If the Champagne Pool on the Puna Coast is a little warmer than usual, blame the hordes of tourists, according to this AP story. It's not the kind of bubbly that makes the guide books, that's for sure. Regardless, more signs that tourism growth in the islands is maxing out. The tidepools at Kapoho are an amazing, magical place, and I think everyone should be able to see them -- as long as they don't do it all at once. Takeaway for tourists? Don't go in the weekends and go early or late in the day, if possible.

Seriously, this plays into a recurrent theme for Hawaii locals is eco-tourism run amok. Far too many tour outfits tout themselves as eco-tourism operators when, in fact, this means they bring unsuspecting tourists to easy-to-access waterfalls, trails and beaches billing them as secret and creating nasty crowd tensions. Also playing into this trend are guidebooks from Wizard Publications that send visitors to places (both and private) that locals have cherised for years, angering the residents. For their part, visitors are completely correct in asking the basic question -- you take my money but you don't want me to leave my hotel and the beach in front of it. Big time hypocrisy, for sure. Here we have another treasured place, the thermal tidepools on the Puna Coast south of Hilo on the Big Island. These warm, shallow calm bodies of water have great snorkeling, are excellent for kids learning to swim (who like the warmer waters) and are quite lovely.

Image via Kapoho Paradise

—Alex, 11/05/07