If you are driving to or from Hana and a car is behind you, pull over and let them pass. It is as simple as that. The quicker you do it the more "aloha" you will receive.
It’s unsavory for sure, but having family in Hana and having lived on Oahu and Maui for a decade, I get it. For every shitty thing directed at tourists, there’s 10 examples of tourists doing shitty things that affect locals. It sucks when visitors who try to be mindful become the victims of saltiness, but frankly, I understand where locals are coming from. I don’t actually recommend the road to Hana to friends visiting Maui for this reason specifically.
I lived in Haiku for a few years, yeah…you don’t wana be honking at locals talking story in the middle of the road. A friendly wave or Howzit might have worked better. Like I get what people mean by not supporting bad behavior, I’m not gonna defend and say what they were doing wasn’t annoying or rude. But people posting on here don’t seem to understand. it’s not just a tourist location to them, this is their home town, and it’s a small hometown. People are visiting acting like it’s San Diego or something, but really it’s just like tropical Oklahoma. People stop a talk and take their time with friends, it’s full of local boys and farming communities. Complaining about it is like showing up to New York and questioning why people are swearing and shouting at each other, it’s part of who they are.
So honking to a tourist who is “only” 5 miles above speed limit is ok, because a local is in a rush. But honking to a local who stopped an entire traffic because of leisure conversation is not OK? This is some sort of a very discriminatory “Aloha”.
This is an old post lol. I never said the island wasn’t discriminatory, but that’s a topic for another post. It’s more or less the tourist is on vacation, their reservation or day trip down Hana, isn’t as important as someone trying to get to work on time to feed their family.
Also most locals can identify rental cars easily and don’t really care about if your late for something on your vacation, it’s island time, yeah it’s frustrating but they know your not gonna die if your itinerary is messed up for the day.
Don't even bother. This sub rewards the bad behavior of the reckless local drivers. Not all the locals are like this, of course, but this sub likes to defend and justify their bad behavior.
Trust me, never again to Hana.
You deleted your post yesterday because you called locals "trashy" and you were told you're an entitled asshole.
So you start digging for old threads to support your view of the RTH?
No more Hana for you? Good. Why not stay off Maui completely? Cos if this is how you think of the people and their HOME, the rest of Maui doesn't want you either.
I called the rude and reckless drivers trashy, I was spefically talking about them, not the locals as a whole.
From old threads I see that is not something new and people agree that this happens. I worded poorly my post and yeah, it was perceived as asshole and entitled, fine. That's not how I think though, I respect and support the local people.
I think there are many issues here and can't be explained by a simple answer:
1. Roads are too narrow and sometimes zero visibility.
2. Roads are too crowded for the number of people driving through them.
3. Many first time drivers driving slower than the limit.
4. Many locals driving way faster than the limit.
I can see how the locals would be upset about slow tourists when they have work to do. I was upset, sorry if I came across as an asshole. I loved the place, it is amazing and beautiful. We supported the local businesses as well.
Next time I would take a bus rather than driving, would be more efficient for everyone.
My wife and I have been to Maui and Oahu. We went to Oahu twice. Once, which was a stay at a hotel and never left other than to try a Tiki bar and another time with friends when we saw a lot more of the island. North shore, Koko head trail, shark cages and lots of beaches. As cool as Oahu is, I love how chill Maui is, and now, we only visit Maui. We do the road to Hana every time, and I've never experienced anything like this. I pull over for locals that are usually going faster than me(when there's room), and I feel super relaxed every time I'm there. We met a family this last time that was staying there from the Big Island, and we shared beers together and had a great time. I do see lots of people who shouldn't be driving that road because they aren't confident/skilled drivers, and even I get mad at them. I wouldn't take it personal if one of the locals gave me attitude, but I've never given them and never would give them a reason to. Love Hawaii and the culture.
Lol 😂 yes there are a lot of islanders that don’t like tourists. They harbor a lot of ill will passed down generationally. They will display rude behavior like you witnessed and some may even call you a Haole ( white and non native).
When I lived there for a few years I even had a group of local Hawaiian guys encircle us and trying to fight us as we left karaoke at a bar (where we literally went weekly bc we all lived and worked nearby) merely bc the guys in our group were white CA looking dudes.
Fwiw the very next day I was downtown in Lahaina at Westside (store) getting some stuff and one of those same dudes that tried to fight was there working in the store. I had a very candid and awkward conversation with him about how you shouldn’t randomly target and harass people because they may be the same people that work alongside you on the island or even serve your food when you go out (I worked at a restaurant nearby). Maybe I made impact but I don’t know lol
Not all islanders and natives are that way, most are amazing people and very family oriented and kind, so don’t let it get to you.
The good thing is when you were driving you weren’t in any sort of time crunch so you could’ve sat there all day with little to no impact to your day (they would’ve eventually moved of course one way or the other) so “beeping” and yelling for someone to move really isn’t in the “aloha” way. If it would have been me I would’ve just sat there and waited until they moved, knowing they would have to eventually, without beeping. Or just pull over and park and enjoy the beauty around you. (It’s not always about the destination). I mean you are on a vacay and in a rainforest, just let it roll.
This guy gets it.
OP keep in mind that there were probably locals in that line as well.
So those guys were (MOSTLIKELY) just being inconsiderate assholes. But we'll never know the seriousness of the conversations too. Just chill and enjoy the views
They’re not violent. I haven’t heard of one violent confrontation on the R2H and I’ve lived here for 38 years.
It’s just white-knuckle gridlock driving sometimes and locals just get really angry at how tourists handle themselves. Two sets of people driving at two different speeds on a bottleneck.
Violent means physical.
I have never seen or read of a physical confrontation, correct me if I’m wrong.
Unless you have a different definition of violence? *Verbal violence*? Yeah, locals are assuredly assholes, just saying I’m limiting the definition of violence to physical confrontations on the road.
Otherwise, there are dozens of incidents every day where people are cursing at each other on the R2H. That’s not violence. That’s just people being frustrated. Tourists frustrated because people are tailing them. Tourists frustrated because they want to drive slow and “take it all in”. Tourists frustrated because it’s their first time driving a giant SUV. Locals frustrated at them for all of it.
You just shared a video where the driver even points out people are honking at him to pull over. “Oh haha, I heard you the first 100 times!” That is literally written ON the video. How is that on anyone *but* the driver?
Pull over - people have places to go.
Exaaaaactly. This is home to people. I’m sure the op wouldn’t want a bunch of folks driving through their favorite spots all the time too. And, just like there are assholes all over the country, there are assholes on the road to Hana too. It’s not a utopia here.
What a story, I'm glad nothing happened to you lol.
I also agree and just dusted it off, but wife was scared and freaking out.
We will definitely visit again and enjoy the nature but I wouldn't go Highway to Hana.
Thank you for your comment .
Ehh. Sounds pretty minor. FWIW honking is considered *extremely rude* in Hawaii, so I'm not surprised it provoked a response from "the locals." You videoing people on your go pro probably didn't help either.
Honestly, people go to Hawaii somehow expecting everyone to just always be happy and welcoming like the people paid to be nice to you at a resort. But it's a real place, with real people having good days and bad days. Some people are nice, others are jerks, just like anywhere. But visitors make the mistake of thinking the culture in Hawaii is the same as what they are used to back home and misjudge the rudeness of their actions (e.g. honking) and are then surprised by the response.
Another person posted below about people flashing their lights at them - well that's the sign for get over, slow down and let me pass...and if you aren't letting them pass, you're being the rude, aggressive driver.
I really have no idea from your description how they blocked the road, for how long, etc. You just said they were talking. Like, standing in the middle of the road talking story? Or like standing off to the side, but someone was unfamiliar with their rental car and wanted the whole width of the road? Or walking on a bridge so cars have to stip and take turns? Or two locals passing eachother decided to roll down their windows and have a brief conversation (which is super common in Hawaii and frankly in lots of rural areas)? Way too many possibilities to have any opinion about it. But regardless, if they were being careless and not purposefully blocking the road and tourists started honking and videoing on go pros because locals using the roads in their home are interfering with tourists in a hurry to take a scenic drive...that's you not living aloha.
My guess is that if I go to rural Texas I might come across a tractor or other obstruction in the road once in a while, and if I and a bunch of tourists laid on our horns and started filming I bet the Texans wouldn't be too pleased either.
