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Travel budget

How much does a trip to Honolulu cost?

What a trip to Honolulu costs, worked out for your days and your party, with every price traced to where it comes from. And then the part most budgets skip: how to actually pay once you are there.

Food, getting around and sights in Honolulu come to $130 – $150 per person per day. Accommodation, flights and the airport transfer are on top. Prices reviewed: November 2026.

Full Honolulu guide

Your trip

How much money you still need

Days, people and how you like to travel decide almost everything. Flights are left out: they depend on where you start.

6 nights

Counted at the child fares each operator publishes.

Travel style

Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.

Accommodation

We have no sample of hotel prices for this city yet, so we will not guess one. Type what you have seen and the lodging tax is worked out from it.

Adjust accommodation, food and the rest

In local currency. We do not estimate this: nobody knows what you will buy.

Already paid for

You still need, flights aside

$1,900 – $2,100

$130 – $150 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people

Expected
$1,900 – $2,100
Most trips land in here
Set aside
$2,100
With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart
$200
10% of the trip
  • Food$1,200 – $1,400
  • Getting around$110
  • Airport, both ways$12
  • Sights and activities$350 – $390
  • Nights out$86 – $220
  • Lodging tax and odds and ends$81 – $92

Of that, in cash: $22 – $230

The cash share is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement. Your own bank may charge on top; this page cannot know that.

  • Accommodation is not in this figure. Add your price per night to include it.
  • Flights are not included.
  • You probably will not spend the cushion. Having it to hand covers a night you had not planned, a taxi, or a changed ticket.
Styles

What a day in Honolulu costs, by how you travel

Per person per day, two travelling, without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer. A style is not a figure: it is a way of eating, getting around and seeing things, and each one is spelled out below.

Budget

$72 – $92 per person per day

Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.

FoodLocal and cheap
$47 – $67
Getting aroundPublic transport
$7.50
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight
$13 – $14
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$3.40 – $4.40

Mid-range

$130 – $150 per person per day

Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.

FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
$83 – $97
Getting aroundPublic transport
$7.50
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day
$25 – $28
Nights outNow and then
$6.20 – $16.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$5.80 – $6.60

Comfort

$180 – $230 per person per day

The best food level we can price, public transport, two paid sights a day.

FoodRestaurants most of the time
$100 – $150
Getting aroundPublic transport
$7.50
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day
$50 – $56
Nights outNow and then
$6.20 – $16.00
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water
$8 – $10

A style's total is not the sum of the extremes of its lines: nobody has a trip where everything comes out cheap, or everything dear. “Sundries” is an assumption of ours, 5% of food, transport and sights, not a measurement.

By length of trip

How much money for 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days in Honolulu

Per person, two travelling together, without accommodation or flights. It is not the daily figure times the days: airport transfers are paid once, so they weigh less the longer you stay.

DaysBudgetMid-rangeComfort
3$220 – $280
$74 – $94 a day		$410 – $460
$140 – $150 a day		$560 – $690
$190 – $230 a day
5$370 – $460
$73 – $93 a day		$650 – $730
$130 – $150 a day		$910 – $1,100
$180 – $220 a day
7$510 – $650
$73 – $93 a day		$930 – $1,100
$130 – $150 a day		$1,300 – $1,600
$180 – $230 a day
10$720 – $920
$72 – $92 a day		$1,300 – $1,500
$130 – $150 a day		$1,800 – $2,300
$180 – $230 a day
14$1,000 – $1,300
$72 – $92 a day		$1,900 – $2,100
$130 – $150 a day		$2,600 – $3,200
$180 – $230 a day

Add your accommodation in the calculator above: it is the largest line and the one we cannot source yet.

Prices

What things cost in Honolulu

Eating and drinking: no official statistic measures what eating out costs here, so these are prices from the menu each place publishes on its own website, and each row says where it comes from. It is a sample, not an average: there are cheaper and dearer places, and tourist areas cost more.

WhatPriceSource
Eating and drinking
Coffee, Rainbow Drive-In$2.50From the source Nov 2026
Kona coffee, Eggs 'n Things$4.95From the source Nov 2026
Breakfast special: one meat, two eggs and rice or toast, Rainbow Drive-In$9.95From the source Nov 2026
Pancakes, Eggs 'n Things$15.00From the source Nov 2026
Meat and eggs, Eggs 'n Things$15.95From the source Nov 2026
Hamburger, Rainbow Drive-In$5.75From the source Nov 2026
Loco moco plate (rice, two patties, two eggs and gravy), Rainbow Drive-In$15.50From the source Nov 2026
Loco moco, Eggs 'n Things$18.95From the source Nov 2026
Mix plate: BBQ beef, boneless chicken and mahi-mahi, Rainbow Drive-In$16.75From the source Nov 2026
Cheeseburger, Duke's Waikiki$23.50From the source Nov 2026
Fish tacos, Duke's Waikiki$29.00From the source Nov 2026
Lunch buffet, Duke's Waikiki$33.00From the source Nov 2026
Draught Coors Light, 16 oz, Duke's Waikiki$9.00From the source Nov 2026
Glass of wine, 6 oz, Duke's Waikiki$13.00From the source Nov 2026
Mai tai, Duke's Waikiki$18.00From the source Nov 2026
Getting around
TheBus, 2-hour fare with a HOLO card$3.00From the source Nov 2026
Daily cap with a HOLO card$7.50From the source Nov 2026
TheBus from the airport (W Line)$3.00From the source Nov 2026
Sights
ʻIolani Palace, self-led audio tour, adult$28.00From the source Nov 2026
Honolulu Museum of Art, adult$25.00From the source Nov 2026
Hanauma Bay, visitor ($25 plus the 2.35% online booking fee)$25.59From the source Nov 2026

Menu prices here exclude tax and tip: the budget adds the 4.712% sales tax to everything, plus a 15%–20% tip on what you eat or drink sitting down, the range the tourism office gives. The tip is a custom, not a measured price.

