It’s not smooth sailing when you arrive without these. Our latest update on travel to Hawaii includes comments from readers and their experience.
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188 thoughts on “Better Have Ducks In A Row Before Travel to Hawaii”
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Please if you can confirm, I just read on Hawaii’s safe travels site that “both” PCR and Rapid Point of Care tests from Walgreens are approved. I don’t remember reading that before. If this is true, it would make life so much easier. Can you confirm this please?
Hi Patricia.
Confirmation regarding testing should come from the state. You can contact the state’s help desk at 1-855-599-0888. Others may share their experience.
Aloha.
Called the number and after many many tries finally got a person who then told me to look at the website, because they didn’t know!
I traveled SFO-Honolulu-Maui on Oct 17th. My test result (from a non recognized lab) did not arrive until landing in Honolulu. I also had trouble getting negatice result as it was encrypted..but got it. Then two regular travelers during Covid explained I needed to fill out online form for each stage of my visit. So needed QR codes from Hawaii for the San Fran-Honolulu leg and also a second one for Honolulu- Maui. I have to say the health/airport workers were awesome. One lady filled out the 2nd online form for me. THEN in Maui, oddly my Covid test was accepted BUT I was only given a white letter from the Mayor of Maui letterhead saying I was exempt from quarantine – this apparently applied to inter-island travel. So I get to hotel check-in and they ask for pink slip. I dont have one. So they werent going to let me stay. Finally, managers looked at Maui paperwork and were like it’s fine. The rest of the vacay was delightful. NOTE: On the way home to the mainland all precautions abandoned – Hawaiian Air did not take pre-board temps as they had coming to the Islands, their flight was completely filled with no spaced seating to the mainland the way it had been heading to Hawaii. Anyway it was a bit of an ordeal especially the State of Hawaii health form needs a save button for info…as I had to restart multiple times. Annoying and stressful. Still, thank you Maui!
Seems like Hawaii is enforcing a police state over these policies. If they were being scientific about it they’d realize the test they are specifying is the least accurate test available.
Hi–My husband & I plan on getting Covid-19 vaccine(by being part of trial) in November. Do you have any thoughts as to how this will affect our travel in February? Will vaccine be accepted or will testing have changed by then? Your thoughts?
It may not. To be safe contact the state website.
Aloha!
Do you guys know if the Sheraton Poipu is open? I was told at one point they were waiting until January 1 but it appears now that you can book rooms there earlier than that.
Thanks
Hi Jon.
You might want to give them a call to confirm. We thought they were planning to reopen December 1.
Aloha.
Hello,
It is best if you dont fly to Hawaii until 2021. Hotel personnel are acting like Fascists and the good hotels do not know how to handle essential workers. The govt of hawaii is asleep on the weekends
Thanks for showcasing the BEST OF Hawaii.
I traveled Hnl to Koa and cleared quarantine after uploading my negative Covid test results to the Safe Travels website.
No issues.
Hi Robie.
Thanks for letting us know it all worked for you.
Aloha.
Friends arrived in Maui this week with negative covid tests in hand that cost then $850. Because the tests were done in a Canadian lab (Life Labs) they were rejected and have to quarantine for 2 weeks. Crazy!
The response by Trey to his leaving a message. Is typical of all of the state of Hawaii responses to pandemic responses to tourists and residence alike. Since this crisis began there has been no serious effort to make sure that communication is timely. Long wait times and busy signals are typical and leaving a message is next to useless. This after several announcements by the powers that be that they have increased staffing to correct the problem.
Does anyone know if there is an approved test in Seattle if flying Delta where you can get your results back quickly?
Thanks for that info. It’s a catch 22 in meeting Hawaiian requirements. We ordered our COVID test kit from Vault labs, as recommended. We ordered on Thursday for our flight the following Wednesday. The test was supposed to be shipped with UPS expedited shipping. Per UPS tracking, we won’t receive the kit until Monday. If we get it early enough on Monday, we might get results in time.