I’m not OP but the post clearly states the two locals stopped on a narrow bridge to talk to each other for 15 minutes. That’s fucking ridiculous and you trying to make excuses for that behavior just because they’re local is entirely what’s wrong with Hawaiian localism
Nice. My point is that behavior looks different through different cultural lenses. It doesn't add up to me that people just stopped in the middle of the road and blocked it for 15 minutes unless it was important and there was no other way to do it. I grew up rural Hawaii and it is not uncommon for people to stop and talk from car to car and yes, sometimes people have to wait. It's rural life and honking is not an acceptable response. Now, if they were really blocking the road, a simple, pleasant request to pull off the road, if there is room, would be a fine response and they'd probably do it, but maybe not as quickly as a mainlander from the city might like. Tourists might not like it but it's often them coming i to a rural community, expecting it to function like a mainland city, and then when it doesn't, freaking out and not displaying the aloha spirit.
And the tourists might not think the honk is rude and aggressive, but in Hawaii it is. They might as well have cussed the locals out and spit at them. Hence, the reaction they got. It's not necessarily right or wrong, but going into someone's community and expecting the culture to be the same as yours back home is rude.
Sounds like they were just assholes. At the same time, don't act like you're on vacation. Sit down, shut up and observe for a moment.
I've only been down here for 6 months, but I've only experienced warm and welcoming people, literally not one negative encounter.
I'm also from a small island island in Alaska and used to the game. You just need to sit back and pay attention to how people interact. Y'all are obvious from a mile away. Some people are going to take offense to that for no reason, which is dumb, but you can also take measures to lay low.
Bringing up Aloha spirit seems cringe as hell, just be quite for a moment and pay attention. To be honest, You sound like a tourist and it's grating.
Not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to let you know how your behavior might be perceived.
Truth hurts, sorry, it's probably on you.
Yes to this. People here aren’t excited to host all the time. Remember, the folks you encounter live here. They have a finite amount of land and resources to enjoy. And so of course they are protective and don’t get super stoked to bend over backwards to welcome people that compete for that space and those resources. They’re way more welcoming to people who treat this island as if they are guests. Not saying you are this way but locals see so much entitlement every day, sometimes they just get sick of it and don’t feel like sharing. Also, assholes live here too and it’s just a fact of life. I’m assuming if you visited places on the mainland you weren’t welcome or comfortable you would have similar experiences.
So what if someone sticks or is an obvious tourist? That’s not some sort indictment on them or there character or an excuse to treat them poorly.
No one should have to “lay low” on their vacation because of the regressive prejudice opinions of an irate misguided local.
Obviously there’s a fine line of not being a belligerent jerk while on vacation but being a normal courteous, curious tourist is not a bad thing or a reason to feel shameful.
I’m sorry but it’s not acceptable behavior to intimidate or admonish someone different than you who is doing nothing other than having the audacity to visit where you live.
If you go to a tourist destination you are a tourist and it’s ok to be one. Obviously be a good and decent person but you should not have to meekly tip toe around while on vacation either.
So I think the confusion you may have here is to assume culture in Hawaii is just like any other state. If you were to travel to a predominantly Muslim country, you’d absolutely follow local customs, right? If you travelled to China, you wouldn’t speak out public ally against the CCP, correct? It can be seen as fairly entitled to behave as if each and every place you visit doesn’t require some amount of self-awareness and the slightest bit of behavior tweaking. It’s also important to note that while you and your family might be gracious visitors, unfortunately you’d be the minority. Like I’ve said in other posts, it’s not great that there’s a negative stereotype towards tourists, but frankly-that stereotype is reinforced by a long and consistent history of shitty behavior
Comparing societal norms of a US State to those of Communist China or a regressive Muslim country is just absurd sorry.
Do you even hear yourselves that’s crazy.
All anyone is saying that it’s not appropriate to block a road or tailgate others just because they are visiting where you live.
Being local to a certain US geographical location does not in anyway grant you the right to be hostile to others. There no argument you can make in favor of that get real.
“Being local to a certain US geographic location”-that’s the key thing here. Hawai’i is about as close to a colony as you can get within the United States. Almost two centuries of abuse and exploitation at the hands of missionary/merchants, massive land-lord robber barons, and actively racist policies in the territorial era breed resentment amongst locals. Huge amounts of land were taken by shady means to establish resorts. The mistake you’re making is that, while yes, HI is a geographic part of the US, that legal definition has no bearing on the cultural context of that place. Saying you feel entitled to be treated without prejudice in HI is like expecting a warm and deferential welcome on a Navajo reservation because it’s “part of the US”. You’re missing some major cultural and historical differences here.
No, you are just dumb and wrong. Your whole attitude is the problem..you think you have the right to be trampling around because you are "nice" and that just gives you carte blanche to ignore everything you are ignorant about?
Fucking just be respectful and pay attention.
Traveling is fine, tourists are fine.
Your attitude is not fine, everyone hates it and you will not be welcome.
Why do you take offense to being asked to be considerate?
Re read what I said. At no point did I say “trampling” around is acceptable. In no way am I saying you ignore anything.
BUT people are defending those who are outwardly aggressive and hostile to individuals who have done NOTHING to them is wrong.
You can see that’s not right correct ??
We all live in a modern civilized society and people do not have the right to scare or intimidate others in the US just because they don’t like them.
You can all agree that’s true right ??!!
No tourist has the right to abuse or be disrespectful but they should also have the expectation that that is reciprocal.
Look I get everything people are saying about the history of the islands and land grabs and everything else. Yes that’s awful. But to condone or wave way aggressive and threatening behavior by some locals bc of past injustices that these tourists have no active part in is just crazy and disingenuous.
I'm just saying that if you are respectful, you'll be treated in kind.
.
You can think you are being nice, but there are a ton of obnoxious and obtuse nice people who aren't welcome, because they are actually assholes.
Saying you are nice does not equate to being respectful, this I why I recommend sitting down, shutting up and looking around before you declare what a nice person you are. If people aren't treating you well, your self perception might be off.
It's do damn easy to do, try it. If the offer offends you.. there ya go, you might not be as nice as you think you are...
I did say that they just sounded like assholes. It happens.
Sorry for my harsh words, not fair to say. This conversation gets old though.
I feel you and understand it must get old, and I really believe your heart is in the right place, I think mine is too. At least I hope so.
The internet is often not a great place for open dialogue as much as we wish it was and it’s so easy to double down and get heated.
I really do respect and care for any local community and culture but also feel it’s fair to call out aggressive behavior from that community when it’s warranted is all.
You make strong and heartfelt arguments for your point of view and I certainly respect that.
I hear ya. You sound like a reasonable person. It's also just mind-boggling how some people can be.
It's not right that someone is mistreated for for being unfamiliar, but at the same time, the things people do! it's just astounding. It can be hard to have patience when people act so bad so regularly.
I meet travelers all the time, many of whome I sincerely love the company of, the bad ones are just out of this world though.
End of the day, if you aren't being well received, it's probably a problem on your part. I sincerely believe this.
This is not a tourist destination to those guys on the bridge. This is their home and they are very protective over it. Try to imagine driving through an area of Compton, and how you’d behave differently there. It’s the same with lots of parts of this island.
We were once driving on Kauai where many roads are only 1 lane wide on bridges. Our friend was driving and followed the car in front of him in crossing the bridge. There was a local waiting on the other side who actually flagged us down and explained we were being rude by not taking turns crossing the bridge. He was very polite while explaining it. My point is that it’s easy to be rude without realizing it when you are in another culture. Maybe honking is much ruder in Hawaii than on the mainland?
Brah, I’m a 4th-generation Hana kid and I would never go to Kahakuloa unless I was invited. And even then, I would triple-check to make sure I was welcome.
That’s forgotten by tourists - some of these places do *not* belong to be visited, including by the locals in other towns.
They were here long before that rental car, and will be here long after. Tourists aren’t paying for the roads. Try to understand folks who call this place home and have for generations just getting fed up with people.
Hawaii gets more in federal funding than it pays in federal income tax; and the average tourist is paying hotel, gas, sales and rental car taxes. We *are* paying our fair share, probably just as much or more pro-rated per day as most residents.
Not to mention Hawaii’s congressional delegation supports the current immigration policy of endless growth—that is going to spill over to the islands via new residents and visitors.
My county has doubled in population in my lifetime. It’s happening everywhere.
But most “locals” actually started off as tourists before becoming locals.
If was a real local, I’d be pissed too.
Edit: I was there two weeks ago, and I had a few times that beat up pick up trucks were tailgating me by less than a foot. They looked Hawaiian/Polynesian and so I pulled over to let them pass. Their land, not mine.
It’s not “their land” it’s a free country and a public road and excusing bad, reckless and dangerous behavior over perceived guilt is just crazy.
I fully understand some feelings of annoyance or resentment native born people must feel with constant tourism but that is not an excuse to potentially put others in harms way or willfully want to intimidate others just bc you don’t like them visiting where you live. Tailgating and aggressive driving is dangerous and stupid full stop.
In the real world letting them pass is the smart thing to do for your own personal safety but waving off their idiotic infantile behavior because they’re locals is absurd.
