Visitors and residents want their share of Hawaii’s beaches. What just happened on Kauai and how that contrasts with the latest Maui beach plans.
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167 thoughts on “Visitors Confused: Kauai Beach Protests + Maui Beach Rules And Fees”
Visitors and residents want their share of Hawaii’s beaches. What just happened on Kauai and how that contrasts with the latest Maui beach plans.
I was able to visit for the first time in august, and I wondered about how the locals felt about tourists all the time, I’d think it would be similar to Las Vegas, I was a resident over 20 years, and sometimes got tired of the visiting people, but I also realize, it’s a place that people vacation at and have for many many years, the money they bring in pays our wages and many other things. I imagine Hawaii is always going to have Tourist.
Maui has only itself to blame. Complain about number of visitors yet allowing more huge resorts to be built looking for that hotel tax money. More resorts more tourists now you’re complaining. We’ve been going to Maui for over twenty years. Part owners of a condo. Ther number of resorts has more than tripled and we feel the increased traffic in Kihei. How many more resorts is Maui going to approve? They are huge. And take up a lot of beautiful beaches not least the ocean view.
The beautiful beaches in Makena should just have hourly parking fees. In the past it has been one of our favorite places to visit for a couple of hours. That should be enough of a user fee.
A mainland jurisdiction with a similar parking issue handled it like this… Residents could register and receive a decal that they post inside the windshield of their car. The parking lot gate would be operated by their drivers license for entry and exit to the lot.
Visitors would have to take a ticket at the parking lot gate and use that ticket along with their credit card to exit the parking lot. Simple.
What has happened there is really sad. 90 percent of the people I knew when I lived there for almost 20 years have left. It’s sadly not the same. I feel truly blessed to have lived there in the good times. I lived in a great home on front street for $1300 a month right across from the shark cove. Now it’s a bed and breakfast and that would get me 2 nights. I lived at the waipuna in Waikiki great building $1300 a month 1 bedroom a block from the Hilton 750 sqft and a 150 sqft balcony and free parking. That’s 2 nights at the Hilton with all the fees. I feel bad for the new generation not sure how they’ll make it.
$30. to park at the beach for tourists seems awfully high. $15-20 for all day and definitely hourly seems much more reasonable.
Might save some nasty sunburns too.
So if I hit up 3 beaches in a day it’s $90? Lol I guess they really do want only the rich but here’s the thing the non rich making these rules don’t get. The rich are that way for a reason. They aren’t chomps that enjoy being ripped of and not getting value in return. The west coast people especially can’t take 3 trips to Mexico for the price of 1 in Hawaii. This whole aloha thing is a farce and has been for years. Hawaii is no sacred land it’s Detroit with a mote around it. Seriously unless you are at the four seasons or high end resort it’s a dump.
Spent one month in Maui in a condo paid for by a friend. Cost was over $10,000 for one month. The rental car cost $1,200. We ate cooked vegan. Food costs a fortune here. Any beach pass should have weekly and monthly options. If the bus ran more than once an hour, I would gladly use it. Vail Colorado has a great model for tourists. No cars allowed in the city center and tourist buses run every 5 minutes all over town. This could easily happen between beaches here in Maui.
Also, restaurants need more vegan food everywhere So many tourists are plant-based and cannot support restaurants and only can use grocery stores. The Made in China tourist trinkets,t-shirts are unnecessary garbage killing the planet and causing climate change.
We are coming to Maui in January as we have been for over a decade. We have affordable lodging and flights, and we visit beaches nearly every day. It makes us sad that the price to park will be so high. At the very least there should be bus service that would go as far as Kamaole 1-3.
We won’t be paying to go to those beaches, so we won’t be there to support small businesses that sell shave ice or a happy hour drink after the day.
We would prefer to pay for an annual or monthly park pass. Bottom line, it is becoming too expensive for many of us.
I completely agree that umbrella and chairs should only be put on the beach when it is rented “in person” and not to accommodate a cruise ship of potential visitors!
Also, morning at the beach is special and although I am not a resident, residents should have priority. Some sharing is needed however. .
I am baffled by this wave of us vs them; I live in northern California and our beaches are open to everyone..no one is required to ‘register’ or prove citizenship of any kind, nor have I ever seen this anywhere else in the USA. If tourists are discouraged, what happens to Hawaii’s economy?
Lived in San Clemente and on the Strand in Hermosa Beach, before coming to Scottsdale, no one ever chased away the folks from inland, it’s a State Beach for everyone! Ditto, Scottsdale without the Beach, our Golf and Dining gets packed, so too the roads, but no one says the Tourists need to support the infrastructure, the Homeless or anything else. As Greta Thunberg’s just announced to the World, “Climate has nothing to do with ‘Green’, it’s about breaking Capitolism!” Incoming Governor Greene is in line who’ll still have ‘The Train’ unbuilt, still have a horrendous Homeless Problem, and the Unemployment Comp Program for the Hawaii will still be over $500,000,000.00 upside down, with his hand out to Federal for $ subsistence!
That picture of Kalapaki beach looks like the Jersey shore. We’ve been going there for over 20 years and I’ve never seen umbrellas on that beach. Even as visitors, we tried to be respectful, but the “boat people” coming off the cruise ships can be very annoying. Especially the crew who would often come in large groups with large amounts of alcohol. They need to figure out whether they want visitors or find some other way for people to earn a living. It’s just sad.
