Where to Eat Cheap Near Howzit Hostels: A Budget Food Guide for Maui and Hilo

Let's be real for a second. Hawaii has a reputation for being expensive, and if you only ever eat at the resort restaurants and beachfront tourist traps, that reputation is earned. A burger and a drink near the big hotels can quietly torch twenty-five bucks before you even blink.

But here is the secret that every backpacker, solo traveler, and broke-but-stoked adventurer figures out eventually: the best food in Hawaii is almost always the cheapest. We are talking plate lunches piled high with two scoops of rice, poke bowls made from fish caught that morning, and farmers’ market finds that cost a couple of dollars and taste like the whole island poured its soul into them.

The trick is knowing where to look. And lucky for you, both Howzit Hostels locations sit right in the middle of the good stuff. So whether you are basing yourself in Wailuku on Maui or in downtown Hilo on the Big Island, here is how to eat well, eat local, and keep your wallet happy while backpacking Hawaii.

First, Learn the Language of Cheap Hawaiian Food

Before you go hunting, it helps to know what you are actually ordering. A few terms will unlock the entire budget food scene across the islands.

A plate lunch is the holy grail of cheap eats in Hawaii. It is usually a hearty main like teriyaki beef, chicken katsu, kalua pork, or loco moco, served with two scoops of white rice and a scoop of macaroni salad. It is filling, it is comforting, and it usually lands somewhere in the ten to fifteen dollar range, which on Maui or the Big Island is a genuine steal.

Poke is cubed raw fish, most often ahi tuna, tossed with shoyu, sesame oil, onions, and whatever the shop does best. Grab a bowl, find a seawall or a park bench, and you have got one of the freshest meals of your life for the price of a sandwich back home.

Then there are the farmers’ markets, which are basically a backpacker's dream. Fresh tropical fruit for a few dollars, prepared local food from family vendors, baked treats, and that unbeatable feeling of eating something that grew a few miles up the road. Keep some cash on hand, because a lot of these spots do not mess with cards.

Got it? Good. Now let's eat.

Eating Cheap on Maui: The Wailuku Plate Lunch Trail

Here is something a lot of first-time visitors do not realize. Most travelers pile into the pricey beach towns, but Howzit Hostels Maui sits in downtown Wailuku, which happens to be one of the best local food towns on the entire island. This is where Maui families have been eating for generations, and the prices reflect a town that feeds locals, not just tourists.

Wailuku is also wonderfully walkable, which means a lot of your meals are a short stroll from your bunk. No rental car required, no parking headaches, just you and your appetite wandering downtown.

Start with the institutions. Sam Sato's has been slinging its famous dry noodles, saimin, and plate lunches since the 1930s, and it is the kind of unfussy, beloved spot where you will be elbow to elbow with locals on their lunch break. If pancakes are more your speed, Tasty Crust has been a Wailuku staple for over fifty years, serving big, affordable breakfast plates that will fuel a full day of hiking the Iao Valley or chasing waterfalls.

When you want to eat as cheaply as humanly possible, point yourself toward the markets and counter spots along North Market Street in the Happy Valley neighborhood. Takamiya Market is a go-to for grab-and-go local food, with daily plate lunch specials and mini plates that are about as budget-friendly as it gets on Maui. Kings BBQ does generous plate lunches that won't wreck your day's budget, and it is an easy walk from downtown.

Craving something with a little more buzz? Tin Roof Maui, the spot from Top Chef alum Sheldon Simeon, turns out seriously good kau kau bowls of mochiko chicken and garlic shrimp for not a lot of money. And if you want a sit-down dinner that still feels honest, A Saigon Cafe is a Wailuku legend for big, satisfying Vietnamese plates.

Pro move for the truly thrifty: hit a farmers market or the Maui Swap Meet for fruit, snacks, and prepared local food, then bring it back to cook or assemble in the hostel kitchen. Communal kitchens were made for exactly this kind of backpacker resourcefulness.

Eating Cheap on the Big Island: Downtown Hilo's Budget Food Paradise

If Maui is the sunny, social launchpad, Hilo is the lush, laid-back counterpart, and honestly, it might be even better for budget eaters. Downtown Hilo is compact, walkable, and absolutely loaded with affordable local food, and Howzit Hostels Hilo plants you right in the thick of it.

