A visitor surcharge for parking on Kauai is set to be implemented.
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289 thoughts on “Should Visitors Pay New $10 Kauai Beach Parking Surcharge?”
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A visitor surcharge for parking on Kauai is set to be implemented.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Comments are closed.
We already pay taxes on accommodations and if lots are
Full and we would need to park on the street and you ticket
It would make it hard to enjoy your beaches which means
People would visit somewhere else! Kauai is my favorite place
In the world to visit so we like to go back as much as possible
But if it becomes too much of a pain there are many other
Tropical places to visit. 70% of Hawaii’s revenue comes from
Tourists I believe.
Profiling. Didn’t think that was legal. We are horribly disappointed with the attitude of the Kauai government. We have been coming for at least a month for two decades and have always been respectful of Kauai and residents. We truly feel like no one is allowed to come. We do understand tourism as we are in Colorado.
Message recieved! Kauai residents and government no longer welcomes tourist dollars! Lots of great beaches in the Caribbean folks. Residents welcome tourists with open arms elsewhere. Please respect the wishes of these residents and travel elsewhere.
Its a rip off I used to go to Hawaii n didn’t have to pay to.park at a beach or lookout point, or to use the beach to go snorkeling. Now almost all places you need to pay. Can’t believe how greedy they are getting n believe me there is plenty of money to.go around. I used to work for a City n they had a budget had you had to spend the money they gave each department or else my boss had to find things to buy to use the.money
Bull yet we had to come.up with to raise prices on. They made alot of.money on recycling yet we charge the customers for recycling for us. Bull it has to stop.
What about an “invisible” tax instead? Require all rental car companies to charge a $4 per day tax which would then be used exclusively to pave the parking lots, or light them, or whatever else they were going to use the parking fees for. Then tourists would not even think about it as it would be a sunk cost for their vacation.
Also, people could just use Turo or ‘Get Around’ and then having a car from a local would allow them to bypass the parking fee as you’d be using a resident’s car.
After spending thousands of dollars to come & stay on your island. After spending thousands of dollars to eat and experience your island – I feel that it is on the petty side to charge for beach parking. There are times when you just want to stop and take that perfect picture. Maybe you should consider a one time parking pass to allow parking everywhere.
I’ve been coming to the Hawaiian Islands sine 1979 – please don’t make the ruin the true Islands of Aloha spirit.
I have a condo on south side. I haven’t seen traffic ever that crazy at poilu beach and if it is, people go to the next beach, or go somewhere else and then come back at a different time. When coming from mainland, everything seems like it is being taxed, groceries for the rental, restaurant food, room tax, gas prices. Rental car prices seem reasonable for a week. When people return after a trip to visit, they always tell me that the island was beautiful, everything was expensive, and they probably won’t return. There are better values in Mexico and the carribean for everyone other than West Coast people. Look at the shops at spouting horn, always a couple empty ones because people are tapped out and don’t want to buy the things assembled on island or imported. The tax on waimea is acceptable, and so is the shuttle on the north side, but start nickel and dimeing tourists everywhere, and people will only remember that. Might as well put toll boothes in Kapaa where drivers license gets you through free. Also add a Costco tax, and $20 ATM withdrawal fees, and get the cops to start issuing more traffic violations and have parking meters everywhere. Tourist love all of that.
Please hear the voice of one person who often travels to Kauai to see my daughter and son in law who are both medical providers on Island. The draconian measures already in place already have potential visitors feeling unwanted and unappreciated even though we keep the island going. Kauai does not have a base of jobs to produce or export products or farms to be more self sufficient.
Kauai depends on the TUBES FULL OF MONEY flying in every day So people here can live a decent life and not depend on Govt programs. Adding an insult to injury tax on non resident beachgoers is an incredibly pathetic decision to help further discourage visitors to Kauai and an erroneous attempt to raise more funds because of already failing policies. Imagine if you as a resident of Hawaii flew to CA. to attend ball games or Disney World and were made to pay addition parking fees because you are from Hawaii? That would not want to make you return. Always give people a little more than they expect and you will have loyal happy followers. Continue to disrespect your financial supporters and you all will suffer the consequences.
Could not agree more. Everything in Hawaii is expensive. Those of us that choose to visit know that but look at it as a cost of it’s uniqueness. But “nickel and diming” is not acceptable. Lot’s of choices out there.