I live in Moab utah since 1979. My father is from here. I guess that makes me a local. Moab is a community on the colorado river with national and state parks in or location. A tourist destination. We are going thru many of the strains of the influx of tourism. That being said. Tourism is our main resource. Uuntil there is more diversity. I say tread lightly and be careful what you ask for. I talk the talk and walk the walk. Over 20 years in public service. I’ve helped in things like New hospitals and new university campus. It’s a start. However not enough. In my opinion the tourists are getting feed up with local politics. I have visited your hear islands many times. Please be careful what you ask for. Thank you
I’m glad I got my last month long trip in cause w all the changes I won’t be going back. I had become a regular visitor to Kauai and loved and respected the island. The way tourists are now being treated my money is best spent elsewhere it’s big world w lots of options.
The Visitor reaction is 100% correct. A vocal and powerful group of islanders don’t want tourists visiting the islands. These people seem to think they can live the island life style on Federal handouts. So us tourists and federal tax payers should let them try it out. I also will reduce my visits to once a decade or so…
I live in Southern California. Tourists are everywhere, all the time. We Never charge one group more to park than another. I’m tired of the treatment we receive when we vacation in no Kauai. I can only imagine the public outcry there would be if only locals received the same privileges here that locals do in Kauai. Tourism keeps the economy going.
Yes but California is massive in size. Kauai is a teeny tiny island.
Thats your reasoning? I think so cal and Nevada should just charge hawaii residents a fee upon landing at the airport. See how that works?
Well , imagine you wanna go surfing and there is parking spot . So you can’t do what you love .
The imbalanced ratio of visitors to the size of the land mass is my argument. Vanessa B’s argument compares California to Kauai. Sure So Cal, Nevada are popular destinations like Hawaii. Mainland states like CA and NV have larger land mass, bigger freeways, more parking structures. Socal has long stretches of diff beaches where people can feel spaced out. Comparing SoCal to teeny tiny Kauai is like comparing apples to oranges. The problem is Kauai does not have the resources or infrastructure to accommodate the millions of visitors that come through the island. At the end of the day, the tourism industry in Hawaii that continues to sell Hawaii to more visitors it can handle through hotel/airfare packages that bring in masses is to blame.
Excusing the discriminatory behavior of overcharging some but not others by saying that it’s okay because California is big and Kauai is small is Ridiculous. I live in Orange County. I don’t drive to another part of the state to go to the beach. Our beaches are a madhouse of tourists. But I would Never expect to park, or get a better spot on the beach, just because I live here. It’s not the cost, it’s the principle. This is the very definition of discrimination.
I lived in Orange County for 3 years. Very rarely have I been unable to find a spot in beach parking lots, from Doheny to Huntington Beach to Dana Point. Now when I had trouble immediately finding one, there are streets and streets in residential areas where we could park and walk to the beach. There is limited space on a teeny tiny island. I think about visiting Kauai’s Northshore (think Hideaways) and there just aren’t many residential streets where you can park. What you get are endless vacation condos with resident parking only. When you are in a situation where locals and residents have to fight for space, who would you side with? Think of what your proposal would be if you lived in Kauai not in California.
Yes Kauai is Tenny tiny Island who go broke if no tourists
I’ve been visiting Hawaii (mostly Maui, but also some visits to other islands) for 46 years.
I would immensely prefer paying for a statewide visitor pass/placard (up to $200?) per visit to the beautiful state of Hawaii over individual park and parking fees. Making reservations ahead of time makes Hawaii too much like Disney parks and leaves no travel flexibility.
There is a beach in kona that will be charging tourist,
We just returned from a week and a half visit to Maui. We were so disappointed with how dirty Maui has become. The homeless have taken over the beaches between Kehei and Lahaina. The quality of food and the exorbitant prices make it unfortunately no longer a desirable destination for us. We never felt more unwanted on Maui than we did on this trip. Paradise lost.
It was our first visit to Maui in September. We have been to the Big, Island, and Oahu previously. We were shocked by how dirty Maui was, the abandoned rusting cars, washing machines, etc. trash strewn all over. The beaches were only well maintained in front of the big hotels. Things were better in the Upcountry but the whole island vibe hardly conjured up paradise. it was very sad.
Just take the Kam up from Diamond Head to Kahuku and the North Shore, all one see’s is abandoned stripped cars and appliances, and that’s after Waimanalo where they’ve just moved the encampment of Homeless, no wonder Barack wants a wall around his new place, the former ‘Robbins Nest’ and Anderson Estate. For 30 years the homeless lived under the bridges at Sea Level on the Nimitz before Sand Island, that’s why Cabs always take H-1 and then back down to Waikiki.
I have to add another comment
-spent three weeks in Southern Italy in September
I was treated well,food was fresh and not expensive,service was sincere,I felt safe welcome ,people were polite and well mannered
-Hawaii has beautiful weather all year,but it is becoming an increasingly hostile environment and this makes me very sad
Smart travelers to Kauai do not arrive on a cruise ship, and they realize that the island is ringed by tons of world-class beaches, the only one of which requires a paid permit is Ke’e Beach. Many, if not most of local residents understand that tourism drives our economy, and treat those visitors who show respect with respect in return.
Sure it is pricey to come to Kauai, but the experience is special beyond words.
As a 35 year full-time resident, I still discover new treasures on Kauai, and I enjoy interacting with respectful visitors.
Aloha nui loa, e komo mai,
A happy local.
I’m afraid that Hawaii islands (especially Maui and Kauai) are slowly becoming commercialized which, unfortunately, will make tourists to stay away from this wonderful place. I find this place way too expensive for what it can offer (fees for parking even though tourists don’t see any improvements, food is getting degraded every year and the cost of living keeps going up).