai at the Hyatt!

Globalist Perks at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki

From my perspective, the World of Hyatt loyalty program is the best hotel program for people who want to travel and get the most out of their elite status.

Through a little business travel and a lot of leisure travel last year, I reached Globalist Status, the highest elite level with Hyatt.

For this 5 night stay, Globalist status gave us:

  • Free upgrade to a high floor Ocean View Room
  • Access to free breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks in the Regency Lounge
  • Free Valet parking
  • $150 Resort Fee Waived

If you’re not a Hyatt Globalist, you can buy that room upgrade & club access for $180/night + tax & fees. Valet parking was $300 or you could self park for just $250. So that’s ~$1500 value right there.

breakfast at the Hyatt's Regency Club with a view of the beach
Hyatt Waikiki Regency Club, great view & free breakfast!

My World of Hyatt credit card helps me reach elite status more easily than without it.

Want to know the specific details of how we stay at luxury hotels for free? Click here!

surfers at Waikiki Beach
Everybody’s surfin’! Out our window at Waikiki Beach.

1 Day Drive on Oahu

After a good night’s sleep, we just wanted to drive around the island of Oahu for 1 day. We headed north from Honolulu and then east across the mountains. The incredible views were just jaw dropping.

rugged mountain peaks or Pali's in Hawaii
1795: King Kamehameha threw enemies from that highest Pali point. Hmm, Republicans? Democrats?

We didn’t check any baggage for this 10 day Hawaiian vacation so where do you get all the things you need?

Why at Target, of course!

Target in Hawaii Saved Time & Money on our Trip

We always try to avoid checked bags. I budget an extra 30 minutes to check bags and an extra 15 minutes at baggage claim.

Most airlines (but not Southwest) are going to charge extra for checked bags.

Traveling is just better if you don’t check bags. And Target is our goto place to get the items that would have required checked bags.

Sunscreen, snacks, drinks and the swim goggles that we forgot to pack were quick and easy to buy at the Target in Kailua.

And Sandra gets 5% back on her Red Card. That’s my girl!

Target store on Oahu
Target store #1 (of 3).

Stumbled across Waimanalo Beach

While Sandra was expertly navigating the aisles at Target, I was searching for somewhere to grab lunch. We wanted to find a place with a local flair which was close enough to a park to eat on a beach.

Ono? Oh, Yes! Great Little Dive Restaurant at Waimanalo Beach

The reviews on Google for Ono Steaks and Shrimp Shack sounded great. And the pictures looked like a great local dive. It was a clear winner.

Ono Steaks and Shrimp Shack near Waimanalo Beach
Exactly what we wanted, Hawaii-Dive-O(no)!

Google Maps showed Waimanalo Beach just 3 blocks behind Ono Steak & Shrimp Shack.

We got a single big to-go plate of shrimp, steak, rice and potato salad to share. With drinks, tax & tip, it was $33.

Waimanalo Beach’s Modest Neighborhood

We left our rental at Ono’s parking lot & walked thru a very average looking neighborhood. These mostly modest looking houses would have been $100k-300k in our neck of the woods. The nicest house would have been maybe $500k.

The point is, these were not what you would call mansions.

As you can see, the unmarked beach access was a narrow path between 2 ordinary homes.

small, unmarked public access path to Waimanalo Beach
Are you sure we can go this way?

But then it opened onto possibly the most beautiful beach that we’ve ever seen in all our travels: Waimanalo Beach!

Waimanalo Beach in Hawaii in February
Our favorite! Practically deserted Waimanalo Beach!

We’ve seen plenty of spectacular beaches but never one this void of people and commercialism.

Why Waimanalo Beach is the Best Beach on Oahu

No vendors within sight and maybe 1 group of people every 100-200 yards. And this was on a perfect weather, Friday afternoon.

Mountains & islands in the background, perfect sand, plenty of both sun & shade, and a gentle slope in the water all made for discussions about the perfect place to return to and visions of retiring here.

Whenever we get back to Oahu, we’ll plan on at least a full day or more at Waimanalo Beach instead of the 1 hour we spent there on our 1st trip to Hawaii.

So we finished our lunch and loaded up for the next beautiful view on this 1 day drive around Oahu.

Makapuu Lookout on Oahu, Hawaii
Makapuu Lookout. Photo credit: new friends from Idaho.

We probably could have stopped 50 more times on the 17 mile drive back to our Hyatt. But the plan was to make it back for drinks in the Regency Club to see the sunset on Waikiki Beach, so we skipped alot.

Sunset on Waikiki Beach

Ross and Zuzu at the Hyatt's Regency Club with Sunset on Waikiki Beach in the background
Hyatt’s Regency Club: a great spot for the sunset!

The sunset on Waikiki Beach was just spectacular!

The Hyatt & the Regency Club is across the street from Waikiki Beach and on the 3rd floor so the view was perfect.

Sunset on waikiki beach with palm trees
About 1000 people on Waikiki Beach for the sunset.

Night Out in Waikiki

After filling up on free dinner (which was really just heavy appetizers) at the Regency Club, we walked up and down Waikiki Beach.

We tried going to the much renowned Duke’s Waikiki Bar but the wait was 2 hours to get a bar seat with a view. We put our name in to text us but wandered next to the Royal Hawaiian.

Drinks at the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki Beach

They told us our wait would be 45 minutes but we got lucky and got a prime, beachfront table after just 10 minutes.

