My son 17 1/2, wants to go to waikki with school mate, guy 18 and his cousin, 23 for a week. i have never been to hawaii and don' t know if it is a safe place. he is a responsile kid with NYC street smarts but i am concerned because of the unknown. they have found a good airfare hotel deal, though checking the hotel, royal garden or waikki gateway they seem a bit old. but for teenage guys? probably ok. any info on this area would be appreciated and if you are a parent and think this is dangerous please let me know!

thanks

paul

"NYC Street Smarts"....let him go.......

thanks!

are there any bad areas/things to stay away from there?

It's been 20 years since I went to Honolulu with friends at age 18, and it changed my life. Even now, I'm planning my 6th return trip to Hawaii! I guess any large city containing bars can be a set up for trouble late at night. We went out dancing one night and mainly encountered other nice young people wanting to meet others. I know that was a long time ago, but I would not hesitate to let my daughter go. (She's 12 now so I have a few years...LOL)

Yes, they will be fine. Tons of kids go to Waikiki unchaperoned in June after high school graduation. My daughter attended the University of Hawaii for 4 years and loved living near Waikiki which is crawling with young people. She went to Honolulu many weekends with friends when she was in high school, I never fretted about her being there with her friends. (We lived on KAuai.)

The Gateway and the Royal Garden are budget hotels with less-than-desireable locations (they are about 4-5 blocks fromthe beach) but are not unsafe.

They should steer clear of Chinatown at night, no reason to be there after dark anyway!

They should never let their guard down and be wary of the local troublemakers that might try to take advantage of an opportunity. Make sure they never go out alone at night, stay in crowded areas, and keep a cell phone handy in case they need to call 911. Sometimes they will try to start conversations, try to offer or sell them drugs, etc. then find a way to cause a fight just so they can beat up someone. Tell them to just ignore if a group of young guys approach them. Chances are they won't see trouble, but it can and has happened, even in paradise.

If they stay in Waikiki they will have no problems, day or night. Other tourist areas in Honolulu are fine but they shouldn't wander into neighborhoods at night. Pretty much like any large city.8-)

Fotobit, you are the parent. Make a parental decision!! It is irresponsible of you to even ask for the advice of people on the internet!

Waikiki is great! I'm sure they'll have a blast.

Are you talking about the Royal Grove Hotel? (not garden?) It is a highly recommended budget option. Check out Trip Advisor, it gets pretty much 100% thumbs up but is very popular so reserve early.

In my opinion there is nothing obviously dangerous about Waikiki, unless they go out of their way to find trouble somewhere.

www.royalgrovehotel.com

They're adults for heaven's sake. Treat him like a child and he'll behave like a child.

What is it with Americans wanting to keep their children as babies forever?

Waikiki was "the" place to go for (unchaperoned) high school graduation trips at my school...it seems like in this very touristy area, a group of young men would more likely be causing trouble (parties in the hotel room, etc) than being hapless victims of some crime (highly unlikely).

Agreeing with Christy above, more likely they would make the trouble, then that trouble would find them!

Royal Garden is in the same area as Waikiki Gateway. The Gateway is at the intersection of Kuhio and Kalakaua near Ft. DeRussy. Royal Garden is about a block farther from the beach than the Gateway. Both are in decent locations.

As others said, they will have no problems unless they cause it or go looking for it.

Lots of info:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34696831

If they are going out of the Waikiki area to other beaches, they will need to be aware of ocean safety. Drownings do happen in Hawai'i. There are a number of threads here on this topic. and here is a link http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/hazards1.html

They'll be fine in Waikiki. Lots to do just in the immediate area--shopping, beach, restaurants, etc. Well-lit and always lots of people running around. I think it's perfectly safe.

My son (18) and his friend spent 10 days in Honolulu last June, they had a great time. The kids found a great deal on Expedia for airfare and hotel stay. Good Luck! ***kim***