92 thoughts on “Follow Hawaii Rules Or Else: Here’s What To Do”
Donald M
I read thru these emails looking for informative prominent details, as I have done in the past. Remember the 4 W’s from high school? Who, What, Where, and When? Just give us the simple facts in simple declarative sentences. No elaboration nor interesting personal stories. Just tell me who to get the test from, where and when. Why is this so impossible to do? Has the government gotten so incompetent that it views it’s own incompetence as competence!!!!! I guess we should not be surprised considering how it has handled the pandemic!
Sarah R
Hi Donald,
The Stare of Hawaii has actually handled the pandemic overall quite well when it comes to keeping cases low & people safe and part of that has been implementing the travel restrictions. Unless you consider the handling of the pandemic more about how business are doing rather than preventing COVID spread.
While I agree their communication about the 4 W’s could be improved, if you as a traveler are willing to put in the effort the information is there to be had. This is proven by the thousands of people who have successfully participated in the safe travels program since 10/15 as well as some travelers who have gotten the correct test but failed to have the results returned in time.
terryg
Don, in answer to your question is yes. Just try getting any communications back from the safe travels staff. Calling them 12/9 I was told you’re 127 in line.
Rob S
Thank you for your comment. Addressing the 4 Ws would be more relevant. The Beat of Hawaii Could use a more concise and useful format as in this article minus the ‘Thumbs Down’ and ‘Thumbs up’ section. But since this seems to be more like a blog, it leaves an open door for commentators. Some people learn by reading stories and others just like the specifics.
JonL
Dear BOH,
Thank you for your information summary. I could not agree more that travellers must pay close attention to the list of requirements on the Safe Travels website. Getting the exemption from quarantine upon arrival is a breeze if you comply and don’t assume discrepancies will be approved.
I travel to/from HNL monthly and have passed quarantine arrival screening 3 times: Oct, Nov, Dec. The anxiety is (1) waiting for the results from the lab and (2) making sure the date/time of the test is accurate on the results. I have even done redundant testing from 2 different approved labs for the same trip on the theory that at least one set of results would be correctly and timely issued. I’ve used CVS (October), City Health at OAK, Walgreens, and Hawaiian Air/Worksite labs. Don’t remember how many times I’ve stuck that test swab up my nostrils … but a necessary evil.
On one trip the “guaranteed results in 36 hours” was delayed and received in about 60 hours (in time to upload onto Safe Travels website, but nonetheless causing some anxiety).
Another test result “pre-dated” the test time making it more than 72 hours prior to flight departure (couldn’t get it corrected in time, but fortunately I had gotten a test from another approved testing partner with negative results correctly reported and in time for flight departure).
One test result post dated the test 14 days into the future. Was able to get it corrected just in time.
One test result showed the correct test date but no collection time for the test sample. I called the lab and was told Safe Travels did not require the collection time on the results. OK, I broke my own rule about not leaving it to chance and took a chance that it would work. It did. The minute I uploaded the results onto the Safe Travels website, it confirmed “negative results”. Nonetheless I printed a copy of my appointment date and time to show in case it was questioned. It was not questioned by the screener upon arrival.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Jon.
Thanks for that very helpful information from your recent experiences.
Aloha.
Suze M
Seems like a lot of out of pocket costs unless you are being reimbursed by your employer
Dn
Where was the 36 hour test? I’m going to US Biotek and they guarantee the same.
Kim F
Thank you Jon for that info! I’m awaiting results from Worksite Labs in San Jose now, and I’ve been concerned because they aren’t listed on the State website. We received one result (of four) and it doesn’t have a time on it, so I’m also happy to know that you didn’t have any trouble with that. I will follow your lead and print out a copy of our testing appointment just in case.
Sarah R
Hi Kim,
Did you do the testing through the Hawaiian Airlines worksite labs program or at a seperate facility?
If you do it through Hawaiian Airlines with worksite labs as their subcontractor, it’s good but if you are just using worksite labs as your testing partner you may run into challenges. I’d encourage you to reach out to the Go Hawaii help desk for the official answer!