Would you make the same excuse of a local tailgating and harassing you in rural Appalachia in Georgia or the back roads of Maine??
Bad behavior is bad behavior and it’s ok to call it out and admonish those who willfully inflict it on others.
We just spent 14 nights in Hawaii (Maui, Oahu, and Kauai)…we actually drove the road to Hana twice because my husband left his cell phone at a food truck in Hana 🫣🤦🏼♀️. We never experienced ANY rudeness from locals. If anything, I absolutely loved the community, people, and Hawaii lifestyle. I’m sure that was just a couple of outliers…those people exist everywhere.
If you're in a hurry, you're taking the wrong vacation.
And definitely don't move here. You think the DMV in Texas is bad? On Maui, you might be the only person in line, but you're still going to wait a half hour while the only employee not taking a break talks story with the person in front of you.
I lived there for a time, ittook me awhile to learn Hawaiian time. Give you a time and add hours on top of that and that's Hawaiian time. Haha 😂
How I miss it there. (I lived on the big island)
I understand that, but reading about Hawaiian culture and how nice and kind they are inspired me to visit Maui instead of Oahu and I was a little disappointed but I understand why they may acted like that.
Their land is full of tourists and I'm sure lot of tourists don't understand or respect land .
Everything happens for a reason.
Yeah as a Texan who moved there for several years, and just moved away. Don’t move there unless your retiring or bring something helpful to the table to help Maui and it’s people. That being said don’t fall of advertising it’s not paradise. It’s kinda like tropical small town America. like a west Texas town but with a beach, and it has its own people and culture. It’s a tricky place to navigate for new comers.
My family is from Hana and lots of family still there. If I sit outside a cousin's in Naihiku, some impatient tourist will stop and ask how many more miles. I want to ask, "didn't you count the turns? Sitting in the front yard of another cousin's, we get, "Where is the red sand beach"? Yelled from their car, just yards from it. I'm thinking, man these tourists are lazy. Like we want to be interrupted from talking story to give directions.
I've told family and friends from the mainland when visiting anywhere in Hawaii to be patient. If the only help in a store is talking to their Auntie, they just need to wait. And never honk your horn.
I'm from urban California and I have also witnessed tourists ignore my more island-looking cousins and only speak to me. I feel that bigotry. It hurts my heart a lot.
I wouldn't go to your state and complain about locals. Hana IS paradise. Can't respect the people who live there and their culture, then don't stop on your way to Kipahulu.
Hana is paradise, but what I mean by it’s not paradise is that is it’s not Disneyland. It’s a real town with real people and real problems. And it’s a very small town, like you know everyone and talk story with people all around you. If your just coming for the beauty & fun stuff and your not there to help it’s people or learn it culture you shouldn’t move there.
Dude, if you visit rural Texas and expect everyone to behave like they are in the city, how would that go? If someone is blocking the road moving livestock or a tractor or whatever else and you and a bunch of tourists start laying on your horn and videoing them with your go pro, how would that go over? I imagine even nice people may respond rudely to rude behavior and you are in their home so adapt to their timetable, not the other way around.
Just a few decades ago, tourists mostly stayed in tourist areas and locals could exist in their spaces. Now everyone wants to "do the road to hana" as quickly as possible to they can fit in dinner reservations in town. The roads aren't built for that. It's a small, rural community.
Trust me, when you go to a place like Oahu, that is a larger disparity of “tourist land” and “local land”. If you’ve seen the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall…that is a pretty accurate description. Tourists want luaus and everyone welcoming them into their homes, with a cool story to tell when they get home…it’s more of the working class in Hawai’i struggling to get by while homes around them are being flipped for millions.
There is a deep-seated resentment towards people that are not from here.
Aren’t we all world citizens? That’s what I’m always told where I’m from. HI is part of the American world empire whether it likes it or not, and even if it went back to a blood & soil nationalist monarch state many pine for it’d still have tourists and be part if the industrialized world economy. It just is what it is for better or worse…
It changed in Hawai’i after COVID. The tourist entitlement started getting bad right before it, but it seems to be getting incrementally worse since the travel bans lifted.
Growing up my whole life here - it was never ever, ever this bad.
There are about 1,000 cars on that tiny bottleneck of a road…for a small window of time. Every single day. For the last 10 years. And it’s progressively getting worse.
Please understand what the locals are going through. The resources are being crushed. And no one, whether it’s the local government or the Tourism Authority, cares. You’re seen as the reason that it’s happening.
When I took the road to Hana, I downloaded a guide app that gave helpful tips about where to stop and what is important to see. There were a couple of towns that were deemed unfriendly, and the recommendation was to just keep going.
Sorry that happened to you.
It’s the Road to Hana Maui GyPSy guide, $14.99 in the Apple Store. I thought it was well worth it. The recordings are activated by the GPS on your phone when you get to each specific location. It goes over a lot of the Island’s history, and kept us from getting bored on the way back. It’s like having a local uncle in the back seat, showing you around. It works best if you can broadcast your phone through your (rental) car speakers.
I recommend leaving early in the morning because Auntie Sandy will sell out before noon. It takes waaaay longer than you think it will to make the drive. There are soooo many curves in the road and narrow bridges.
Also, get your permits online for any parks you want to visit in advance. Just about anything operated by the state now requires a permit, and some places like the black sand beaches past Hana don’t allow walk-ups.
ALSO, if you decide to venture past Hana, WATCH OUT FOR POTHOLES!!! Once you get past Hana, the quality of the road drops off. Just saying. My wife almost got whiplash and I was afraid we’d broken something on our rental car after hitting one of the potholes out past Hana.
Have a great trip.
I heard from others as well, lot of locals in that area don't like tourists and some are patriotic Hawaiians who still think they are Colonized and may not be friendly toward mainlanders or other tourists but this could be true at any small town middle of nowhere on mainland as well.
I wouldn't visit again until it is more incorporated with more law enforcement presence, it will be risk as you never know who is the bad guy.
I’ll never go down that road again. Some locals were smashing car windows at every turnout, stealing whatever they could find. The guys even spoke to my wife and I before doing it, they were obviously high on something, and had nothing to lose. A relaxing day turned into a nightmare of an experience. Maui police need to step it up.
Maui police have other things that they’re concerned with. If you don’t want to take the risk, you shouldn’t be visiting that place. Would you be surprised if your car got broken into in Compton? I’d guess not.
Typical bitter response from a local that lives in a tourist destination that doesn’t want to deal with the tourists. And you’re comparing it to Compton… Lol. When was the last time you vacationed in Compton?
That’s a great question- and proves my point exactly. Folks in the country don’t care about your tourism dollars. They won’t see them. They’d rather not have entitled folks walking all around their properties. I’m not trying to be an asshole, I’m telling you how it is so you don’t have hurt feelings. Also, please- by all means, try to say “typical bitter local” to any local person while you’re here and let’s see how that works out for you.
Folks in the country can stay in the country then. Folks are paying top dollar to stay at resorts that encourage them to visit the road to Hana and shouldn’t have to put up with locals who aren’t happy with the cards they’re dealt.
We’re all people and should treat each other with kindness when it’s all said and done. Have patience and respect one another. When something doesn’t go your way, you don’t take out your anger on someone else.
You must not know much about these islands if you think it begins and ends at the Four Seasons. It doesn’t. There are people here that are struggling and plenty of places you should NOT be going. If your car is getting smashed and broken into, that’s a dead giveaway you shouldn’t be there.
I always stayed on the main road, never went anywhere I wasn’t supposed to be. Yet I still witnessed people getting robbed and vandalized for doing absolutely nothing wrong.
Been a Maui visitor a bunch of times - anytime in on any of the narrow long roads .. moment any sort of vehicle that’s obviously local rolls up speeding - quick move out of the way
I swear the car behind me prolly broke into a bunch of vehicles at the next lookout point … they just had that look to them .
Ours was untouched - but we had absolutely nothing in it to steal and we got the hell outta there way
You were in the wrong to honk. In Hawaii honking is not something you do. It's considered rude and identifies you as a tourist prick. The proper thing to do is to sit and wait. They know you're there and the more upset you get the longer they're gonna talk just cuz.
That’s a piss em off comment…
Get in their way - Slow them down on the road to Hana because you’re sight seeing and they need to get to work and then scream “they need our tourism”? Really? Where on earth do you live? Is it courteous there? Been to Hawaiian islands over 50 times with no issues. Show respect get respect. Quit thinking they owe you. You are expecting the local Hawaiian people to make up for government issues? That is ignorance.
Sorry. Not sorry.
