Car Break Ins on the Big Island
 

So I have read/heard that we should not leave ANYTHING of value in our rental car when we are parked at beaches, trail heads, etc. Even to the point of--leave the car unlocked so your windows don't get smashed.

My question is--how accurate is this? I don't mind taking everything with me that I don't want taken. I am assuming that I can leave my sandwich cooler in the back :-) And should we really leave the car unlocked???

Secondly--I figure I can find/borrow 2 small dry bags for my husband and I to have at the beach so we can keep wallets/cameras/keys with us. I am trying to figure how I can attach the bag to some sort of belt. Does anybody have a system that worked for them? Any and all ideas are appreciated!

My husband wears trunks with a zip pocket (hard to find...) and keeps ID, cards, cash, and key in there in an otterbox or ziplock bag when we dive/snorkel/swim. Both have leaked, so we take the key fob off the key in case of moisture. Before we get in the water we have a ritual where I say "Keys in the pocket?" to be sure it is safely zippered (after losing everything in the water in Bonaire once).

We just take cameras when we know we will want to take photos and leave them in the hotel otherwise. Anything else on our beach blanket is fair game, I guess, but nothing valuable so if they really want my sandwich or flipflops, they can have them. Not sure what we will do with our Nooks this year for our first beach trip with them; I never worried about anyone stealing a paperback from my blanket.

We used these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...pf_rd_i=507846

They have kept everything very dry inside. They will hold a car key, some money, driver's license, credit card. We each have one.

sorry, this is the one actually used: http://www.amazon.com/Witz-Keep-Safe...ef=pd_sim_sg_6

I use this produce when I snorkel anywhere: http://www.amazon.com/Lewis-N-Clark-...m_cr_pr_sims_t

The less you leave in the car - the less reason for anyone to break in and steal it. Pure and simple. They are not always the brightest bulbs - the ones doing this and many times are stoned.

If you have a cooler - take it to the beach with you.

I use convertible hiking shorts to swim in all the time. Pair these with Ex Offico underwear(truly amazing underwear) and your clothes will dry a lot faster than a bathing suit anyway. Most of the hiking pants converted to shorts have a ton of pockets that zip on them-Most of them 6 pockets that zip. Some of them have a pocket within a pocket for a total of 8. Some of them the back just snaps, I prefer the zip. Patagonia, North Face, Columbia, REI, etc.

Thanks Spiro! I will check out these brands. His Columbia trunks with zippers are getting pretty beat up!

I will check out the dry bags--we need an option that will keep things dry and zip pockets don't do that!

When we go to the beach we take everything out of the car except maybe the odd hat or shirt, etc, and leave to windows down and the doors unlocked. Never had any trouble in close to a dozen trips to the BI.

We also don't really worry about what we have with us on the beach. But of course we don't often go to the heavily populated beaches, just more out-of-the-way ones. I thnk thieves are more likely to go where there's more opportunities (i.e. people).