How expensive is food in the grocery stores in Oahu,Hawaii?
May 12th, 2009 | 
Author: We are going to Hawaii for 2 weeks in May. Heard food is very expensive there, anyone know for sure.
Everything, including pineapples, is expensive in Hawaii.
Even produce and goods from the islands get top dollar because of all the tourists looking for those items (ie. mac nuts, coffee, pineapples, etc).
Plan to spend anywhere from 10-25% more on groceries while there.
But by buying groceries and cooking your own meals, you ARE much better off than eating out every meal. That is tremdously expensive.
When we lived there(we moved to Maine in June), I paid….
$4.50 for a good loaf of sandwich bread; $6 for a gallon of whole milk; $3.50 for an 8 oz block of cheese; $9 for a frozen cheese pizza; $3.90 a gallon of gas…
My advice is to shop wisely and go to a couple different stores. Buy what's on sale at each. KTA definitely has better prices than Foodland. If you have a Costco membership, get drinks, beer and bulk there (as well as gas).
Shipping costs drive up the prices, as well as companies wanting as many dollars out of the tourists' pockets as possible. Unfortunately, the families who live there pay the price as well. As a young family of 4, we had to leave because even with good jobs, we couldn't afford to live there anymore. Now that we live in Maine, I see just how much more we were paying-I find myself gasping in the store here. Plan to do the same in Hawaii:(.
Aloha to you and yours…
Posted in oahu hawaii
10 Responses to “How expensive is food in the grocery stores in Oahu,Hawaii?”
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From what I've heard generally everything in Hawaii is expensive. Really not surprising. Think of it. An island economy has to import everything from some mainland at quite a remove either by air or boat.
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Everything except pineapples is expensive in Hawaii.
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I know cuz I was there, just to give you an example a simple hamburger cost about 4 bucks, that is because the customers are mainly tourists and they have no choice but to pay..☺
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Actually, it's not as bad as you might imagine. It is more than the mainland, but not unmanageable.
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Hey, I'm living in Hawaii right now as a college student so I definitely have to watch the expenditures! If you're talking about groceries, go to Foodland and get a Maika'i card when you go up to the register (cheapest option), or even stop at Safeway, but make sure you have your Safeway card! Watch out for tourist traps in Waikiki. Good food can be found for regular price in downtown Honolulu and places that sell plate lunches such as L&L
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Get the coupon book and try to get all the coupons you can. If your going on any adventures. You can ask AAA if they have any coupons for anything in honolulu. I've been there 4xs. And no i don't have alot of money. We used discount everytime. I would go to safeway… Go to luau's and eat. If you can eat seafood. You fine.
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Everything, including pineapples, is expensive in Hawaii.
Even produce and goods from the islands get top dollar because of all the tourists looking for those items (ie. mac nuts, coffee, pineapples, etc).
Plan to spend anywhere from 10-25% more on groceries while there.
But by buying groceries and cooking your own meals, you ARE much better off than eating out every meal. That is tremdously expensive.
When we lived there(we moved to Maine in June), I paid….
$4.50 for a good loaf of sandwich bread; $6 for a gallon of whole milk; $3.50 for an 8 oz block of cheese; $9 for a frozen cheese pizza; $3.90 a gallon of gas…
My advice is to shop wisely and go to a couple different stores. Buy what's on sale at each. KTA definitely has better prices than Foodland. If you have a Costco membership, get drinks, beer and bulk there (as well as gas).
Shipping costs drive up the prices, as well as companies wanting as many dollars out of the tourists' pockets as possible. Unfortunately, the families who live there pay the price as well. As a young family of 4, we had to leave because even with good jobs, we couldn't afford to live there anymore. Now that we live in Maine, I see just how much more we were paying-I find myself gasping in the store here. Plan to do the same in Hawaii:(.
Aloha to you and yours…
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Big Island Kama'aina
it's not too bad, I've stayed on Maui for 3 weeks at a time and the food market prices are only slightly higher than at home, on Oahu you can find great deals at all the farmers markets around the island, eating out can be expensive but you can find a great plate lunch reasonably priced, it's all good.
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Yes it is especially in the touristy areas…..
I found the cheapest place to buy groceries was WalMart (there is one near Ala Moana Mall) but even that is still more expensive than the mainland and doesnt offer a full selection.
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hawaii is an expensive place to live/visit… we don't have any big chain type of super markets, like albertsons or whatever else, so generally things (groceries) and slightly more expensive, but the food here is unlike anywhere else in the mainland, we have a good mix of different cultures to create awesome food…
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