Beach front table for late night drinks at Royal Hawaiian in Honolulu
Nightcap at Royal Hawaiian, Waikiki Beach.

Pinch me. I’m having Mai Tais & Blue Hawaiians with this beautiful lady in paradise.

How’s that for a great end to our 1st full day in Hawaii?

Day 2 in Hawaii revolved around visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center but we had the morning at Waikiki Beach.

taking pictures on Waikiki Beach
Searching for the best photo angle on Waikiki Beach.
Outrigger canoe in front of The Royal Hawaiian
Outrigger ‘ama’ canoe at The Royal Hawaiian.

It was a good hour and a half drive to the Polynesian Cultural Center but we stopped several times so it took us about 3 hours to get there.

On the beach at Kualoa Park in Hawaii
You can swim to ‘Chinaman’s Hat’ from Kualoa Park. We didn’t.

Polynesian Cultural Center

Want to know alot more about the PCC?

Click here to read my much more comprehensive review of the Polynesian Cultural Center!

The Polynesian Cultural Center (or PCC) is a very family friendly tourist attraction tightly connected to BYU Hawaii. Our visit was one of the many highlights of our Hawaiian vacation.

The PCC is a living museum for 6 Polynesian Islands including:

  • Hawaii
  • Fiji
  • Tonga
  • Tahiti
  • Samoa
  • Aotearoa (New Zealand)
Entrance to the Polynesian Cultural Center
Click here to read my full Polynesian Cultural Center review!

The luau was not what we expected. They called it a luau but it was more like a dinner theater show.

The buffet food was not stellar but good with lots of Hawaiian dishes. Really loved the pineapple smoothie and the red, hairy rambutan fruit.

Smoked pig at the PCC Luau
Pig Dinner, just like we did in Cookeville, TN!

Back in my college days, we’d smoke a pig in the ground every year. These guys were definitely more buff than my friend David Crane but his pig was way better to eat than theirs.

Ross and Zuzu a the PCC Luau with tiki torches
Prom, err, Luau pics at the PCC.

Why the PCC was Disappointing

Definitely very happy that we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center. Unfortunately, we were expecting a more traditional luau and didn’t get it at the PCC.

That’s ok. It just made us realize that we wanted to splurge on a more traditional luau (The Feast at Lele) on an upcoming night.

Want to see and hear more about the PCC?

I wrote alot more in my Polynesian Cultural Center review here.

Day 3 on Oahu Didn’t End Well

Our 3rd full day on Oahu didn’t go how we planned but it started with this beautiful rainbow over Waikiki Beach.

rainbow over waikiki beach
Rainbows everywhere. Waikiki Beach from our lanai.

We really had high hopes for this day. The plan was to spend most of the day at Pearl Harbor and then head up the leeward (West) side of Oahu to explore and get a different view of the sunset.

Unfortunately, the good omen of the morning’s rainbow didn’t last all day.

Pearl Harbor

Visiting Pearl Harbor was #1 on our list of Things to Do in Hawaii.

Please read my detailed blog post about our Pearl Harbor visit here.

USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
Make sure to reserve ferry tix before your Pearl Harbor visit.

Paying our respects to the 2,403 Americans who were killed in the Japanese surprise attack on December 7, 1941 was important to us.

While the USS Arizona Memorial is the focal point of a visit to Pearl Harbor, there are are also exhibit galleries, outdoor markers, an audio tour (which I highly recommend), a bookstore and a Virtual Reality experience of the attack.

There are several other historic sites like the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, the Battleship Missouri Memorial, and the Pacific Aviation Museum.

Pearl Harbor Tickets

It’s free to enter the Pearl Harbor National Memorial but you must pay a $1 reservation fee for the ferry out to the USS Arizona Memorial.

Don’t make the same mistake that we made. We almost didn’t get to see the USS Arizona Memorial.

We Lost Most of our Pearl Harbor Pictures

Our visit was powerful but I’m sad to say that we lost 95% of the pictures that we took. As I tell in the next section, I lost my iPhone a few hours after leaving Pearl Harbor.

None of my pictures had uploaded to the cloud yet so we only have these few pictures from Sandra’s iPhone and the strong memories of our visit.

I’m thankful we have these last 2 pictures because they’re what I’ll remember most.

American flag flying over the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
American flag flying over the Arizona at Pearl Harbor.

I love this view of the American flag. Here’s what the NPS says:

“As a special tribute to the ship and her lost crew, the United States flag flies from the flagpole, which is attached to the severed mainmast of the sunken battleship.”

Wall of lives lost USS Arizona
Tree of Life design next to the wall of lives lost on the Arizona.

One of the last things we saw on the Arizona was this wall of names of the servicemen lost. This was the most moving moment of our visit to me.

Want to read & see more about our Pearl Harbor visit?

Click here for my full Pearl Harbor blog post.

Lost iPhone in Hawaii

After Pearl Harbor, we drove up the leeward (West) side of Oahu to find a beach and watch the sunset. We found Nanakuli Beach which had a pretty good crowd of locals enjoying the afternoon.

Nanakuli Beach in Oahu
Just before I lost my iPhone.

That picture doesn’t do justice to the steep sand embankment where we had our chairs. We were higher up than that guy that you see in the background on the right. WAY above the water line.

A Coconut Cost Me $1100

Short story is that we got distracted. Zuzu on her iPhone & me with a coconut that washed up in front of us. The water hadn’t even licked our toes when a huge wave crashed over our heads!