We have taken our family trips to Kauai since 2001 and every year the prices have increased by almost triple. Not including airfare. Just the rental car for 2 weeks was over $600 dollars. Now they want to charge for putting your feet in the sand. Yes the local people are rude . Where is the aloha. Mexico was half the price and warm waters , beautiful beaches. People were so friendly. If we went back to Hawaii it would be Big Island or Maui. Kauai used to be a most loved Island, not anymore. Hope it can improve . Thank you Beat of Hawaii for keeping us posted.
The way around any rental car parking fees will be buying a car.
Maybe an entrepreneur will set up a “used car dealership” and “sell” cars with a trial period. Then “buyers” can return it and pay only a daily use rate…
Watch them then try and regulate car purchases and outlaw trial periods…
Exactly true. Have been there few times. Personally, we have never been in any kind of traffic jams. But, obviously they happen. Wow. Own condo in Largo, right near Clearwater, Florida. Near the beaches. All parking is prepaid. Traffic jams, n speeding vehicles everywhere there is horrible. Hoping to sell n get out. Before were dead. Insane
That policy is an illegal state action which discriminates against citizens from other states. Also, it is a horrible idea from a state that wants to attract people from other states.
Only if the visit and experience is a good one. Kauai’s beaches aren’t nothing to be proud of.
To be proud of?
We walk nearly every day about 1.5 mile each way, round trip from our house to the Ha`ena county beach park on far north shore. Today was simply awesome. Hardly a cloud in the sky. Warm sun, but cool breezes. Waterfall still going from the previous days’ rains. Thick sand, but that’s OK. Hardly any people. Couple of napping monk seals. As good as it gets.
Kauai has beautiful beaches but so do many places in the world/state. Kauai is not paradise-prefer to swim on Maui or Oahu
-Kauai residents prefer to believe the myth of paradise—cling to it relentlessly despite high levels of bacteria and pollution in the water
Thank you. Exactly
Unfortunately, you can say that again. Want to start charging parking at county beaches Kauai? Then do your homework and send an objective pair of people to mainland beach parks. More than likely you won’t find garbage cans overflowing, pot holes in the parking lots, or filthy bathrooms. Their beaches are also graded frequently with tractors cleaning debris from the sand. May I suggest you put more time into being more proactive and locate and dispose abandoned cars.
How about a surcharge on the rental car? Otherwise collecting money is a dead end
Agreed. I’d rather pay a rental surcharge and be done with it.
This is in response to Kauaidog: I just rented a car at the airport. The total cost was $440 but out of that $195 was for a variety of taxes. Hawaii in general has the highest taxes on tourists. At some point it starts to be irritating and the world is full of options. Through TAT Kauai tourists are even taxed for Honolulu’s rail system. Discriminatory applications such as the proposed beach tax/fee irritate those discriminated against disproportionately. As a rule I personally do not participate in anything that discriminates. Also most hotels on Kauai are on the beach and already add ~$30/day resort fee so the income will be only for those tourists whose lodging is far from the beach. I am sure they will find ways of parking in places where they do not have to pay anything.
I’m an attorney and these ideas discriminating against nonresidents is unconstitutional as it violates the dormant commerce clause.
If Hawaii’s attorney general doesn’t fix this and make it charge residents and nonresidents the same I’d do ahead and file a lawsuit. Might make enough doing that to buy a house in Kauai…
*meant to say relief to charge all cars the same, regardless of being a rental (code for non-residents) or not.
Attorney Robert, You do know, don’t you, that imposing parking and/or entry fees to county or state parks on non-residents is a thing all over the country?
Hi
All the state parks charge residents and nonresidents the same. My window sticker is the same one that someone from Kauai with a rental car would get in my state.
Happy new year.
David,
In my state, Washington, those entry feeS apply equally to residents of Washington as well as “guests” from out of state. In Idaho, right across the border, the same is true. In washington and Oregon if you choose to visit a National Forest there is a NW Forest fee or pass required which applies equally to residents and guests of the states.
On the Big Island which we visited recently there was a $5 charge for non residents at every beach we visited which which were in state parks. I cannot speak to the fees in the other 47 states.
It’s unconstitutional to discriminate in favor of local consumers over out of state consumers aka residents vs non residents.
It’s not facially discriminative since they’re saying all rental cars but the fact that one specifically said it is intended to discriminate against non-residents is enough to challenge it as unconstitutional. There’s also nothing to justify the fee as a state interest because it still favors locals and has a disparate impact on visitors which makes it unconstitutional discrimination.
Beaches should have equal access regardless of whether you’re renting a car.
Bingo Robert!
