“We are booked for March of 2027. That will be our last trip.” When Kathy left that comment recently, it caught our attention not because it was unusual, but because we’ve been reading versions of the same thing for years. Readers tell us they’re done with Hawaii, or almost done, and then tell us about the trip they’ve either already booked or just taken.
Mark M. wrote, “coming back with my cousin Sept 2026… this will probably be my last trip… It breaks my heart.”
Those comments aren’t coming from first-time visitors. They’re coming from people who have spent decades returning to Hawaii, often year after year. They know the islands well enough to compare today’s experience against their own memories, and many are finding themselves in an uncomfortable place. They still want to come back. They just aren’t sure for how much longer, whether because of cost, a changed sense of being welcome, the loss of familiar places, or something more complex and harder to put a name on.
What struck us is how many readers who have never met each other arrive at nearly the same sentence. The next trip is booked, while the one after that probably isn’t. For longtime Hawaii visitors, that has become its own kind of ritual: make the reservation, call it the last trip, and then sit with the question of whether that is really true.
The future trip and the past-tense Hawaii.
There is another pattern too. The trip itself is usually described in the future tense. Readers are talking about reservations they’ve made, plans they’re looking forward to, and islands they are preparing to visit again. But when they describe Hawaii, they often suddenly switch to the past tense.
Daryl H. wrote that he was “skipping this year for the first time in 60 years” and felt “blessed to experience a Hawaii that in many ways no longer exists.” Paul L. said he was “glad we had the opportunity to visit regularly over the past 40 years and experience Hawaii as it was.” Barb wrote, “We still love Hawaii, but the vibe has changed… the Hawaii we knew & love just isn’t the same.”
The trip is still ahead of them. The Hawaii they’re talking about is behind them. That may be the most revealing part of these comments, because people are simultaneously planning their next visit while speaking about Hawaii as something they’ve already lost. It isn’t a knock on anyone, but once you notice it, you start seeing it everywhere.
The longest relationships seem to feel this the most.
Many of the strongest comments come from readers who have the deepest history with Hawaii. Jules wrote about “coming since the 1980s, and there are definitely fewer familiar faces.” Daryl’s visits are something he’s commented on glowingly hundreds of times. Paul reflected on more than 40 years. Sharon D. wrote that she felt “priced out after we have treated the islands as our ‘home.’ My heart is broken.”
That word home appears often in comments like these. Not because visitors literally live here, but because Hawaii occupies a place in their lives that goes beyond mere vacation. After enough years, people develop routines. They stay in the same neighborhoods, go to the same beaches, return to favorite restaurants, and bring with them memories of family, anniversaries, and life’s turning points that all happened here.
At that point, changes can feel personal in a way they just don’t for newer visitors. A place that once felt so familiar can start to feel less reachable, even when the plane still lands on the same runway, and the ocean is still there unchanged. The relationship has lasted long enough that the changes are harder to ignore. It means the relationship is deep and long enough to carry its own grief.
Is it Hawaii they’re mourning?
This is where the conversation gets complicated. Some readers clearly feel Hawaii itself has changed, and their comments say exactly that. At the same time, there may be another layer to what they’re experiencing.
After decades of travel, we are not sure where that has not happened. Europe has changed dramatically. Hawaii has too. So have the places many of us thought would always feel the same. That does not make the reader comments any less real, but it does place them in a bigger context. Some of what people are feeling is about Hawaii. Some of it is what happens when any place you have loved for decades keeps changing while your memory holds still.
The feeling of discovering Hawaii for the first time happens once in a lifetime. The epic beach that felt hidden away, the road that seemed untouched, the restaurant that was a secret find, and the friendly, familiar faces that made a visitor feel remembered all become part of the story. After 20, 40, or 60 years, it can be difficult to separate what has changed in Hawaii (and elsewhere) from what has changed in ourselves.
That doesn’t make the feeling any less real. And if anything, it may explain why it runs so deep. Longtime visitors are not only comparing one trip to another. They are comparing present-day Hawaii with a lifetime of fond memories, and those memories are not easily checked against anything objective.
So why keep booking the next trip?
That’s the question we keep coming back to. If Hawaii no longer feels like it’s the place these readers remember, why do they keep returning?
One easy answer would be to conclude that they’re right to stop visiting, protect their memories, and move on. At the other end of the scale, one could say nothing really important has changed, and they’re simply looking backward through rose-colored glasses. Neither explanation feels like it’s complete.
