Now, I like to see pics, read reports, but in my mind I always want to know how much it cost. Since my pastor, my boss, and now my tax guy is asking, what the heck, here it goes. I used A LOT of points on this trip earned on Citibank and Chase Sapphire.

Air from LAX to Hilo - $445 but to Honolulu would have been as little as $380 depending on date. I booked in December for travel in February.

Car rental - $35 per day (we drove over 800 miles:-)

Hotel in Hilo (not fancy but huge and oceanfront) $100 per night with wi-fi. B&B would have been less.

Hotel in Kona @ Royal Kona Resort (oceanfrom with full buffet breakfast) - $130 per night. Not up the coast by the fancy beaches and resort$ but we visited. I have paid more to camp at New Port Beach.

Gas was $4.59 per gallon but $4.15 at our local pump.

Snorkle set (rental) for a week - $25

Lunch special most days with beer $25 for 2

Dinner, most nights at local places just minutes off the main drag, $10-15.
Dinner specials at Ocens Bar and Grill, buy one get one free on Mondays and Wednesdays, $2.50 tacos on Tuedays and Thursday. Subway subs $6 but $5 on the mainland. We did not do the fancy dining but sometimes used coupons available for Indian and Thai restaurants, our favorite.

For what we wanted and got, a cheaper vacation than Jamaica. I will post pics!

For what we wanted and got, a cheaper vacation than Jamaica.

lol...exactly. For Canadians, Cuba, Mexico, DR are ALL significantly cheaper than Jamaica. We can go TWO of us with air, a/i and transfers to Cuba for the same price as ONE air fare alone to Jamaica.

THAT IS AWESOME.................I would have thought much-much more.....

I would have reckoned that it would be much more than that! Sounds like you "did good."