Maui has great resorts and an improved airport with the most flights (including widebody) to Hawaii other than Honolulu. But now it has clearly become too much of a good thing. So what happens next?
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Maui has great resorts and an improved airport with the most flights (including widebody) to Hawaii other than Honolulu. But now it has clearly become too much of a good thing. So what happens next?
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Living in Hāna, the huge influx of tourists has become a problem for locals wanting to park at the post office, bank or store. Many of the visitors seem to think they can park anywhere and just wander around. We live in a small close knit community and this is causing problems. I hope this plan will help us cope.
I live in Southern California at the beach and it is sometimes difficult to find parking in front of my house! if I can’t find parking on the street I half to go park in the beach parking lot and pay. But guess what? I chose to live there and it is what it is. We don’t charge only those visiting for parking. Everyone pays for parking at the beach. Me included.
More out of control city government
I suggest that if Maui implements parking fees on other county residents of Hawaii, the other counties implement fees to Maui residents.
The public, tourist focused infrastructure is so meager in Hawaii. For the most part beach infrastructure is meh, public transit is meh, trail construction and maintenance is meh, airports are meh, and post-pandemic it’s all really expensive. The Maui bus system is designed to be locals-only-it prohibits luggage!
As a visitor I have no problem with the parking fees. I live in California and parking fees are everywhere, especially out beaches. I don’t like that Hawaiian visitors from another island would have to pay for parking – what’s good on one island should be good on another island – and Hawaii is only one state. But, I thing the parking fees should be reasonable, not a gouge.
My husband and I have visited Maui 8 times. We stay in a VRBO at Kamaoli Sands. Because of walking limitations, we are not able to walk to the beach, but love the sunsets. This would cost us an additional $400 for parking. That is less $ we would have to spend on food and shopping. This new fee will hurt every business on Maui. Maui is quickly sending the people who love it most to other destinations.
Isnt that how the state of Hawaii works? Anything to make visitors and tax payers pay more money to fill the states bloated coffers. Never to help the business owners and the working guy out. They are still playing games with covid when most states are way past all that stuff.
VRBOs suck, stay at hotel and you get a beach
I visit Maui every year and I understand the need for restricting beach parking for locals. I live in a coastal community in CA and I’d love it if we did the same thing here. So many visitors come here and trash our beaches and inundate us. People need to learn to leave a very small footprint when visiting beautiful areas.
Interesting I own timeshare units on Maui, I pay taxes does that make me a tourist or resident?
I also have a small timeshare on Maui, have had it for over 20 years, pay property taxes, etc.. but still get treated as a ‘tourist’ because I can’t afford the high cost of HI real estate. Hopefully, when Europe again opens more fully, that will take some of the tourist ‘pressure’ off HI and things will settle down.
Just something for the ‘lords of HI’ to consider: If they had not issued building permits, and Continue to issue them to big corporations like Westin, to build ever larger hotels/timeshares on the islands like Maui, there would be fewer places to stay on the islands, and fewer tourists. The demands for tax dollars apparently overrode their concern for the quality of life of the residents.
This! You get it… The money was too good to say no to. Sounds like someone needs to audit where fees, etc., actually go to, because it isn’t amenities or parking infrastructure.
I do visit Maui as a tourist.
24 hrs a day I spend money.
Their are massive amounts of fees and taxes built into a tourist’s every purchase.
If you expand your public parking to fit the tourist load it’s a win/win.
Having to many visitors is a luxury.
Steve M.
I don’t mind paying for parking IF Hawaii starts taking care of their homeless. These poor souls have to beg for food, and if they are injured, walk around bleeding through their clothes. Use this money to help your own!
BOH…. You forgot to mention Locals Only parking from 7:00am to 10:00am. Tourists will have to wait to Go to the beach.
The homeless are not allowed to beg
They’d get thrown in jail
Even if they’re starving.
Their Moto is..Don’t feed the homeless just like the signs that read… don’t feed the chickens.
Guessing that 37 trips to Maui is now enough. Funny how in all of that time I Never had any trouble finding parking in Lahaina day or night. I’m sure that this will work out just as well as the red light cameras that many locations around America have found out.
Aloha, I don’t understand why you improve all your infrastructure to attract tourists, but than when you succeed you complain about it. Now you want to discourage tourists access, to what you promote as free public beach access.
Hawaii was fortunate to be the go to place during the pandemic, it benefited from the fact people were cooped up in there homes and when travel started to relax. It created a bubble everyone wanted to vacation all at the same time. Well that’s not the case any longer and now you are going to have fight to get back all the tourists you’ve alienated.