Thanks
AFC Portland is an “approved” partner for Hawaii Safe Travels. I am in Orange County California where there is AFC Urgent Care that says thaey have the NAAT Fast test that with results in about 20-25 minutes. They say they are contracted with Hawaii. Is this true? Can you go to any AFC Urgent care?
Thank you,
Robert
Hi Robert.
We can’t answer that. Others may comment or you can try to contact the state’s help desk 1-855-599-0888.
Aloha.
On Big Island we had all necessary test and documentation, but Oahu scanned our safe travels code so we had to “re-do” our safe travels at the gate and show negative paper results, not the uploaded version. Once we did that, we were tested by a person in a hazmat suit that was on our flight from Oahu (wearing the suit, booties & gloves) that never changed her gloves, even between people she tested. Glad we’re here, but not confident in the testing system. Thank you for trying, but please re-think the process.
We had a direct flight from phoenix, AZ to Maui. Got our test results from CVS they day before we left home. Uploaded everything on line to safe travels form, also brought photocopies (which we needwd) went thru the airport and got our pink slip with no problems. This was on October 16th. (Also had to show our paperwork to HERTZ Rental car and the hotel/condo front desk)
Ask the question before you use a quote. Did the test come from a “trusted partner”? If not, verification WILL take longer
Thank you, BOH, for your regular travel updates. I took the covid test at Walgreens on 10/22 for my flight to HNL on 10/25. Rec’d negative results late late evening 10/23. Then noticed the results showed incorrect “specimen collection date” of 10/21 10:00 PM – putting it outside of the 72 hour pre-travel time frame. Wonder if anyone else has had this problem? Had no confidence that the Walgreens lab could reissue a report showing the correct test date, and didn’t want to be at the mercy of the HNL screeners. Fortunately was able to get into another approved testing partner today, 10/24, and got an approved fast response test with negative results to upload on the Safe Travels website. Will keep fingers crossed that I can arrive at HNL tomorrow 10/25 and get exempted from quarantine.
Hi Jon.
How did it go on your arrival in HNL? Thanks.
Aloha.
Aloha BOH,
I would give this arrival screening a grade of 110 out of 100, with the extra 10 points for the welcoming attitude of the interviewer. The screeners were waiting for the arrival of our flight at gate a20 (HA11 SFO/HNL). The screening interview took less than 5 minutes. The lab report uploaded on the safe travels website the prior day had not yet been acted upon. So, she asked for a hard copy, took it to the supervisor of the interview station who approved it, and I received the exemption.
The screening station seemed to be dedicated to just our arriving flight. I was fortunate to be among the first passengers to disembark. So I did not have to wait in line at all. Realistically though, on an arriving flight with say 200 passengers, there will be someone who is the last to disembark and have to wait in line.
I do think the Hawaii state government and the airlines are doing the best to make the arrival screening process as easy for passengers as possible.
Mahalo.
Hi Jon.
Thanks. Some welcome good news.
Aloha.
If I’m flying to Maui next Saturday, should I get a covid test Wednesday or Thursday? The chart on Vault seemed to say Wednesday, but my friends who are traveling with me said they thought they should do it on Thursday. I don’t want to get it done too soon, but want to make sure my test results get back before I leave. Also, does it matter what time We fly out on Saturday as far as timing for testing goes? Any thoughts?
We took ours 70 hours before our flight. Worked out perfect for us.
I’m with vault too.. and it tells me to test Monday before my flight Wednesday. I think it’s too tight. But fingers crossed because even if I test on Sunday they can’t pick up and sent out my test till late Monday. So can’t test more than 72 hrs in advance. This is a crap shoot using these labs.
Test must be no more than 72 hours from last leg of flight to Maui.
Do no believe that is correct. 72hours from leaving for Hawaii! Not before last le of flight!
Here is the direct quote…With the Pre-Travel Testing Program, as it is officially called, in effect, out-of-state travelers arriving in Hawaii will need to furnish evidence of a negative FDA-approved nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), performed using a nasal swab by a CLIA-certified laboratory, that was taken within 72 hours before arrival on the islands—in order to bypass the quarantine.
