Essential Hawaii Tourist Advice: You Need to Protect Yourself on Vacation

There it was in the Honolulu newspaper recently, the same sad story written by a visitor to Hawaii. I see this same letter several times a year. The story is almost exactly the same. The only difference is the author.

The visitor came to Hawaii, for a memorable Hawaii vacation, they had a wonderful time, the people were great, the weather was fabulous, they really felt the Aloha spirit. Then: disaster. They got ripped off. They lost everything. Their luggage, their cameras, their wallets, their money, their valuables. Everything gone in the blink of an eye.

It's the same sad story, again and again.

The saddest part of the story is this disaster was totally preventable. Totally and completely.

Let me explain: in the latest version of this letter, the tourists had just finished a wonderful vacation. They had a late flight and decided to stop at Ala Moana (a major shopping center), for a late night dinner before their departure.

They just locked up their rental car and went to enjoy a quick dinner before they boarded their flight. They were away from the rental car for less than an hour.

Here's what happened when they were eating dinner: a thief broke into their rental car and took everything.

Needless to say the family was devastated. They were both saddened and shocked. The writer goes on to explain, the entire family will never return to Hawaii. They will also discourage anyone else from vacationing in Hawaii.

I really am angry and frustrated that no-one from the rental car agent to their hotel clerk to anyone else they met, explained Hawaii's dirty little secret: there is a very small but very dangerous group of locals, whose full time job is to steal from anyone they can.

I live in Hawaii and I follow this rule: I never leave anything of value in my car. Never.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Hawaii is any different from any other place. You will find the same small dangerous group of rip-off artists anywhere you go.

But, just because you are vacationing in one of the most beautiful places on the planet does not mean there are not criminals here.

Listen: these creeps know that the only person who would drive a rental car, is a tourist. These bad guys know the make and model of all the rental cars.

Believe me, your rental car sends out a beacon to would be crooks that says: "Steal from this car". It's like there is a flashing light and an arrow in the air pointing directly at your rental car. "Beep beep. Flash flash. Valuables inside! Steal from this car now"

Listen: there are literally thousands of cars parked at Ala Moana at any given time. What do you think the odds are that these Bozos picked out a random car to break into?

This was no random act. This was planned and calculated. The car was there less than an hour. This was a crime of opportunity. And unfortunately, this tourist, just rewarded these cockroaches with new luggage, clothes and souvenirs. So now the next time they see a tourist rental car, they will break in again.

Sure, I agree that there needs to be better security and more police patrols and harsher sentencing for criminals.

But the best thing you can do is to follow this advice:

Never, ever, never leave anything of value in a rental car.

Never, ever.

This is one of those times when an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure. Be proactive. Be smart. You need to outwit the bad guys before they act.

This one bit of advice will save you a ton of heart-ache. Had these latest victims taken their luggage with them, to the food court, a crook would have broken into an empty car. Or they easily could have checked in their baggage, and eaten at the airport.

So if you come to Hawaii, most importantly, don't turn your back on the ocean. And never ever, leave anything of value in a rental car. This includes going to the beach, going shopping or even stopping off somewhere for a plate lunch. Just don't do it!

So now you know. If my rant saves one less tourist from getting ripped: I will be elated!