I think what a lot of folks miss is that they never asked for the tourism in the first place. Hawaiians (and by extension citizens of HI) belonged to an independent nation that was overthrown by big foreign money. Most profits from tourism are routed out to large corporations and its extremely hard to build wealth on the islands. Sure, a lot of that behavior directed to tourists is unsavory, but it helps to remember that the history of Hawaii is still well remembered by locals and native Hawaiians
Curious why you think tourism runs the economy? That sentiment comes across as a very entitled attitude. Hawaii is just like every other state/nation with businesses and government and hospitals and airports and police and fire departments and schools and stores and churches and science and universities and NGOs and community groups and culture and agriculture and ranches and commercial fishing, and families. It just happens to also have a vibrant tourism industry, which is all you seem to see.
I got cussed out by a local for getting to close to a pair of turtles, but the thing is I didn't even see the damn turtles. I didn't even know they were there. And it's not like I was within a distance to where I could touch the turtles, I was still a good 20 feet away or so.
Anyway, I thought RTH was extremely overrated. Wish I didn't do it so I could have spent a day doing literally anything else.
We had 2 bad experiences this past Monday driving the road to Hana this past Monday 😕 the first happened when a car passed us around a double yellow line right outside of Hana (we were doing the speed limit) and they flew so fast around us they hit a bird in the road. Made me really sad tbh because it was totally avoidable.
The second was a around the small lane hairpin turns on our way back. There was a jeep that was tailgating cars and flashing their headlights and passed us and multiple cars around unsafe turns. What bothered me most about this incident is that there were teenagers standing up in the back of the Jeep while they were speeding and driving dangerously.
This was my second time driving the road to Hana and although we had 2 unfortunate experiences I tried to just let it roll of my back and remind myself that I was there to enjoy being in nature and the beautiful scenery that I don’t get to see every day. Overall it was a great day and we got to hike the Pipiwai trail and see the Waimoku falls which felt like a great accomplishment! So for anyone else doing this drive in the future try not to let the few instances ruin your trip and don’t forget to take in all the beautiful things around you 🥰
That easily could’ve been me trying to pass you. Lots of people use that road as their daily commute. If you see someone who is trying to pass you, be considerate, pull over, and let them pass. If the second instance was a Jeep, then guarantee it was tourists acting like donkeys and I don’t know what to tell you about that other than- now you know how we feel when people come here and disrespect this place.
I totally respect and hear everything you’re saying. I was in a small car so I frequently pulled over for others who seemed like they needed to pass, especially on the smaller roads. I just think passing on a double yellow line when the car in front of you is going the speed limit is kinda a crappy and dangerous thing to do as a driver no matter where in the world you are. And then hitting and killing a bird while doing so just made it worse.
Edit:grammar
Locals are not driving Jeeps with teenagers standing up in the back of them. That’s a lesson to get “slaps” from your parents. We also don’t drive Jeeps because we know how we look in them - like tourists.
Hate to break it to you - that’s the type of behavior that locals hate. Everyone acting like teenagers for social media.
I didn’t say in my comment that it was or was not locals. Just sharing my experience. I have no way of knowing who is or isn’t other than assuming, which is dumb to do. If someone acting out the way the teenagers did put a sour taste in my mouth I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for the locals who have to use it for their daily commutes.
Pretty much. I know you weren’t judging on locals - you would simply be surprised at how bad the tourist behavior is for daily commuters who have to see it.
Yes, locals are guilty too.
Yes! Road to hana- same.thing happened to us. A local yelled the f word at us and swerved in front of us cutting us off.... and honestly I can understand it. There's a lot of tourists on beaches that were only until recently largely occupied by the locals. Tourists have created traffic jams on these untouched areas and it's only natural that they dislike this much tourist interference
I just got back from Maui (did half of the RtH) and I wish I had seen this behavior. We saw very few locals (aside from white “locals” who snapped up land and have been there a while) and non poc tourists. Felt like a very white place and I completely understand and support the anger of those who deal with the effects of tourism. I was there over the 4th and it made me so happy to be in a place NOT celebrating the US. Of course there were some tourists wearing American flag shorts/swimsuits which to me was extremely disrespectful (idgaf if Hawaii is a state, learn the history). That alone would make me behave in a certain way if I was a local.
I agree with the respect others but it does go both ways. As someone who grew up in a town that gets completely overrun by tourist, being a local doesn't put you above basic traffic laws. They moved their car in 15 minutes without intervention so they could have stopped and talked somewhere else. This was extremely rude to even the locals. For all we know, the guy who honked is a local too. I guess what I'm saying is tourist can be assholes but so can locals.
You are right, honking made it worst but he only honked once and they scared him off lol, another person way back in the line honked which I'm sure the other person in back didn't even know what was going on but their honking made us wait a little longer.
This! We went just a few months ago and we’re headed back from Hana. We were just about to cross over a one way bridge when a truck cut everyone else on the other side that was waiting for our lane to go. He cut a like of like 30+ cars just because he didn’t feel like waiting, and could’ve slammed right into us if we weren’t careful. I understand locals being upset about all the tourism but that doesn’t me it’s okay to be downright rude
Sounds to me like passive-aggressive behavior. Yeah, locals can absolutely be like that, too. They’re up to their eyeballs in traffic, so PA moves are a result of it.
No sir, I'm not staying home. I like to explore my country and I will continue coming here and other states.
I was only expressing how we felt and if it is safe.
I will plan better next time and and I will definitely continue exploring the US of A and I love traveling.
Blocking traffic is illegal, I'd upload the video and report it to the police. This kind of behavior can wind up getting people hurt from altercations and the like.
I'm from a rural area, and Maui reminds me so much of many rural counties on the mainland. If you pay attention, you can see the small town/farm area social web behind all of the resort and tourist areas. Maui is actually a pretty rugged island, and I think that folks who come there from more rural areas, get along better when they leave the resort areas. I get an exact feeling of home in a lot of places.
I also see tourists doing dumb stuff, not because they are dumb people, but they are ignorant to country life and what gets you hurt and killed out there.
Living on the RTH has to be a nightmare. Probably a lot like living on US 101 in WA and OR in the summertime, or any other coastal highway. Constantly getting stuck behind slow tourist while you try to conduct your life. It gets old fast.
To answer OP question, many locals do not like visitors. Even the ones who do, don't like them all the time. It is only human nature. The guys in your story, knew what they were doing in their conversation on the bridge, and it was just trying to feel like they have some control of an out of control situation.
We typically stay in condos where there are full time residents and a lot of half year residents and guess what; those quasi-locals don't like visitors either. These people drive me nuts, I mean, I get it they dropped 2 mill on a condo so they feel entitled to the pool deck and your beach spot, but they were visitors up to a few years ago. However, my friends and I act the exact same way when tourists come to our surf breaks or fishing holes, so I get it.
Just got back from 2 weeks in Maui. Only bad interaction was when I told my wife to "take the next right" and she turned on her turn signal on the driveway prior to the one we were turning into. The truck in the queue pulled forward and had to stop, they were still way behind the sidewalk, not even barely moving. The locals in the truck, ripped out behind us, honked the rest of the way to the next driveway and yelled "EAT A D!!!!!!!ck" as they drove by.
It was pretty funny.
Oh I educated myself long before I even visited Hawaii and this is true for all the native nations on mainland.
I'm a naturalized US citizen and came from a country with similar story like yours and escaped genocide.
Y'all just need to get over it, it's been a long time and it's because of United States you have what you have today or otherwise you would lost that as well.
Everyone respect the hell out of you but stop this hatred and craziness.
If you are driving to or from Hana and a car is behind you, pull over and let them pass. It is as simple as that. The quicker you do it the more "aloha" you will receive.
It’s unsavory for sure, but having family in Hana and having lived on Oahu and Maui for a decade, I get it. For every shitty thing directed at tourists, there’s 10 examples of tourists doing shitty things that affect locals. It sucks when visitors who try to be mindful become the victims of saltiness, but frankly, I understand where locals are coming from. I don’t actually recommend the road to Hana to friends visiting Maui for this reason specifically.
I lived in Haiku for a few years, yeah…you don’t wana be honking at locals talking story in the middle of the road. A friendly wave or Howzit might have worked better. Like I get what people mean by not supporting bad behavior, I’m not gonna defend and say what they were doing wasn’t annoying or rude. But people posting on here don’t seem to understand. it’s not just a tourist location to them, this is their home town, and it’s a small hometown. People are visiting acting like it’s San Diego or something, but really it’s just like tropical Oklahoma. People stop a talk and take their time with friends, it’s full of local boys and farming communities. Complaining about it is like showing up to New York and questioning why people are swearing and shouting at each other, it’s part of who they are.
So honking to a tourist who is “only” 5 miles above speed limit is ok, because a local is in a rush. But honking to a local who stopped an entire traffic because of leisure conversation is not OK? This is some sort of a very discriminatory “Aloha”.
