For our five year anniversary, my husband and I were asked to join our friends for a trip to Hawaii. They were celebrating their 10 year anniversary. How could we say no to that?! Fortunately, they asked us a year in advance—the first step in making it possible for less than $1700!
What were our secrets to enjoying such an exotic vacation for so little?
1. We planned ahead
Knowing you are going to do something a year in advance allows you to research the cheapest time to travel, the best local restaurants, and other secrets. Creating a pinterest board for our trip was a huge lifesaver!
2. Credit Card Offers
We signed up for FREE credit card offers earning us 60,000 airline points. We used Discover and American Express to pay our regular bills for three months and then we set them aside. Because we purchased our tickets several months in advance, we were able to find extra-saver award tickets for only 20,000 points each way! Our only airline cost was taxes.
3. We paid a very discounted rate for lodging
Our friends who were traveling with had an extra guest pass on their timeshare that they were not going to use. They offered us a very discounted rate for the room and this saved us a lot of money.
The first night we arrived, we needed to find extra lodging so we researched and found a hostile for incredibly cheap.
4. We were smart when we ate out
It would have saved more to make our own food, but one of our favorite experiences when it comes to traveling is trying new and local foods. We implemented the following strategies for eating out:
:: Water was our beverage of choice.
:: We often ate two meals a day, taking advantage of early dinner discounts.
:: We found small towns to eat at instead of tourist areas.
:: We shared larger entrees.
:: We enjoyed dessert as an after meal snack.
5. We listened to timeshare presentations
This earned us FREE (or really inexpensive) excursions. We were able to experience a helicopter ride over the island and a snorkeling excursion for very little money! Each presentation lasted about 2-3 hours. We felt we probably would not have used time for this if our trip was shorter than a week.
6. We enjoyed FREE activities
Some of our outings included hiking at State Parks, driving the Road to Hana ourselves, exploring local beaches and finding a bay where we swam with turtles for free (this was initially nerve-wracking but ultimately was my highlight of the trip!)
7. We split the cost of a car rental and gas
Since we were traveling with another couple, this was possible. For most excursions and day trips we were traveling together anyway, so it was not a hindrance to our time. Occasionally we divide up and share the car, while the other couple would do some sight-seeing and walking along the beach close to our resort.
We loved that we did not go into debt on our Hawaii trip and when we returned home, we did not feel like we had to work hard to pay off what we just enjoyed!
If you want to earn 25,000 reward points (by spending $2000 in 3 months) sign up for this American Express card. You can also use your credit card points to redeem for gift cards for your trip (i.e. Starbucks for the airport). Discover is also offering $50 to anyone who signs up and makes ANY purchase within 3 months! Now that’s a deal!
