Hawaii Vacations Soar Amid Global Travel Warnings

Do Hawaii vacations call to you more as a result of recent terrorism issues and global travel warnings? We see European travel providers slashing profit forecasts amid fears of future violence.

Read on for tips on how to get the best value out of your Hawaii vacation and ways to avoid problems here in Hawaii.

Hawaii visitors and the American Society of Travel Agents continue to rank Hawaii as being one of the top vacation destinations worldwide.

In addition to European travel issues, the US Department of State continues to post travel warnings for visitors to Mexico. While largely safe, last year alone more than 100 US citizens were murdered in Mexico. In Hawaii, there were in total only 9 murders in 2013 (the last year for which we could obtain data).

Hawaii vacations soar

Hawaii and its airlines, including Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines are profiting from this global uncertainty. Hawaiian just posted the best earnings of all US carriers.  That was fueled by very strong demand for Hawaii vacations from visitors on the US Mainland. Japanese visitors are likely to uptick as well with Hawaii being a perennially favored destination which has not had prior security issues.

Hawaii vacations offer reasonable prices for the savvy Hawaii vacation deals shopper, plus tropical beaches and all things unique to Hawaii – all in a safe and accessible destination.  To us that adds up to extraordinary value overall.

Tips for the best value in Hawaii vacations

• Frugal Hawaii vacation planner. 15 ways to save.
• The cheapest time to fly to Hawaii. The definitive post on finding the best Hawaii deals.
• Cheap Hawaii car rentals. How to save on the 3rd largest expense.
• Save on checked bag fees. These can amount to hundreds of dollars if you aren’t careful.

How to stay safe in Hawaii

We’ve had just a couple of incidents here in Hawaii:

First, our trunk broken into years ago in Honolulu. Our mistake was unloading items from the back seat and placing them in the trunk at my hotel garage. I did this in plain view and then never moved the car. Someone was watching and stole the contents. The error of course was not moving the car after placing what appeared to be valuable contents into the trunk. Second, we had a beach condo broken into via a lanai sliding door left open. 

• Like anywhere else, you need to be aware of your surroundings to stay safe.
• Don’t forget to lock your car and hotel/condo windows and other points of entry too.
• Mind valuables like cameras, cell phones and wallets.
• Practice diligent beach safety and swim where there is a lifeguard. Tourist drownings are a leading cause of accidental death in Hawaii.
• Drive defensively and don’t make U-turns on the highways. This happens frequently on Kauai. Our two lane road may look like a country back-road, but it’s our major thoroughfare with all the dangers of a freeway. We see this all of the time.

Please add your tips and other thoughts!