Jailer

Speaking of trinkets, from a recent foray into Paia, it now graces our library

Eastbay1K

To keep things on topic, were they ridiculously unaffordable But my first thought was that these are Hawaiian Rorschach tests. And what I see are lampshades decorated with lots of salmon roe colored for Easter

Jailer

Handblown Italian-style glass and using my new Maui currency, it cost three weeks in our timeshare: 21 TS shekels. Put another way, almost a thousand days riding on the Maui bus.

josephstern

I went to that glass factory in Haili'imaile and I was truly blown away (had to) by the prices. Way off the charts. Never seen anything like that. But lots of gorgeous pieces.

RedPanda5

Me thinks if your house has a library then you can probably afford to travel to hawaii

My two cents are that it's all relative, I live in SF and most things on Oahu (have 2nd home there) are the same or cheaper - with the exclusion being fresh fruit and veg.

Maui though is insane, I stayed at the Marriott Wailea Beach Resort on points and let me say I wouldn't pay the asking rate... (>$2k night in Jan 2022, seems to have come down a bit but still experience not commensurate with the price IMO)

Jailer

It ain�t Downton Abbey

it ain�t Eaton Place, but we muddle through, but I can�t imagine Hudson and Mrs Bridges living in the 450 sq foot pool house.

like Maui, it was affordable 30+ years ago, now ridiculously expensive. If we bought the house today not only would we not be going to Maui, but we�d be living on Mac N Cheese�at least until the bank foreclosed. .

Eastbay1K

Agreed. Last year, I overheard someone on the phone (in Honolulu) complaining about how expensive everything was. And what I first thought was "are you only buying milk and eggs?" From a tourist F&B perspective, SF is just as expensive, if not more so. Sales tax is about half, gasoline is substantially less.

I've not been to an outer island in several years, and might plotz

josephstern

How about this: on Reddit, people on Maui discuss how Whole Foods can be the least expensive option for groceries (at times). That really tells you something.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MauiVisitor...shops_in_maui/

mtofell

I live in Maui and am familiar with all the stores talked about. I somewhat disagree with OP or at least can explain part of their problem. Inflation lately has driven up prices everywhere. If they went back to where they moved from they'd be shocked. As are all the people that didn't move... going to the grocery store is a shock these days. Yes, things are more expensive here but not nearly as bad as everyone thinks. Fruits and veggies are the main one. Dairy is a bit more too. You do need to be smart through since stores will gouge.

I buy 90% of my food at Costco and Walmart. Then, supplement and buy a few things at Times in Kihei (kind of a small/mid size locals-type grocery store). Avoid Safeway at all costs except on $5 Friday. I get back to the mainland once a month or so and keep an eye on food prices there and overall I'd estimate food here is 10-15% more in Maui than on the mainland (Oregon).

josephstern

If I lived there I feel like every time I came to the mainland, I'd return with three pieces of luggage full from Trader Joe's.

RedPanda5

Whole foods is def the cheapest at times bc their prime sales are national vs regional (safeway etc)

We end up buying most of our food at costco (dairy + eggs + protein), chinatown (fruit + veg), farmers market (fruit +veg) when on island

Kacee

Cost of living is insanely high in the Bay Area, including particularly dining out, and I don't find Hawaii food prices particularly shocking. But I understand this thread to be focused on costs for visitors, particularly lodging, and on that score, Hawaii falls at the very bottom of the price/value scale. Airfare to the islands can also be very very expensive these days, especially for premium cabin. Oh for the days when I could score $400 RTs on UA from SFO with near certainty of a CPU as a 1K.

747FC

First class airfare is so expensive, it proves that there are lots of people who are purchasing it.

I was just pricing out possible travel to IAH on UA�s terrible high density 777s. The price was insane. For just a bit more, I can fly in much better cabins internationally.

iahphx

It's crazy to pay for FC to Hawaii from the West Coast. I flew the evening UA flight from SFO to Maui. If you are not paying for your lodging, that flight is the one to take, as people avoid the needless extra lodging expenditure. Upgraded as a 1K to FC. With empty middle seats in the back, little to no benefit to me. With my status, I would have gotten better food and equal drink in the back.

747FC

I agree it is crazy, but admit to insanity. I'm too old and cranky to not fly F or J whenever I can. I'll do it interisland as well. Lunacy, I know.

I'm so cranky about the state of J seating, in large part because I was spoiled rotten flying UA 747 Global First in 1AB, Best seats and space in the sky.

BTW, I mistakenly said IAD in the post above. I corrected it to IAH.