Copied and pasted from hawaiicoviid19.com, the official site:
A 14-day mandatory quarantine will be required for trans-Pacific travelers arriving WITHOUT a confirmed negative COVID-19 test taken within the 72 hours before departure of the final leg of their trip to Hawai‘i. Travelers will not be able to obtain a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) upon arrival at any Hawaiʻi airport.
That appears to be incorrect…With the Pre-Travel Testing Program, as it is officially called, in effect, out-of-state travelers arriving in Hawaii will need to furnish evidence of a negative FDA-approved nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), performed using a nasal swab by a CLIA-certified laboratory, that was taken within 72 hours before arrival on the islands—in order to bypass the quarantine. NOTE: It says “on the islands” NOT at your final destination.
You can get it done Wednesday because that should be within the 72 hour mark of your departure for Maui. As long as it is you most definitely should be good. Just make sure it’s enough time to get the results back. I flew in to Honolulu on the Friday the 16th and had taken my test that wednesday morning, and had no problem getting my results back in a timely manner and being on my way.
I arrived Thursday SFO/HNL. Even though I uploaded the negative covid test result, the officer asked for a printed hard copy. Bring one with you! With all documents in hand and the QR code available for them to scan, it only took 10 minutes total including waiting in line and processing, before I was walking to baggage claim free from quarantine. There were 12 processing stations for my line of pre-testers with negative results in hand. Don’t know how long the lines were for the non-testers and testers without results- aka quarantiners.
Am OK with all of it EXCEPT having to have a printed copy!!! We have to leave our home (eg, our printer) 24 hours before our flight which gives our results only 48 hours to arrive. Yes, our hotel does have print capability for us but what if they didn’t or what if our results arrived in the middle of the night when we have to take the airport shuttle at 6:00am!>!>!>!
thanks for the info. Our friends traveled 2 days ago and it was a nightmare. Long lines, airport is all closed down, paperwork gets messed up, no one answers the phone …..they came home today….luckily American only charged $30 to change flight. Hawaii right now is not worth the hassle.
Can you please give us an update on Kaua’i and if there are any additional procedures we need to do before taking off or upon arrival.
Thank you for keeping us all informed!
Hi Nancy.
There is nothing more than we have already indicated in terms of procedures. We can confirm seeing many visitors on island especially today, so it appears to be working. Not everything is open yet but things are coming back online. Let us know if anything else. Thanks.
Aloha.
Please tell me if the test can be taken 72 hours before departure from San Diego or does it have to be 72 hours before stepping foot on Oahu?
Thank you!🙏
Hi Robert.
Within 72 hours prior to your scheduled departure.
Aloha.
My husband and I are scheduled to leave at 7 AM on Monday, Nov. 16 to Ohau. I am assuming we need to have our Covid test on Friday, Nov. 13. My question is do they work thru the weekend to get your test to you in time for arrival in Hawaii about 2 PM?
Why on earth would you let 7602 people come to Hawaii right in the middle of covid 19 come on doesn’t anyone have any common sense!!!!! What is wrong here? Think about what you did …..😷🤨😒😖😡😡😡🙈🙉🙊😠😠😠
The biggest issue is timing, as the Covid test apparently must be taken within 72 hours of your last leg to Hawaii to count. Not all authorized test sites will guarantee results in this time frame. As United only offers the quick test option (for ~$250) at SFO, not all fliers will have that option either. We were supposed to fly non-stop IAH-HNL, but United switched our flights multiple times, finally resulting in IAH-LAX-HNL. Our test result wasn’t ready by the time we arrived; got it the next day and uploaded it to Hawaii’s Safe Travel website, but still waiting on verification and clearance.
You know it’s not Hawaii’s fault that you took a gamble on traveling during a pandemic. CVS clearly states that most PCR tests are available in 2 to 3 days but that it isn’t guaranteed. All airlines and Hawaii govt guidelines recommend that travelers should also plan to rapid test at their final mainland departure airport. If you’re spending thousands on a vacation, clearly you can spend $139 on a rapid test even if one isn’t provided by your airline.