Right On. Thanks Very Much
We just came back from Maui but plan to go to Kauai in June because we had to cancel our December trip this year due to the changing quarantine rules. Now I’m hesitant to make that trip if the new parking fee/s will be imposed. I love supporting local businesses but this is just too much, it feels like they are trying to deter visitors from visiting the island. Thank you BOH for keeping your readers informed as always. Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous new year.
Hi Inah.
We hope you had a great time on Maui. Thanks for your comments and Hauoli Makahiki Hou!
Aloha.
I live in California…how about we charge all our visitors a parking fee at our coastal areas? We found this policy on the east coast and vowed not to return. Guess we’ll be spending our post-Covid tourist $$ somewhere else. “Biting the hand that feeds you” indeed.
The beach parking fee is a great idea, traffic and parking on this island have been wonderful since all of the rental cars have been off the roads. Kauai was so over touristed, it was crazy. Traffic jams everywhere, no where to park for your favorite beach, it was just like being on the mainland! In the past, no way could I get a parking spot at Ke’e Beach. Even before the pandemic, when tourism was at it’s highest, with the new reservation system for visitors at that beach, as locals we just rolled right into the parking lot whenever we wanted to go up there. Much improved from all the rental cars parked all over the narrow road leading to the beach! Expect more things like this as Kauai tries to protect itself from being over run again, and I am sure that future visitors will love the “old Kauai” experience vs the traffic jam experience.
This idea is very discouraging. I love Kauai and the Poipu area. One of my favorite things to do is wander and stop at beaches for no particular reason. I watch the sunset, watch sleeping monk seals and look for the beautiful turtles. We shop and grab lunch or dinner. I love supporting the community. This fee would add a nuisance and frustration and stop people from enjoying the reason they are there. This fee would impact the island in a negative manner. After flying for many hours and the cost of the accommodations and misc the last thing I want is to pay a parking fee to watch the sunset.
You take tourists for granted, even though your state is way overrated. At some point, you’ll start begging for tourists. I visited Hawaii several times in the past, before discovering more interesting places to stay. Some local people’s constant grumbling about tourists and road blocks in northern Kauai were enough for me on my last trip. At some point more Americans will switch to Cancun and such. Or Costa Rica. Both are more beautiful than Hawaii, have more swimmable beaches, and less attitude about tourists. Seriously, what do I miss about Kauai? Unless you are a surfer, beaches are pretty to look at but dangerous. Water is cold to stay in for a long time. Food is… I don’t eat meat. I’ll miss hiking, though, but I’ll live. I have credits from AS so I can fly to Hawaii for practically free and I can’t make myself do it. So yeah, news of some ridiculous and confusing parking fee won’t help.
this looks more of a money grab. i know everyone is looking at a souce for quick cash .look at a city like chgo. the only tax they dont have is on the amount of toilet paper u use n how many time u flush the toilet.we are in tuff times now until this virus is gone. change the rules on residency ,these second homes that the people from the mainland have .that some states have u live there for six months n 1 or two weeks u can make claims as a local.get rid of that and tax the second home accordingly as a vacation home. you could get away with a head tax on your travel ticket maybe a added 5 or 10 dollars n thats that dont go after the tourists for parkingyhan what is next.
I own on Kauai I pay very high taxes because I rent it out .my husband and I have saved many years to buy a house so we can finally retire. We are still working on the main land because we cannot get there without quarantine. I pay for a parking spot in Lihue. I pay triple for garbage pickup because it is listed as rental this started in March of this year. When rentals were banned. My house is empty for months.when is the mayor going to wake up? I still pay my mortgage and hoa fees . Is Kauai a separate state?
Already cancelled our planned new years vacation due to your mayor’s thrilling quarantine requirement and will not be planning any additional ones at the island if this is how the updates continue to trend
I think the Hawaiian islands are among the most beautiful places in the world and feel privileged to have been able to visit almost all of them. however this feels like just another way to discourage travelers from going. I already feel as though I would be unwanted as a visitor and this is another way of saying “stay home or we will charge you even more. “
This may not be so bad. I was watching a YouTube channel from Hawaii and the group was discussing a 40 percent tax on tourists. That’s the Hawaii go to move.
As a biannual visitor to Hawaii there are beaches we have not been able to visit because not only do you need to pay for parking, but you need to do so in advance online. You don’t always know when the weather will be in control of where you go when in Hawaii. On top of that is room for parking. Many beaches are a free for all and you are lucky to find a spot. As far as Poipu, That parking is also for restaurants and shops. And back to the mentioned point of rental cars. Yeah. Thats a lot of money there alone. Maybe the counties should start looking into where those tax dollars are going. I love spending money in Hawaii. But I love spending it on the local businesses . . . Not the local government
Just another example of anti-tourism in Kauai. The fact that tourists in their rental cars are charged and residents are not only proves the Kauai County Government’s animosity towards island visitors. Will this affect all beaches, like Anini, Donkey, Secret, even Polihale? How will this be enforced? Maybe the next step for the City Council is to require all rental cars to have blue flashing bubble lights to better flag them for the beach patrols. Of course, then they will add a separate fee on to the car rental to pay for the patrols, and the lights.