Kim F.
I’m doing it through Hawaiian airlines. So far so good! We’ve got all test results now. Our first attempt to fly over via tests with Kaiser blew up and derailed our plans when we didn’t get results in tie, so hopefully this attempt using Worksite labs will work! I’d recommend not using Kaiser. They are too overwhelmed to be able to deal with travel testing.
JonL
Worksite Labs appears on the SafeTravels website under Hawaiian Airlines in the airline section of the list of trusted partners. Also, no problem getting a live person on phone at Worksite and very responsive to email inquiries as well.
Kim F.
Thank you, I must’ve missed that! Yes, I agree, they’ve been extremely responsive to us. I was having trouble accessing two of our test results because of a problem with the confirmation number, and not only did they remedy it immediately when I called, they called me back later to make sure that I was able to download the results. They’ve all been very, very nice and helpful. I’ve now got all test results in under 36 hours!
Maggie L
Hi,
Headed to our home in Kauai early January. With Kauai’s mandatory 14-day quarantine, I’m wondering if my husband and I should even bother getting tested before we fly. FYI we have been staying at home, not going out or socializing with others, so we feel fairly confident we won’t get infected before flying.
Thanks for your help!
Maggie
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Maggie.
Your question makes sense. In some ways it doesn’t matter, at least for now. On the other, you help protect others on the plane by getting tested.
Aloha.
Keith C
We just got back from a week in Maui. We followed all the rules and had an idyllic time in a very special place. It was uncrowded, the locals were friendly, and the weather was epic. We flew on United out of SFO and chose to pay $250 for the 15 minute test at SFO. While it says appointments are required at the site, they do accept walk-ins. The people at the test site are super friendly. It costs a bit more, but the peace of mind was worth it. Several folks I talked to at the test site had been to other testing sites but testing results were so late that they had to come to the United SFO site and pay the $250 anyway. If you follow the process, everything works out great. (My one surprise: The test results aren’t thoroughly checked until you land in Hawaii. A few people on our flight got turned away or had to do the 14-day quarantine, once they landed in Hawaii. It would be much more efficient if Hawaii worked with the airlines (or TSA) to check the results before anybody gets on the plane)
terryg
Alaska has just such a program. But it’s on you to get the test results from an approved lab and within the 72 hrs. So not much of a benie unless idk HNL it took like 10 minutes in KOA. And yes don’t believe the nonsense that carbon health has a drive up location in northgate mall for $170 that doesn’t exist. Pretty much down to discover health in south ctr mall (hilton) for $250.
Mel B
I used Carbon Health drive up in Bellevue on 12/1 and recieved results the next day, no problem. I did have an appt
Sam S
Can someone confirm which test is needed when you leave from SLC Utah? Apparently the one through Costco has no guarantee re time!
Walgreens in Taylorsville is no more. Now what? Going to Maui at end of Feb 2021.
Karen C
Used Vault twice flying from SLC. It’s the best choice but depends on your travel day because of UPS pickup/delivery limitations.
Janet R
We just returned home from Kauai. We used Walgreens POS test. While we had to drive 83 miles to get the test, the rest of the process worked well. I had my results on my ride home from the test! My husband had to wait as he was driving and couldn’t access his email. My son didn’t get his right away as we had a mixup with his email, which actually worked well as we called in and got a better report for him. Our initial reports didn’t include the fact that they were from Walgreens or the fact that we were in a different time zone than the West Coast so when we saw his more detailed COVID test report (rather than just saying we were negative and the date) we called in too and got those more detailed reports, downloaded the to safe travels and they instantly showed up as negative reports on that part. Then 24 hours before our flight we did the questionnaire with no problems and got our QR which we printed too. Airport process was a breeze – took about a minute each. Rental car not so fast. They want to see your QR and proof you’ve been through screening. also had backup as we were there on 12/1 and many moved up their flights to avoid shutdown. Kauai was great as we had beaches and condo facility to ourselves. Ran into a few rude islanders who didn’t wish us well but for most part, people were friendly.