From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.

What each food level is made of

A food level is not a number we chose. It is two lists of dishes from the table above, a cheap day and a dear one, and the price is the sum.

Local and cheap
From Breakfast special: one meat, two eggs and rice or toast, Rainbow Drive-In + Coffee, Rainbow Drive-In + Hamburger, Rainbow Drive-In × 2 + Loco moco plate (rice, two patties, two eggs and gravy), Rainbow Drive-In ($39.45 on the menu; $47.23 with tax and tip) to Breakfast special: one meat, two eggs and rice or toast, Rainbow Drive-In + Coffee, Rainbow Drive-In + Loco moco plate (rice, two patties, two eggs and gravy), Rainbow Drive-In + Mix plate: BBQ beef, boneless chicken and mahi-mahi, Rainbow Drive-In + Draught Coors Light, 16 oz, Duke's Waikiki ($53.70 on the menu; $66.97 with tax and tip).
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner
From Pancakes, Eggs 'n Things + Kona coffee, Eggs 'n Things + Mix plate: BBQ beef, boneless chicken and mahi-mahi, Rainbow Drive-In + Cheeseburger, Duke's Waikiki + Draught Coors Light, 16 oz, Duke's Waikiki ($69.20 on the menu; $82.84 with tax and tip) to Loco moco, Eggs 'n Things + Kona coffee, Eggs 'n Things + Loco moco plate (rice, two patties, two eggs and gravy), Rainbow Drive-In + Fish tacos, Duke's Waikiki + Draught Coors Light, 16 oz, Duke's Waikiki ($77.40 on the menu; $96.53 with tax and tip).
Restaurants most of the time
From Meat and eggs, Eggs 'n Things + Kona coffee, Eggs 'n Things + Cheeseburger, Duke's Waikiki + Fish tacos, Duke's Waikiki + Glass of wine, 6 oz, Duke's Waikiki ($86.40 on the menu; $103 with tax and tip) to Loco moco, Eggs 'n Things + Kona coffee, Eggs 'n Things + Lunch buffet, Duke's Waikiki + Fish tacos, Duke's Waikiki + Mai tai, Duke's Waikiki + Glass of wine, 6 oz, Duke's Waikiki ($117 on the menu; $146 with tax and tip).
Getting around

The most a day of public transport costs

  • With the city's transport card, a day of public transport never costs more than $7.50: the cap applies by itself.
Accommodation

What the night costs, and the tax on top

There is no open source of hotel prices, and we have not sampled this city yet. So the calculator asks you for the price you have seen instead of printing one that looks plausible.

Lodging tax

    • 18.853% of the room price
Saving

What saves money in Honolulu

Each line is a subtraction done with the prices on this page. No tricks: just the sum.

What saves

  • Eating “Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner” instead of “Restaurants most of the time”: $21 – $49 less per person per day.
  • Eating “Local and cheap” instead of “Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner”: $30 – $36 less per person per day.
  • “Loco moco plate (rice, two patties, two eggs and gravy), Rainbow Drive-In” ($15.50) instead of “Loco moco, Eggs 'n Things” ($18.95): $3.45 less each time.
  • “Breakfast special: one meat, two eggs and rice or toast, Rainbow Drive-In” ($9.95) instead of “Pancakes, Eggs 'n Things” ($15.00): $5.05 less each time.
Paying

Payments and tipping in the United States

What holds for the whole country: whether to tip.

Tipping

RestaurantsCustomary
Bars and cafésCustomary
HotelsCustomary
TaxisCustomary

If something goes wrong

The numbers and where to go, as the official source publishes them.

Police
911
Fire and ambulance
911

What applies to any trip: before you go, and if you lose your card

Questions

Questions about money in Honolulu

How much money do you need for a week in Honolulu?

For seven days, $930 – $1,100 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.

How much money do you need for 3 days in Honolulu?

For 3 days, $410 – $460 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.

What is a realistic daily budget in Honolulu?

Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: $72 – $92 on the “Budget” style, $130 – $150 on the “Mid-range” style, and $180 – $230 on the “Comfort” style.

Can you travel to Honolulu on a budget?

The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: $72 – $92 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.

How much does food cost in Honolulu?

From $47 per person per day (“Local and cheap”) to $150 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.

How much does transport cost in Honolulu?

A ride on public transport costs $3.00. With the city's transport card, a day of public transport never costs more than $7.50: the cap applies by itself.

Is there a lodging tax in Honolulu?

Yes: 18.853% of the room price.

How much cash should you carry in Honolulu?

For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about $11 – $120 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.

Do you tip in Honolulu?

Restaurants: customary. Bars and cafés: customary. Hotels: customary. Taxis: customary.

Sources

Where every figure comes from

Each price on this page carries its source. These are all of them. Prices reviewed: November 2026.

The rest of Honolulu

In the app

This page tells you how much to take. The app keeps count of what you spend.

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