TREY… I want to load that phone number since it appears people are being given numbers that are not correct. Could you confirm 800-800-4700 and NOT 808-800-4700? Thanks. (Or ALOHA, could you confirm.) (BTW, ALOHA, would love to meet you when we’re on Kauai for 3 1/2 weeks in late Dec/Jan – if the creek don’t rise, etc.)
Yes the 800. Sorry for the late reply
My fiance and myself took the covid test Oct. 19, 2020 at a CVS which is one of covid testing site listed for Hawaii. The trip was scheduled for Hawaii Oct 22. Hawaii law said we needed to test 72 hrs before being able to come there of course we followed every step only to arrive in Hawaii and find out that CVS has not updated nor contacted us with results, Now we stuck in quarantine for his 50th birthday. Will never come back to Hawaii again. They are stealing thousandths of money from honest abiding lawful people. CVS and the state of Hawaii. My fiance 50th birthday ruined and thousands of dollars gone down drain. Cant even go to near drug store to purchase glucose strips!!! We have spent the last two days on phone trying to get results from CVS please help us
Hi CC.
We suggest contacting the state’s Safe Travels Service Desk (10 a.m. to 10 p.m. HST): 1-855-599-0888 if you have your results. Others have reported getting thru after some waiting. Or contact CVS is you have not obtained your results.
Aloha.
Aloha I’m so sorry for what has happened. There has been less than transparency with officials and it is unacceptable to put tourists or residents in danger. Lani had 4 cases now 5 Days later there are 60 Cases.
Stay-at-home order issued for Lanai, islandwide case total …
Someone suggested an “AFC Facility” for testing – what is an “AFC Facility”?
My wife just arrived yesterday. 2 covid tests in hand all paperwork complete. Put in quarantine upon arrival. Covid Gestapo. I would avoid traveling to Hawaii. The way she is treated is like a terrorist. Maybe not that good.
I’ve read that Hawaii requires a NAAT test, but their Safe Travel website says of their partner Walgreens, “Request the RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel or Rapid Point of Care (POC) test.” Which is it?
PCR test is an NAAT test.
Aloha Ernest
I think you should go to Walgreen’s website and get their 800 number and give them a call in that way you will get good info.
NAAT is a PCR test
I just went through this process. I made an appointment before leaving the mainland to get a “quick response” test only to be told Hawaii didn’t accept it. I took the longer test knowing I wouldn’t get test results till after landing and I would need to quarantine for about two days. Despite my loading test results in about 2 days, it took two more days with follow up emails and calls to get this resolved. The hotel was close to calling the police and having them escort me to the airport but fortunately all was resolved and I was able to join my family who are residents of Hawaii.
In my opinion, the process the State of Hawaii has set up is a necessary one to safeguard the people of the islands and for the most part, it works well. I would recommend improving the process for follow-up when some quarantines pending test results. Sadly it seems despite all measures taken, Hawaii may need to shut down again.
Tested using both Vault and CVS. Both came back the morning of travel. Couldn’t get either to upload, but printed off and showed paper results in HNL and breezed through.
Sat in KOA for an hour waiting on rapid tests. All negative.
8 negative tests between the two of us just to get to my mothers home on B.I.
But we followed the ever-changing rules up until checkin the day of travel.
How quickly did your results come back from cvs?
Did you follow the Vault time guidelines to test? I’m concerned it’s not enough time to get results back. But you seemed to get the results in time?
Mahalo
After multiple calls over two days we finally got to a real person (800-8004700), within an hour he had all of our test results approved. Have a tee time later today and excited to enjoy the rest of our time here. Thank you Michael S with the Safe Travels Team for getting us released. My suggestion for everyone flying to the Islands is to find an approved testing firm that does the instant testing. It was not available in our home town and we will drive or fly to a city on the mainland that does the next time we come over. Good luck to all.
