Winter O‘ahu Wallet-Whack Route

🌺❄️💸3-day photo-sprint, convertible-top down, tax-rate tears in my poke bowl. Day 1 – Land, Shop, Cry at Tax ✈️🛍️ 08:30 land HNL (from Big Island) – Alamo counter 5 min walk, Mustang convertible = $90/day winter rate – top down immediately, sunscreen in hair = vacation ON. Dole Plantation pit-stop – $8.50 pineapple whip, KT lottery = zero black-shell kitty (winter stock-out). Pro tip: skip if no KT obsession. Ala Moana Center – 13 % home tax vs 4.75 % Hawai‘i = wallet screams; lululemon + Kith bags multiply like rabbits. Hotel: Hilton Hawaiian Village – Ala Wai Boat Harbor $1/hr, 5 min walk, 6-7 pm return still spots (circle twice). Dinner: Hau Tree – $200+ for two, $190 buys the view, pasta under-cooked, ocean over-delivers – pay, sigh, photograph. Day 2 – North Shore Photo Run 📸🌊 Island Vintage Coffee – Ube bagel × 2, Royal Hawaiian Center branch → ask for parking sticker (mall ticket discount). Kualoa Ranch – Movie Sites Tour (bus in, 8 pax van) – “outside view ≠ inside vista” = still worth it; Hulihuli chicken roadside exit = buy whole bird. Byodo-In Temple $5 card – photo-only verdict: skip if history-blind or parking-stressed (lot fills 11 am). PM coastal pull-offs Kailua Beach – jelly-o turquoise, parking $5/hr, 20 min shoot = desktop wallpaper. Makapu‘u Lookout – cliff-edge + teal water, car-door backdrop = IG gold. Lana‘i Lookout – wave smash, meh frame – 5 min then go. EVENING Hotel hop: The Kahala Resort – Jennie coconut-alley Park 4925 Kahala Ave (sign says no public – 5-min in-and-out = forgiven). 5-min beach walk → black-shell Hello Kitty hotel shop = winter limited sold out (again). Day 3 – Queue, History, Fly Home 🛫 Island Vintage round 2 – caffeine before pain. Stussy Royal Hawaiian – 09:30 queue already half-block Honolulu logo tee = hunger-marketing; M left, L “tomorrow” = classic. Tip: bring folding stool 09:00 or skip – 2 hrs sunk cost = buy oversize M and promise future diet. PM Pearl Harbor – Missouri + Arizona History buff = happy 3 hrs; kids/short-attention = skip. Book Arizona 24 h ahead – same-day slots appear after 07:00 drop. Evening Airport return – gas top-up at HNL exit ($5.90/gal), convertible top UP (wind tunnel), KT souvenir last chance (still sold out). 💸 3-Day Wallet Autopsy (per person) Car 3 d $270 (convertible winter deal) Gas + parking $80 Hotels split $420 (Hilton 2 nt + Kahala 1 nt) Food + trinkets $220 (poke ×3, Stussy tee, pineapple whip) Activities + tax $70 (Dole, Byodo-In, Pearl) ≈ $1,060 – “close eyes at checkout” method confirmed. 🌺 One-Line Takeaway “Bring CAD, spend USD, laugh at 4.75 % tax, cry at total – but the convertible wind and Makapu‘u blue make the credit-card pain almost worth it.” #US #Honolulu #Hawaii