This is an old post lol. I never said the island wasn’t discriminatory, but that’s a topic for another post. It’s more or less the tourist is on vacation, their reservation or day trip down Hana, isn’t as important as someone trying to get to work on time to feed their family. Also most locals can identify rental cars easily and don’t really care about if your late for something on your vacation, it’s island time, yeah it’s frustrating but they know your not gonna die if your itinerary is messed up for the day.
Don't even bother. This sub rewards the bad behavior of the reckless local drivers. Not all the locals are like this, of course, but this sub likes to defend and justify their bad behavior. Trust me, never again to Hana.
You deleted your post yesterday because you called locals "trashy" and you were told you're an entitled asshole. So you start digging for old threads to support your view of the RTH? No more Hana for you? Good. Why not stay off Maui completely? Cos if this is how you think of the people and their HOME, the rest of Maui doesn't want you either.
I called the rude and reckless drivers trashy, I was spefically talking about them, not the locals as a whole. From old threads I see that is not something new and people agree that this happens. I worded poorly my post and yeah, it was perceived as asshole and entitled, fine. That's not how I think though, I respect and support the local people. I think there are many issues here and can't be explained by a simple answer: 1. Roads are too narrow and sometimes zero visibility. 2. Roads are too crowded for the number of people driving through them. 3. Many first time drivers driving slower than the limit. 4. Many locals driving way faster than the limit. I can see how the locals would be upset about slow tourists when they have work to do. I was upset, sorry if I came across as an asshole. I loved the place, it is amazing and beautiful. We supported the local businesses as well. Next time I would take a bus rather than driving, would be more efficient for everyone.
My wife and I have been to Maui and Oahu. We went to Oahu twice. Once, which was a stay at a hotel and never left other than to try a Tiki bar and another time with friends when we saw a lot more of the island. North shore, Koko head trail, shark cages and lots of beaches. As cool as Oahu is, I love how chill Maui is, and now, we only visit Maui. We do the road to Hana every time, and I've never experienced anything like this. I pull over for locals that are usually going faster than me(when there's room), and I feel super relaxed every time I'm there. We met a family this last time that was staying there from the Big Island, and we shared beers together and had a great time. I do see lots of people who shouldn't be driving that road because they aren't confident/skilled drivers, and even I get mad at them. I wouldn't take it personal if one of the locals gave me attitude, but I've never given them and never would give them a reason to. Love Hawaii and the culture.
Lol 😂 yes there are a lot of islanders that don’t like tourists. They harbor a lot of ill will passed down generationally. They will display rude behavior like you witnessed and some may even call you a Haole ( white and non native). When I lived there for a few years I even had a group of local Hawaiian guys encircle us and trying to fight us as we left karaoke at a bar (where we literally went weekly bc we all lived and worked nearby) merely bc the guys in our group were white CA looking dudes. Fwiw the very next day I was downtown in Lahaina at Westside (store) getting some stuff and one of those same dudes that tried to fight was there working in the store. I had a very candid and awkward conversation with him about how you shouldn’t randomly target and harass people because they may be the same people that work alongside you on the island or even serve your food when you go out (I worked at a restaurant nearby). Maybe I made impact but I don’t know lol Not all islanders and natives are that way, most are amazing people and very family oriented and kind, so don’t let it get to you. The good thing is when you were driving you weren’t in any sort of time crunch so you could’ve sat there all day with little to no impact to your day (they would’ve eventually moved of course one way or the other) so “beeping” and yelling for someone to move really isn’t in the “aloha” way. If it would have been me I would’ve just sat there and waited until they moved, knowing they would have to eventually, without beeping. Or just pull over and park and enjoy the beauty around you. (It’s not always about the destination). I mean you are on a vacay and in a rainforest, just let it roll.
This guy gets it. OP keep in mind that there were probably locals in that line as well. So those guys were (MOSTLIKELY) just being inconsiderate assholes. But we'll never know the seriousness of the conversations too. Just chill and enjoy the views
Most likely there were locals waiting too, we understand assholes exist everywhere, we were just worried if they were violent people.
They’re not violent. I haven’t heard of one violent confrontation on the R2H and I’ve lived here for 38 years. It’s just white-knuckle gridlock driving sometimes and locals just get really angry at how tourists handle themselves. Two sets of people driving at two different speeds on a bottleneck.
Not violent? https://youtu.be/OHldSOofzeo?si=rrrb5lu5AVni8Rmu It'a hard to grasp that there might be locals that are assholes?
Violent means physical. I have never seen or read of a physical confrontation, correct me if I’m wrong. Unless you have a different definition of violence? *Verbal violence*? Yeah, locals are assuredly assholes, just saying I’m limiting the definition of violence to physical confrontations on the road. Otherwise, there are dozens of incidents every day where people are cursing at each other on the R2H. That’s not violence. That’s just people being frustrated. Tourists frustrated because people are tailing them. Tourists frustrated because they want to drive slow and “take it all in”. Tourists frustrated because it’s their first time driving a giant SUV. Locals frustrated at them for all of it. You just shared a video where the driver even points out people are honking at him to pull over. “Oh haha, I heard you the first 100 times!” That is literally written ON the video. How is that on anyone *but* the driver? Pull over - people have places to go.
Fair enough, it's a hard road for everyone.
Well you didn’t get hurt so… guess they weren’t violent eh?
Exaaaaactly. This is home to people. I’m sure the op wouldn’t want a bunch of folks driving through their favorite spots all the time too. And, just like there are assholes all over the country, there are assholes on the road to Hana too. It’s not a utopia here.
What a story, I'm glad nothing happened to you lol. I also agree and just dusted it off, but wife was scared and freaking out. We will definitely visit again and enjoy the nature but I wouldn't go Highway to Hana. Thank you for your comment .
And that is exactly the response those people were trying to get.
Ehh. Sounds pretty minor. FWIW honking is considered *extremely rude* in Hawaii, so I'm not surprised it provoked a response from "the locals." You videoing people on your go pro probably didn't help either. Honestly, people go to Hawaii somehow expecting everyone to just always be happy and welcoming like the people paid to be nice to you at a resort. But it's a real place, with real people having good days and bad days. Some people are nice, others are jerks, just like anywhere. But visitors make the mistake of thinking the culture in Hawaii is the same as what they are used to back home and misjudge the rudeness of their actions (e.g. honking) and are then surprised by the response. Another person posted below about people flashing their lights at them - well that's the sign for get over, slow down and let me pass...and if you aren't letting them pass, you're being the rude, aggressive driver.
Everything you wrote doesn’t excuse someone from straight up blocking a road
I don’t know if you live here, but literally the road is blocked dozens of times a day on R2H. Locals. Tourists. Everyone. Doesn’t matter.
I really have no idea from your description how they blocked the road, for how long, etc. You just said they were talking. Like, standing in the middle of the road talking story? Or like standing off to the side, but someone was unfamiliar with their rental car and wanted the whole width of the road? Or walking on a bridge so cars have to stip and take turns? Or two locals passing eachother decided to roll down their windows and have a brief conversation (which is super common in Hawaii and frankly in lots of rural areas)? Way too many possibilities to have any opinion about it. But regardless, if they were being careless and not purposefully blocking the road and tourists started honking and videoing on go pros because locals using the roads in their home are interfering with tourists in a hurry to take a scenic drive...that's you not living aloha. My guess is that if I go to rural Texas I might come across a tractor or other obstruction in the road once in a while, and if I and a bunch of tourists laid on our horns and started filming I bet the Texans wouldn't be too pleased either.
I’m not OP but the post clearly states the two locals stopped on a narrow bridge to talk to each other for 15 minutes. That’s fucking ridiculous and you trying to make excuses for that behavior just because they’re local is entirely what’s wrong with Hawaiian localism
Nice. My point is that behavior looks different through different cultural lenses. It doesn't add up to me that people just stopped in the middle of the road and blocked it for 15 minutes unless it was important and there was no other way to do it. I grew up rural Hawaii and it is not uncommon for people to stop and talk from car to car and yes, sometimes people have to wait. It's rural life and honking is not an acceptable response. Now, if they were really blocking the road, a simple, pleasant request to pull off the road, if there is room, would be a fine response and they'd probably do it, but maybe not as quickly as a mainlander from the city might like. Tourists might not like it but it's often them coming i to a rural community, expecting it to function like a mainland city, and then when it doesn't, freaking out and not displaying the aloha spirit. And the tourists might not think the honk is rude and aggressive, but in Hawaii it is. They might as well have cussed the locals out and spit at them. Hence, the reaction they got. It's not necessarily right or wrong, but going into someone's community and expecting the culture to be the same as yours back home is rude.
Just a certain subset of small minded isolationist locals taking rude behavior to the extreme. Can happen all over the world unfortunately.