We got knocked out of our beach chairs & everything got soaked. Sandra’s phone was ripped out of her hand but she found it a few feet away. She didn’t realize that I had left my phone in her lap when I got up to get the coconut.

We searched until it was dark but my phone was gone. It never connected to a cell tower or the internet again.

where I think i lost my iphone in Hawaii near Nanakuli Beach
iPhone on permanent vacation at Nanakuli Beach.

Wasted Half a Day in Paradise

It wasn’t an option to go another 8 days after losing my iPhone in Hawaii.

I spent a few hours that evening trying to figure out my best option. That turned out to be at the Verizon store when it opened at 9am the next morning. That’s NOT the way I wanted to be spending my time in Hawaii.

Outside the Verizon store in Honolulu
NOT HAPPY! Ugh, waiting for Verizon to open.

Was Verizon Store in Honolulu Great? Not At All

The Verizon store in Honolulu not only didn’t help, they made me feel worse.

They didn’t have a phone that was close to what I wanted. No iPhone 13 (regular or Pro) with 256 or 512GB in any color.

No Aloha Spirit from the Verizon Manager

When I snapped this (uncropped) picture with my GoPro, the store manager snapped at me with a very accusatory “Why are you taking pictures?”

Inside the Verizon Store in Honolulu
Verizon manager got upset when I took this picture?

Told him that losing my phone while on vacation in Hawaii was a big deal and I wanted to have some pictures to share online.

Thanks for making me feel like you appreciate my business, jerk.

At Least the Honolulu Apple Store Treated Me Well

Then I headed to the Honolulu Apple store which wasn’t open yet. Apple didn’t have exactly the replacement iPhone that I wanted but they had close enough. And Justin was great as he helped me get the new phone setup.

Unfortunately, I had to return to Verizon store for activation.

Verizon People Just Keep Failing

A very pleasant worker got my phone on the network and even pointed out a small improvement to my business account’s plan that gives more bandwidth and actually lowers my bill slightly.

She made a big deal about how it only worked if I had AutoPay turned on for my account so she confirmed that. Then she told me to please contact her if I needed anything. She can help any business account client, regardless of location. She was great!

Verizon Account Overdue! What?

Unfortunately, 5 days after we got home from Hawaii, I got a notification that my account was overdue. What?

Autopay had been turned off & I didn’t do that. I texted the same person. She never replied.

Doing Laundry at Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach

Meanwhile, Sandra did a couple loads of laundry in the Hyatt’s laundromat.

laundry machines in the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach in Honolulu Hawaii
How to do 10 days in Hawaii with no checked luggage.

Not exciting but we planned to do laundry so that we could take this 10 day trip with only 2 carry-ons and no checked luggage.

After wasting a half day of vacation, we finally got on the road at about 1pm.

Heading to North Shore

Other than driving to the North Shore area on Oahu, we didn’t really have a plan.

Justin at the Apple store had mentioned Hale’iwa Beach so we mapped a route.

on a beach in North Shore Oahu
Back to Happy! 1st beach with the new iPhone.

Armed with my brand new iPhone and our free beach chairs from Hyatt Regency Waikiki, we headed to North Shore on Oahu.

After half an hour at Hale’iwa Beach, we packed up and headed to the next beach that caught our attention.

Kawailoa Beach with a rainbow in the background
Is there always a rainbow at Kawailoa Beach?

So! Many! Beautiful! Beaches!

It’s just staggering for these Tennessee tourists to see all these fantastic beaches that you can visit on Oahu.

rainbow above beach in Hawaii with a lifeguard's rescue surfboard
Another rainbow to save us from winter in Tennessee.

Sorry, I’m out of words to describe the beauty of all the different beaches where we stopped.

beach with rocks, sand with mountains and clouds in the background
Just…. wow.

After a few hours of beach overindulgence, we plotted our last stop to Turtle Beach to watch the sunset. It didn’t live up to expectations.

Turtle Beach Problems

You have to go through a really nice condo area to get to Turtle Beach. While it’s a public beach, the roads, parking, paths and even the beach feels like you’re trespassing on a private area.

No Sunset at Turtle Beach

Turtle Bay Resort is built on a point on Turtle Bay. I’m sure the resort has got great sunset views but the building completely blocks the sunset from the public beach.

The next disappointment was the turtles… or lack thereof.

No Turtles at Turtle Beach

On the beach, the resort has both a restaurant and a small snack bar on the beach. We asked the snack bar attendant if there were any turtles. She said: “There haven’t been any turtles here in 30 years.”

That may be an exaggeration but we didn’t see any turtles.

More Rocks than Sand at Turtle Beach

And Turtle Beach wasn’t your idyllic sandy beach. There’s a small beach with sand that’s uncomfortably rocky (wear shoes) in the small bay. It was really cold which I’d guess is from the resort blocking the sun.

As you can see in this picture, the rocky area to the right of the resort was really gorgeous.

getting a kiss from Zuzu at Turtle Bay, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii
Lucky guy at Turtle Bay (with no turtles, btw).

Like I said, not the best spot to watch the sunset. But we still enjoyed sitting here until the sun went down behind Turtle Bay Resort.

We drove back to the Hyatt Regency Waikiki in the dark. Grabbed a quick poke bowl and packed for an early morning checkout.

Island Hopping from Oahu to Big Island

After 5 nights in Honolulu, it was time to hop to the Big Island to see the volcano.

We had an early morning flight so we checked out at 6am.

Zuzu waiting at Honolulu Airport
Not too shabby view waiting at Honolulu Airport.

