Car break-ins at the Big Island
 

We are going to the big island for 10 days in may. I have read a warning in
several Hawaii guide books concerning the breaking into of parked cars at
many tourist areas (such as parks, waterfalls, trails etc.) . Since we will
be staying at several accommodations around the island, we will be traveling
around the coast with our suitcases in the trunk throughout the day. How do
tourists handle this? Fodor's travel guide recommends to keep doors unlocked
to avoid the breakage of glass..but what to do with suitcases as you are spending the day on the road, en route to your hotel and want to sight see on the way?

Any advice would be helpful. :)

We were unaware of the break-in problems, and we traveled with all of our suitcases in the trunk of the car. We didn't have a problem at all.

I tell this to everyone, dont leave anything valuable in a rent a car. Im speaking from over 10 years of law enforcement experience in hawaii. Violent crimes against visitors is very rare, but property crime rates are very high.Nothing is safe in a rent a car. Not even the trunk!

If you're on the road from one hotel to another, you probably can't avoid traveling with suitcases in the car.

Best advice is as follows.

1. Don't leave anything in plain view.

2. Park in as busy an area as possible. That means leave the really out of the way places for when you've unloaded your luggage.

Thank you most kindly for all of your advice!

i lost my luggage to thieves at the arizona monument. i put my backpack in the trunk when i got there because you can't carry it into the exhibit. some one noticed and broke into the trunk and took my luggage (i was inbetween hotel and flight home) you can check your backpack at the exhibit, do that and don't act like anything is in there. the car next to me also was hit, so it happens.

There are lots of discussions on here about leaving luggage in the trunk - in Hawaii or anywhere.

We were strongly warned about leaving luggage in the car/trunk -- particularly at some of the trailheads and falls around Hilo -- when we picked up our car from National at the Hilo airport last March. I reorganized our plans on the fly so that we wouldn't have to make too many stops with our luggage. Every one of the five rental cars we had on that trip (and other rentals I've had recently) had a trunk release inside, somewhere around the drivers' seat -- I assume that's pretty standard on late model cars. So if they can get into the car, they can get into the trunk.

My advice is don't take anything valuable on your trip, put everything in your trunk except for ID, credit cards, camera, and then don't worry about it. We did this. The worst case scenario would have been someone breaking into our trunk and stealing our used t-shirts and shorts. They would have deserved what they got. I'm sure the hassle with the car rental place over the damage would have been the worst part, but rental car damage can happen for a variety of reasons and can be insured against if you are really worried about it.

Good advice ONVACATION. I just cant believe some of the things people bring on vacation. More jewelry than the queen of england, hundreds of dollars of cash and more cameras than a national geographic film crew! Travel light people!

Koa, I think your good advice pertains to most tourist destinations, not just in Hawaii.

And Koa's advice IMHO is something that we should all pay attention to.