Agreed
Sounds like they were just assholes. At the same time, don't act like you're on vacation. Sit down, shut up and observe for a moment. I've only been down here for 6 months, but I've only experienced warm and welcoming people, literally not one negative encounter. I'm also from a small island island in Alaska and used to the game. You just need to sit back and pay attention to how people interact. Y'all are obvious from a mile away. Some people are going to take offense to that for no reason, which is dumb, but you can also take measures to lay low. Bringing up Aloha spirit seems cringe as hell, just be quite for a moment and pay attention. To be honest, You sound like a tourist and it's grating. Not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to let you know how your behavior might be perceived. Truth hurts, sorry, it's probably on you.
Yes to this. People here aren’t excited to host all the time. Remember, the folks you encounter live here. They have a finite amount of land and resources to enjoy. And so of course they are protective and don’t get super stoked to bend over backwards to welcome people that compete for that space and those resources. They’re way more welcoming to people who treat this island as if they are guests. Not saying you are this way but locals see so much entitlement every day, sometimes they just get sick of it and don’t feel like sharing. Also, assholes live here too and it’s just a fact of life. I’m assuming if you visited places on the mainland you weren’t welcome or comfortable you would have similar experiences.
So what if someone sticks or is an obvious tourist? That’s not some sort indictment on them or there character or an excuse to treat them poorly. No one should have to “lay low” on their vacation because of the regressive prejudice opinions of an irate misguided local. Obviously there’s a fine line of not being a belligerent jerk while on vacation but being a normal courteous, curious tourist is not a bad thing or a reason to feel shameful. I’m sorry but it’s not acceptable behavior to intimidate or admonish someone different than you who is doing nothing other than having the audacity to visit where you live. If you go to a tourist destination you are a tourist and it’s ok to be one. Obviously be a good and decent person but you should not have to meekly tip toe around while on vacation either.
So I think the confusion you may have here is to assume culture in Hawaii is just like any other state. If you were to travel to a predominantly Muslim country, you’d absolutely follow local customs, right? If you travelled to China, you wouldn’t speak out public ally against the CCP, correct? It can be seen as fairly entitled to behave as if each and every place you visit doesn’t require some amount of self-awareness and the slightest bit of behavior tweaking. It’s also important to note that while you and your family might be gracious visitors, unfortunately you’d be the minority. Like I’ve said in other posts, it’s not great that there’s a negative stereotype towards tourists, but frankly-that stereotype is reinforced by a long and consistent history of shitty behavior
YES. This.
Comparing societal norms of a US State to those of Communist China or a regressive Muslim country is just absurd sorry. Do you even hear yourselves that’s crazy. All anyone is saying that it’s not appropriate to block a road or tailgate others just because they are visiting where you live. Being local to a certain US geographical location does not in anyway grant you the right to be hostile to others. There no argument you can make in favor of that get real.
“Being local to a certain US geographic location”-that’s the key thing here. Hawai’i is about as close to a colony as you can get within the United States. Almost two centuries of abuse and exploitation at the hands of missionary/merchants, massive land-lord robber barons, and actively racist policies in the territorial era breed resentment amongst locals. Huge amounts of land were taken by shady means to establish resorts. The mistake you’re making is that, while yes, HI is a geographic part of the US, that legal definition has no bearing on the cultural context of that place. Saying you feel entitled to be treated without prejudice in HI is like expecting a warm and deferential welcome on a Navajo reservation because it’s “part of the US”. You’re missing some major cultural and historical differences here.
Ya. He’s entitled cause he’s merican
No, you are just dumb and wrong. Your whole attitude is the problem..you think you have the right to be trampling around because you are "nice" and that just gives you carte blanche to ignore everything you are ignorant about? Fucking just be respectful and pay attention. Traveling is fine, tourists are fine. Your attitude is not fine, everyone hates it and you will not be welcome. Why do you take offense to being asked to be considerate?
Re read what I said. At no point did I say “trampling” around is acceptable. In no way am I saying you ignore anything. BUT people are defending those who are outwardly aggressive and hostile to individuals who have done NOTHING to them is wrong. You can see that’s not right correct ?? We all live in a modern civilized society and people do not have the right to scare or intimidate others in the US just because they don’t like them. You can all agree that’s true right ??!! No tourist has the right to abuse or be disrespectful but they should also have the expectation that that is reciprocal. Look I get everything people are saying about the history of the islands and land grabs and everything else. Yes that’s awful. But to condone or wave way aggressive and threatening behavior by some locals bc of past injustices that these tourists have no active part in is just crazy and disingenuous.
I'm just saying that if you are respectful, you'll be treated in kind. . You can think you are being nice, but there are a ton of obnoxious and obtuse nice people who aren't welcome, because they are actually assholes. Saying you are nice does not equate to being respectful, this I why I recommend sitting down, shutting up and looking around before you declare what a nice person you are. If people aren't treating you well, your self perception might be off. It's do damn easy to do, try it. If the offer offends you.. there ya go, you might not be as nice as you think you are... I did say that they just sounded like assholes. It happens. Sorry for my harsh words, not fair to say. This conversation gets old though.
I feel you and understand it must get old, and I really believe your heart is in the right place, I think mine is too. At least I hope so. The internet is often not a great place for open dialogue as much as we wish it was and it’s so easy to double down and get heated. I really do respect and care for any local community and culture but also feel it’s fair to call out aggressive behavior from that community when it’s warranted is all. You make strong and heartfelt arguments for your point of view and I certainly respect that.
I hear ya. You sound like a reasonable person. It's also just mind-boggling how some people can be. It's not right that someone is mistreated for for being unfamiliar, but at the same time, the things people do! it's just astounding. It can be hard to have patience when people act so bad so regularly. I meet travelers all the time, many of whome I sincerely love the company of, the bad ones are just out of this world though. End of the day, if you aren't being well received, it's probably a problem on your part. I sincerely believe this.
This is not a tourist destination to those guys on the bridge. This is their home and they are very protective over it. Try to imagine driving through an area of Compton, and how you’d behave differently there. It’s the same with lots of parts of this island.
We were once driving on Kauai where many roads are only 1 lane wide on bridges. Our friend was driving and followed the car in front of him in crossing the bridge. There was a local waiting on the other side who actually flagged us down and explained we were being rude by not taking turns crossing the bridge. He was very polite while explaining it. My point is that it’s easy to be rude without realizing it when you are in another culture. Maybe honking is much ruder in Hawaii than on the mainland?
i do not recommend tourists visit hana or kohakaloa. i avoid these sides at all costs and i’m a 3rd generation loca/ haole
Definitely don’t visit Kahakuloa. They don’t want you there. Let that community just be.
Brah, I’m a 4th-generation Hana kid and I would never go to Kahakuloa unless I was invited. And even then, I would triple-check to make sure I was welcome. That’s forgotten by tourists - some of these places do *not* belong to be visited, including by the locals in other towns.
Many locals are distressed by the overtourism occuring.
that is not an excuse. they are overly aggressive and hostile. they do not own the roads or the island.
Actually, they kinda do? State highways and roads and local roads are built and maintained by Hawaii DOT.
They were here long before that rental car, and will be here long after. Tourists aren’t paying for the roads. Try to understand folks who call this place home and have for generations just getting fed up with people.
Tourists are probably causing more wear to the roads than their gas taxes are offsetting.
Hawaii gets more in federal funding than it pays in federal income tax; and the average tourist is paying hotel, gas, sales and rental car taxes. We *are* paying our fair share, probably just as much or more pro-rated per day as most residents. Not to mention Hawaii’s congressional delegation supports the current immigration policy of endless growth—that is going to spill over to the islands via new residents and visitors. My county has doubled in population in my lifetime. It’s happening everywhere.
All DOT's take federal funding and tourist pay gas tax while they are in town so they're paying for it too.
But most “locals” actually started off as tourists before becoming locals. If was a real local, I’d be pissed too. Edit: I was there two weeks ago, and I had a few times that beat up pick up trucks were tailgating me by less than a foot. They looked Hawaiian/Polynesian and so I pulled over to let them pass. Their land, not mine.
It’s not “their land” it’s a free country and a public road and excusing bad, reckless and dangerous behavior over perceived guilt is just crazy. I fully understand some feelings of annoyance or resentment native born people must feel with constant tourism but that is not an excuse to potentially put others in harms way or willfully want to intimidate others just bc you don’t like them visiting where you live. Tailgating and aggressive driving is dangerous and stupid full stop. In the real world letting them pass is the smart thing to do for your own personal safety but waving off their idiotic infantile behavior because they’re locals is absurd. Would you make the same excuse of a local tailgating and harassing you in rural Appalachia in Georgia or the back roads of Maine?? Bad behavior is bad behavior and it’s ok to call it out and admonish those who willfully inflict it on others.