What we see in these comments is something more complicated and nuanced. People who genuinely believe the Hawaii they fell in love with has changed are still making reservations to return. They’re still planning their visits. They’re still finding reasons to come back, maybe after trying other places, even while still saying out loud that the next trip may be the last one.
Maybe booking one more trip is part of saying goodbye. Maybe calling it the last trip is their way of paying closer attention to what’s happened. Maybe people don’t really know whether it will be their last trip until they’re standing here in Hawaii again. Or maybe love like this simply never moves smoothly into the past tense.
What we know is that readers who have never met each other continue to arrive at remarkably similar conclusions. They book the next Hawaii trip while calling it their last, speak about future and past Hawaii visits in the same comment, and often sound surprised to discover how many others understand exactly what they are feeling.
Have you ever booked a trip to Hawaii you’ve already called your last? If so, we’d love to hear what led to that decision and whether it actually turned out to be your last visit after all.
By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii
The changes that reshape a trip to Hawaii often show up long before most visitors notice them. We’ve spent nearly 20 years catching those shifts firsthand as full-time Hawaii residents reporting on travel, changes, and island life, and telling you what they mean for your trip. Join us →
Photo Credit: © Beat of Hawaii at Kamaole Beach on Maui.
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This is exactly what the Hawaii tourism board wants. They want the middle class tourist and the “eco” tourist to stop coming to the islands. Only the upper class who rarely leave their resort and have a much smaller footprint than those others who tromp all over the islands and require emergency services to rescue them from their own stupidity. Ultra wealthy tourists do not do things like this. They attend parties and soirees and hob-nob with other ultra wealthy… They most they will get up to is maybe a round of golf or some fishing… You know… Rich people stuff… Not tromping through nature and destroying ecosystems… But they will spend money and that’s what the tourism board wants. So unless your rich , stay out of Hawaii… They don’t want you there… They’ve made this ultra clear!
We too are thinking this may be our last trip to Hawaii. We are going to Maui this November and again are saying, this may be it as we are getting priced out. The issue of short-term rentals also worries us but figure that won’t be the determining factor since that change isn’t until 2030 but the money is now. We’ll play it by ear this time – not as many dinners out or special experiences. Thank you for your information keeping us in the loop.
Our trip in Nov 2023 was our last, which we decided after our return home. We’ve had some wonderful trips and will cherish the memories of each time and special place and person we came to know. Our expression now is “We had our time”. 2023 on Maui was incredibly difficult and we choose to spend our travel dollars elsewhere. I will continue to follow BOH and your updates. Thank you!
Yep.
Sadly, November 2025 was our last and final trip to Hawaii.
Like the PGA, we won’t be back…
Just about everyone doesn’t like changes, and Hawaii (Maui specifically) has gone through changes that perhaps should have taken decades, not overnight. Maybe people saying “this is the last time” but booking another trip is just a process of slowly getting used to those changes. Many of the places we loved are literally gone. But many are not. Can we just love the aina? As we keep coming back, hopefully we’ll discover new places and create new heartfelt memories to love about Hawaii nei.
We bought a Marriott timeshare back in 1998 on Maui. Since then, we traveled there multiple times a year and also visited the other islands. However, COVID restrictions & the Lahaina Town fire did us in. Our last trip to the Big Island was in 2022. Our last trip to Maui was 2023. Our last trip to Oahu was 2024. Since then, we have gone to the Caribbean and Mediterranean. It is far less expensive to travel to, and stay at these locations, & the food is much better & also less expensive. We became tired of the anti tourist sentiment, the locals with gripes about tourists & politicians camping out on the beach in front of Whalers Village, the T-Shirt shop insisting we put money in their “Fire Survivor ” jar even thought we had donated to other organizations, the taxes upon taxes for car rentals & lodging, the current “green” tax, & the endless complaining by locals about everything. The contiguous 48 are not perfect either, but enough is enough.
This also describes my wife and I. After visiting Hawaii, primarily Maui and Kauai for decades, we’ve found the Cook Islands more accommodating, as well as European destinations. 4 and 5 star accommodations in Europe for the cost of a run down condo in Kihei, healthier food options, cheaper rental cars, better access. Just better. Despite longer flights and mild language barriers in Europe aside, there is no reason for us to return to Hawaii. We are not ultra-wealthy travelers, but we don’t mind spending our money on vacation spots supporting the local tourism economy. It’s unfortunate that we feel Hawaii does not hit that list for us anymore.
I dislike the current flying experience so much that when we were at the gate in San Jose awaiting our Kona flight, I told myself that this was our last trip to Hawaii. However, the vacation was so awesome that I actually booked a 2027 trip a few days before we left to go back to the mainland.
