about budgeting: is it really cheaper to cook or go out?

everyone is different and has different priorities. i see visitors who spend hours cooking their meals on their vacation, and others go out for every meal. some just rent hotel rooms, others spend the extra money to get a condo in which they can cook. so my thoughts are these and i welcome the thoughts and ideas you may have on that subject.

if you only have a few days on each island, perhaps it is best to rent just a room to sleep in and make best use of your time to explore. it there are more than 2 (i.e. a family) it may be cheaper to cook some simple reicipes in a little kitchen. if you are restricted to a certain diet it may be best to prepare your meals in the hotel/condo.

for budgeting i would take out some prepared meals form a supermarket or explore the mall food courts. i find cooking for two in hawaii a waste fo time specially if you have limited time here.

ok, give me heck or give me ideas that i can pass on, specially give other travelers ideas for quickly prepared meals.

about budgeting: is it really cheaper to cook or go out?

We rent a small condo (2 of us) just because it%26#39;s less cramped and more pleasant to have a living area beyond just a bed.

We stock up on canned sodas, breakfast cereal and coffee at Wally World, and hit a Sunshine Market for fruit. We do breakfast in the condo except for one morning. (I have to have my banana pancakes at least once.) On the way to the beach we%26#39;ll stop at Subway for sandwiches, maybe some chips, and pack them into a cooler along with our own sodas to have for lunch. (We%26#39;ve found that the subs hold up better in the cooler than sandwiches.) We don%26#39;t cook dinner, but dinner might be pizza or other take-out from local places, or we might go to a ';sit-down'; restaurant.. We splurge one night per couple of weeks at a really nice restaurant.

If you have access to a grill, or at least a broiler, you can do really good chicken marinated just in lime juice and ginger. Leave it marinate overnight, or at least most of the day.

about budgeting: is it really cheaper to cook or go out?

We are leaving to go too Oahu in 9 days. There are 5 of us going and 3 are teens who eat all the time,(our room has a kitchen )so I%26#39;m taking a suitcase full of food like poptarts,snackbars, cereal, kraft dinner and instant potatoes. Then when we get there I will see if I can fined someplace that sells the mapleleaf roast that are ready in 10 min and maybe T.V dinners.If I can keep the cost down from eating out all the time then there will be a little more money to spend on other things.

When the suitcase is empty then I have a place to put everything that I bought into it to bring back.

Hope this helps some.

We eat out for most of our meals however we also will use the hotel grills for a few meals during our visits. We don%26#39;t get Parker Ranch beef at home so a grilled filet from there is a treat, as is fresh seafood. We are on vacation and part of that is not having to cook or clean up after. Of course we are not in Hawaii to save a few bucks..lol

I bring snacks when I travel, but I am not a big eater, so I don%26#39;t purchase groceries for meals.

I budget the majority of my trip at home, once I have my expenses covered, I feel free to spend on vacation, and tend to eat what ever appeals to me at the moment. Eating local food is part of the experience, I wouldn%26#39;t want to miss.

We are going to Maui next May and plan on staying in a 2B/2B condo for 8 days. There will be 4 of us, so having the extra room is what we want. Plus, my husband has food allergies so I plan on having breakfast in the condo each morning. We will also prepare some lunches in the condo and will probably grill some fish for dinner a couple of nights. This will help save on the dining bill, but we do plan on eating out for several meals. I%26#39;m looking forward to shopping the local farmers market to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies too. But then I love to cook, so I don%26#39;t see it as taking away from our experience there. With someone who has food allergies, you just never know when food gets cross contaminated until it%26#39;s too late and the reaction has started. Unfortunately, he doesn%26#39;t always get to try local food because we just don%26#39;t know what%26#39;s in it....but I have no trouble trying new things and he really enjoys it when I find something new that I love.

You just have to figure out what works for you. Gourmet meals don%26#39;t have to be complicated. Marinating adds lots of flavor as do finishing sauces. Grilling, broiling or baking fish, chicken or beef can be wonderful meals and I%26#39;m sure that everything just tastes better in Hawaii!!!! :)