When is the least expensive time to visit

Generally, the least expensive time to visit Kauai is when school is in session. You can usually find good airfare, hotel or vacation rental prices, and car rental rates during school months and outside of holidays. This means September, October, and early November, as well as late January, February, late April, and early May. Prices start to climb in later May and remain higher in the summer months. They are the highest during the Christmas holiday.

When to book your flight

When planning a vacation that requires flights, which of course Hawaii does, you may ask when is the best time to book to ensure you’re getting the best airfare. The answer varies, but I’d suggest at least a month and probably not more than 3 months before you’re traveling. We use Google Flights to research flight prices. If you’re flexible, you could look at the calendar of prices on Google Flights without selecting a date. This tool, in case you’ve not used it, enables you to see the prices if you fly to your destination (in this case, LIH, or Lihue Airport) on each date. You can look forward to find the timeframe you’re considering and figure out what the least expensive days of the week are, and what the lowest cost is.

For example, below is a screenshot of a quick search I conducted in late September. My starting airport is Denver and the calendar shows flight prices for October and November. You’ll see the prices are under $350 round trip if I travel at least three weeks in the future. If I choose a specific date, the tool will then display the prices for return flights on dates in the future. I can then select the days that best meet my schedule and are the lowest cost. This is a great way to find the least expensive flights. And, as you can see, you could book as little as three weeks in advance and still get good prices.

Where to rent a car on a budget

Yes, you need to rent a car when visiting Kauai – or any other Hawaiian island. We can’t recommend this strongly enough. You’ll spend significantly less on a car rental than on Ubers or even bus rides. And you’ll spend less time waiting for a ride and more time enjoying your vacation. So when planning your Kauai trip, be sure to include car rental costs in your budget.

Now, renting a car doesn’t have to break the bank. There are a plethora of options you can explore. The best option may be Turo, the Airbnb of car rentals. If you’ve never used Turo, it’s pretty simple. You’re renting someone’s car in the same way you rent someone’s home on VRBO or Airbnb. You’ll need to create an account, provide your driver’s license information, and ideally carry good car insurance of your own that covers Turo rentals. (We have State Farm, and it’s included.) We recommend you contact your own insurance carrier to ask if it covers peer-to-peer car sharing. Turo car rentals can run as low as $20 per day, making it a lower cost option.

The downside? First, you’ll have to catch a shuttle to the Turo pick up area in Lihue about 15-20 minutes from the airport, which is less convenient than the big car rental agencies located on the airport property. Second, you’ll need to clean the rental vehicle before you return it. This means vacuuming the sand that will no doubt accumulate if you visit the beach during your stay.

Another good rental option is Costco, which often has much lower rates than you’ll find at the rental agencies. Don’t have a Costco membership? We actually strongly encourage you to get one if you plan to spend a week or longer on Kauai and are traveling with your family. Why? There’s a Costco on the island that has by far the best grocery and gas prices on the island. Check out our Grocery Hacks for more. You could more than pay for the membership fee between the car rental savings and grocery savings in one week-long stay.

Where to stay on a budget

There are several budget-friendly ways to stay on Kauai. Our favorite way to book is by renting timeshares through RedWeek.com. The site enables you to search for usually week-long stays (though you can find shorter stays as well) offered by timeshare owners who can’t use their weeks. The biggest benefit to booking through RedWeek is that you have access to condos with full kitchens and often laundry facilities, pools, and other resort amenities without the hefty costs of hotels and even vacation rentals through Airbnb or VRBO. RedWeek rentals are listed at full prices. So if the list price is $1,500 for a week, that’s what you’ll pay, with no added cleaning fees, rental fees, or taxes.

The downside to booking through RedWeek is that you have less date flexibility, meaning you usually need to check in on a weekend, which can add to your flight cost if you fly in or out on a Saturday or Sunday. If you want to spend a little extra time on Kauai, you could fly in on Friday, stay in a lower cost hotel that night, then check into the timeshare on Saturday.

Here are some budget-friendly options available through RedWeek:

South Shore Options:

• The Point at Poipu starting at $189 per night or $1,465 total for a 2-bedroom (sleeps 6)
• Lawai Beach Resort starting at $179 per night or $1,385 total for a 1-bedroom (sleeps 4)

East Shore Options:

• Pono Kai starting at $143 per night or $1,110 total for a 1-bedroom (sleeps 4) or $155 per night or $1,204 total for a 2-bedroom (sleeps 6)
• Kauai Beach Villas starting at $143 per night or $999 total for a 1-bedroom (sleeps 4) or $157 per night or $1,099 total for a 2-bedroom (sleeps 6)

North Shore Options:

• Club Wyndham Bali Hai Resort starting at $164 per night or $1,275 total for a 2-bedroom (sleeps 6)
• Club Wyndham Ka ‘Eo Kai Resort starting at $200 per night or $1,330 total for a 1-bedroom (sleeps 4)

Where to eat on a budget

Eating on Kauai can be expensive. Grocery prices often run at least 50% higher and often much, much higher than mainland prices. The only exception is Costco. We find Costco prices relatively comparable to the mainland, so we cannot recommend strongly enough that you plan to shop at Costco for meat, seafood, bread, vegetables, fruit, and snacks, if you’re staying for more than 5 nights and have a kitchen. If you’re not staying that long or want some smaller quantities, we recommend shopping at Safeway. See our grocery hacks for more tips on how to maximize savings and minimize time spent grocery shopping.

When you want to dine out on Kauai, here are spots where you can eat for $15 or less.

North Shore Dining on a Budget:

• The food truck park in Hanalei has numerous food options at lower prices than restaurants in town. Want some beer, wine, or other adult beverage while you eat? Stop into the Hanalei Liquor Store next to the food truck park for single cans of beer or bottles of wine.
• Take advantage of happy hour at Kalypso. It starts daily at 3:00-5:30, and is all day on Wednesdays. You can get $9 nachos, chicken wings, or calamari, and $13 coconut shrimp, plus $4 beer drafts and $9 mai tais.
• Get a pizza at Tahiti Nui. The pizzas are big enough for two, and are a bargain compared to other food entrees available.
• Grab takeout burgers or barbecue from Chicken in a Barrel in Ching Young Village in Hanalei (there’s also a location in Kapa’a on the East Shore).

East Shore Dining on a Budget:

• Eat breakfast at the Tip Top diner in Lihue.
• Grab lunch at the food truck park in Kapa’a which, like Hanalei, has numerous food options at lower prices.
• Eat at Bubba’s for a good burger at a good price.
• Grab some fish tacos at Paco’s Tacos in Kapa’a.
• Go to The Fish Express in Lihue for fresh ahi poke.
• Eat at Kauai Beer Company for some local craft beer and good food at a lower cost. Happy Hour from 2-5pm daily includes $9 burgers.

South Shore Dining on a Budget:

• Kauai Kookie for breakfast or lunch in Kalaheo.
• Lawai Market for Sunday dinner , Taco Tuesday, or Friday pizzas.
• Porky’s Kauai in Koloa for barbecue and sandwiches.
• Grab some tacos at Da Crack Mexican Grinds near the Shops at Kukui’ula in Poipu.
• Try the coconut shrimp at Savage Shrimp in the Shops at Kukui’ula in Poipu.

Let us know how your trip goes!

We hope this guide helps you plan an affordable visit to Kauai. We’d love to hear about your experience and if you have any other tips or advice we should share. Thanks as always for reading!