[scottrogers86]

>I don't think I've ever been somewhere where the locals were as suspicious of tourists. The pandemic gutted their economy so the feeling of hopelessness hung around even relatively remote places we visited along the Road to Hana.

I went to Maui last year for the first time. I've visited Kauai in my teens (we had family who lived there) this was the vibe then that they described -- tourists are generally not accepted, esp at the local surf spots. I actually found Maui more welcoming.

[tayo42]

i always hear this but i surfed all over hawaii (kauai north and south, oahu north shore and bowls, mauis west side and honolua bay) and never had an issue and ppl have been between friendly and neutral to me.

[bombcar]

I've had similar experiences (not surfing) where people say "place X hates tourists" or "don't go to Y they don't like Americans" but have never run into any notable issues.

I suspect that for some people "neutral" is "hates my guts" or something, or some people are stereotypically tourists in such a way that it'd piss people off in their hometown.

[bink]

To be fair, even locals aren't accepted at many surf spots if they aren't regulars. That's true on the mainland as well.

[ambicapter]

"To be fair, the situation is even worse than you describe" I think this is called damning with faint praise?

[trafficante]

The gatekeeping makes absolute sense if you hop on YouTube to see the difference in behavior between Waikiki and even the more well known spots on the North Shore.