With over 100 engaging comments. What’s ahead in Hawaii travel needs your input too.
224 thoughts on “New Fees, Fines And Systems Coming To Maui and All Hawaii Visitors”
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With over 100 engaging comments. What’s ahead in Hawaii travel needs your input too.
Comments are closed.
What if I travel back and forth from Maui to Las Vegas for work. My government issued ID is a Nevada ID. Would I have to get a Hawaii ID to avoid the extra charge? I stay at a friends property when I’m working in Maui.
I am not onHawaiian, but I’ve been coming to Hawai’i since 1978; I got married on Oahu 2003. My husband has been “loaned” by the Bremerton Shipyard in WA State to Pearl Harbor many times to help out . It feels as though Hawai’i is our “second home” and our dream/hope has always been to move to Maui. But I must tell you, I’ve been extremely saddened by all the words written about how “terrible”, “disrespectful”, “unappreciative” tourists are of Hawai’i and it’s people. Not ALL tourists are like that! Not ALL tourists disrespect the laws of the road and park wherever they choose! Not ALL tourists seem disinterested in the culture of Hawai’ian people. Not ALL tourists are bad drivers potentially being required to purchase a Hawai’i driver’s license before being able to rent a car (a new proposal I read about!). I am so disappointed by all the complaining and lumping ALL tourists together as being the “same”. Tourists who come to the Islands during Christmas time, are called “whales” because we are willing (or, perhaps too stupid!) to pay very high rates for hotels, “resort fees”, car rentals, tourist attractions, higher costs at restaurants and for food in general. The “Aloha Spirit”, we learned a long time ago, is to be kind, helpful, respectful and welcoming; it doesn’t feel that way when looking at all the posts online about how much tourists are blamed for ruining the oceans, for the bad traffic, for the over-crowding, for being disrespectful of the culture, etc. I just respectfully request that before pointing fingers at everything being the tourists’ fault that you also examine how the tourists feel they’ve been treated recently by the Hawai’ians. Please consider that people are flocking to the Islands in record numbers because they miss a beautiful land that is also very special to them, special enough to pay more! I can’t say that attitude will continue if we feel less welcome. Thank you.
Hi Kathleen.
Thanks for your first-time comment and input on this important subject.
Aloha.
Vanessa K: I have no reason to doubt you. But as someone who spent 15 nights at 3 different Hotels in May, we had to show our Safe Travels QR code before the hotel would check us in or before the rental car company would give us a car. You also couldn’t get out of the airport. So this is very destressing to me.
It’s sad you had that experience. We flew Alaska & pre-cleared to get to Maui. We were given a wristband when we boarded & when we landed we walked straight out of the airport. We did have to show a statement on our “Safe Travels” to the car rental but that was the only time during our one week. We also had a year old one week stay reservation, so no problems there either. Aloha!
I think a impact fee might be a good idea. However taxes on resort areas are already extremely high. But if the county does collect fees from visitors please use it to clean up the trash along the highways and byways you have such a beautiful island here but allowing people to dump cars and other trash along the highway is making your island look like a Third World country.
I sure wish those darn tourists would stop doing abandoning their cars and trucks along the side of the road. So disrespectful.
Bobby: So true – we had to test @ $300 from Maui to Kauai, yet a local doesn’t. I have the same CDC card and the same vaccine. How does that work?
VanessaK
How could a tourist bring the Variant if they had to be tested before arrival. It is the people who are vaccinated in Hawaii that are allowed to travel within the islands without being tested?
Some tourists are arriving without final results of a Covid test or alternatively not showing symptoms. The health dept advised us the variant came from a visitor. I don’t think the tests are foolproof.
Where did you read that tourists are allowed to enter without their covid results uploaded onto the safe travels website? They have been VERY strict about that for at least 6 months now.
You are absolutely right. We just returned and had to show QR codes before we could register, even though we had copies of our test results. My family was pre-screened at PDX, but my paperwork wouldn’t upload properly, so I had to go through screening at Honolulu airport before I was allowed to join my family.
Absolutely agree. We had to show COVID results at airport and hotel. No QR code, no registration
I totally support all these changes! Please make sure they happen!
