229 thoughts on “Maui Arrival Requirements Revealed for Visitors In 2024”
Christine L.
I have been coming to Maui for about 2 months a year, for over 40 years. Until now, I have always felt welcome; but I am concerned about the anti-tourist vibe and am wondering if it is time to look for someplace else to go, where the people will welcome me and the dollars I spend. Costs had been rising before the fire and leadership had been focused on seeing how many tax dollars and fees they could levy on its visitors. From what I hear, it is going to get worse, even forcing parking fees along the streets to go to the beach! Losing me means losing my adult children ( daughter came first time at age 1 month and joins me annually). If forced to look elsewhere, I will lose some of my heart. Christine L.
Happy New Year BOH!
We will be visiting Maui the end of February, can’t wait! We are staying in West Maui to help support the economy. However, I am very concerned about the possible, “nuclear hammer” that may fall in mid-January, as we booked a condo. If our condo is given to a family affected by the fires, we will gladly give it up. Not sure what we will do since the cost of hotel rooms are so expensive and there are no rooms for five adults.
Thanks BOH for all of your helpful information!
Yes we are returning to Maui in 2024. We go every year to see the whales. We respect the culture, people and the ocean and its creatures. We have always felt welcomed. I am concerned this year because it seems the locals don’t want us. I called where we are going to stay and they confirmed but really seemed to discourage us from coming. They said it’s hard to find open restaurants unless you go to kehi and they may bump us in case locals need rooms. I understand if locals need rooms but it’s hard not knowing.
Debbie – You got some bad information. We just returned from our annual 6 week stay on the west side in Maui and there was no issue with restaurants anywhere on the island with the exception of Lahaina.
You do need to be understanding that most places are understaffed so service can be a bit slow. Please tip your servers well.
If this cuts down on overcrowding in Maui, I am all for it. I’m not taking any of this personally. I go each year to sit on a condo lanai and watch whales through my binoculars. We shop at the farmers market and grocery store. We eat out a few times and use local companies for “attractions “ like snorkeling or guided hikes.
We were lucky enough to visit right after the Covid lock down lifted. If it was ever like that again I would be content.
I do wonder about condo rentals. Hotels are at least double what we pay and being forced into hotels would not be affordable for us.
Hawaii .. You are going to lose billions of dollars from tourism!! The gig is up !! People are fed up and will not pay 💰 for the insane Fee’s and bump in hotel 🏨 prices 30%
We have been to Maui many many times.
While I’m respectful for the people
of Lahaina and would like to support them, the messaging coming from Maui is mixed and does not make me feel welcome. Plus I notice hotel prices are crazy expensive. So we will not be returning in 2024 and possibly never as we look for other vacation destinations.
As annual visitors to the Hawaiian Islands for over 30 years, sadly, we have no plans to return given the unrest, inhospitable atmosphere, mixed messages as well as an increase in already exorbitant pricing in accommodations, restaurant pricing, car rentals and ridiculous pricing for frequenting beaches and hiking trails. So, so very sad.
Having just returned from West Maui (Kaanapali Beach area), we were welcomed with open arms. The spirit of Aloha was alive and well. We were thanked many times for coming and were encouraged to tell everyone Maui is open for business. People were very appreciative for our business. The crowds were less than I’ve ever experienced, and it was very different for me. You were able to see some of the devastation which was absolutely heartbreaking. Not being able to go to Front Street was so weird, as it was always a staple for me. It was a different sort of trip this time, but Maui is still beautiful as well as the people and their welcoming hearts. Go and spend your tourist dollars, they will welcome you!
We come from a tourist driven town in Canada as well, and appreciate some of the frustrations of having you community ‘swamped’ by visitors. However, we are proud of where we live, and enjoy sharing it with others. That being said, there is always the ignorant 10% that make the rest look bad. No point wasting time on that unsolvable problem – they are not teachable. We have been coming to Maui for over 12 years, and in the last few years have noticed the impact of perceived ‘over visitation’. Restaurants not taking reservations and having us stand in line for an hour or so, the local govt proposing an additional ‘tourist tax’, trolling for excessive tips on the POS machines. We will be back in January, and hope to be welcomed.