Hi Curtis.
We laughed when we read this because it captures exactly what so many readers have been telling us. The flying experience itself make you swear it’s your last trip, and then Hawaii itself changes your mind before you even get home. We’re glad you booked another one. Thanks for being with us all these years. — Jeff & Rob
Thanks BOH on touching all the right emotional notes we long time visitors fondly have for Hawaii. The connection is very deep, emotional, and in our case cannot ever be broken. Even though we’re skipping this year’s visit, we are already booked at our Princeville timeshare for the next two years. Friends and family ask us where are we going for our 50th wedding anniversary in a year, and we answer almost reflexively, oh Hawaii of course!
Aloha to all.
Hi Daryl.
“Hawaii, of course” may be the perfect summary of the whole article. The relationship changes over time, but for many people it never really goes away. Congratulations on your upcoming 50th anniversary, and mahalo for over 400 comments on BOH.
Jeff & Rob
Aloha Jeff and Rob,
Mahalo Nui for your best wishes. We feel like we go to Hawaii every day when we get to read the BOH email. Wow, can’t believe that I’ve made over 400 comments. My wife always said that I don’t know when to shut up…..LOL🤠
Well. we said it was our last and it is. Many places have changed, but Hawaii feels more drastic. Last January we said goodbye and cancelled our wonderful condo rental. Aruba is now going to be our go to spot. We planned on Hawaii until we could no longer travel, but it’s not to be. Many fond memories and some more recent ones that are no so fond. It was fun, but it’s done.
Is Hawaii the same as when I first went there, no, there have been changes. Some not for the better, but I bought a timeshare on that first visit because I knew then that it was a place I would come back to, and I have.
Here’s a little thought exercise. If you have lived someplace for a long time, say decades. Is it the same now as it was then? Has the newness worn off? Are you excited about all the changes that have taken place over those years? Are you ready to quit living there and find someplace new? I’ve lived in San Diego for almost 6 decades and boy has it changed, some for the better and some for the worse, but I’m not leaving anytime soon either. I think that’s Hawaii to many of us.
Yes, I’ve lived up and down the State of California for over 64 years, including San Diego. Yes, California has changed in that amount of time to a place that is too expensive and completely mismanaged. Yes, we left. I don’t begrudge anyone their own personal choices as to what is important to them, but Hawaii has become an unpleasant visit that is too expensive for my liking. To each his own.
We too have lived up and down the state of California for exactly 64 years (born here in ’62).
Retired to San Diego 5 years ago, but have been traveling to Hawaii once or twice a year for over a couple decades.
I’ve been spending my summers in San Diego since I was a teen, and yes; it has changed somewhat. Some of the changes have been positive (Gas Lamp District, downtown gentrification, Rady Shell, etc.) while others have been negative (homelessness and overcrowding). But the overall feel and vibe of this coastal community remains positive.
We started vacationing in Maui/Lanai for their wonderful beaches, golf courses and unique ‘Island Feel.’ With the loss of so many iconic golf courses, resorts, and Lahaina, the feel has diminished significantly.
Travel and accommodations have become such an expensive ordeal, there is no longer any reason to pay a fortune to travel merely for better snorkling conditions…
I was an expat for 15 years in Phuket Thailsnd, before returning to the Hawai’ian Islands.
My last visit to sell my condo on Karon, was clearly different.
One of the most distinctive changes was how my most beloved “local” street restaurants had fallen prey to preparing their food to appease the western palette. So sad 😔. 🌺
Truth be told. Your article is correct – Hawaii is just like the rest of the world. My memories of Hawaii may be with rose colored glasses, but in reality, I think it’s just that Hawaii Has finally become like the rest of the world. They called Hawaii a paradise for a reason. A place like no other. That’s why my memories remain of that very special place & time for so many years. I can go anywhere, and I have been to many different countries, to find what I can get in Hawaii now. Hawaii was an escape from the world – not anymore. That’s just the new reality. I’m happy that people are still finding paradise in Hawaii, but for me it’s Paradise Lost.
What strikes me is how many of us seem to be having the exact same conversation with ourselves. I honestly thought it was just me. No decisions here. Just taking it one trip at a time now.
I don’t think we’ll ever completely stop coming as long as we are able. We may come less often, but Hawaii is too much a part of our lives to walk away from entirely and in fact it is still more wonderful than not.
My wife says every trip is our last trip. Then we get home, or sometimes even before we leave the islands, she starts looking at dates, accommodations and airfare.