Open Air Courtyard at HNL Airport

One standout feature of the Honolulu Airport (HNL) is the open air courtyard after security.

There’s a koi pond and many lounges are on the ground floor of the courtyard. These airport lounges looked like they were all closed for covid.

view from airplane of Waikiki Beach and Diamondhead
Goodbye Diamondhead Crater & Waikiki. Back in a few.

Which Side of the Airplane Has Views of Hawaii?

If you’re flying south from Honolulu, get a seat on the left side of the plane.

We had great views of Waikiki Beach and Diamondhead, Molokai, Maui, and the Big Island as we flew during the daylight. We also saw the smaller Hawaiian Islands of Lanai and Kaho’olawe.

Or you can look at water out the right side of the plane. Lots of water.

The Big Island of Hawaii

My list of Best Things to Do In Hawaii included seeing a live volcano. We only had 1 night on the Big Island of Hawaii, but we had almost 2 full days.

How Big is the Big Island of Hawaii?

The Big Island is Bigger than all the other Hawaiian Islands combined but, at 4,028 square miles, it’s still pretty small compared to most states.

For reference, that’s 4 times bigger than Rhode Island and about the same size as Connecticut.

God’s Country, aka Tennessee, is 10 times as large as the Big Island.

Southwest passenger ramp at Kona Airport
Welcome to Kona on the Big Island!

So it’s no surprise that the Big Island’s largest airport, Kona (KOA), is pretty small. Easy in & easy out.

We got our Hertz rental car and headed south along Highway 19.

Click here to learn our 4 step process to save money on rental cars!

1st Stop on the Big Island: Target

Our first stop? Target (that’s Target #2 if you’re keeping score) for sunscreen, snacks and drinks. Then back to our Hawaiian adventure.

She’s in her element at Target #2!

I don’t know if we just got lucky but Kokua Kailua was the most colorful drive we’d had in Hawaii so far.

And then we got to the lava fields.

lava fields on the Big Island of Hawaii
Our 1st view of the Lava Fields on the Big Island.

Our conversation turned to the greater diversity of vegetation and geography than we had see on Oahu.

Oahu was great but everything was green. Not here.

The Best Thing on the Big Island?

Do you remember that our kids went to the Big Island a few months ago?

“Girls, what was the best part of your week in Hawaii?”

“The garlic shrimp at the Aloha Mix Food Truck!”

No seriously, what was your favorite thing in a week on the paradise of the Big Island? The beach, the weather, the ocean…?

“The garlic shrimp at the Aloha Mix Food Truck!”

It was on the way to Volcano National Park, so we went. It was great!

Aloha Mix Food Truck on the Big Island of Hawaii
“YOU HAVE TO GO” Aloha Mix Food Truck, per the kids.

Aloha Mix Food Truck

If we had more time, I’d be happy to go back again and again.

lunch at Aloha Mix Food truck on the Big Island of Hawaii
The kids were right! Garlic shrimp was great!

Aloha Mix Food Truck packed our garlic shrimp & acai bowl to go and we headed to the black sand beach about 15 minutes away.

Lunch on the beach is always a good thing.

Black Sand Beach & Turtles

Sign for Panaluu Black Sand Beach Park on Big Island of Hawaii
Lunch at Panaluu Black Sand Beach beats eating at my desk.

The Big Island had already impressed us a ton. (I mean, garlic shrimp, right?)

The Black Sand Beach took it to another level.

Zuzu with sea turtles at Panaluu Black Sand Beach Park on Big Island of Hawaii
Stay 20′ from the turtles sunning at black sand beach.

White Green Sea Turtles

And then the green sea turtles who turn white sunning on the black sand. Pretty awesome.

We didn’t realize this until we were there… but our grandchildren have no choice but to visit the black sands of Panalu’u Beach.

Ross and Sandra Jones at Panaluu Black Sand Beach Park on Big Island of Hawaii
Zuzu’s grandparents & parents walked this same beach.

Four Generations from TN have Walked Panaluu Black Sand Beach

Sandra’s grandparents were here sometime around 1975-80. Her parents were here around 2002 and our girls visited in 2021.

That’s pretty cool to think about. Four generations on Sandra’s side of the family have walked along Panaluu Black Sand Beach.

Kilauea Volcano National Park

From Panaluu Beach, it’s a nice 45 minute drive to Volcano National Park. Plenty of beautiful scenery along the way but not quite as spectacular as the drive from Kona Airport to the black sand beach.

Sign for visitor center at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
We’re going to the Volcano!

There’s a small Visitor Center where you can learn about Kilauea Volcano. We headed straight to the Volcano House Lodge.

Volcano House

Sign for Volcano House at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
Aptly named lodge.

Read my full review of the Volcano House Hotel here.

The Volcano House is exactly what you’d expect from a National Park hotel. Awesome location but you’re not going to get any luxury treatment.

Rainbow at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
Money shot from our Delux Crater (Rainbow) View Room.

Great Location, Where’s the Lava?

Our room was only a few hundred feet from the edge of the volcano crater.

At checkin, they told us that the lava was really putting on a show last night but it wasn’t expected to be as good tonight. They said sunset or after dark was the best time to see the lava glow so we had a couple hours to kill.

Anyone want to hike through a lava tube? Yes, please!

Nāhuku Thurston Lava Tube

Path to the lava tube at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
“Enter At Your Own Risk”…. umm, ok.

A five minute drive and a five minute hike took us to the lava tube.

Entrance to the lava tube at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
About to enter the lava tube… at our own risk.