Keep your great articles coming, BOH!
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Janet.
Thanks. Glad you had a great time on Kauai and that the processes went well.
Aloha.
bill w
Nor worth the risk to travel to Hawaii right now, with Mexico easier to get too and cheaper to boot, it might just be my permanent tropical vacation location, so long Hawaii, its been nice knowing ya
Y.F.
Great article.
Any new rumors on changes to the SafeTravel program?
I read your “Watch for Travel Shifts next week” article about possible changes that might be announced this week. We still have not cancelled our trip during Christmas time and my worry is that they will implement a last minute change.
What is the update? The other thread only says questions were asked. Any new changes? Will the implement testing on arrival in the next week?
Y.F
I don’t believe they made that clear?. That’s really the main thing I am waiting for too. Testing twice would be a game changer for me.
Katie A
We just got back last week. We used Vault on Monday (11/30) for our Thursday (12/3) flight. They received tests Tuesday morning and we had results Tuesday night. Everything went smooth with uploading to Safe Travels website and obtaining QR code for travel. It was stressful until we got the results and I didn’t fully exhale until after we landed and made it through the verification line..but after that, we were good to go! We followed all masking rules/social distancing guidelines and we had the most wonderful 6 day vacation! Tried a bunch of delicious food trucks on Oahu!
Thank you for always keeping us updated!
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Katie.
Thanks for sharing that. We are happy to be hearing lots of other success stories.
Aloha.
John K.
We were due to travel to Kauai on 11/30. A few days before we here about the impending 14 day quarantine. My wife decides she doesn’t want to go and be disrespectful to the locals which I understand. I text my friend who is a local and he tells me to get over there ASAP. We decide to go and followed all Covid related requirements. I have to say, after much trepidation and we have been to Kauai many times, this was the best trip ever and I am so glad we listened to my friend. I have never seen Kauai that uncrowded. We did the Vault test and had no issues.
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
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I read thru these emails looking for informative prominent details, as I have done in the past. Remember the 4 W’s from high school? Who, What, Where, and When? Just give us the simple facts in simple declarative sentences. No elaboration nor interesting personal stories. Just tell me who to get the test from, where and when. Why is this so impossible to do? Has the government gotten so incompetent that it views it’s own incompetence as competence!!!!! I guess we should not be surprised considering how it has handled the pandemic!
Hi Donald,
The Stare of Hawaii has actually handled the pandemic overall quite well when it comes to keeping cases low & people safe and part of that has been implementing the travel restrictions. Unless you consider the handling of the pandemic more about how business are doing rather than preventing COVID spread.
While I agree their communication about the 4 W’s could be improved, if you as a traveler are willing to put in the effort the information is there to be had. This is proven by the thousands of people who have successfully participated in the safe travels program since 10/15 as well as some travelers who have gotten the correct test but failed to have the results returned in time.
Don, in answer to your question is yes. Just try getting any communications back from the safe travels staff. Calling them 12/9 I was told you’re 127 in line.
Thank you for your comment. Addressing the 4 Ws would be more relevant. The Beat of Hawaii Could use a more concise and useful format as in this article minus the ‘Thumbs Down’ and ‘Thumbs up’ section. But since this seems to be more like a blog, it leaves an open door for commentators. Some people learn by reading stories and others just like the specifics.
Dear BOH,
Thank you for your information summary. I could not agree more that travellers must pay close attention to the list of requirements on the Safe Travels website. Getting the exemption from quarantine upon arrival is a breeze if you comply and don’t assume discrepancies will be approved.
I travel to/from HNL monthly and have passed quarantine arrival screening 3 times: Oct, Nov, Dec. The anxiety is (1) waiting for the results from the lab and (2) making sure the date/time of the test is accurate on the results. I have even done redundant testing from 2 different approved labs for the same trip on the theory that at least one set of results would be correctly and timely issued. I’ve used CVS (October), City Health at OAK, Walgreens, and Hawaiian Air/Worksite labs. Don’t remember how many times I’ve stuck that test swab up my nostrils … but a necessary evil.