A flat rate of $30 for parking at a designated beach or park for tourists / visitors to Maui is par for the course. I agree that something must be done to be able to accommodate both residents and tourists.
I have lived in over crowded resort towns with limited parking for residents and visitors. Simple solution was to create zoned parking for the residents and paid parking structures for the visitors.
With the implementation of the new parking fees that will create a new revenue stream does Maui County have that money earmarked for any beach improvements or additional parking?
Whatever happens I hope will be a win-win for the tourists, the residents and the County of Maui.
Stop building new hotel rooms when all we hear about is that there are too many tourists. When the rooms are sold out, you’re at capacity.
As beautiful as Maui is we no longer go for such reason s. They encourage tourism and the $$$ we bring but it’s just not worth it anymore. We have been going to the Big island, slower paced and better value
Never go to Maui for the beaches. Haleakala and Lahaina Town have their own attraction. I don’t think we will be returning there. That’s a very unfriendly tourism policy. I lived in Chicago with beautiful beaches on Lake Michigan, but most locals don’t drive there. Why doesn’t Maui invest in public transportation for residents to get to the beach? The idea of residents filling up parking spaces for free that tourists have to pay $30 or higher for is a maddening thought, and possibly not being able to go to the beach they paid their vacation money to get to I is even worse! Remember, Maui: if the tourists leave you will be paying Higher Taxes for what they pay for now.
Wow. Just wow. I can understand need to do something, but yikes! $30 for parking?! And only for tourists?
Wailuku?? I’ve spent months on Maui total, but have spent the tiniest fraction in Wailuku, I can’t imagine tourists causing parking issues there. As for Lahaina, definitely a nightmare to park, but how are residents going to park free or low fees in the private parking lots? That won’t work. I like the idea of shuttles, better transit. But that wouldn’t bring in as much $ from tourists, huh?
I live in South Maui. This program feels punitive towards visitors. Further, I rarely have any difficulty finding beach parking except at the smallest Kam lot, so I question the need. This is about soaking tourists. Maybe wait a few minutes. Parking is tough in downtown Wailuku but those are locals competing for spaces. Lahaina is already mostly private paid lots. Now Paia? Definitely needed there.
BOH…. You forgot to mention Locals ONLY parking from 7:00am to 10:00am. Tourists will have to wait to Go to the beach.
Reason #187 why I far prefer to go to Mexico than Hawaii.
I stopped reading this after it said “Maui has a much improved airport” lol.
I use mostly use transit when I’m Maui.
That is a good move, kill the goose!
I took my daughter to Oahu in 2018 and Maui were in 2019 because I knew she would love Hawaii as much as I did. There was an undercurrent of anger and resentment in some areas of Maui that I’d never felt before but my daughter decided she wanted to come back to Maui for her 21st birthday. Two weeks ago, after three years of reading about how Hawaii feels about visitors, I booked our trip for next March. We’re going to Florida.
You are correct! Beaches are just as pretty in Florida and the Caribbean!
You’re comparing Florida to Hawaii? Someone needs their eyes checked
It is just amazing. The taxes to stay at hotels snd cindos are the highest in the nation, now to add fees to park daily is out of control. Time yo consider different places to visit besides Maui.
For years the Hawaii visitor board has campaigned for people to come to Hawaii. It was supported by local government. It was supported by locals who benefited from the jobs. Now you want to complain about tourism. Hawaii’s main source of income. That would be like us complaining about oil companies here in Alaska and wanting them all to leave. Doesn’t make sense
Locals barely benefit from tourism it’s what America teaches you but wait they stole the land didn’t you know that so you can’t believe what they tell you
More than a decade to figure it out? How about this. Give residents a sticker for their car and charge everyone without $20 or so per car. Use that money to fund infrastructure improvement.
I can see charging per car but per person? What’s behind that?
Lol like they care about infrastructure damage here all they are about in Honolulu is building more condos for the wealthy and kicking out the locals
Here in Alaska I pay the same parking fees to park in state parks that the visitors do. I’m using the same services that they are I should have to pay the same fee.
Totally agree. Make everything equal.
It’s simple. Better mass transit. Beach shuttles from all major towns, resorts, hotels. Chair, umbrella, etc. rentals at the beach. Residents park at beach.
This reeks if anti tourist. Not a good look for an island that depends on and benefits from millions of dollars of revenue from these tourists. This does nothing to unify tourists and locals and is definitely not an Aloha move from the County government.
