It’s a different time for pristine Hanauma Bay. There are new rules and it is going to cost you more!
142 thoughts on “Hanauma Bay: New Rules and Limits, Increased Fees, Online Reservations Only”
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It’s a different time for pristine Hanauma Bay. There are new rules and it is going to cost you more!
Comments are closed.
I think the increase in fees and limitations on the number of visitors per day to Hanauma Bay is justified. Why can’t this be done on a larger scale and limit the number of visitors to Hawaii in general? And require a fee of $X for every non-resident who comes to Hawaii? The fee can be added to airfare or the cruise price, depending on how one arrives here. Money raised can help repair roads, plant trees, beach cleanup, wildlife conservation, etc.
That is what state taxes are for. It is the governments fault for choosing to spend it foolishly (ie train to nowhere). More people working, more income therefore more state taxes collected. Kill the cash cow (visitors) equals less visitors, less people buying goods and services and therefore, more unemployment…which is a whole other strain on the state.
Totally fine as long as we get to charge the same fee for any Hawaiian entering California or Nevada.
I find your comment about making non Hawaii residents pay to even set foot in Hawaii both ridiculous and makes you completely ignorant about our laws in this country. Read the constitution and it’s amendments before posting again.
“The first is the right of a citizen to move freely between states, a right venerable for its longevity, but still lacking a clear doctrinal basis.1 The second, expressly addressed by the first sentence of Article IV, provides a citizen of one state who is temporarily visiting another state the Privileges and Immunities of a citizen of the latter state.2 The third is the right of a new arrival to a state, who establishes citizenship in that state, to enjoy the same rights and benefits as other state citizens”
I live in Washington. Any apple, grape, strawberry, etc you eat as a Hawaiian, you must pay me 5 dollars….we are all in the same United States 😳
There are a lot of great things about visiting Hawaii, but it has to be one of the least visitor friendly tourist destinations on the planet. It is 100% about how to extract every last dollar from every visitor.
“all sales are final” let a private business try that and the same govt will be all over them.
Spoke with one of the managers at HBAY, she said the reason they changed to pay online vs pay when you get there was that there were too many no shows. Whether people show up or not, they still have fixed costs to cover every day. All fees collected stays in HBAY (does not go to state’s general funds) for upkeep and maintenance. She said even with $25 and limit of 750 visitors/day, 5 days/week does not cover all the expenses.
First and foremost it is a nature preserve.
I’m sorry, I was there in 1983 and back then it was like snorkeling in a sea of urine with some salt water and a few fish. Shame on the authorities to charge that kind of money for the right to swim around in a cesspool. I am a scuba diver and am overly protective of all sealife as well as the coral but this is overkill as well as tourist gouging. Aloha!
That was back in ’83. As the article states, the nature preserve has been “rejuvenated” because of the pandemic. When you last visited, there was no capacity control during that time. It was literally overrun with humans. And, please do not expect the State to add taxes to the locals. They have been taxed to death!
Perhaps Hawaii should raise their sales tax rate to garner more income. I know I will not pay $25/person to enter. And it makes no sense forbidding taxis to drop people off. If your goal is to deter people from visiting, you’re doing a good job! Everyone should pay the entrance fee if the goal is to restore and preserve the bay. JMHO
Mahalo
It’s great to hear of the conserving and improvement to the bay. Wish them well.
It’s discouraging to see the huge increase in the entry fee at 100%+.
On top of the increase, you have a processing fee of 2.35%, the parking fee, then if you snorkel that cost and then beach time restriction. Possibly the beach time restriction has been in effect always to which I don’t know. So with all this in mind when we come next April, we will not be visiting the bay area. Mahalo everyone Mahalo
Limiting access to a fixed number per day is OK but doubling the admission charge is wrong. I would like to see Disneyland double the admission charge for visitors from Hawaii.
Disneyland is a prime example of greed and commercialism in this country. I don’t view Disney as managing nature preserves.
This is what causes many of the problems between tourists and locals. Incomparable. Disneyland isn’t a nature preserve. People come here thinking Hawaii exists for their vacation and enjoyment…wrong. This is our home. While you’re going 5 mph on a 1 lane road taking photos, you’re making the single mom driving behind you late for 1 of the 3 jobs she works to survive. The same mom you want to charge the same price to if she wants to enjoy what her income tax helps pay for. FYI.
I agree that the Bay needs preserving but charging double while locals can use for free is wrong. Not only does it create an us vs them mentality but it minimizes the impact locals have on the Bay as well. If it truly is to help maintain the Bay then everyone should bare the burden…not just gouge the visitors. And, don’t tell me that locals respect the islands…when I lived there I saw plenty of Islanders trashing it.
As a side t of Hawaii, in my case Maui. I agree that $25/visitor is too high, limiting the number of daily visitors does make sense.
As for locals not paying the same rate, do remember that we do pay taxes here both state and local.
The charges for visiting Haleakala are because it’s a national park. The state does not set rate.