We have been going to Maui, just about once a year, for over 30 years. It’s my happy place, and I was devastated by the Lahaina and Kula fires. So tragic. We are returning in early March, staying in Kaanapali, and I hope for a peaceful stay. We are not in a (physical) position to volunteer (although we do support some local Maui organizations, monetarily), which pains me a bit, but it is what it is. I think we have always conducted ourselves respectfully – as we do wherever we travel. I’m on the fence with regard to the HTA statement, but I know I’ve seen some outrageous and disrespectful (and ignorant) behavior over the years (by tourists). Everyone, everywhere, is on edge these days.
I was born on Maui currently living in Las Vegas. . I find it offensive telling people how to behave etc. it’s bad enough Lahaina is no longer a tourist attraction. Maui is dependent on tourism for its survival. Tourists don’t need Maui. Comments like this is a turn off. Maui no ka oi ?
I’ll leave the “respectful tourists” with one simple example:
Recently our family (wife, daughter, partner, two kids) visited with our daughter on Maui. She and her husband lost both their home and their tourist-oriented business.
We were dining at a restaurant when the woman and family at a nearby table began to complain about the service. The woman could be heard throughout the restaurant and volunteered that they deserve more respect because of the money they spend.
When my daughter suggested to her that it would be more appropriate to ask her waitress whether they were doing OK, she responded f**k you and stay out of my business. We asked and moved to another table.
I have concerns in reading this article. Terms like: visitors who are compassionate. So long as you do it mindfully. Ensure the right kind of respectful visitor returns.” HTA says it only wants to attract “respectful” tourists to Maui. A post-arrival educational program.” ? We have been traveled to Maui many times over the past 23 years. In 2023 we traveled before the fire and spent time visiting local businesses and spending our money there. Terms like this make me think the Maui Government doesn’t want us there and maybe the locals as well. Change of plans for us this year and for years to come. We don’t need to be told how to act, we are compassionate, mindful and respectful human beings who are already educated.
It would be best if nothing was said about tourism if this is the best the agencies can do. Allow it to grow organically. All the mixed messages and “insults” about tourists being terrible people who may say the wrong thing, will carry down the road. Spoiler alert, Locals can be rude too.
If tourists are made to feel unwelcome, they won’t pay to visit here. Working folks will suffer, not the agencies who seem so clueless as to how their statements impact the basic foundation of Maui. Aloha spirit is a living thing …don’t kill it.
It’s a bit of a slap in the face to be told I need to act respectfully. In visiting the island yearly since 1985, it’s insulting to assume I’d act otherwise. This might be our last visit as you’re out pricing the middle class tourist. Fee upon fee, upon fee. Respect begets respect. Maui’s housing shortage is not the fault of tourists. It’s the fault of state officials who allowed too many resorts to be built. Maui officials did not put local people first. Stop blaming the tourists for all the problems.
I am really starting to be confused. Are Canadians less worthy visitors than our counterparts from the USA? I own several time share weeks at the Westin Kaanapali and I have scheduled a stay in June for my 70th. Slowly I am sensing that we are less welcome than in previous years, even though we spend a “Fistfull of Dollars”. Also, maintenace fees reached a point were I consider other options in the Vistana / Marriott programs. I hope I am wrong, but ………
Please read my real world example of what locals have to endure in their devastation. A “fistfull of dollars” was exactly what a rude visitor visited upon a waitress on our recent visit to our daughter and husband, who had lost their home and business.
This is kind of burning my britches…
I lived in Las Vegas in 2017 when some crazy guy started shooting out the Mandalay Bay window. 60 dead, 413 wounded. I don’t recall the “please respect us as we go thru mourning”. It took a couple of days to do the investigation. About a week or two later we had a memorial to remember them.
I know this is different and a lot of people are now homeless, but California has wildfires that wipe out houses often….
Personally, I’m kind of shocked that the lots in Lahaina haven’t been cleared by now and rebuilding hasn’t started. There are tons of rental properties out there that can be long term housing (probably a lot that aren’t registered). The Governor needs to “lean in”.
Perhaps you have not been following recent events. The Governor has already “leaned in”. He has asked short term rental owners, many non-residents with second or third homes, to open up their dwellings to long-term rentals with supplemental income and tax forgiveness to those who do.
As for clearing the lots. This is an island. Where do thousands of tons of toxic debris get deposited? It has to find a long-term “home” off island. That takes barges, heavy equipment, trucks and finding a suitable resting place for the devastation.
Your burning britches are not the problem. Your lack of compassion and understanding speaks volumes.
James so you think dumping your toxic trash onto a barge and shipping it somewhere else is fair? We dont ship our toxic trash to your island when ca burns.