I remember when going to Hawaii felt almost magical because it was so different from anywhere else we had been. The anticipatation. The flight. Everything. The islands are still beautiful. I just don’t get that same feeling anymore.
We finally stopped after 42 years. Not because we wanted to. At some point the costs simply became too much for us and the travel itself became too difficult. Put them together and that decision was both easy and sad at the same time.
I don’t think Hawaii is unique is this way. Europe feels different too and in many of the exact same ways. So does my hometown on the mainland. Maybe that’s what happens if you’re lucky enough to keep coming back somewhere for decades – enough to notice the changes.
The word that comes to mind is bittersweet. Every visit is wonderful, but there is always a moment where I think, “remember when this was different?”
My husband and I started coming in 1988. We still love Hawaii. We also spend a lot of time talking about the Hawaii we remember. Somehow both things are true. We go to the South Pacific and to Europe too and those are great. But they don’t in any way change my desire to keep returning to Hawaii as long as we can.
For me it’s not the beaches or scenery. Those are still as incredible as ever. It’s that we realize that so many of the people we used to see every year are gone. Owners sold. Staff retired. Friends moved away or stopped coming. That’s what changed for us.
I’ve been saying “one more trip” since Covid but I keep coming anyway.
Exactly. We said our 2025 trip was probably our last, then booked 2026 six months later. As we looked around it turned out the grass wasn’t really greener. Now I don’t know if we’ll stop coming. At the same time I just know it doesn’t feel the same as it did 25 years ago.
My first trip to Hawaii was in 1972 and it was the most magical place I had ever been. Over the years, it has changed dramatically, but after decades of world travel, it is still my favorite place. I returned about 18 times, then twelve years ago, I retired in California and moved to Maui. It was the best decision of my life, and I still feel fortunate to be here every single day.
File under: “I’m never flying this airline again!”
It’s hard not to get jaded, but as someone who has been in the travel industry for almost 4 decades, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard this…
Thank you. This post was a long time coming. The world changes. Sometimes it changes enough that we change what we do in response. Other times we just grumble and complain, and keep doing it anyway. I don’t think Hawaii is really any different than other places; I hear the very same complaints where my mainland home is.
My parents first took me to Hanalei in 1976 when I was a kid. On that trip I remember telling my Dad that I was going to get married at Hanalei Bay. In 2004, I did. My husband and I came back in 2007 and then for our 20th anniversary in 2024. The Hawaii that I was first introduced to, and that my husband fell in love with when we married there, has become so tired. And run down. And horribly expensive. We spent two weeks touring Scotland eating every meal out and we spent far less than two weeks staying at a condo in Princeville eating most meals in. Our anniversary trip was our last. I want to remember the Hawaii that my Dad introduced me to and where I took my wedding vows. That Hawaii is absolutely past tense.
We come every winter and will continue to do so. To us, it’s not about cost as costs goes up everywhere. The issue for us is the freedom to explore has been taken away by the safety police. Things like signs saying no jumping off waterfalls or rails placed in front of blow holes, or no swimming at 7 sacred pools have taken away the freedom to let loose, have fun, and relax. True you can’t fix stupid but give us our freedom back
For me it’s not comparing now to past memories. I realize that things change. The houses my spouse and I grew up in, on different sides of the town, no longer exist. Half of what we knew before COVID in this town doesn’t exist. For us it is the sea, the Tradewinds, the scenery, the people and how we are treated. Bad food happens. The Pineapple Plantation has changed hands so much I’ve forgotten what it’s called now. The Asian food restaurant, Senn’s? has been closed for years. Other places have opened, some have reduced size. We have had visits booked every year since our last in 2021, and every year as time approached, we looked at each other and said, nope. We actually had July, then October booked this year but changed our mind. So, we’ll see if 2027 happens.
You have written well and have hit a nerve. “Any place you have loved for decades keeps changing while your memory holds still” is a masterful observation. The romance of those places we loved for decades drifts away unless we find ways to keep it rekindled, That is the “next trip,” to after 55 years of placing our Hawaii romantic experience and memories, it still draws on us to share it with friends, lovers, children, and grandchildren. That history fuels our stories for them to do with as they wish. First, we have to accept what is, then act upon it. The rest is up only to us.
I’ve been to Hawaii 14 times and I can confidently say I will never go back. Each year became noticeable worse. There was far more infastructure deteriation, more homelessness, more expensive and more price gouging. It was great while it lasted. Politicians and the people who voted for them have destroyed that island.