Lava tubes are formed when cooler lava solidifies around a river of hot, flowing lava. Some lava tubes, like this one, are very cylindrical. It’s almost like a man-made pipe.

Inside the lava tube at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
Gotta say, my 1st lava tube was pretty cool.

I know that picture is a little blurry. Check out Tom’s Travel Caffeine post for a great picture of this lava tube.

Lots of stairs to get down to the lava tube but it’s an easy, level walk of about 100-200 yards to go thru the lava tube. I’ve been in a dozen or so caves but this was my first lava tube.

Can we Find an even Better Lava Tube?

I wonder if we can find another lava tube on this trip to Hawaii… maybe even a… secret lava tube?

Yes, we did! Read about the Secret Lava Tube in our Road to Hana Guide.

Kilauea Volcano

The hike to Nāhuku lava tube offered great views of the old volcano craters.

Volcano Overlook, Yes. Observatory, No

We drove about 3 miles from the Volcano House to the end of Crater Rim Drive to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The building has been closed for a few years since being damaged in a recent eruption.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good line of sight into the lava field so we drove back a quarter mile to the Kilauea Overlook.

Once parked, we had a quarter mile walk to the “Lava Field” viewing area.

View of the volcano at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
Kilauea Volcano. Lots of steam & gas but no massive eruption of lava… yet.

Arriving 30 minutes before sunset, it was cold, windy and there was a mist that kept getting heavier. But no lava or glow.

How to Dress for the Weather at Kilauea Volcano

Zuzu & I both had on long pants and sweatshirts but it was cold and wet on top of this mountain. As it got darker and colder and the mist got heavier, we both really wanted a hooded rain coat and gloves.

Fortunately, as it got darker, the half dozen tourists around us started hallucinating:

Is that a little glow? No. What about now? Maybe…

Kilauea Volcano at Night

Finally, after 90 minutes, we got treated to a small, but very photogenic glow of lava!

Lava glowing in the dark at Kilauea Volcano National Park on Big Island of Hawaii
The volcano god showing us the lava love!

Happy to see the lava glow but miserably cold, we went back to the Volcano House for dinner.

We bundled up and made another trek to the lava viewing area around midnight.

Kilauea Volcano on a Clear Night

Around midnight, the weather had cleared.

In contrast to our last viewing, the Hawaii volcano weather was much nicer. We were treated to a bright moon and a sky crowded with alot more stars than we have in Nashville.

Gloves would have been nice but there was no mist and the wind had calmed down. We were comfortable with our hooded rain jackets.

Alas, there was no lava glow. Thus ends my first lava viewing episode.

Circle Drive Big Island

After a medium early checkout, we hit the road with about 6 hours before our flight to Maui. From the volcano, that would give us time to complete the circle drive of the Big Island with an hour or two for stops along the way.

Hilo Farmers Market on the Big Island

In about an hour, the Hilo Farmers Market caught our eye. We stopped for lunch and a little shopping.

Hilo Farmer's Market on the Big Island of Hawaii
Glad we stumbled across the Hilo Farmers Market.

Lunch came from two different stalls. We got a poke bowl and an acai bowl from 1 place and desert from another place. Donuts on a stick, a rice cupcake and some really good fried bananas in some type of pastry. Yum!

We spent a little more time than planned at the Hilo Farmers Market so we pretty much just drove the next 2 hours back to the KOA airport.

Scenery on the Big Island of Hawaii
Another random gorgeous scene from the highway.

The only stops were quick pullovers to snap a picture of beautiful views like this one.

Flying out of Kailua-Kona Airport

Kailua-Kona Airport was close to deserted at 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon. Hertz dropoff was quick, maybe 10 minutes from getting out of the rental until the shuttle dropped us at departures.

Since we didn’t have any checked bags, we bypassed the empty Southwest counter and went straight to security.

Glad we got the TSA Pre-Check thing.

TSA precheck had no line and neither did the regular line. I asked the KOA TSA guy and he said that they can occasionally back up and have a wait of 15-20 minutes.

How early should you arrive at KOA Airport on the Big Island?

If I go thru KOA again, I’ll plan to arrive 1 hour before my flight. A little more if I have a bag to check.

3 Nights on Maui

Flying from KOA on the Big Island to Maui, we snagged seats on the right side of the airplane. That treated us to more spectacular views of the Hawaiian Islands.

Picture of GoPro camera in airplane window above Maui in Hawaii
Arriving in Maui is too much for just 1 camera.

We arrived just before sunset in Maui. There wasn’t time to get checked in before dark so we made our obligatory Target run first.

Roosters in Hawaii

See this cute guy on a bush in the Target parking lot? We got sick of them.

Roosters are everywhere in Hawaii and several locals (and tourists) told us they are a total nuisance.

Rooster on a bush outside a Target store in Maui in Hawaii
Roosters are everywhere. This is at the front door of Target (#3).

One family who was camping said the roosters waking them at all hours (not just at sunrise) essentially ruined their trip.

After Targeting, we made our way to our nicest, and most expensive hotel of our entire 10 day trip to Hawaii in February.

Andaz Maui At Wailea Resort

In my full review of the Andaz Maui, you can read why they did not meet 5 star resort expectations. But the problems were minor in the big scheme of things. We worked around them and had a fantastic stay.

View from balcony at Andaz Maui in Hawaii
Pretty great for a “Partial Ocean View,” at Andaz Maui!

