Hi,
I'm heading off to Hawaii next week (it's my first trip to the US ever!) and I was wondering if anyone knows where to get some cheap office clothes, outdoors stuff, Lego, and food over there? and what kinds of (junk) foods are good to try over there?
Any help and any other random travel advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
So Neil, if someone has a Costco membership, they can use it in the us too?
Certainly can.
From memory they use a /7 or /9 code at the checkout.
If in doubt have their customer service verify it because it can be done and the checkout staff arent always clued up on it.
CS will ring head office if they have to.
Thanks
I unfortunately don't have costco membership. Are the discounts great in the US with it? I already checked and you have to buy membership here (since you live here) so a cheaper US membership is out :(
Awesome! I am going to visit the Big Island and Oahu (will have a car to drive around).
Yeah the US is known for its junk food and sometimes they come up with some interesting stuff! I will definitely give those places a try - thanks neil!
Definitely go to the Premium Outlet Mall in Waikele.
Some of the outlet stores there are as follows -
A|X Armani Exchange, Adidas, Banana Republic, Calvin Klein, Coach, Gap Outlet, Guess, LeSportsac, Michael Kors, Polo Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, Tommy Bahama, Tommy Hilfiger, True Religion Brand Jeans, and more. (Copied and pasted from their site)
http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=29
You can catch the bus there, get a shuttle or drive as you stated you have a car.
Make sure you sign up as a VIP and print out their coupon booklet as there are even more savings to be had there.
I travel to HI every other year and going to Costco is a must; that said Costco on the mainland is cheaper but if you aren't traveling to the mainland, Costco HI craps all over Costco AU! Costco membership grants you entry into any Costco store in the world.
One of the greatest advantages of Costco is if you buy it in HI and you have an issue with it down the track, you can return the product to MEL, SYD or CBR! I recently returned an item I bought in HI to the MEL store and was refunded based on that day's exchange rate no questions asked!
Ala Moana Shopping Centre is very tourist oriented hence better shopping can be found in the outer "suburb" shopping centres in Aiea, Pearl City etc.
Thanks for the tips carlenet! Much appreciated!
Cool - what kind of bargains can you find at Costco US? Do you think it will be worth the $60 AUD membership fee?
Everything and anything. Items change just as regularly as in AU. The clothes are great value and top brands. Children's swimwear was also fantastic value. I bought a Keurig coffee machine and absolutely love it! Watches, jewellery, sunglasses are all well priced but definitely do your research for large purchases. Food is fantastic as too the alcohol, much better than duty free if you plan on drinking while in HI. Also if you are a vitamin taker, stock up!
Pop onto costco.com and take a look as many of the items are also available in store. Also close to when you go check the website for the latest coupon savings.
+1 on the Waikele outlet mall, bought a heap of stuff there the day the aussie dollar hit 1-1. If you're looking for nice mens t-shirts\shirts, go to Hollister in the main mall in Honolulu, great quality t-shirts and they usually have some kind of 2-1 or 2 for $30 deal. As for the Big Island, food wise just head to the food strip along the waterfront, can't go wrong (there's also a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., get your photo with Forrest out the front…), Agree with Carlenet, it's not as cheap in Hawaii as the mainland.
Biggest tip is to go over with hand luggage and buy things there (ie. don't bring runners or jeans if you plan to buy new ones!)
L&L Hawaiian BBQ has the most delicious short-ribs and it's cheap too. There are outlets everywhere.
If you like Japanese food, Todai Buffet is pretty good. Lots of seafood, Japanese food and yummy desserts. It's at 1910 Ala Moana Blvd.
Get a plate lunch of garlic shrimp from one of the many shrimp trucks on the North Shore.
Nuuanu Pali Lookout has amazing views.
Yes! Todai was the great sushi buffet. If you pick up the guides/magazines there will be discounts to a lot of the restaurants around there.