There hardly is any aloha anymore here since tourists started coming back after COVID they’ve all been extremely rude disrespectful with an I don’t have to do what you tell me attitude
Florida is better
Here is the scenario I see playing out with the beach parking fees. Because it is such a large amount, I see people parking on side streets, in residential neighborhoods & parking at the strip plaza parking lots etc. and just walking to avoid paying the fees. I think it is going to create bigger headaches for locals living in nearby neighborhoods, businesses trying to maintain parking for their customers etc. While I don’t think visitors like being singled out as the problem, I think a $10. fee would get a lot less pushback
Well, it’s getting to look more and more like the Islands’ philosophy towards the tourists is, “We welcome you to Hawaii, because so much of our population works in a tourist associated industry. Many residents work in the hotels, restaurants, t-shirt shops, etc., and you help make it possible for them to earn a living and reside here. So, in the future, when you get off the plane/ship, kindly just deposit all you money in the tourist marked kiosk, and get on the next plane leaving the islands. Mahalo!”
A family spends a lot of money for airfare, accomodations and food/dining. Now at $30/day parking to go to the beach adds about another $200/week to the vacation. And where does that money go???
Who cares? You get to come here stop asking questions
We in Colorado have had similar problems with crowded parking at popular tourist destinations.
The solution at peak times has been to close parking at those destinations and to provide shuttle service from off-site parking. Residents get no preferred treatment. Visitors actually have a better experience without the overcrowded parking.
More of the SWA effect backlash….the SWA business plan of flooding a market as a new entrant probably hurt Maui the most.
Yeah, it’s those filthy “SWA” types of people who are ruining Maui!
Not at all…it’s a business plan that floods a market with cheap fares to create new traffic, then slowly raise the fares of the market they created. That’s how SWA grows. It works in large areas like Orlando or Las Vegas, it really hurts a small island like Maui. Don’t try and make it a decisive class issue.
Correction, divisive……
Ahh.. Not being inclusive… par for the course
This may look good to some folks, but consider what it may do to your income in the long term. If this becomes popular on Kauai I may need to consider spending 4 or 5 weeks a year someplace else. Hawaii is already expensive enough, this may put us over the top.
I think the islands should improve electric bus service to these locations so that cars don’t become a problem. I know doing to this would impact the rental business but we need to implement services for their ease of use and what’s better for the environment. I live on the Big island and I probably won’t visit the other islands bc when you add up lodging and car rentals and parking fees and food were talking about a lot of money. I don’t want to have to deal with a car, gas, parking etc to spend 2 hours on the beach.
I did not see where these parking fees were going? Even if the fees were to discourage tourists, the fees will still be collected and will go where? Hawaii has some of the highest taxes in the US but still has issues staying afloat.
Mahalo for keeping us informed .
Aloha Rob+Jeff. So we arrived on the 11th. Smooth sailing at LAX. Had purchased the shuttle tickets for $35 ea. ($70.) We get to Waipa shuttle stop with my girlfriend who lives here and they said we could go to Haena with her in her car. No problem. So I wasted $70.00 for a “required” pass. They told us the rules keep changing concerning the fee.No refund for me. On to Know now. Will update you.
Include Baldwin Beach otherwise even MORE tourists will go there because it’s free. It’s our north shore home beach and the traffic from Haiku to Pa’ia is bad enough without more tourists going there.
And what about the Pa’ia bypass??? What happened to that???
“Lahaina and Paia have become so unpleasant for residents to find parking, many have stopped going”. Well, a lot of Mainland tourists are going to feel the same way. It’s just another way for Maui County to make money off of tourists. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.
Maui has become a victim of its own success, so why penalize the tourists?
I am from Los Angeles and I love Maui and I love Hawaii, I’m not going to come and feel ripped off by parking at admission fees. Who is the idiot that said if people can afford to come to Maui then $30 is not going to mean much. Just remember, those fees are on a daily basis so after a week’s vacation, a tourist family will have spent quite a bit of money.
Totally agree Charles. We have been going to Maui every spring for 20 years. We still feel welcomed by residents but not by the local government. Will definitely have to start looking where we spend are vacation dollars.
Just because people come to Maui doesn’t mean they can afford 30.00 day parking. Some may have safe a lifetime for this adventure and have a budget. Others it may be a trip before start of cancer treatment. Yes, some people can afford it. What happened to that aloha spirit, of feeling welcomed to the island. They need to form a committee of all stakeholders before implication.
Aloha spirit was lost since COVID I wish visitors would stop asking that as if they expect it to be handed to them by residents we are not here to entertain you
Should just buy out land and put up parking garages. Yes, you are there to entertain us ERIKA.
Oh Maui… dear Maui… you never cease to amaze… My mind is blown at the sheer hatred of tourists this policy betrays.
I have to pay parking everywhere on the mainland so it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me…very used it
Yes and other people (who live in the neighborhood you are parking in) pay as well. Unlike this policy.