With taxes & fees, the room we booked would have cost $1,780/night but we used 30,000 Hyatt points per night. As a Hyatt Globalist, I got a free room upgrade a Partial Ocean View King room that goes for $2,009 per night.

With the free breakfast and free valet parking from my Globalists status, this was a $6,500 hotel stay.

$6,500… for free.

Eating breakfast outside with palm trees at Andaz Maui in Hawaii
Loading up for the day on the free Globalist breakfast.

Read my detailed review of the Andaz Maui Resort here.

As I’ve said before, it’s hard to believe the massive value that we’ve gained from credit card rewards in such a short period of time.

How We’ve Had 6 “Trips of a Lifetime” in 1 Year

Just 14 months before this Hawaii trip, we had NO credit cards and hadn’t been on a fancy trip in 20+ years.

Now we’ve enjoyed >$50,000 of bougie travel for free to places like: Jamaica, Key West, NYC, Miami Beach, Panama City Beach and Daytona Beach.

If you want some tips on how you can travel like this for free (or cheap), I’m happy to help. Keep reading this blog, follow us on Facebook & Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or just contact me.

Road to Hana

Click here for my complete Road to Hana Guide with 25 more pictures, or read on for the short version!

Can you find a “Best Things to do in Maui” that doesn’t have the Road to Hana?

No, and there’s a reason for that.

Road to Hana Map
Every “Top Things to Do in Maui” list has The Road to Hana

The Road to Hana is a 50 mile drive on narrow, winding roads along the Windward (East) side of Maui. Most of it is very rural and the views are impossibly beautiful.

Why You Need the Road to Hana App

To get the most out of this full day experience, you simply must spend $20 on the Shaka Maui app. Without it, we would have loved the Road to Hana. With the app, the experience was easily 10x better.

Much of the Road to Hana has no cell phone service so the app is triggered by GPS. The narrator is your own personal tour guide who knows exactly where you are.

Twin Falls on Road to Hana
Twin Falls, 1st of MANY waterfalls on the Road to Hana.

Start the Road to Hana as early as possible. We left the Andaz Maui around 10am.

6am would have been a much better idea.

Halfway to Hana Sign
Cool off with shave ice at Halfway to Hana!

The drive will take you 3 hours if you don’t stop which would be a COLASSAL MISTAKE! There are tons of beaches and waterfalls so you really want 10-12 hours of daylight.

Seriously, get the Shaka Road to Hana Tour Guide app and click here to read my detailed Road to Hana Guide.

Here are 3 examples that we would have missed without the app.

Secret Lava Tube Cave

“In a couple minutes, there’s a small pulloff on your left. There are no signs but there’s a secret lava tube cave across from the pulloff” says the Shaka Guide app.

Secret lava tube cave entrance on teh Road to Hana on Maui in Hawaii
Shhhh! Here’s the unmarked entrance to the Secret Lava Tube!

Want to see inside this cave?

Click here to see alot more of Zuzu & me spelunking in the secret lava tube.

Unbelievable! As dozens of cars are going by, wondering what the hell we were doing, we’re exploring this little unmarked cave. Easily one of our Best Things to do In Hawaii!

Next, the app tells us to head up this rocky driveway with a small “Hana Gold Plantation” sign.

Hana Gold Cacao & Chocolate Farm

The owner, Aldon says thanks for stopping so he can live out his dream as the “Crazy Cacao Guy” in the jungles of Maui.

And his wife is from the same hometown as Zuzu: Kingsport, TN!

Aldon Frost at Hana Gold Chocolate farm on Road to Hana on Maui in Hawaii
Mmmm, Hana Gold Chocolate Farm. Thanks, Aldon!

Want to learn more about Hana Gold Chocolate Farm and Aldon?

Click here to read my full Road to Hana Guide!

Venus Pools on the Road to Hana

And finally, Venus Pools was my favorite place on our entire trip to Hawaii.

It’s unlikely that we would have stopped at the Venus Pools on the Road to Hana if not for the app.

View above the Venus Pools on Road to Hana on Maui in Hawaii
Saved the best for our last stop on the Road to Hana!

The app said, “Walk thru the 8 foot tall grass, squeeze thru the cow gate, take a right at the old stone oven and then carefully make your way down the side of the hill.”

Difficult Hike to the Venus Pools

Don’t try this if you have ANY mobility issues or are scared of heights. Zuzu fell on the way down the terribly steep, unimproved path. Scared us a little, but she lived to tell the tale.

But the payoff was over the top. Only about a dozen people, mostly kids, were down there.

Steep dirt trail from the Venus Pools on Road to Hana on Maui in Hawaii
That little patch of dirt is the crazy steep, narrow trail.

All the kids (ok, there was one guy who said he was 42) were cliff diving into the Venus Pools at the far end from where the path comes out.

Cliff Diving at Venus Pools

Zuzu said “don’t do it” but my brand new GoPro told me that I had to jump off the cliff.

Cliff diving into Venus Pools along Road to Hana on Maui in Hawaii
My first (& Zuzu says my last) cliff dive in Hawaii.

Both the GoPro and I survived.

Zuzu just rolled her eyes. She’s had alot of practice at that.

It was almost dusk as we climbed the hillside trails from Venus Pools and slipped thru the cattle gate. By the time we reached our car, it was dark.

Driving the Road to Hana in the Dark

Heading home, driving the Road to Hana in the dark is not for the faint of heart. But we made it back safely to the Andaz around 10pm.

While there are many other highlights, this was our favorite day on our 10 day trip to Hawaii.