The crown jewel here is the Hilo Farmers Market, tucked at the corner of Mamo Street and Kamehameha Avenue in the heart of downtown. It is one of the best open-air markets in all of Hawaii, and it goes big on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Come hungry. You can graze on fresh poke, smoky kalua pork, lau lau wrapped in taro leaves, pillowy malasadas, and tropical fruit so good it ruins grocery store fruit for you forever. Vendors like Poke N Sides in the market's food court turn out poke bowls and burgers that are famous for being both delicious and easy on the wallet.

For poke that locals genuinely fight over, head to Suisan Fish Market near Lili'uokalani Gardens. They get their fish straight from the boats, you grab a bowl to go, and then you walk a couple of minutes to eat it on a wall overlooking Hilo Bay. That view costs you nothing, which is the best kind of view.

When you want a classic, no-frills plate lunch, Cafe 100 is a Hilo legend, especially for loco moco lovers, with prices that feel like a throwback. Hawaiian Style Cafe on Manono Street is the move when you want portions so generous you will have leftovers for dinner. And for a hearty, affordable breakfast that locals swear by, Ken's House of Pancakes does the famous macadamia nut pancakes and big egg plates that keep you full for hours.

Save room for the sweet stuff, too. Two Ladies Kitchen has a near-permanent line for its mochi, and it is worth every minute. Pick up a box, wander down to the bay, and call it the best two dollars you spent all trip.

The Two-Island Move: Why Smart Travelers Do Both

Here is where things get fun. Because Howzit Hostels has a home base on both Maui and the Big Island, you do not have to pick just one food scene. You can island-hop and eat your way across two completely different sides of Hawaii.

Think of it like this. Maui's Wailuku gives you that classic plate lunch trail in a sunny, social, beach-launching town. Hilo gives you a lusher, quieter, often more affordable counterpart, with a farmers market scene and downtown poke walk that is hard to beat anywhere in the state. Do a few days of backpacking in Maui, hop a short island flight, and suddenly you are eating fresh poke by Hilo Bay with a whole new set of flavors to explore.

No single-property hostel can give you that. Two islands, two food cultures, one easy place to crash in the middle of each. That is the kind of trip people come home talking about.

A Few Practical Tips for Eating Cheap in Hawaii

Keep these in your back pocket, and your food budget will basically take care of itself.

Carry cash. A lot of the best hole-in-the-wall spots, market vendors, and food trucks either prefer it or require it.

Lean on the hostel kitchen. A farmers market haul plus a communal kitchen is the single cheapest, most satisfying way to eat in Hawaii. Buy local fruit, fresh fish, and a few staples, and you will eat like royalty for pocket change.

Go where the locals go. If there is a line of people who clearly live there, that is your spot. Tourist-empty usually means real and affordable.

Eat your big meal at lunch. Plate lunch specials and lunch-only pricing are often cheaper than dinner for the same food. Order generously and save half for later.

Hilo gets rain, and that is part of the charm. A passing shower is the perfect excuse to duck into a cozy local diner and order something warm. Lean into it.

Eat Well, Travel Far

The beautiful truth about Hawaii is that the most memorable meals are rarely the expensive ones. They are the plate lunch you ate with sandy feet, the poke bowl you carried to a seawall at sunset, the warm malasada you grabbed at a farmers market while a stranger played ukulele nearby. None of that requires a big budget. It just requires knowing where to look and being the kind of traveler who wants the real thing.

Stay curious, follow your nose, talk to the people behind the counter, and you will eat better in Hawaii on a backpacker's budget than most people do on a luxury one.

Come Stay With Us and Eat Like a Local

Ready to taste your way across two islands? Book your stay at Howzit Hostels in Hilo or Maui, settle into a community of travelers who know all the best cheap eats, and let our team point you toward the plate lunch spots and poke shops the guidebooks miss. We will keep you fed, stoked, and in the heart of the action on both islands.

Follow us on Instagram and TikTok for the latest travel tips, hostel events, and local food finds, then come find your bunk, drop your bag, and go get yourself a plate lunch. We will see you in paradise.