But such is the typical attitude of the locals now. Theyvthinknthey are owed everything
Given the vast wastelands on the mainland, the problem of storing toxic waste blessedly has the same solution as storing nuclear waste in underground abandoned salt mines. Maui has no such waste area because of its size. It would be helpful to think through a response before posting
With the attitude expressed in your rejoinder, I think you may be an example of what HTA had in mind.
There needs to be a “thumbs DOWN” button to respond to your comment. I’m sorry that your daughter, her family, and their business was affected by the fires. As a former resident there is a lot more that Josh Green and the Hawaii government, and Maui government, could be doing for its residents. Your insults and condescending comments, to people that want to come and support Maui and it’s residents, doesn’t help the situation.
Your comment is misplaced. The original poster had little knowledge of efforts by the Governor, Mayor, community advocacy groups, Red Cross and others to support rebuilding Maui. I was simply correcting his outrage and comparison of a massacre to fires that wiped out 2-3 thousand homes.
Perhaps you could help with suggestions for the Governor and others in what more they could do. Otherwise, simply complaining does little good.
BTW, my family wasn’t simply “affected”. They lost everything.
HTA need to be the parent here, as the “people” are the kids. Sometimes parents know more than the kids and sometimes the kids are shortsighted. That means, until the legislation here creates additional channels of revenue, which they still continue to drag their feet on, we need every tourism dollar we can get. I’ve seen a few posts on this already, so it’s on some people minds.
That, is the truth and has nothing to do with “feelings”.
I’m not sure what I think or feel about the statement made. I’m a past resident of BI, visit the islands not less than 2x annually, and am 37 days from my next visit to Maui – regardless of where we travel, we are compassionate, thoughtful, kind and respectful. We were raised in the hospitality industry in a resort area so understand what locals experience – I have seen visitors (and locals alike) being disrespectful of places, humans, animals, wildlife, flora, etc. – unfortunately selfishness comes in all shapes and sizes & is not just wearing a visitor name tag.
I’m “pono” even on mainland where I now live. Can’t say the same for many of my “neighbors”
I have been coming to Maui for about 2 months a year, for over 40 years. Until now, I have always felt welcome; but I am concerned about the anti-tourist vibe and am wondering if it is time to look for someplace else to go, where the people will welcome me and the dollars I spend. Costs had been rising before the fire and leadership had been focused on seeing how many tax dollars and fees they could levy on its visitors. From what I hear, it is going to get worse, even forcing parking fees along the streets to go to the beach! Losing me means losing my adult children ( daughter came first time at age 1 month and joins me annually). If forced to look elsewhere, I will lose some of my heart. Christine L.
Happy New Year BOH!
We will be visiting Maui the end of February, can’t wait! We are staying in West Maui to help support the economy. However, I am very concerned about the possible, “nuclear hammer” that may fall in mid-January, as we booked a condo. If our condo is given to a family affected by the fires, we will gladly give it up. Not sure what we will do since the cost of hotel rooms are so expensive and there are no rooms for five adults.
Thanks BOH for all of your helpful information!
Hi Rachel.
HNY! We hope it all works out as you have planned. Please let us know how it goes.
Aloha.
I will not be returnIng to Hawaii in general in 2024.
Yes we are returning to Maui in 2024. We go every year to see the whales. We respect the culture, people and the ocean and its creatures. We have always felt welcomed. I am concerned this year because it seems the locals don’t want us. I called where we are going to stay and they confirmed but really seemed to discourage us from coming. They said it’s hard to find open restaurants unless you go to kehi and they may bump us in case locals need rooms. I understand if locals need rooms but it’s hard not knowing.
Debbie – You got some bad information. We just returned from our annual 6 week stay on the west side in Maui and there was no issue with restaurants anywhere on the island with the exception of Lahaina.
You do need to be understanding that most places are understaffed so service can be a bit slow. Please tip your servers well.
If this cuts down on overcrowding in Maui, I am all for it. I’m not taking any of this personally. I go each year to sit on a condo lanai and watch whales through my binoculars. We shop at the farmers market and grocery store. We eat out a few times and use local companies for “attractions “ like snorkeling or guided hikes.
We were lucky enough to visit right after the Covid lock down lifted. If it was ever like that again I would be content.
I do wonder about condo rentals. Hotels are at least double what we pay and being forced into hotels would not be affordable for us.