On one trip the “guaranteed results in 36 hours” was delayed and received in about 60 hours (in time to upload onto Safe Travels website, but nonetheless causing some anxiety).
Another test result “pre-dated” the test time making it more than 72 hours prior to flight departure (couldn’t get it corrected in time, but fortunately I had gotten a test from another approved testing partner with negative results correctly reported and in time for flight departure).
One test result post dated the test 14 days into the future. Was able to get it corrected just in time.
One test result showed the correct test date but no collection time for the test sample. I called the lab and was told Safe Travels did not require the collection time on the results. OK, I broke my own rule about not leaving it to chance and took a chance that it would work. It did. The minute I uploaded the results onto the Safe Travels website, it confirmed “negative results”. Nonetheless I printed a copy of my appointment date and time to show in case it was questioned. It was not questioned by the screener upon arrival.
Hi Jon.
Thanks for that very helpful information from your recent experiences.
Aloha.
Seems like a lot of out of pocket costs unless you are being reimbursed by your employer
Where was the 36 hour test? I’m going to US Biotek and they guarantee the same.
Thank you Jon for that info! I’m awaiting results from Worksite Labs in San Jose now, and I’ve been concerned because they aren’t listed on the State website. We received one result (of four) and it doesn’t have a time on it, so I’m also happy to know that you didn’t have any trouble with that. I will follow your lead and print out a copy of our testing appointment just in case.
Hi Kim,
Did you do the testing through the Hawaiian Airlines worksite labs program or at a seperate facility?
If you do it through Hawaiian Airlines with worksite labs as their subcontractor, it’s good but if you are just using worksite labs as your testing partner you may run into challenges. I’d encourage you to reach out to the Go Hawaii help desk for the official answer!
I’m doing it through Hawaiian airlines. So far so good! We’ve got all test results now. Our first attempt to fly over via tests with Kaiser blew up and derailed our plans when we didn’t get results in tie, so hopefully this attempt using Worksite labs will work! I’d recommend not using Kaiser. They are too overwhelmed to be able to deal with travel testing.
Worksite Labs appears on the SafeTravels website under Hawaiian Airlines in the airline section of the list of trusted partners. Also, no problem getting a live person on phone at Worksite and very responsive to email inquiries as well.
Thank you, I must’ve missed that! Yes, I agree, they’ve been extremely responsive to us. I was having trouble accessing two of our test results because of a problem with the confirmation number, and not only did they remedy it immediately when I called, they called me back later to make sure that I was able to download the results. They’ve all been very, very nice and helpful. I’ve now got all test results in under 36 hours!
Hi,
Headed to our home in Kauai early January. With Kauai’s mandatory 14-day quarantine, I’m wondering if my husband and I should even bother getting tested before we fly. FYI we have been staying at home, not going out or socializing with others, so we feel fairly confident we won’t get infected before flying.
Thanks for your help!
Maggie
Hi Maggie.
Your question makes sense. In some ways it doesn’t matter, at least for now. On the other, you help protect others on the plane by getting tested.
Aloha.
We just got back from a week in Maui. We followed all the rules and had an idyllic time in a very special place. It was uncrowded, the locals were friendly, and the weather was epic. We flew on United out of SFO and chose to pay $250 for the 15 minute test at SFO. While it says appointments are required at the site, they do accept walk-ins. The people at the test site are super friendly. It costs a bit more, but the peace of mind was worth it. Several folks I talked to at the test site had been to other testing sites but testing results were so late that they had to come to the United SFO site and pay the $250 anyway. If you follow the process, everything works out great. (My one surprise: The test results aren’t thoroughly checked until you land in Hawaii. A few people on our flight got turned away or had to do the 14-day quarantine, once they landed in Hawaii. It would be much more efficient if Hawaii worked with the airlines (or TSA) to check the results before anybody gets on the plane)
Alaska has just such a program. But it’s on you to get the test results from an approved lab and within the 72 hrs. So not much of a benie unless idk HNL it took like 10 minutes in KOA. And yes don’t believe the nonsense that carbon health has a drive up location in northgate mall for $170 that doesn’t exist. Pretty much down to discover health in south ctr mall (hilton) for $250.
