Hawaii

What’s the cheapest Hawaiian island to visit?

Published

1 hour ago

July 21, 2024

What’s the cheapest Hawaiian island to visit?

Hawaii isn’t known as a cheap destination, but if you’re set on visiting the Aloha state, choosing the right island can make a big difference in the cost of your trip. If you’re looking to save on a trip to Hawaii, head to the island of Oahu.

Of the four main Hawaiian islands for tourism — Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island — Oahu is the cheapest Hawaiian island to visit by multiple metrics. Oahu has the lowest daily average hotel room rate of the islands and the lowest average daily spending per tourist, according to May 2024 data from the Hawai’i Tourism Authority.

The cost of hotel rooms on Oahu

Though the average room rate in May 2024 across all of Hawaii was $342, Oahu hotel rooms average about 21% less, coming in at $272. That translates to about $70 per night less than the average.

In a breakdown of average daily room rates in May 2024 by island, Oahu shines.

One reason for Oahu’s lowest average room rate? The island also has the biggest supply. In fact, Oahu had more than double the number of hotel room nights than Maui, the next closest contender.

Even when broken down by hotel class, Oahu still has the most affordable room rates across every level, from economy and midscale to luxury options.

Midscale and economy rooms in Oahu cost $151 per night on average. That’s 30% less than the average price for the same class of room across the entire state. And if you have a penchant for the finer things in life, you’ll save on Oahu, too. In fact, you could save about $223 per night by choosing to vacation at a luxury hotel in Oahu versus Maui.

Oahu, like other islands, offers opportunities to book stays using hotel points and credit card rewards. For example, Oahu is the only island with a Hampton Inn & Suites outpost, a midscale brand where you can redeem Hilton Honors points — and avoid pesky resort fees on award bookings.

One of Oahu’s most famous luxury hotels, the historic Moana Surfrider, a Westin Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach, can be booked using Marriott Bonvoy points. Those can be earned through Marriott credit cards as well as general travel credit cards that accrue points that transfer to Marriott.

On the other side of the island sits another famous property, Turtle Bay Resort. The luxury hotel will soon become a Marriott property when it’s rebranded as The Ritz-Carlton O’ahu, Turtle Bay in August 2024.

The cost of activities on Oahu

More goes into a vacation budget than just a hotel. There’s food, tours, ground transportation and souvenirs. And once again, travelers arriving by air spend less per day on Oahu than any other island.

Across all trip expenditures (including lodging), Oahu is the best bargain in average daily spending per person in May 2024, according to a separate study by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority.

So why is spending on Oahu lower than on other islands? Not only are there more hotels, but also more restaurants and other types of businesses. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, Honolulu County in Oahu had more than 21,000 businesses in 2020, while Maui County in Maui had fewer than 5,000. The increased competition lowers prices for consumers.

There’s also just a lot of free and cheap stuff to do on Oahu. Many of the top activities — including visiting the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, lounging on Waikiki Beach and hiking the Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse Trail — are free. It costs just $5 per person to enter Diamond Head State Monument (though it’s an additional $10 for parking).

And because of Honolulu’s robust bus network and walkability, it’s easy to get around Honolulu without a rental car. For places more difficult to get to, it’s possible to rent a car for just a day or rely on rideshare services like Uber or Lyft.

There are plenty of ways to save on a Hawaiian vacation. Start by finding affordable flights to Hawaii’s cheapest island, Oahu. The higher concentration of hotels and businesses means more affordable options.

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Sally French writes for NerdWallet. Email: sfrench@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @SAFmedia.

The article What’s the Cheapest Hawaiian Island to Visit? originally appeared on NerdWallet.

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Hawaii

David Letterman headlines Biden fundraiser with Hawaii gov on July 29

Published

9 hours ago

July 21, 2024

Press Room

David Letterman headlines Biden fundraiser with Hawaii gov on July 29

David Letterman (left) and Joe Biden. AFP PHOTOS

HONOLULU — David Letterman will headline a fundraiser with President Joe Biden in 10 days with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a sign that his campaign is forging ahead despite continued calls for the president to bow out of the 2024 race.

The fundraiser on July 29 will be at the home of a family friend on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Green told The Associated Press Friday. It will feature the longtime late-night host, plus Biden and first lady Jill Biden. The campaign has at least 10 other fundraising events over the last 10 days of July.

Letterman helmed CBS’ “Late Show” for 22 seasons. The event comes as other celebrities like George Clooney, director Rob Reiner and Stephen King have called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 race, following his disastrous debate performance on June 27. There’s also been growing concern over continued fundraising support after anxious donors expressed serious worries about his performance and the future of the party.