I live in Texas & just got back from Maui yesterday. Our 3rd visit in 35 years. Our first trip to Hana – it is very beautiful & I understand your wanting to protect it. I don’t think small fines & $100 fees will bother most tourists coming to Maui as it costs so much to get there to begin with & I know that wouldn’t bother us. I think if you could do a “park entrance” to the road to Hana whereby tourists have to make reservations in advance to travel for 1 day it would be a better way. Also, it could be open only to local tour vans but you would need to add a lot more, right now they are sold out yet we only saw 4 on the road Sunday June 20. This would require less parking. You could add fees to the tour cost to cover maintenance, etc. I bought 2 tickets in advance to go to Waianapanapa state park for an hour as we weren’t sure what time we’d get there. It was beautiful! We have now been to Hana & probably won’t ever go again because it takes so long. We also drove both from Kaanapoli to Kahului via hwy 340 & it was beautiful. However had we known in advance how narrow the road was we would not have done that drive. You might be able to do something similar there as well. I think you should definitely limit the number of high rise hotels. If there isn’t a place to stay people won’t come. We love Maui & we love an occasional visit to see the beauty & enjoy the beaches. We appreciate your wanting to limit tourism somewhat. Good luck.
The number of tourists coming into the islands is out of control. The numbers are higher than pre-pandemic and the tourists coming are seemingly feeling ‘more entitled’than before. I disagree with the comment below: Hawaii is NOT like other states. It is remote islands with a culture and wildlife different to any other states. To have tourists coming in droves who disregard the laws, regulations and recommendations to respect the islands and keep them safe and healthy is unacceptable. If the sign says: do not touch the monk seals/keep a distance, why are tourists ignoring this? They are trying to take ‘rides’ on the sea turtles that have returned, trying to take home pieces of the reef, don’t care about mask rules and we now have the Delta variant on island in Kauai which has come via tourist visitors. I agree, its not about raising or charging fees to combat this-its about education of the visitors coming. This is not a small number choosing not to respect the islands but appears, from those of us living here, to be the majority.
Don’t come if you don’t respect the islands. Really sad the reaction on this feed.
amen to that
We love Maui. We’ve been visiting since the ninety’s (honeymoon) and haven’t stopped when ever we could save up enough. We aren’t poor but also not affluent so we support local markets and high country cafes and love the soul refreshing winds of the island. Over the years it has become more and more expensive to visit from rental fees and taxes on everything for being a tourist. The 100 per person fee will be the straw for our family. Many on Maui will not weep for our inability to visit but nor will they notice a drop in tourist numbers. Simply more affluent people. I hope it doesn’t come to pass but I know much like other places to visit on this planet my options will be less and less.
Over the years I have been quietly surprised that there hasn’t been an explosion of tourism on Maui as there is on Oahu. Its been a nice secret to skip The Gathering Place and enjoy ‘laid back’ Maui. Looks like critical mass is being reached and what makes Maui special could be overrun by more visitors. Alas, tourism is a double edged sword in Hawaii and especially so on Maui.
As you can see in the comments, WE are getting tired this! Where did the aloha go? Fees, taxes, permits, and more fees. $60 for my family to visit Haena while locals drive right in without a permit. $80 for my family to visit Kokee, while locals drive right in without a permit. $10 Kauai Juice Co drink for me, $8 for the locals. Camping free for locals, not for my family. We are feeling shafted! I love Hawaii, but we are already looking for new destinations.
I’m planning three trips to the islands next year, two to Kauai and one to Maui and I’m at $33K in my budget so far before eating out.
The head of HDOT has already said limiting access to a public road through a reservation system or other means is probably illegal. If that were not the case, the road to Ke’e probably would have never re-opened to the public after the 2018 floods.
Steve H. My point exactly!
This is ridiculous
This is ridiculous I am pretty sure there isn’t anymore people than before the pandemic
Thanks for the information. My husband, daughter and I visited Oahu last November. I was considering Maui for this November, but now that I have learned about the influx of tourists causing problems for locals, we will go to Oahu again and try Maui once the excess dies down. We would hate to impose and cause more problems for locals. That wouldn’t be fair to y’all and I respect that. Thanks you. Aloha. Sincerely, Brandell
Aloha Guys
One of the big reasons for the big increase in Hawaii travel is because so many other places/events are still closed however, that is rapidly changing. I suspect there will be a cooldown in Hawaii tourism in a month or so. I surely don’t understand the fascination with Hana given that you are sitting in a car all day, we surely can find better things do with our time while in Hawaii.
For an area that has struggled so much during the pandemic this seems to be an absurd idea. Hawaii is not the Galapagos. It doesn’t have the unique forms of wildlife and is much bigger. Right now the emphasis should be on mandating cleaner forms of energy, recycling and removing plastics.
Wow. As travelers to Hawaii 30+ times, We may have reached the tipping point in our travel decision to visit Maui annually. All these potential fees may finally push us to abandon Maui and seek friendlier islands such as Kauai.
This idea is not just on Maui, Kauai Council & Mayor are planning the same tactics.