Hawaii on a budget

Whether it's flip-flops or air fares you're looking for, we have plenty of ideas for saving money on your Hawaii vacation. Check out our suggestions over the next few pages.

Save on shopping

Be ready for sticker shock in Hawaii, where just about everything costs more than on the mainland. During a winter visit, a bottle of wine I paid $6 for in Seattle was $11 at a corner store; gas was almost $4 a gallon in a rural outpost of the Big Island.

The big-box stores are a cheaper way to go for gas (and groceries). Costco, with stores on Oahu, the Big Island, Maui and Kauai, usually has the lowest-priced gas on the islands, currently about $2.61 a gallon in Honolulu and about 10 cents a gallon more on other islands (you need to be a member to buy it). Wal-Mart, with stores on the major islands, has miles of aisles with cheap prices on beach gear and souvenirs, from macadamia nuts and Kona coffee to Hawaiian shirts.

Discount coupons

Even if you're not a coupon clipper, become one in Hawaii. You can save significantly, especially on tours.

Free visitor magazines are handed out all over the islands. They're full of ads and discount coupons for restaurants, sightseeing, snorkel/scuba tours and more. Some coupons also are available online: I got $15 off a $64 Sea Quest snorkel tour on Hawaii's Big Island with a coupon from its Web site.

Saving on hotels

You can pay anything from $50 a night for a budget motel room to thousands a night for a luxury suite in a beachfront hotel.

Some strategies for finding the right hotel for you:

• Check airlines' or tour companies' packages that include airfare and hotel; it can be an economical way to go.

• The closer you are to the beach, both the hotel/condo complex and the individual room, the more it costs. If you want to stay right on the beach, be aware that "ocean view" can mean a peek-a-boo view from several hundred yards back. Instead, ask for "oceanfront," but double-check how close it really is and see if there's a road between the building and the beach.

• Consider renting a condo instead of a hotel room to get more space plus a kitchen — preparing your own meals can save a lot of money. Find rental companies and owner listings at the Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau site, www.gohawaii.com (click on an individual island, then on "plan your visit" and "where to stay" ) Or check Vacation Rentals by Owner, www.vrbo.com, for thousands of individual owners' listings of vacation condos and houses all over Hawaii.

To see if you like the look of a place, check the online aerial photos of hotels/condo complexes by Wizard Publications, a Hawaii guidebooks publisher. Hundreds of resorts are pictured on the major islands.

The photos show how big a hotel or condo complex is and how close it really is to the ocean or busy roads (owners and agencies sometimes fudge on both), and can help you figure out where your room would be. There also are short reviews and contact information for each resort. To see the photos, go to www.wizardpub.com/main/home.html and click on the island you're interested in under "Resort reviews."

The printed guidebooks to each island, which include "Maui Revealed" and "Ultimate Kauai," also have photos plus lodging reviews.

Hostels, camping, park cabins

On a really tight budget? Hostelling International has a hostel in Honolulu with a dorm bed starting at $16 a night. Private rooms also are available; 808-946-0591 or http://hostelssaloha.com (For other hostels, do a Web search for "Hawaii and hostel." )

Tent camping is the most economical way to stay; there are private campgrounds plus camping areas at county, state and national parks. For an overview go to www.alternative-hawaii.com/accom/dxcc.htm

A few parks also have simple cabins for rent, including the remote, beachfront Wai'anapanapa State Park on Maui. Haleakala National Park, also on Maui, has hike-in backcountry cabins.

Hawaii county parks permit camping, although campers should be aware that homeless people live in vans and tents at some beach parks.

Kristin Jackson: kjackson@seattletimes.com or 206-464-2271