Want to see and hear more about our favorite day in Hawaii?

Click here for lots more pictures and details in my full Road to Hana Guide post.

Feast at Lele Luau

We slept late on Friday morning and mostly just enjoyed the Andaz before heading to our second luau: The Feast at Lele on Maui.

Ross and Zuzu at the Feast of Lele Luau at sunset in Maui in Hawaii
Feast at Lele was a wonderful luau in Maui!

Unlike the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu, the Feast at Lele was everything that we were expecting in a Hawaiian Luau!

4 Reasons Why Feast at Lele was a Great Luau!

First, the setting: it’s on the beach with the island of Lanai in the background.

Second, the food: there are 4 separate courses that correspond to the islands of Hawaii, Aotearoa, Tahiti and Somoa.

Third, the show: coordinated with the 4 food courses, the show covers the culture of the same 4 Polynesian Island nations. This show was much better the the luau entertainment at the PCC.

Fire dancer at the Feast of Lele Luau Maui in Hawaii
Great luau for our last night on Maui!

Finally, there was an open bar with free drinks included in the luau’s cost. Since the PCC is a dry campus, there was no alcohol there. It’s not a make or break but we would rather have a few drinks with a luau than not.

Free Drinks at Feast of Lele

And the drinks at Feast of Lele were great. Not weak or watered down. They also had drink suggestions that coordinated with the 4 different islands.

Zuzu enjoyed a Mai Tai, a Banana Madness, a Blue Hawaii, 2 Lava Flows (her favorite drink), a Blue Hawaii and a Planter’s Punch. And then she staggered onto the stage in front of the whole audience…

Just kidding, some of those drinks were mine.

Whales and Turtles on Maui

Hawaii in February is the best month for whale sightings and Maui is the best island to see whales.

Whale Spotting in February

On the way to the Feast at Lele, I saw a fully breached whale all the way out of the water! Zuzu turned in time to see the huge splash. Holy cow, err, WHALE!

So we were really hoping for a whale sighting on our last day on Maui.

February whale watching from an outrigger canoe near Andaz Maui in Hawaii
Yes, we saw the whales off Maui in February!

As part of our resort fee (comped for all Hyatt members on free stays) at the Andaz, we got free equipment rental and a free outrigger canoe ride.

Free Canoe Whale Tour

Travis, our guide, took us out about a half mile out and followed a baby whale, its mom and a male “escort” whale for about 10 minutes. While we weren’t very close, seeing a whale surface about 10 times was yet another highlight of our February trip to Hawaii.

After the 30 minute ride, we grabbed some free snorkel gear to explore the reefs around the Andaz beach.

Snorkeling with Zuzu in Maui

Snorkeling at the Andaz Maui in Hawaii
Snorkel shaka Maui!

After a bit, we headed back towards the beach. Zuzu was tired so we surfaced about 30 feet from the beach & decided to split up to let me take a few more pics with my GoPro.

When she was almost out, we saw people near us pointing their hands and phones at a spot near us. They said: “There’s a big turtle over there!”

Cool! I turned on the GoPro & hoped I could see that far underwater.

And then this huge green sea turtle comes swimming right at me!

Close Encounter with a Green Sea Turtle

Green sea turtle swimming in shallow water near Andaz Maui in Hawaii
Dude, can you not socially distance?

We had seen turtles at the black sand beach and knew that we’re supposed to maintain a distance of 20 feet or so. Somehow, this guy hadn’t read the same rules.

He swam straight at me from maybe 30 feet away, passing within about 3 feet of me. This was in clear water only about 6 feet deep.

Definitely one of the top 10 Hawaii highlights for me!

And it gets better…

We checked my GoPro to see if I actually captured the video. The turtle was there but we heard all of these crazy, squeaky distortion sounds. Weird… hmmm, OH!

What are all these Clicks & Noises I Hear?

That’s right! We had unknowingly captured the songs of hundreds of humpback whales!

I’ll add the video to my comprehensive review of the Andaz Maui so you can see and hear for yourself.

Packing up from Maui

All of this whale & turtle excitement was before breakfast on our last day on Maui.

We actually had a 5pm late checkout which meant we could really enjoy our last day on Maui. We had a 8:10pm flight from Maui to Honolulu. That was to position ourselves for a 7am flight from Honolulu to Nashville.

Last Few Hours in Maui: Beach & Food

After our free breakfast, we spent a few final hours just enjoying the beach. Then back to our room to clean up and pack.

Late lunch at the Andaz was Ahi Poke & a Lobster Grilled Cheese beside one of the 4 infinity pools. We didn’t talk much over lunch, just savored the last few vacation moments before changing over to full traveler mode.

Lunch at Andaz Maui in Hawaii
Our last Maui meal: Ahi Poke & Lobster Grilled Cheese.

The lunch and the view was great.

Our $65 lunch bill was covered by a $100 room credit that we received at check-in as an apology for a problem.

You can read more about that in my full review of the Andaz Maui.

Bill for lunch at Andaz Maui in Hawaii
Expensive but covered by our $100 room credit.

We hit the road for the 30 minute drive to Kahului Maui Airport (OGG) and stopped to gas up the rental car.

Gas Prices in Hawaii

I hadn’t checked gas prices before heading to Hawaii but was expecting it to be much higher than gas in Tennessee.

Nashville was about $3.33 per gallon when we flew to Hawaii in February. Maui was $4.61.

