Hawaii, USA
OVERVIEW
Hawaii is made up of four principal islands, situated like a comet trail on the map from southeast to northwest: Hawai’i, Maui, Oahu, and Kauai, with some smaller, less frequented islands sprinkled throughout. They’re all beautiful, have tons of beaches, and share a lot of features, but very generally, Hawai’i is the “Big Island” with the active volcanoes, Maui has the most outdoor adventure activities, Oahu is the most urbanized and includes Pearl Harbor, and Kauai is the most rustic and undeveloped.
The pins on the map are all roughly ~100 miles apart from each other. From the air on inter-island flights, you can typically glimpse multiple islands.
“Hawaii” isn’t specific enough - have a rough idea which island(s) you want to visit.
logistics
Airport Stuff: The vast majority of overseas flights go into and out of Honolulu, Oahu (HNL), though you may see flights to Hilo, Hawai’i (ITO), or Kahului, Maui (OGG), or Lihue, Kauai (LIH). These latter three are much smaller and have fewer amenities, typically a restaurant/bar or two and a convenience store. Unless you’re planning to exclusively visit one of the smaller islands, it’s probably wiser to fly into HNL and then use the interisland shuttle flights run by Hawaiian Airlines. They run roughly hourly all day long between the islands and cost ~$100-$150 round trip. The flights are all an hour or less and don’t even reach cruising altitude before descending - think bus with wings.
Getting Around: There are public buses available from each airport to a few main destinations on each island, they run approximately hourly, and are inexpensive (~$2USD). Private shared shuttles from airports to hotels can run ~$10-$30USD depending on location; rideshares are often comparably priced but overall faster.
Ultimately, though, you generally will want/need your own vehicle on each island to get where you want on your own schedule (the only exception here is if you are flying to Honolulu and plan to stay around the greater Honolulu area). Rental rates are very dependent on time of year and day of the week - vehicles can be rented for ~$30-$60USD per day. You don’t need a Jeep or SUV to handle the roads.
Where to Stay: In general, staying anywhere in Hawaii is costly. Hostels in Hawaii are very limited, and don’t end up saving you a ton of money - private rooms end up comparable to the low end of hotel prices, and even dorm rooms run ~$50USD+. Hotels located in the resort zones add on resort fees and taxes that only show up once you click through. Airbnbs have their own hidden fees.
The only true “cheap” alternative is van camping, which can be found by filtering on Airbnb for options <$100USD. These are frequently located right by the airport on each island for easy pick-up and drop-off, and your accommodation doubles as your transportation around the island. Some are quite decked out. You need to obtain a permit online and have it printed. If you’re just looking to do a whirlwind tour of an island in a couple days, it’s an unconventional option, but economical and actually well-suited to the purpose.