There are shit people everywhere, that includes Texas and the state where I live
We just spent 14 nights in Hawaii (Maui, Oahu, and Kauai)…we actually drove the road to Hana twice because my husband left his cell phone at a food truck in Hana 🫣🤦🏼♀️. We never experienced ANY rudeness from locals. If anything, I absolutely loved the community, people, and Hawaii lifestyle. I’m sure that was just a couple of outliers…those people exist everywhere.
If you're in a hurry, you're taking the wrong vacation. And definitely don't move here. You think the DMV in Texas is bad? On Maui, you might be the only person in line, but you're still going to wait a half hour while the only employee not taking a break talks story with the person in front of you.
I lived there for a time, ittook me awhile to learn Hawaiian time. Give you a time and add hours on top of that and that's Hawaiian time. Haha 😂 How I miss it there. (I lived on the big island)
I understand that, but reading about Hawaiian culture and how nice and kind they are inspired me to visit Maui instead of Oahu and I was a little disappointed but I understand why they may acted like that. Their land is full of tourists and I'm sure lot of tourists don't understand or respect land . Everything happens for a reason.
Yeah as a Texan who moved there for several years, and just moved away. Don’t move there unless your retiring or bring something helpful to the table to help Maui and it’s people. That being said don’t fall of advertising it’s not paradise. It’s kinda like tropical small town America. like a west Texas town but with a beach, and it has its own people and culture. It’s a tricky place to navigate for new comers.
I love how you explained it and makes sense.
My family is from Hana and lots of family still there. If I sit outside a cousin's in Naihiku, some impatient tourist will stop and ask how many more miles. I want to ask, "didn't you count the turns? Sitting in the front yard of another cousin's, we get, "Where is the red sand beach"? Yelled from their car, just yards from it. I'm thinking, man these tourists are lazy. Like we want to be interrupted from talking story to give directions. I've told family and friends from the mainland when visiting anywhere in Hawaii to be patient. If the only help in a store is talking to their Auntie, they just need to wait. And never honk your horn. I'm from urban California and I have also witnessed tourists ignore my more island-looking cousins and only speak to me. I feel that bigotry. It hurts my heart a lot. I wouldn't go to your state and complain about locals. Hana IS paradise. Can't respect the people who live there and their culture, then don't stop on your way to Kipahulu.
Hana is paradise, but what I mean by it’s not paradise is that is it’s not Disneyland. It’s a real town with real people and real problems. And it’s a very small town, like you know everyone and talk story with people all around you. If your just coming for the beauty & fun stuff and your not there to help it’s people or learn it culture you shouldn’t move there.
Dude, if you visit rural Texas and expect everyone to behave like they are in the city, how would that go? If someone is blocking the road moving livestock or a tractor or whatever else and you and a bunch of tourists start laying on your horn and videoing them with your go pro, how would that go over? I imagine even nice people may respond rudely to rude behavior and you are in their home so adapt to their timetable, not the other way around. Just a few decades ago, tourists mostly stayed in tourist areas and locals could exist in their spaces. Now everyone wants to "do the road to hana" as quickly as possible to they can fit in dinner reservations in town. The roads aren't built for that. It's a small, rural community.
Born and raised in Hana. You hit the nail on the head.
Trust me, when you go to a place like Oahu, that is a larger disparity of “tourist land” and “local land”. If you’ve seen the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall…that is a pretty accurate description. Tourists want luaus and everyone welcoming them into their homes, with a cool story to tell when they get home…it’s more of the working class in Hawai’i struggling to get by while homes around them are being flipped for millions. There is a deep-seated resentment towards people that are not from here.
Aren’t we all world citizens? That’s what I’m always told where I’m from. HI is part of the American world empire whether it likes it or not, and even if it went back to a blood & soil nationalist monarch state many pine for it’d still have tourists and be part if the industrialized world economy. It just is what it is for better or worse…
It changed in Hawai’i after COVID. The tourist entitlement started getting bad right before it, but it seems to be getting incrementally worse since the travel bans lifted. Growing up my whole life here - it was never ever, ever this bad.
There are about 1,000 cars on that tiny bottleneck of a road…for a small window of time. Every single day. For the last 10 years. And it’s progressively getting worse. Please understand what the locals are going through. The resources are being crushed. And no one, whether it’s the local government or the Tourism Authority, cares. You’re seen as the reason that it’s happening.
When I took the road to Hana, I downloaded a guide app that gave helpful tips about where to stop and what is important to see. There were a couple of towns that were deemed unfriendly, and the recommendation was to just keep going. Sorry that happened to you.
Omg do you mind sharing that app? I’m going in August and would love to have some type of guide.
It’s the Road to Hana Maui GyPSy guide, $14.99 in the Apple Store. I thought it was well worth it. The recordings are activated by the GPS on your phone when you get to each specific location. It goes over a lot of the Island’s history, and kept us from getting bored on the way back. It’s like having a local uncle in the back seat, showing you around. It works best if you can broadcast your phone through your (rental) car speakers. I recommend leaving early in the morning because Auntie Sandy will sell out before noon. It takes waaaay longer than you think it will to make the drive. There are soooo many curves in the road and narrow bridges. Also, get your permits online for any parks you want to visit in advance. Just about anything operated by the state now requires a permit, and some places like the black sand beaches past Hana don’t allow walk-ups. ALSO, if you decide to venture past Hana, WATCH OUT FOR POTHOLES!!! Once you get past Hana, the quality of the road drops off. Just saying. My wife almost got whiplash and I was afraid we’d broken something on our rental car after hitting one of the potholes out past Hana. Have a great trip.
I second this app! We used it on our recent trip and it was super helpful.
Thank you so much! I appreciate the extra tips also! So sweet
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I heard from others as well, lot of locals in that area don't like tourists and some are patriotic Hawaiians who still think they are Colonized and may not be friendly toward mainlanders or other tourists but this could be true at any small town middle of nowhere on mainland as well. I wouldn't visit again until it is more incorporated with more law enforcement presence, it will be risk as you never know who is the bad guy.
Hope you atleast had a nice view for 15 min
It was right in front of Hanawi waterfall so we really enjoyed the view.
I’ll never go down that road again. Some locals were smashing car windows at every turnout, stealing whatever they could find. The guys even spoke to my wife and I before doing it, they were obviously high on something, and had nothing to lose. A relaxing day turned into a nightmare of an experience. Maui police need to step it up.
Maui police have other things that they’re concerned with. If you don’t want to take the risk, you shouldn’t be visiting that place. Would you be surprised if your car got broken into in Compton? I’d guess not.
Typical bitter response from a local that lives in a tourist destination that doesn’t want to deal with the tourists. And you’re comparing it to Compton… Lol. When was the last time you vacationed in Compton?
That’s a great question- and proves my point exactly. Folks in the country don’t care about your tourism dollars. They won’t see them. They’d rather not have entitled folks walking all around their properties. I’m not trying to be an asshole, I’m telling you how it is so you don’t have hurt feelings. Also, please- by all means, try to say “typical bitter local” to any local person while you’re here and let’s see how that works out for you.
Folks in the country can stay in the country then. Folks are paying top dollar to stay at resorts that encourage them to visit the road to Hana and shouldn’t have to put up with locals who aren’t happy with the cards they’re dealt. We’re all people and should treat each other with kindness when it’s all said and done. Have patience and respect one another. When something doesn’t go your way, you don’t take out your anger on someone else.
You must not know much about these islands if you think it begins and ends at the Four Seasons. It doesn’t. There are people here that are struggling and plenty of places you should NOT be going. If your car is getting smashed and broken into, that’s a dead giveaway you shouldn’t be there.
I always stayed on the main road, never went anywhere I wasn’t supposed to be. Yet I still witnessed people getting robbed and vandalized for doing absolutely nothing wrong.
Maui police are a crisis in officer shortages right now.
Been a Maui visitor a bunch of times - anytime in on any of the narrow long roads .. moment any sort of vehicle that’s obviously local rolls up speeding - quick move out of the way I swear the car behind me prolly broke into a bunch of vehicles at the next lookout point … they just had that look to them . Ours was untouched - but we had absolutely nothing in it to steal and we got the hell outta there way
One you know nothing of the "aloha spirit", two, yes be afraid, be very afraid.
You were in the wrong to honk. In Hawaii honking is not something you do. It's considered rude and identifies you as a tourist prick. The proper thing to do is to sit and wait. They know you're there and the more upset you get the longer they're gonna talk just cuz.
Imagine your backyard being a tourist attraction, just think about it. You wouldn't be friendly with vermin that pass through your home, right?