On average, I found gas prices to be about 40% more expensive in Hawaii vs the mainland. There was a little fluctuation but prices were mostly the same across 3 islands on our 10 day trip to Hawaii.

Gas prices in Hawaii were about 40% higher than on the mainland.
Filled the rental for $4.61 a gallon. Was expecing worse.

After returning the rental car, we made the short walk to the Kahului Airport terminal and quickly passed through security.

In about 30 hours, we’d be back in Nashville.

Maui Airport Lounge

There was a small lounge at the Maui airport that we could use for free with my Priority Pass membership (free thru my Chase Sapphire Reserve card).

Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Lounge at Maui Airport OGG in Hawaii
Maui airport lounge was not much better than the gate.

But the Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Lounge was about as sad as you can get for an airport lounge.

Unimpressive Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club Lounge

Small, almost no food or snacks, a broken ice maker on the drink dispenser and no restrooms in the lounge.

I guess it was a little better than waiting at the gate… but not much.

Back to Honolulu on Oahu

This was our 3rd interisland flight and the only one in the dark. Just like before, we picked the side of the plane that would give us the best views from the air. In this case, it was the right side that can see the lights of Oahu and Honolulu.

It wasn’t a great view of the city lights but it was better than the vast black ocean view on the left side.

Ride Share waiting area at HNL Airport
Waiting for Lyft before the long day of travel to home.

Since we would return to the airport in less than 8 hours, we caught a Lyft ride to our hotel for $34.

Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach

Just 4 blocks from where we stayed at the Hyatt Regency for 20,000 points per night, the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach was only 12,000 Hyatt points for a 1 night stay.

Hyatt Place Waikiki lobby at night
Hyatt Place Waikiki. 11pm check in, 4:30am wake up call.

We were only here for a few hours so it made sense to book the Hyatt in Honolulu that cost the least points.

My full review of the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach has more info but this was a perfectly fine place to rest for 6 hours before our early morning flight back to Nashville.

Heading Home: February Trip to Hawaii

Lifting off from Honolulu Airport at 7am, the morning sun made for some spectacular views from the left side of the plane.

View from airplane of Clouds over Diamondhead and Waikiki Beach in Honolulu
So long Hawaii, it’s been great!

As opposed to our flight from California to Honolulu which was practically empty, our flight from HNL to LAX was full.

Why are so many people catching an early Sunday morning flight to Los Angeles?

Oh, yeah. It’s SUPER BOWL Sunday!

We Flew to the Super Bowl

Our pilot reminded us that we’d be landing a few hours before kickoff and that we might actually fly over the Super Bowl Stadium.

Sure enough, we went right over the stadium.

Flying over SoFi Stadium on Super Bowl Sunday
Superbowl kicks off just after we landed at LAX.

Maybe I’ll figure out how to get a pair of $10,000 Super Bowl tickets for free with points and miles. Until then, this is the closest we’ll get for free.

Hawaii Trip Souvenirs

We didn’t bring alot home from Hawaii. Mainly candy & leis.

The leis are still with us. The Hawaiian candy is in us.

Hawaiian candy and nut leis
Quite a haul of candy from Hawaii.

How Much We Spent on this Hawaii Trip

Our February trip to Hawaii was everything we could have asked for and so much more. Here’s how the finances came out.

ValueOut-of-PocketPoints Earned
Hotel$9,822$4351305
Breakfast$884$00
Flights$928$500
Food$541$4761428
Entertainment$845$8451735
Transit$549$5491242
TOTAL$13,569$2,3555,710

If we don’t count the iPhone I lost in Hawaii, we came in under our $2500 budget for Hawaii.

Travel Hacking Saved Us $1,100 Each Day!

$2,355 for a 10 day trip to Hawaii that would have cost over $13,000!

Holy Whales indeed!

Are you wondering what the 5,710 points that we earned are worth? If I cashed them out on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, that would put $85.65 cash in my pocket.

But in reality, I used them to book our upcoming trip to Cancun so I know that they were worth exactly $428.59!

Next Trip to Hawaii

If it weren’t for the long travel distance, Hawaii would have easily been our favorite trip ever. I’m sure we’ll travel to Hawaii again but I’d love to travel in First Class or a Business Class lie-flat seat for free.

Looks like that will take about 150-200,000 points so I better look for some big credit card sign up bonuses!

Hawaii in the Summer?

We loved Hawaii in February for the weather and the whales. But we want to return in summer when the water temperature is 5 degrees warmer. The water wasn’t too cold but a little warmer would sure be better, as long as it’s not too hot.

What to Do On Our Next Hawaii Trip

We definitely want to visit the island of Kauai. Even though I got the shirt for “Maui Nō Ka ‘Oi” (Maui is the Best), we heard soooo many people say that Kauai is the most beautiful island in Hawaii. We want to see for ourselves.

And I’d be happy to return to our standout parts of this trip:

  • Road to Hana
  • Kīlauea Volcano
  • Waimanalo Beach
  • Target (just kidding)
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ross & Sandra, Travel Couple (@wegettotravel)

I’d love to know what you think should be on our list of things to do on our next trip to Hawaii!

More from our February Hawaii Trip

Read more about our February Hawaii Trip:

  • Polynesian Cultural Center Review
  • Pearl Harbor Visit
  • Road to Hana in February
  • Hyatt Regency Waikiki Review
  • Volcano House Lodge Review
  • Andaz Maui Review
  • OMG! The POOLS at Andaz Maui!
  • Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach Review

Written by:
wegettotravel
Published on:
February 21, 2022
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