What do you do on the Beach?
 

I know it sounds silly, but being from Alaska I don't have a lot of cause to be on the beach. What/where do you do with your ID, Room Key, Money etc...while you are at the beach or pool? I have read a lot about the crime in Waikiki and want to be smart and careful with our belongings. Is this a case of someone always stays with the stuff while the other plays or are there "accessories" that come into play?

we bought small, watertight neckpouches (google "aquapac" amongst others). Then you can keep a key, some money, a credit card and such with you, even in the water. I had a waterproof housing for my camera, so I took that in with me too :)

you are right to be concerned. You don't want to leave any valuables on the beach. Clothing, a book, stuff like that is probably fine. I also left my sunglasses under a towel...not a great plan, but I understood the risk. And they weren't pilfered, thank goodness.

Are you on the beach at your hotel? If so, consider that all you'll really need is your room key. When we were in Hawaii this past spring, if we went to the beach at our hotel we never had more than a room key with us. Everything else was locked in the safe in our room.

If heading away from your hotel for the beach, consider some small waterproof pouch that you can carry. My wife has one that isn't much bigger than her fist. But, it is big enough to keep a room key, cash, credit card, and driver's license.

I just got back from Kauai. All the beaches we hit were away from our hotel, so while in the water I wore board shorts (find a pair that are short and easy for swimming/snorkeling) that had a zippered pocket. I removed the rental car key from the remote and it along with cash and credit card would go into the pocket.

<<<I removed the rental car key from the remote >>>

Where did you leave the remote?

I left the remote in my beach bag. If someone decided to steal it they could unlock the car doors and open the trunk but we never left anything of value in the car while at the beach.

B - AK are you traveling alone or with a male companion? If with a guy, most of our bathing suits have a pocket and most of those close with velcro or buttons. Take your key and other small items, put them in two ziplocks, one inside the other and give it to him to put in his pocket. That is what DW does and it is fine.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I truly appreciate your time. Just myself and 2 daughters, 25 and 20. The aquapac is a good suggestion. I will check it out. I am also in search of a waterproof small sac/bag to hold insulin and supplies etc....can find lots of them online but none are waterproof....any suggestions for that?

once you are in Waikiki, you will be able to get the small waterproof holders at the ABC stores (of which there are several on every block). the smallest ones are big enough for your room key card and a few bills. there are also slightly larger ones that might be large enough for insulin, if it doesn't have to be kept cold. on this page http://www.pcbsupplies.com/servlet/t...ies/Categories you can see the small type at the top and the larger ones at the bottom. I am not sure if ABC stores have the larger ones. I've used these many times and they really are waterproof---just be sure that everything is inside the seal because if the edge of a bill is sticking out it will leak.

I just got back from Kauai 3 weeks ago. We, my husband & I, spent almost everyday at the beach. I kept our stuff in our beach bag which was laying on our beach chairs, beach mats along with our ice chest.

We had brought some cash with us for the trip and other money was in our checking account so we had our debit cards. We allotted a certain amount of cash per day so for example we had $400 in cash so with us at the beach would only be $60 plus one debit card. I would rather loose $60 than $400. We also had the 800 number for our debit cards so that in case it was stolen we could call to cancel that card but would still have the other debit card which was safe at the condo.

We didn't need much cash with us because we ate breakfast at the condo and ate our lunches, consisting of sandwiches and chips, on the beach. We ate dinners out.

I never once felt that our belongings were in jeopardy. Everyone at the beach had their own "real estate" on the sand with bags, chairs, ice chests & mats so it felt safe to be in the water. I never witnessed any suspicious activity of someone trying to rifle through another persons things.

Also, we never kept valuables in our car and we always kept the windows lowered a bit when parked at the beach for an extended amount of time. I have read that window smashing can sometimes happen and keeping the windows partially down will discourage that. With that said, when we were done at the beach for the day I never saw any windows smashed on cars that did leave their windows up.

We have been to Kauai 3 times and never had anything stolen from the beach...knock on wood for future visits!

I just try not to take valuables to the beach with me. I have been to Waikiki 4 times and never experienced "crime". Things that get stolen most frequently are expensive items like cell phones, ipods, fancy jewelry and watches. No one's going to take your beach towel or suntan lotion.

When I go to the beach I use a canvas tote and only carry: beach towel, bottle of water, magazine or book to read, sunscreen, straw hat, disposable camera, and coin purse with no more than $25, hotel key (or you can leave it at the hotel front desk while you're out).

I am usually solo and just never swim out far enough that I can't see my stuff from where I am in the water. No one has ever bothered it in 22 trips to Mexico and 5 to Hawaii.

All great advice. I guess I am blessed as I have never had anything stolen from the beach. I just put in in my beach bag and leave it. Any really valuable items are in the safe at the hotel but I do bring camera, $ and hotel key.