How are the prices for shopping in Maui?
In general prices in Hawaii are somewhat higher than the US mainland, mainly because of extra transportation costs for shipping goods to Hawaii. The figures we’ve have heard are that the overall cost of living in Hawaii is at least 20% higher than the mainland. However, this varies quite a bit depending on the items. For example, gasoline in Maui is about $1 / gallon higher than the mainland, and some grocery items will be more expensive. The shopping in Kihei, consists mainly of tourist oriented stores such as T-shirt shops, Hawaiian Aloha shirts, swimsuits, souvenirs, etc. For a better selection on more normal items and the best prices on the island, back in Kahului and Wailuku (not too far from the airport) there are several fairly large shopping malls with many of the major US retailers there, e.g., J.C. Penney, Sears, and Macys. If you’re shopping for clothes its probably worth at least one trip into town to these malls. The largest mall is called the Ka’ahumanu Center. The new Hi
In general prices in Hawaii are somewhat higher than the US mainland, mainly because of extra transportation costs for shipping goods to Hawaii. The figures we’ve have heard are that the overall cost of living in Hawaii is roughly 15-20% higher than the mainland. However, this varies quite a bit depending on the items. For example, gasoline in Maui is about $1.70 / gallon whereas on the mainland it’s about $1.30. Some grocery staple items are also quite a bit more expensive, for example, a gallon of milk is about $5, and a loaf of bread about $2 – $3. Those prices are probably almost double US mainland prices. The shopping in Kihei, consists mainly of tourist oriented stores such as T-shirt shops, Hawaiian Aloha shirts, swimsuits, souvenirs, etc. For a better selection on more normal items and the best prices on the island, back in Kahului and Wailuku (not too far from the airport) there are several fairly large shopping malls with many of the major US retailers there, e.g., J.C. Penne