Regarding Costco, the $60 membership fee is refundable at any time within the year. There is nothing stopping you from getting a membership before you go and getting a refund when you get back. I believe the only caveat is that you won't be able to sign up for a membership again for another 12 months.
Awesome! I will definitely give this buffet a try!
Re: costco. Hmm that feels so dodgy though! Is that supposed to be their satisfaction guarantee?
FYI, I find Lego has very standardised international pricing, so importing doesn't usually get you anywhere.
If you suffer from hayfever be sure to stock up on antihistamines
much cheaper to buy the generic brands in the USA than here
I added Hawaii to the title, as the bargains there can often be very different to the mainland US. Just like Tassie, where freight adds to the cost and also not all retailers are present there.
BTW while many purchases can be cheaper in the US, one issue is value of the savings vs the weight you can bring back. Spirits are quite cheap and you can (on the mainland) buy 1.75L plastic bottles of reasonable brand bourbon, vodka, rum for as low as $12 a bottle. These fit well into checked on baggage, being plastic, they can survive baggage handlers antics.
But that will take up the same weight as 2-3 pairs of jeans.
Look also at the chain stores like Target Kmart where specials and house brands are quite cheap. That said the US is best for brand name goods where the price differential isnt as great as here. Generics here in Oz are quite cheap in relation. We can have a 5-6X differential whereas in the US 3X is more the go, and they have more sales of meaning rather than here.
For a trip like this - Costco to me isnt the way to go. I am an Costco member here and was while I lived in the US, we used it once on our last 4 week mainland visit. Deals were better in regular stores (on sale of course). For bulk food and weighty items and one off specials they are great - as long as the one off special suits you at the time. If you are likely to visit Costco here then yes, its probably worth it, where you can pick up US like food items you might get to like when you are there. Eg Rootbeer
As for vitamins, see my Vitacost posting here in the forums, where shipping for 3LB is only $7 and you can get more stock fresh as you go, and discounted over US RRP. So I wouldn't bother stocking up on vitamins, use your baggage allowance for other stuff. We now buy vitamins etc from the US which is cheaper with shipping, than we bought in shops in the US, and as I said Hawaii is often more expensive that the mainland. And you save your weight allowance for other great goodies
Aloha
ozpete you bring up some good points re weight! I will keep this in mind as I go on my shopping sprees! Hmm I hope weight is not going to be an issue! I bought 40 kg of luggage from Jetstar on the way back because I anticipated the massive shopping trip!
Anyone know where to pick up a cheap suitcase? or something better/lighter than a regular suitcase (~5kg)?
For cheap suit cases, go to the ROSS dress for less stores. There are several on Oahu. I went to the three (the one in Waikiki, the one near Walmart and the one at Pearl Ridge) They all had Samsonite carry ons for about $60. They one at Pearl Ridge also had large and medium suit cases by Samsonite, Swiss Army and Nautica for $60-$70 (RRP $250-300). ROSS also have heaps of cheap brand name clothese.
Quote : "I bought 40 kg of luggage from Jetstar on the way back because I anticipated the massive shopping trip!"
and thats why on my RTW trip I came home via a cruise ship!
mind you I was carry a huge hairy spider halloween decoration because you can do that with a big luggage allowance
shame the spider was stolen by a six year old
(and no this is not some nonsensical post - it really happened!)
I've just come back from Oahu. It was great!
Pretty much everything I was going to suggest has already been mentioned. For luggage I picked up up a large sports bag at the international markets waikiki (some cheap items there but some vendors hassle you) for about $20 and carry on luggage is about $10 at walmart (a must see).
If you go to waikele outlets, get the $5 'pg glover' bus if you arent driving there. They have good service and give you the discount coupons which you can double dip with.
Ala moana is great but most shops I found weren't that cheap besides the ecko store. The food on the top level is great too we went to a place I think was called island burger, Bob the waiter there was so friendly. And Bubba Gump shrimp co was great.
And dont go on any 'free' tours or breakfasts as they are all just trying to sell stuff to you or make you buy timeshare.