Biden insists he is the best person to beat Donald Trump and is not stepping away. On Friday, Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19 at his Rehoboth Beach home, called for party unity and sought to shift the focus back to Donald Trump’s agenda.

He said he was looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to challenge the Republican’s claims, “while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone.”

“The stakes are high, and the choice is clear,” he said. “Together, we will win.”

Green is hosting the event as a growing number of lawmakers have expressed doubts over Biden’s candidacy. A person familiar with the plans initially told the AP the fundraiser would be at Green’s home, but Green later clarified that it belonged to a family friend. Green has known the Biden family for years — his wife’s uncle was Biden’s college roommate — and he said the decision whether or not to leave the race has to come from Biden himself.

Green told the AP, “We support the President, the V.P. and the Democratic Party, in good and tough times because he has been there for us as a family and a state.”

Green has been governor of Hawaii since 2022, managing the state through the devastating wildfires last summer.

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Hawaii

Lasoon brings authentic Nepalese and Indian fast food to Hawaii

Published

16 hours ago

July 20, 2024

Press Room

Lasoon brings authentic Nepalese and Indian fast food to Hawaii

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Nepalese and Indian eatery Lasoon has won over Honolulu residents with its fast, casual concept.

Founded in 2018 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus, Lasoon built a reputation for serving authentic, quick, and flavorful South Asian dishes. It just opened its second location at Pearlridge Center.

Co-owner Niraj Maskey and Chef Prakash Bhattarai joined HNN’s Sunrise to showcase some of their popular items, including savory chicken curry, rich butter chicken, a range of Tandoori items, and various vegetarian and vegan options.

Lasoon’s unique approach allows customers to enjoy traditional Nepalese and Indian cuisine without the long wait times typically associated with such dishes.

“We offer our food express style, so customers don’t have to wait too long. All our curries are ready, so they can see what they like and order it,” says Maskey.

Niraj Maskey and Prakash Bhattarai from Lasoon showcase their tandoori chicken, chicken tikka kabob, lamb kabob and naan breads.

The UH location is at Paradise Palms Food Court, 2560 McCarthy Mall.

For more information, visit lasoonhawaii.com, the Lasoon Hawaii Facebook page, or Instagram at @lasoonpearlridgecenter.

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Hawaii

State officials issue evacuation orders as Hawaiian wildfire threatens hundreds of homes — ripping through over a mile of land

Published

23 hours ago

July 20, 2024

Press Room

State officials issue evacuation orders as Hawaiian wildfire threatens hundreds of homes — ripping through over a mile of land

Not even a year after a historic wildfire that devastated the island of Maui in Hawai’i, residents on another of the state’s islands were put under an evacuation order earlier this week as a blaze put around 200 homes at risk.

What happened?

The rural island of Kauai witnessed a huge wildfire between Hanapepe and Kaumakani that put residents and businesses at risk.

According to the Guardian, firefighters were able to contain the blaze, but 1.56 square miles of land was destroyed, as well as one building.

The incident would have been triggering for the island nation’s residents, who would have been aware of and likely affected by the wildfire on Maui in August 2023, which killed over 100 people and displaced thousands. Approximately 3,000 buildings were destroyed, too.

Why is this wildfire event so concerning?

Considering the damage caused on Maui, the threat of wildfires is all too real for Hawaiians.

According to analysis from Clay Trauernicht for the University of Hawai’i, shared by NBC News, fire frequency has been rising since the 1990s. The outlet’s report noted that as much land has been burned on the island in the last five years as the previous 20 combined.

Allyson Earl, a fire researcher for the Hawai’i Wildfire Management Organization and the University of Hawai’i, told the publication that frequent and large fires are “now our new normal.”

With Hawaiian islands now featuring more flammable grasses because of invasive species and dry seasons becoming longer and drier as a result of global heating, these threats will only magnify if not dealt with appropriately.

What’s being done to prevent wildfires?

According to NBC News, wildfire preparations are being taken more seriously by the state, while organizations are trying to get the spread of flammable, invasive grasses under control — despite pushback from some landowners.

On a macro level, we all need to reduce the production of planet-warming pollution. Pollution exacerbates extreme weather events that increase the likelihood of wildfires, such as droughts.

We can achieve that by relying less on gas-guzzling cars, switching to pollution-free sources of energy, and by curbing our consumption of meat — which contributes to both high levels of pollution and results in land loss for the purposes of livestock grazing.

Wildfires aren’t just a risk to Hawaiians, either. They are a worldwide issue, from the Americas to Europe, and Asia to Oceania. We should all be concerned about our role in making them more common and severe, and making small lifestyle changes can deliver huge results.

For example, a study from clothing reseller ThredUp found that 22.8 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent can be reduced for every pound of clothes bought secondhand.

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