Visiting Hawaii On The Cheap: Part 3 (Activities)

This continuing series of posts is about Visiting Hawaii On The Cheap; a location normally not known for low costs.  In part one of this series, we covered saving money on flights, lodging, and rental cars.  In part two we saved ourselves tons of money by eating delicious food in Hawaii.  In this final installment (Part 3) we’ll cover the fun stuff…Activities!

Activities?

At some point in the distant past, someone decided that vacations should look at lot like work.  This person was probably a Type-A personality that couldn’t sit still for 5 minutes.  As this popular convention goes, vacations should be filled with activities, scheduled timelines, and (hopefully) a little fun to keep ourselves occupied.  

Due to tragically short vacations in the United States, many people pack their vacations to the brim with activities.  If you’ve ever taken a vacation like this, it’s exhausting!  Whether you prescribe to this line of thinking or not, I firmly believe my family doesn’t go on vacation to watch TV in a hotel room.  So how does Mr. Tako’s family fill their vacation days in Hawaii, and how do they do it cheaply?  Let’s find out!

Beaches

Who could possibly write about Hawaii and not mention the beaches! Hawaii has fantastic beaches, probably some of the best in the world. The water is warm, and the sand is soft.  They are a great place to relax and take a nap in the shade.  Let the gentle Hawaiian breezes soothe you to sleep.  

Some beaches will have big waves.  Some will have palm trees.  Some will be busy and filled with tourists.  It’s all about which beach you decide to visit.  There are no ‘private’ beaches in Hawaii, so you can visit the same beaches as the super wealthy who inhabit that area.  

One of the best thing about Hawaii’s beaches (besides the fact they’re extremely beautiful) – they’re free!  No admission required!  All beaches on Hawaii are free and public. 

Sometimes getting access to certain beaches (the best ones!) can be a bit difficult. One of the best internet sites to traverse this problem is Kona123. I have no affiliation with this website, but I used it pretty extensively in my trip planning.  They have detailed listings of all beaches, great photos, parking instructions, and complete instructions on how to access them. Occasionally the instructions read a bit like “Go down the road for a bit, turn left at the big rock, and then turn right at the next goat”, but I’ve found them to be pretty accurate.  

Those instructions got us to many fantastic beaches.

   

  

Volcano National Park

The Island of Hawaii has a national park, aptly named “Volcano National Park“. Unsurprisingly, it has a volcano!  Kilauea is one of the few active volcanoes in the world tourists can visit.  Unfortunately, this activity isn’t free, typically the entrance fee is $15 per car.  If you fill a van to capacity like we did, the cost per person is pretty minimal; $2.50 per person in our case.

Note:  There is one way to get into Volcano National Park for free.  Visit the park on one of the free days!  We missed it by about a week.  This year, there’s extra free days due to the National Park Service’s 100th birthday!  Visit one of the 127 National Parks that normally charge an entrance fee!

Volcano National Park is a “must see” if you ever visit Hawaii.  There really is no place else like it in the world.  It’s a great educational destination, giving you ample opportunities to learn about volcanoes, lava, and their study

   

   

If your kids like hiking, they should do well at Volcano National Park.  There are rigorous hiking trails, but there’s also easy ones for families too.  Paved paths like this one abound in the park.  You can spend the whole day hiking at Volcano National Park, so budget your time accordingly.

I should emphasize the fact that Volcano National Park is also fantastically beautiful.  The whole park is filled with beautiful vistas, tropical jungles, and unique plant life.

    

In addition to the hiking trails, a volcano and the jungle, there is also this cool lava tube you can walk through. (Unfortunately my photos are limited to areas that had sufficient light)

  

Kona Coffee

Hawaii is the only state in the United States where coffee is grown.  This happens along the mountainside near Kona, HI.  The growing region with the perfect conditions is a strip of land only about a mile wide and 20 miles long.  There are numerous small coffee farms in that region.  

If you’re even slightly interested in farming or coffee production I recommend you check it out.  Many of the numerous growers will give you free farm tours displaying the growing and production process of Kona coffee.

  

While not quite as interesting for younger kids as Volcano National Park, there’s good educational content for slightly older kids.  They may even like some of the free samples.

Natural Beauty

One of the best ways to enjoy Hawaii isn’t an activity at all, but rather the lack of activity.  We spend so much of our lives being productive and filling our lives with stress; it’s important to remember to just stop and smell the flowers.  Slow things down.  Don’t plan your day down to the last minute.  Stop and look around.  Breath in that wonderful fresh air.  After all, Hawaiians have the highest healthy life expectancy in the United States.  They must be doing something right.