This is getting way out of hand.
What’s incredible is that, amidst Covid19 and the economic damage that the collapse in tourism is causing on Kauai (and in Hawaii), instead of brainstorming and planning a way to restart the visitor industry in a safe way, Kauai government officials are busily examining ways to levy fees on now non-existent visitors. I’m not saying pay-for-parking is a bad idea. I’m saying that, for the time being, every ounce of governmental energy should be directed at one thing – safely getting visitors and their dollars back on-island. The incompetence is truly boundless.
Has there been any discussion of how the fees would be assessed where the beaches such as Poipu are literally across the street from timeshare resorts? There are rental cars everywhere. Would they patrol the parking lot?
Question, Rob and Jeff…
With virtually nobody responding on this thread that they believe additional parking fees are a “good idea”, and several saying that implementation of this would seal the deal on them never returning, do you think that Kauai’s Government will listen?
I wonder what locals that are dependant on the Global Tourism to Hawaii think?
Hi Jim.
Good question. They are definitely seeing all of this, but beyond that we can’t say. Thanks.
Aloha.
I am a county councilmember. This approval was for a study. There are a number of potential unintended negative consequences for visitor parking fees. The state has already implemented those, by the way. My observation in the times I have been in the State parks are that the visitors are not abiding by the honor system in paying the fees. I prefer a holistic approach that creates alternatives to such heavy reliance on rental cars for visitors.
We value our visitors. The opportunity to experience the reduced amount of rental cars on the road have revealed their striking impact on traffic and accessibility to . Pathways to embrace our visitors in a manner where they are sincerely welcomed and internalize that aloha are the policies under discussion for development. In my view, that is preferable to a parking fee.
Hi Felicia.
We missed seeing you this year during the holidays. Thanks for your input on Beat of Hawaii and for being on the County Council.
Aloha.
-I agree with your balanced approach to traffic,cars as I too envision my daily life not being car dependent,walking,public transportation; shuttle services. This vision is for both residents and visitors. Thank you for your vision and work on the County Council.
Aloha Felicia,
Thanks for your response. I like your ideas and approach. The idea of less traffic congestion is appealing, but the cost of public transportation could be an issue for larger groups, and making sure those with disabilities have access to car rentals, so they aren’t forced to walk further than they need, or forced to have a more difficult trip by using public transit, are things that should be considered. Some people, like myself, would be glad to take advantage of both. I would welcome leaving a rental car in the resort parking lot to avoid parking issues, but I would prefer a rental car to be more flexible with traveling for spur of the moment ideas, and not be tied to scheduled public transit at times. Some things to consider?
Mahalo for your input, BoH!
Ya know, kauai is nice, we enjoy it but it’s not the ONLY nice place to go and spend money. They are going to price them selves into poverty.
We love Kauai and rarely go to many beaches other than at our time share but this is really discriminatory. Maybe the resorts should start charging the locals to park to use their beaches.
The resorts do not own the beaches they are on; unlike other states, there are NO private beaches in Hawaii.
So many people rent a car from Turo app-the parking seems difficult to enforce; but I do think more shuttle services would be helpful.
Thank you BOH for keeping us informed! Our next trip is scheduled for the upcoming year (to Kauai}. We try to go every couple of years… a few years back, we actually stayed for eight weeks, and have always been treated very well!
In thinking about the actions of local government, I can’t help but think there must be huge budget issues and they are trying to find every place they can to get a little extra. Perhaps they lost sight of people and can’t see beyond financial troubles… easy to do. Hopefully they will start to focus on people (both local and visitors) and find good solutions that help the economy.
Again, thank you so much BOH!!!
Hi Jerry.
Thanks. We hope you’ll have a great time on your return visit.
Aloha.
My Kauai short-term rental guests currently pay 14.416% combined accommodation taxes. The previous rate was 13.416%, and that rate was raised more than a year ago another full percentage point.
Perhaps I will leave a Tamba sticker for each of my guests and ask them to slap that on the back window of their rental car so they are identified as locals by the new upcoming parking police, since a parking ticket would generate a bad experience for my guest and most likely a negative review that could affect myself, my listings, and or my property on TripAdvisor and other booking sites, which would discourage new guests from booking on this island.