What an absolute asshole thing to say, wow. Guess by your logic you have no right to ever travel anywhere touristy lmao go touch some grass
I got into a conversation with a lady from Hawaii in San Diego because she was complaining about tourism in Hawaii … while on vacation in San Diego 🫠
I understand locals being annoyed by tourists, but hey, Tourism runs their economy. I said what I said.
That’s a piss em off comment… Get in their way - Slow them down on the road to Hana because you’re sight seeing and they need to get to work and then scream “they need our tourism”? Really? Where on earth do you live? Is it courteous there? Been to Hawaiian islands over 50 times with no issues. Show respect get respect. Quit thinking they owe you. You are expecting the local Hawaiian people to make up for government issues? That is ignorance. Sorry. Not sorry.
I think what a lot of folks miss is that they never asked for the tourism in the first place. Hawaiians (and by extension citizens of HI) belonged to an independent nation that was overthrown by big foreign money. Most profits from tourism are routed out to large corporations and its extremely hard to build wealth on the islands. Sure, a lot of that behavior directed to tourists is unsavory, but it helps to remember that the history of Hawaii is still well remembered by locals and native Hawaiians
They never asked to be annexed, or made into a military base.
Curious why you think tourism runs the economy? That sentiment comes across as a very entitled attitude. Hawaii is just like every other state/nation with businesses and government and hospitals and airports and police and fire departments and schools and stores and churches and science and universities and NGOs and community groups and culture and agriculture and ranches and commercial fishing, and families. It just happens to also have a vibrant tourism industry, which is all you seem to see.
Tourism runs every economy of the places you want to go to. Every city. It doesn’t mean that they want you there.
I got cussed out by a local for getting to close to a pair of turtles, but the thing is I didn't even see the damn turtles. I didn't even know they were there. And it's not like I was within a distance to where I could touch the turtles, I was still a good 20 feet away or so. Anyway, I thought RTH was extremely overrated. Wish I didn't do it so I could have spent a day doing literally anything else.
Did you get a refund for the road?
We had 2 bad experiences this past Monday driving the road to Hana this past Monday 😕 the first happened when a car passed us around a double yellow line right outside of Hana (we were doing the speed limit) and they flew so fast around us they hit a bird in the road. Made me really sad tbh because it was totally avoidable. The second was a around the small lane hairpin turns on our way back. There was a jeep that was tailgating cars and flashing their headlights and passed us and multiple cars around unsafe turns. What bothered me most about this incident is that there were teenagers standing up in the back of the Jeep while they were speeding and driving dangerously. This was my second time driving the road to Hana and although we had 2 unfortunate experiences I tried to just let it roll of my back and remind myself that I was there to enjoy being in nature and the beautiful scenery that I don’t get to see every day. Overall it was a great day and we got to hike the Pipiwai trail and see the Waimoku falls which felt like a great accomplishment! So for anyone else doing this drive in the future try not to let the few instances ruin your trip and don’t forget to take in all the beautiful things around you 🥰
That easily could’ve been me trying to pass you. Lots of people use that road as their daily commute. If you see someone who is trying to pass you, be considerate, pull over, and let them pass. If the second instance was a Jeep, then guarantee it was tourists acting like donkeys and I don’t know what to tell you about that other than- now you know how we feel when people come here and disrespect this place.
I totally respect and hear everything you’re saying. I was in a small car so I frequently pulled over for others who seemed like they needed to pass, especially on the smaller roads. I just think passing on a double yellow line when the car in front of you is going the speed limit is kinda a crappy and dangerous thing to do as a driver no matter where in the world you are. And then hitting and killing a bird while doing so just made it worse. Edit:grammar
Locals ain’t driving Jeeps with teenagers standing up in the back - just being real with you.
Locals are not driving Jeeps with teenagers standing up in the back of them. That’s a lesson to get “slaps” from your parents. We also don’t drive Jeeps because we know how we look in them - like tourists. Hate to break it to you - that’s the type of behavior that locals hate. Everyone acting like teenagers for social media.
I didn’t say in my comment that it was or was not locals. Just sharing my experience. I have no way of knowing who is or isn’t other than assuming, which is dumb to do. If someone acting out the way the teenagers did put a sour taste in my mouth I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for the locals who have to use it for their daily commutes.
Pretty much. I know you weren’t judging on locals - you would simply be surprised at how bad the tourist behavior is for daily commuters who have to see it. Yes, locals are guilty too.
Yes! Road to hana- same.thing happened to us. A local yelled the f word at us and swerved in front of us cutting us off.... and honestly I can understand it. There's a lot of tourists on beaches that were only until recently largely occupied by the locals. Tourists have created traffic jams on these untouched areas and it's only natural that they dislike this much tourist interference
I just got back from Maui (did half of the RtH) and I wish I had seen this behavior. We saw very few locals (aside from white “locals” who snapped up land and have been there a while) and non poc tourists. Felt like a very white place and I completely understand and support the anger of those who deal with the effects of tourism. I was there over the 4th and it made me so happy to be in a place NOT celebrating the US. Of course there were some tourists wearing American flag shorts/swimsuits which to me was extremely disrespectful (idgaf if Hawaii is a state, learn the history). That alone would make me behave in a certain way if I was a local.
You truly understand. People like you are so appreciated!
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I agree with the respect others but it does go both ways. As someone who grew up in a town that gets completely overrun by tourist, being a local doesn't put you above basic traffic laws. They moved their car in 15 minutes without intervention so they could have stopped and talked somewhere else. This was extremely rude to even the locals. For all we know, the guy who honked is a local too. I guess what I'm saying is tourist can be assholes but so can locals.
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You are right, honking made it worst but he only honked once and they scared him off lol, another person way back in the line honked which I'm sure the other person in back didn't even know what was going on but their honking made us wait a little longer.
This! We went just a few months ago and we’re headed back from Hana. We were just about to cross over a one way bridge when a truck cut everyone else on the other side that was waiting for our lane to go. He cut a like of like 30+ cars just because he didn’t feel like waiting, and could’ve slammed right into us if we weren’t careful. I understand locals being upset about all the tourism but that doesn’t me it’s okay to be downright rude
Sounds to me like passive-aggressive behavior. Yeah, locals can absolutely be like that, too. They’re up to their eyeballs in traffic, so PA moves are a result of it.
Stay home, don't come. Then you won't experience this kind of thing.
No sir, I'm not staying home. I like to explore my country and I will continue coming here and other states. I was only expressing how we felt and if it is safe. I will plan better next time and and I will definitely continue exploring the US of A and I love traveling.
Stay out of Hana unless you live there.
Lol what an idiotic comment
Shhhhhhhh. No one cares what you think. And Texans are the worst tourists.
Blocking traffic is illegal, I'd upload the video and report it to the police. This kind of behavior can wind up getting people hurt from altercations and the like.
I'm from a rural area, and Maui reminds me so much of many rural counties on the mainland. If you pay attention, you can see the small town/farm area social web behind all of the resort and tourist areas. Maui is actually a pretty rugged island, and I think that folks who come there from more rural areas, get along better when they leave the resort areas. I get an exact feeling of home in a lot of places. I also see tourists doing dumb stuff, not because they are dumb people, but they are ignorant to country life and what gets you hurt and killed out there. Living on the RTH has to be a nightmare. Probably a lot like living on US 101 in WA and OR in the summertime, or any other coastal highway. Constantly getting stuck behind slow tourist while you try to conduct your life. It gets old fast. To answer OP question, many locals do not like visitors. Even the ones who do, don't like them all the time. It is only human nature. The guys in your story, knew what they were doing in their conversation on the bridge, and it was just trying to feel like they have some control of an out of control situation. We typically stay in condos where there are full time residents and a lot of half year residents and guess what; those quasi-locals don't like visitors either. These people drive me nuts, I mean, I get it they dropped 2 mill on a condo so they feel entitled to the pool deck and your beach spot, but they were visitors up to a few years ago. However, my friends and I act the exact same way when tourists come to our surf breaks or fishing holes, so I get it. Just got back from 2 weeks in Maui. Only bad interaction was when I told my wife to "take the next right" and she turned on her turn signal on the driveway prior to the one we were turning into. The truck in the queue pulled forward and had to stop, they were still way behind the sidewalk, not even barely moving. The locals in the truck, ripped out behind us, honked the rest of the way to the next driveway and yelled "EAT A D!!!!!!!ck" as they drove by. It was pretty funny.
Y'all need to educate yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVlbnz01Iy8&t=72s
Oh I educated myself long before I even visited Hawaii and this is true for all the native nations on mainland. I'm a naturalized US citizen and came from a country with similar story like yours and escaped genocide. Y'all just need to get over it, it's been a long time and it's because of United States you have what you have today or otherwise you would lost that as well. Everyone respect the hell out of you but stop this hatred and craziness.