Hawaii .. You are going to lose billions of dollars from tourism!! The gig is up !! People are fed up and will not pay 💰 for the insane Fee’s and bump in hotel 🏨 prices 30%
Aloha !! 🤙🏽
We have been to Maui many many times.
While I’m respectful for the people
of Lahaina and would like to support them, the messaging coming from Maui is mixed and does not make me feel welcome. Plus I notice hotel prices are crazy expensive. So we will not be returning in 2024 and possibly never as we look for other vacation destinations.
As annual visitors to the Hawaiian Islands for over 30 years, sadly, we have no plans to return given the unrest, inhospitable atmosphere, mixed messages as well as an increase in already exorbitant pricing in accommodations, restaurant pricing, car rentals and ridiculous pricing for frequenting beaches and hiking trails. So, so very sad.
Having just returned from West Maui (Kaanapali Beach area), we were welcomed with open arms. The spirit of Aloha was alive and well. We were thanked many times for coming and were encouraged to tell everyone Maui is open for business. People were very appreciative for our business. The crowds were less than I’ve ever experienced, and it was very different for me. You were able to see some of the devastation which was absolutely heartbreaking. Not being able to go to Front Street was so weird, as it was always a staple for me. It was a different sort of trip this time, but Maui is still beautiful as well as the people and their welcoming hearts. Go and spend your tourist dollars, they will welcome you!
We come from a tourist driven town in Canada as well, and appreciate some of the frustrations of having you community ‘swamped’ by visitors. However, we are proud of where we live, and enjoy sharing it with others. That being said, there is always the ignorant 10% that make the rest look bad. No point wasting time on that unsolvable problem – they are not teachable. We have been coming to Maui for over 12 years, and in the last few years have noticed the impact of perceived ‘over visitation’. Restaurants not taking reservations and having us stand in line for an hour or so, the local govt proposing an additional ‘tourist tax’, trolling for excessive tips on the POS machines. We will be back in January, and hope to be welcomed.
We have been going to Maui, just about once a year, for over 30 years. It’s my happy place, and I was devastated by the Lahaina and Kula fires. So tragic. We are returning in early March, staying in Kaanapali, and I hope for a peaceful stay. We are not in a (physical) position to volunteer (although we do support some local Maui organizations, monetarily), which pains me a bit, but it is what it is. I think we have always conducted ourselves respectfully – as we do wherever we travel. I’m on the fence with regard to the HTA statement, but I know I’ve seen some outrageous and disrespectful (and ignorant) behavior over the years (by tourists). Everyone, everywhere, is on edge these days.
I was born on Maui currently living in Las Vegas. . I find it offensive telling people how to behave etc. it’s bad enough Lahaina is no longer a tourist attraction. Maui is dependent on tourism for its survival. Tourists don’t need Maui. Comments like this is a turn off. Maui no ka oi ?
I’ll leave the “respectful tourists” with one simple example:
Recently our family (wife, daughter, partner, two kids) visited with our daughter on Maui. She and her husband lost both their home and their tourist-oriented business.
We were dining at a restaurant when the woman and family at a nearby table began to complain about the service. The woman could be heard throughout the restaurant and volunteered that they deserve more respect because of the money they spend.
When my daughter suggested to her that it would be more appropriate to ask her waitress whether they were doing OK, she responded f**k you and stay out of my business. We asked and moved to another table.
That’s what HTA meant by “respect”.
Wow JamesB that makes me so sad to hear. I am sorry for your daughter and for the servers in that establishment.
I have concerns in reading this article. Terms like: visitors who are compassionate. So long as you do it mindfully. Ensure the right kind of respectful visitor returns.” HTA says it only wants to attract “respectful” tourists to Maui. A post-arrival educational program.” ? We have been traveled to Maui many times over the past 23 years. In 2023 we traveled before the fire and spent time visiting local businesses and spending our money there. Terms like this make me think the Maui Government doesn’t want us there and maybe the locals as well. Change of plans for us this year and for years to come. We don’t need to be told how to act, we are compassionate, mindful and respectful human beings who are already educated.
It would be best if nothing was said about tourism if this is the best the agencies can do. Allow it to grow organically. All the mixed messages and “insults” about tourists being terrible people who may say the wrong thing, will carry down the road. Spoiler alert, Locals can be rude too.
If tourists are made to feel unwelcome, they won’t pay to visit here. Working folks will suffer, not the agencies who seem so clueless as to how their statements impact the basic foundation of Maui. Aloha spirit is a living thing …don’t kill it.
