Time to ride!: Maui, Hawaii on a budget

We decided back in February to do a "late Spring Break" our own and head to Maui, HI for some vacation but also to bring and ride our bikes! Most of us think about Hawaii and imagine a tropical island, beaches, the ocean & scuba diving, fresh fruit with the cost of expensive resorts, expensive dining and a hefty airfare.

Well, you sure can book your flights "as usual" (~$900 round trip/person), bike transport fees (~$300 round trip/person) get a double bedroom in a 3 star hotel for ~$200/night, rent a car for a week (~$400) and all of the sudden you're looking at $4500+ for two people for a week - excluding food expenses! But there are other ways, too and you can save yourself some serious $$$ by planning ahead and take advantage of some deals which are available to everyone - you just have to find them.

Here are a few ways to save yourself some money and still have a great vacation:

Flights: get yourself a Travel Awards Credit Card (CC). Most CC companies offer huge mileage bonuses (30-50K) by signing up for their card. A Round Trip with American Airlines (AA) from AUS > OGG (Maui) runs at around 35K miles and you can get your flight for free that way. Most of their CC comes with zero baggage fees (save $25) and priority boarding, too.
Bike transport: pack your bike in a box/bag which meets airline requirements and you won't get hit with excessive bike fees. AA charges $150 one-way for a bike for domestic travel. We used a Gavilan BFF (or Pika Packworks) padded bag (for my 56cm Tarmac) and a large 34"x26" suitcase (for a 51cm Allez) and never paid any bike bag fees. That saved us $600 (!) total.
getting around: you want to have a rental car while on that island to see some of the neat places around or drive up to the Haleakala Crater to take your time and enjoy the scenery and take photos. BUT, no need to have it all the time if you got your bike. We had a car for only 4 out of the 9 days there and thanks to Priceline and "Name your Own Price" you can get a mid-size care for less than $40/day. Uber is a good alternative, too as they just started to operate in Maui a few month ago. And of course, ride your bike! If you're staying central (Kihei, Kahului) you can ride your road bike to a lot of places like snorkeling in Kihei, Makela or to the Ocean Center/Whale Watching in Maalaea, or to the Sugar Cane Museum just South of Kahului.
Housing: The normal condo rate on Maui in season is around $150-175/night. A 3 or 4-star resort costs you anywhere from $200 to $400/night and you won't find a basic hotel for less than $120 on that island. BUT, there are options like AirBNB where you can get a room, entire apartment or studio for less than $90/night and you have a full kitchen, space for your bikes and access to do laundry etc.
Dining: Maui has some of the best seafood in the world. Hands down. There are a large number of restaurants who offer a wide range of lunch, dinner options. From "normal" priced (i.e. Paia Fish Market) to "Maui expensive" in some of the resort towns/places. But hey, you're on a Pacific island and fresh fish will cost you some. By saving money on the previous items I mentioned it's okay to spend a little extra on fresh food where you know the fish has been caught fresh from the surrounding ocean. Mulligans south of Kihei has some good American/Irish menu, too and with a nice outdoor/bar/patio setting the prices are very manageable. Most places have a Happy Hour (fro food & drinks), too. If you have your own condo or kitchen in an apartment/AirBNB another option is to go to your local grocery store and buy some fresh Poke from the Deli. It's basically a fish dish made/spiced already and goes from $5-10/lb. With a loaf of french bread you can have yourself a really good, healthy, fresh and affordable dinner. And no preparation/cooking needed!

So, with a bit of planning and time spent on finding the right deals that week-long trip to an exotic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is much more realistic and affordable. It also helps to have a "local" on hand who can give you some first-hand tips and suggestions on what to do, what to see, where to eat etc. besides browsing TripAdvisor. Thanks to Spanish/Texan "ExPat" David Arteaga who was our go-to guy while on Maui!

Below are a handful of photos from our trip: