HAWAII Camping

[spicetrader]

Has anyone camped in Hawaii?

I know, I know, you can't take your pop up over, but packing a tent, sleeping pad, blanket and a pan or two with a few utensils and a collapsible water holder and maybe even a small collapsible cooler.  On island there is a walmart to get a one burner propane stove from and a propane bottle, that would be cheap.

We have been over there a couple times now and have noticed that there are lots of campgrounds especially on the big island and many are right on the ocean.

I wouldn't recommend this on Oahu, but the other islands seem OK.

We are thinking of trying to camp there on our next trip...I just wanted to see if anyone on this site has maybe already tried it.

[wavery]

Has anyone camped in Hawaii?

I know, I know, you can't take your pop up over, but packing a tent, sleeping pad, blanket and a pan or two with a few utensils and a collapsible water holder and maybe even a small collapsible cooler.  On island there is a walmart to get a one burner propane stove from and a propane bottle, that would be cheap.

We have been over there a couple times now and have noticed that there are lots of campgrounds especially on the big island and many are right on the ocean.

I wouldn't recommend this on Oahu, but the other islands seem OK.

We are thinking of trying to camp there on our next trip...I just wanted to see if anyone on this site has maybe already tried it.

I lived on my yacht in Hawaii for 6 years ('88-'94). We did a lot of back-packing and camping on all of the Islands. Oahu is great for camping. The North shore of Maui and Big Island are great too, lots of waterfalls.

Be careful to stay on designated trails. That is particularly important on the Big Island. There are.....uhhhh.....emmmmm......."Farms" :p  there that you may not want to wander onto.

There are hiking guides for Hawaii available. I used to have one but I don't know where it is now. Besides, it would be out-dated.

[brainpause]

When we honeymooned there (before our first popup trip, although we had a popup), we looked for campgrounds constantly. We saw a few, but not many. I think most people, if you can afford Hawaii, end up affording a nice hotel.

For instance, "camping" to my in-laws is a FOUR star hotel, instead of a FIVE star hotel.

Larry

[Tim5055]

One of the positive things about running my pop up web site is that I converse with folks from all over.  I wrote back and forth with and finally flew to the big island and met a great guy who HAS a pop up there.  He regularly ships things into the islands in containers, and one time he just had a nice Coleman included in a shipment.  He camps regularly at a couple of campgrounds and does a little dispersed camping around the island.

It can be done, but it adds to the price of the pop up

[Used 2B PopUPTimes]

We have a few subscribers there.

[joe]

My wife and I did a backpacking trip, for our 25th wedding anniversary, a couple of years ago at Volcano National Park. It was unbelievable, we camped rite on the beach. The closest person was about 2 miles away. The trip required planning and some conditioning but was well worth it. If you would like more info please email me

Joe

[ctrav505]

You may want to see if the larger sporting goods stores on the Islands rent out camping gear.  There is a Sports Authority on Maui, not sure about the Big Island.  If you're going this year you may want to look at a hotels/condo's for all or part of your stay.  Hawaii occupancy rates are down in the 60% range.  I'm seeing hotels rates half of what they used to be and there are bargains to found.

[cjpoppin]

When we were there two years ago we saw lots of back packers so it is done all the time.  The nice thing about Hawaii is they do not own the beaches( what we were told anyway ) so you don't find all the no access signs.  I do know a permit is needed on some of the Islands.  Sounds like fun camping right on the beach with the Hawaiian Sunset....Do pack that camera so we can share the trip with you.....cw

[mn_guy]

Surprisingly, Oahu actually has some good 'rural' Hawaii feel to it.  We didn't know it the first time we were there because we only did public transportation and stayed in the Honolulu/Waikiki part of the island (we made it as far out as Diamond Head).  The second time we had a rental car and could check out other areas.  We found some good hotel deals since the economy is down, but one option that we very seriously looked into is the 'bed and breakfast on wheels.' Check it out here: http://www.vrbo.com/186951  The only reason we didn't is because the campgrounds there were only open on weekends during the winter months, and we needed a Wed/Thur stay. Sounds like a lot of people sleep in vehicles right on the beach too, but we weren't willing to risk it.

I agree though -- being able to camp right on the beach in Hawaii would be pretty phenomenal.

[mrmaintenance]

If you are military, there is a campground owned by the military there. It may be a KOA but I don't remember.