And dont bother with duty free…once you get there you will know why. If I had known customs werent going to go through our bags, I would have bought so much more booze back (eg, 1.75L Jack Daniels $30 at Walmart!)
If you go on any tours, I can recommend Royal Star tours…Cousin Jerry was so friendly and knowledgeable. Hopefully we go back before he retires! http://www.royalstarhawaii.com/ is their site
My favourite place to shop. They have all the brands at heavily reduced prices. I believe they sell last season, which I think would be this season here. Some things that we have picked up are Levi jeans for under $15, Guess t-shirts and jeans for under 20, brand sunglasses under 20, big brand handbags are very cheap, wallets, shoes. My family literally buy thousands of dollars worth of shoes, clothing, handbags, sunglasses for hundreds. Oh and the most convenient one to Waikiki is right across the road from Walmart, which is out the back of Ala Moana.
Thanks for all the tips guys! I will definitely take all your helpful advice and suggestions on board! :)
Leonard's Bakery!!!! nuff said.
How was the trip?
It was a bit of a disaster actually :( My camera broke down as soon as I got out of Kona airport, security had sawn off my suitcase zipper (not the $2 lock attached to it :( - I went and got TSA locks after that from Walmart!), and that was only the beginning :(
But it wasn't all bad!
I did utilise some of your great tips. I loved Teddy's Bigger Burgers - I visited twice, only because I managed to get to one only near the end of my trip :( I would have loved to have gone back for more! The service is fantastic! I was a bit shocked at the portions over there in the US - everything is like double the size here, but for the same price! and the meals at these fast food like joints - our large is their medium sized, and their large is massive - and they always seem to offer free refils when I can barely finish 1! I missed out on teh buffet though :( … oh well, next time.
I gotta say I loved the big island much more than Oahu. Oahu was a bit too busy for my liking and driving on those highways was a bit of a nightmare (get off the wrong exit on a highway and you're onto another one, and possibly another 10 minute detour just to get back to the place you wanted to get off at, if you're lucky!). You took a lot longer to drive around the Big Island, but the destinations were spectacular, in particular, a sunset at Mauna Kea (one of their big volcanoes) right above the clouds. Now that is something I won't forget (partially because of the altitude sickness :) ).
Ross Dress for Less was awesome - my favourite place to shop! So much so I went to multiple stores to see if I could find different stuff! I picked up some work pants there (shirts were a bit funny looking for me, but oh well). Everything was soo cheap!!!! :) I also picked up some shoes from Famous Footwear - don't know fi you could get cheaper, but that was the cheapest place I could find. I have also discovered Bath & Body Works - they make really nice smelling bath & body products, and they weren't too badly priced either. I picked up a pile of stuff off their discount racks.
Plus….a whole stash of American candy from Walmart, the night before I left!! Gotta love Walmart for being open 24 hours a day!
Here in WA,shops are open about 8 hours a day, 6 days a week.
I remember when I lived in Orlando and was looking to do some painting. I went to Walmart, got the paint tinted and the other supplies at 2 or 3 in the morning. Very civilised.
We love Ross. My kids want to go back to Hawaii just so they can go shopping at Ross.
If it's Honolulu, you can try the Alamoana mall, fairly close to the strip using TheBus. There is also a Costco there that is reciprocal with your Australian Costco membership. Should be able to get some cheap candy/office clothes/trampolines.
Junk food to try? Ha, you don't have to walk far. Off the top of my head, Teddy's Big burgers (they are big!) or Cheeseburgers in Paradise for some burgers. There is a great all you can eat sushi buffet place there. Amazing and freshly stocked. Hawaii is know for SPAM (the eating kind) so I'd definitely try some of their SPAM related meals. We've been there a few times and I can't say I've ever gone hungry. My last hotel had all you can eat breakfast which would fill you up until the afternoon then had a happy hour where they again fed you all you can eat snacks and a couple of drinks.