Trey…. Unless things have changed, the “instant testing” is not a PCR test which is what is required!
Interesting comment. My wife is headed back to Hawaii next week. We will call Walgreens and confirm one way or another. Thanks for the heads up Barbara!!
Please let me know if Nsight in Newport Beach, Ca is an “approved” testing facility for the required negative COVID Test. Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Robert C
Hi Robert.
No they are not. Refer to the list of partners found on https://hawaiicovid19.com.
Aloha.
Hey Robert
Go to the Walgreens in Santa Ana at Bristol & Segerstrom. We got our results in less than 2 days and have been having a great time on Kauai since 10/15.
Aloha & Good Luck Phil L.
Thank you Phil🙏 Much appreciated
Cheers,
Robert
I took my test at CVS 10/19/20 and got my result the following day 10/20… my flight was with American Airlines on 10/22. I filled up the safe Travel form 24hrs before flight… with CVS, they will have you download an app called MyChart and there it will have a copy of your test results. As long as you follow everything promptly… it will be easy. You get in line at the airport after you landed and have everything ready… once you filled up the Safe Travel form it will give a “QR” barcode( this is very important to have) and just pull up your test result from the my chart app and your good to go. I love Hawaii and feels so happy to be back.
To upload negative results after you leave the airport be sure your document is only one page long.
I sympathize with the gentleman who said no one answered the phone as he was calling to get out of quarantine
That was one more reason i canceled my Nov 7th 17 day trip to Oahu: i kept ing, three times, the Safe Travels Desk, with encountering only a voice message option. Left three Messages….No one responded to this day!
I ‘love’the stories about how Hawaii would not accept even results from the Mayo Clinic nor probably Walter Reid.
And how screenshots of results are not what they want…give me a break
..at 70 plus, lucky I can use my phone!
I must admit, i got a real person to answer questions when i called Gov Ige’s office ! Helpful, and recommended Vault for pretravel test. Only at that time all i could Google as a result came up as men’s health only.
Gave up.
Waiting till they accept all clia approved labs. Just got back my Covid negative results , because of a fever, performed by tbe nys national guard, under the nys health department and the state university of ny. Nasal swab naat test took just over a day for results…dont think it was a pdf file…i would have screen shot to share..so much for my skills.
Good luck Hawaii. Aloha, but……
Thank you for the information. I will be flying to Honolulu in January and would appreciate any information you can give concerning COVID.
Again, Thank you.
Hi Paula.
Feel free to subscribe to our updates and we’ll let you know how things progress. https://beatofhawaii.com/subscribe.
Aloha.
First, thank you for this site. It has been very helpful.
In planning for our trip we bought tickets on United out of SFO because of no service from SMF. Called to make res on the site for instant testing & was told no appointments avail on my day, Oct. 22., but to just come in. I was nervous about that. They charge 250.00.
CVS started charging 139.00 for Hawaii travelers, so tried Walgreens. Got my test at noon on the 19th, to be within the 72 hour rule.
Got my results at 11pm on the 20th. GREAT service from Walgreens, and no charge. Only problem was in HNL. They should have put those of us with results in a separate line. They had everyone in one line & many had not done their homework & did not do the online work ahead of time.
Having a good time in HNL, but only a few favorite restaurants open. Many say opening in Nov., or unknown, and many gone forever.
Hi CJ.
Thanks for letting us know how that went.
Aloha.
Did she take the Point Of Care test at Walgreens
Laura – My husband just returned home to Hawai’i from fighting fire on the mainland. He went through CVS. You can make an appointment online 2 days prior to taking the test which needs to be done within 72 hrs. of arrival to your final destination in Hawai’i. His results were emailed to him in 48 hrs. He uploaded the result to his cellphone so he could show it to the National Guard or police at the airport. You also need to fill out a Safe Travels form right before your trip online to get a QR code (go to travel.hawaii.gov which has a great video explaining the whole process). He said the process was easy. This was the first time he was not quarantined coming home from fires since July so we were actually able to go out and enjoy the island together immediately when he got home!