I used Carbon Health drive up in Bellevue on 12/1 and recieved results the next day, no problem. I did have an appt
Can someone confirm which test is needed when you leave from SLC Utah? Apparently the one through Costco has no guarantee re time!
Walgreens in Taylorsville is no more. Now what? Going to Maui at end of Feb 2021.
Used Vault twice flying from SLC. It’s the best choice but depends on your travel day because of UPS pickup/delivery limitations.
We just returned home from Kauai. We used Walgreens POS test. While we had to drive 83 miles to get the test, the rest of the process worked well. I had my results on my ride home from the test! My husband had to wait as he was driving and couldn’t access his email. My son didn’t get his right away as we had a mixup with his email, which actually worked well as we called in and got a better report for him. Our initial reports didn’t include the fact that they were from Walgreens or the fact that we were in a different time zone than the West Coast so when we saw his more detailed COVID test report (rather than just saying we were negative and the date) we called in too and got those more detailed reports, downloaded the to safe travels and they instantly showed up as negative reports on that part. Then 24 hours before our flight we did the questionnaire with no problems and got our QR which we printed too. Airport process was a breeze – took about a minute each. Rental car not so fast. They want to see your QR and proof you’ve been through screening. also had backup as we were there on 12/1 and many moved up their flights to avoid shutdown. Kauai was great as we had beaches and condo facility to ourselves. Ran into a few rude islanders who didn’t wish us well but for most part, people were friendly.
Keep your great articles coming, BOH!
Hi Janet.
Thanks. Glad you had a great time on Kauai and that the processes went well.
Aloha.
Nor worth the risk to travel to Hawaii right now, with Mexico easier to get too and cheaper to boot, it might just be my permanent tropical vacation location, so long Hawaii, its been nice knowing ya
Great article.
Any new rumors on changes to the SafeTravel program?
I read your “Watch for Travel Shifts next week” article about possible changes that might be announced this week. We still have not cancelled our trip during Christmas time and my worry is that they will implement a last minute change.
Hi YF.
Thanks. There was a more recent update. In case you missed it, here it is. https://beatofhawaii.com/visitors-cancel-as-governor-wont-change-rules-who-pays-quarantine/.
Aloha.
What is the update? The other thread only says questions were asked. Any new changes? Will the implement testing on arrival in the next week?
I don’t believe they made that clear?. That’s really the main thing I am waiting for too. Testing twice would be a game changer for me.
We just got back last week. We used Vault on Monday (11/30) for our Thursday (12/3) flight. They received tests Tuesday morning and we had results Tuesday night. Everything went smooth with uploading to Safe Travels website and obtaining QR code for travel. It was stressful until we got the results and I didn’t fully exhale until after we landed and made it through the verification line..but after that, we were good to go! We followed all masking rules/social distancing guidelines and we had the most wonderful 6 day vacation! Tried a bunch of delicious food trucks on Oahu!
Thank you for always keeping us updated!
Hi Katie.
Thanks for sharing that. We are happy to be hearing lots of other success stories.
Aloha.
We were due to travel to Kauai on 11/30. A few days before we here about the impending 14 day quarantine. My wife decides she doesn’t want to go and be disrespectful to the locals which I understand. I text my friend who is a local and he tells me to get over there ASAP. We decide to go and followed all Covid related requirements. I have to say, after much trepidation and we have been to Kauai many times, this was the best trip ever and I am so glad we listened to my friend. I have never seen Kauai that uncrowded. We did the Vault test and had no issues.