It’s a bit of a slap in the face to be told I need to act respectfully. In visiting the island yearly since 1985, it’s insulting to assume I’d act otherwise. This might be our last visit as you’re out pricing the middle class tourist. Fee upon fee, upon fee. Respect begets respect. Maui’s housing shortage is not the fault of tourists. It’s the fault of state officials who allowed too many resorts to be built. Maui officials did not put local people first. Stop blaming the tourists for all the problems.
I am really starting to be confused. Are Canadians less worthy visitors than our counterparts from the USA? I own several time share weeks at the Westin Kaanapali and I have scheduled a stay in June for my 70th. Slowly I am sensing that we are less welcome than in previous years, even though we spend a “Fistfull of Dollars”. Also, maintenace fees reached a point were I consider other options in the Vistana / Marriott programs. I hope I am wrong, but ………
Please read my real world example of what locals have to endure in their devastation. A “fistfull of dollars” was exactly what a rude visitor visited upon a waitress on our recent visit to our daughter and husband, who had lost their home and business.
This is kind of burning my britches…
I lived in Las Vegas in 2017 when some crazy guy started shooting out the Mandalay Bay window. 60 dead, 413 wounded. I don’t recall the “please respect us as we go thru mourning”. It took a couple of days to do the investigation. About a week or two later we had a memorial to remember them.
I know this is different and a lot of people are now homeless, but California has wildfires that wipe out houses often….
Personally, I’m kind of shocked that the lots in Lahaina haven’t been cleared by now and rebuilding hasn’t started. There are tons of rental properties out there that can be long term housing (probably a lot that aren’t registered). The Governor needs to “lean in”.
Perhaps you have not been following recent events. The Governor has already “leaned in”. He has asked short term rental owners, many non-residents with second or third homes, to open up their dwellings to long-term rentals with supplemental income and tax forgiveness to those who do.
As for clearing the lots. This is an island. Where do thousands of tons of toxic debris get deposited? It has to find a long-term “home” off island. That takes barges, heavy equipment, trucks and finding a suitable resting place for the devastation.
Your burning britches are not the problem. Your lack of compassion and understanding speaks volumes.
James so you think dumping your toxic trash onto a barge and shipping it somewhere else is fair? We dont ship our toxic trash to your island when ca burns.
But such is the typical attitude of the locals now. Theyvthinknthey are owed everything
Given the vast wastelands on the mainland, the problem of storing toxic waste blessedly has the same solution as storing nuclear waste in underground abandoned salt mines. Maui has no such waste area because of its size. It would be helpful to think through a response before posting
With the attitude expressed in your rejoinder, I think you may be an example of what HTA had in mind.
There needs to be a “thumbs DOWN” button to respond to your comment. I’m sorry that your daughter, her family, and their business was affected by the fires. As a former resident there is a lot more that Josh Green and the Hawaii government, and Maui government, could be doing for its residents. Your insults and condescending comments, to people that want to come and support Maui and it’s residents, doesn’t help the situation.
Your comment is misplaced. The original poster had little knowledge of efforts by the Governor, Mayor, community advocacy groups, Red Cross and others to support rebuilding Maui. I was simply correcting his outrage and comparison of a massacre to fires that wiped out 2-3 thousand homes.
Perhaps you could help with suggestions for the Governor and others in what more they could do. Otherwise, simply complaining does little good.
BTW, my family wasn’t simply “affected”. They lost everything.
Aloha guys,
HTA need to be the parent here, as the “people” are the kids. Sometimes parents know more than the kids and sometimes the kids are shortsighted. That means, until the legislation here creates additional channels of revenue, which they still continue to drag their feet on, we need every tourism dollar we can get. I’ve seen a few posts on this already, so it’s on some people minds.
That, is the truth and has nothing to do with “feelings”.
Mahalo nui
I’m not sure what I think or feel about the statement made. I’m a past resident of BI, visit the islands not less than 2x annually, and am 37 days from my next visit to Maui – regardless of where we travel, we are compassionate, thoughtful, kind and respectful. We were raised in the hospitality industry in a resort area so understand what locals experience – I have seen visitors (and locals alike) being disrespectful of places, humans, animals, wildlife, flora, etc. – unfortunately selfishness comes in all shapes and sizes & is not just wearing a visitor name tag.
I’m “pono” even on mainland where I now live. Can’t say the same for many of my “neighbors”