"We are currently flying across the world in order to attend a wedding in Croatia. Departed from Sydney, Australia in April 2024. Instead of taking the usual, more direct routes we decided for the same price or less that we would visit the ‘layover’ countries on the way instead of just flying over them, or sitting in the airport for 6 hours and not getting to enjoy the places our budget flight tracking had led us to."
How we spent $60 USD per day on an extended layover on Oahu, Hawaii 🌺
Pick up $120 hire car outside Dunkin Doughnuts via Turo app.
Start with one of the deadliest hikes in Hawaii and survive.
Go to the beach for a nap and a snorkel.
Meet Couchsurf host and go for fresh poke for $6 at the local supermarket.
Drink 7-11 coffee for $2 and $5 Italian chorizo and egg wraps for breakfast and lunches.
Drive around the whole island, stopping at beaches for rest and swimming with turtles and colorful fish.
Stop at North Shore to watch the surf.
Swim with turtles at Shark Bay (Maybe best snorkel spot in my life!)
Grab a board from Moku for $5 and go surf at world-famous Waikiki beach with 60 other beginners (no I’m not kidding, I counted).
Watch sunset on surf—priceless.
Grab another fresh poke bowl and pack up your bags in the car park before the 5 a.m. flight.
As two people, we spent around $60 USD a day, per person. That covered all food, travel, and accommodation (minus flight costs). I know as a couple we have some perks for being able to split the cost of things such as the car and fuel, but if you are doing this solo I recommend finding a cool Couchsurf host who is available on the days you visit to hang out with. I’m sure they will show you around just as well without having to rent a car! Plus Hawaiian/Americans on the islands are extremely welcoming, happy and friendly people!
If you did want to rent a car and save money at the same time, you can also reach out in Facebook groups such as ‘<insert country here> backpackers’ and find other travelers looking to do the same thing. You can also just save money alone with a rental car by using it as your short term accommodation + If you can’t find a Couchsurf host, you can definitely sleep in the car somewhere beautiful around the island and find toilets and showers all along the North Shore coast.
Now we don’t usually travel like this, fast paced style and we 100% missed out on the culture and history of Hawaii which makes me blue. So we will be making it our mission to return again to discover that side and live with the locals as we usually like to do.
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