Aloha Guys,
Exorbitant taxes and fees will definitely influence tourism. It could eventually wipe out the middle class from traveling to Hawaii, which is the bread and butter of Hawaii’s Tourism.
You are right, this action couldn’t be worse timing. It makes Kauai’s government look bad, as it feels like yet another money/cash grab.
Kauai was my favorite place to vacation. But, in my opinion, it is no longer friendly to visitors. Some beaches now require reservations and now you will be charging for parking at the beaches. Kauai is already expensive enough and now you asking visitors for more money. Me and my family will no longer vacation ever again in Kauai. It’s getting too expensive. Just so you know, visitors do not have unlimited funds. We are normal people that save all year or longer just to take a vacation. We will vacation elsewhere that is more friendly to visitors.
I quit parking at the beaches more then 20 years ago because my car was always broken into. Are you going to add security?
I have to say, Hawaii had become my 3rd choice for a tropical vacation.
Instead of going every year, we go about every six or seven years.
You are biting the hand that feeds you. We just visited KAUAI. If you want to charge for parking how about you pick up the logs floating in the water the entire two weeks we were there. We had to walk over sticks and twigs at Lydgate Park. We paid over $600 in taxes just on our rental car and Vrbo. If you charge for beaches we’ll go to Maui instead where the beaches are better and the people welcome us instead of yelling at us for visiting. We visited 33 states during COVID and Kauai was the only place we ran into rude residents. I don’t mind paying $5 to pay for parking if it goes to upkeep the beach like at Haunama Bay but not if it goes to the general funds just to fund nonsense
Thank you Janet R
I got an ideal! How about every State charge special fees to anyone from out-of-State. Maybe a special sales tax tacked onto the exiting sales tax? Maybe the states collect a road tax for anyone entering the state who intends to use the roads, or a sidewalk/trail’s use tax for any out-of-Stater’s who plan on doing any walking?. Of all the years I have gone to Kauai the only beach where it was hard to find parking was Kee. If the County want’s to make sure there is available parking how about shutting down the building and development departments and stop all new developments in their tracks; that would work.
I’m not sure how much more tax a visitor can absorb on this island. a guest staying in a short-term rental currently pays 14.416% tax, and now the county mandates that they must also pay tax on the resort fees, the only thing they’re not paying tax on that I’m aware of is the cleaning fee. I’m sure that’ll be next.
A problem that’s bigger than the amount of taxes a guest pays when visiting Kauai is the way that the local residents treat the guests that are here to support them financially. Locals are often rude and abusive to visitors. Perhaps one day, there will be no visitors. Oh wait, that day already came… We are in our 9th month of no visitors.
On my last trip in Feb 2020 I was chased off a beach by a local with a wild dog and a baseball bat. Now you want me to pay for parking to be abused by locals? What a joke. We pay for everything else and spend over $15,000 on the island over a 3 month period. We’ve been doing it for 13 years, but I think I’ll start searching for a new place. I’ll give someone else my $15,000/yr who doesn’t charge me to look at or swim in the ocean. I could understand the north shore due to the lack of infrastructure, and space, but there are many beaches where there’s lots of parking and if there isn’t, I just don’t go there. The island really needs to look at the amount of lodging vs pleasure resources (beaches, parking, etc.) and find a balance. My gut says you’ve allowed too many condos and hotels. The island has finite resources and everyone needs to think like that. You need to stop allowing more building and more flights. The island needs to be enjoyable and affordable for both locals and tourists. Good luck!
Aloha Ian C.
I live on Maui and completely hear what you are saying. Many years ago I visited Kauai for a three day get away. They were so condescending and rude I never went back. That was 20 years ago. Twice Kauai has opted out to reopen with the rest of the state. The Marriot which hires 400 locals will probably be shut down for good because of unpaid bills. Now they want the tourists to pay to play. Their economy is down the drain Just wrong all levels. Come to Maui, we are open for business. I have a small business working with tourists and we try to go out of our way to make our guests happy. We want them back. You can bet the locals are not fined for parking at the beach. People are ready to travel and people on Maui are ready to get back to work.
Been going to kauai with family yearly for 20 years and loved. After the closures and anti tourist attitude took family twice to Puerto Vallarta in the last 6 months what a wonderful inviting place its our new favorite spot. gov Ige keeps it up and Kauai will be a bunch of unemployed welfare abusing fools playing with coconuts on the beach, “but this is our beach” good luck