92 thoughts on “Follow Hawaii Rules Or Else: Here’s What To Do”
Ron V
We are here in Maui. We flew Alaska and followed their protocol. We used their partner provider Carbon Health and got our negative results. We flew out two days later. The check in at the airport took a few extra minutes to review the documents. We were nervous because any hiccup could cancel our trip. We had all the boxes checked and sailed through. The flight was nice because it was about 30% full. Upon arrival we had our wristband on and went through the check process in about 30 seconds. All in all, there were extra steps but nothing that was impossible. And now we are enjoying Maui and trying to support the local economy!!
Tonya L
We travel next week. This is so nerve-wracking! Five in our party, three of us have appointments for Kaiser tests on time. The other two don’t seem to understand the need to follow the rules exactly. No, you can’t drive through the testing site at the fairgrounds! No, CVS will not guarantee results on time!
An enjoyable family vacation is tainted by pre-travel stress! If the testing window was 96 hours, and the number of Trusted Testing Partners was expanded, that would make a huge difference in making it easier to get to Hawaii.
Thank you so much for keeping us all up-to-date, and especially for sharing the Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down experiences.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Tonya.
Thanks. Please let us know how it goes. Kaiser unfortunately is not recommended, as we have had many comments saying their testing to results time frame is not reliable at this point. We’d definitely suggest you change to another in-site provider for a fast PCR test. Vault mail-in could work, but the week before Christmas seems dicey due to UPS overload.
Aloha.
Tonya L
Ack!!! More stress and uncertainty! Please Governor Ige change it to 96 hours!
Ron v
I would recommend whatever partner your airline recommends. We did not use Kaiser because they would not guarantee test results. Kaiser said they would reimburse the expense of going to an outside provider but Im not holding my breath. Good luck.
Terry g
Alaska said carbon health which is no longer doing the tests. And yes that love of cost is ave bonus and stk buy backs means they hire ppl that don’t update the website which says you can get test at the Northgate Mall.
David B
“Five in our party, three of us have appointments for Kaiser tests on time. The other two don’t seem to understand the need to follow the rules exactly.”
Sounds like there will be three in your party.
airline
Dont get on the plane unless you [1] are flying to an island that is not Kauai, [2] have your negative test results [3] from an approved test type [4] administered by a trusted partner listed on the Hawaii Safe Travels Website, that [5] was taken no more than 72 hours before your departure time. Read all these comments on this blog from people who skipped one of these 5 keys.
Another commentor had great advice – dont book a trip other than with everything fully refundable/cancelable at the very last minute. Do not advance pay for a rental car or hotel. Be mentally prepared to to cancel if your test results dont get back in time, like the woman in the airport parking lot. That is still way better than wasting your time flying out, being locked in a room and flying back. You can lock yourself in a room at home, if you are into that sort of thing.
Kim F
Don’t count on Kaiser! You’ll have to reschedule your whole trip like we did because your results won’t be released in time. They’re completely overwhelmed and travel testing is not a priority right now.
ThomA
It seems that the state of Hawaii only cares about certain people
Traveling to Hawaii. We live in Georgia and it looks like Walgreens is our only testing option. They too have posted they cannot guarantee tear results for travel purposes!! So now what? I see something about testing at the Oakland Airport where we leave the mainland. That may be our last straw before our entire vacation is trashed!! And keep in mind we are not coming for 5 or 7 days but 25 days! That is one heck of a vacation to flush down the toilet.
Of course things keep changing and maybe they will change to help the traveler? Poor Hawaii…how many years will it tak for you to recover?
Sarah R
Thoma, you make note of the fact that your vacation plans are for 25 days. Being subjected to the new 10 day travel quarantine wouldn’t completely wreck your vacation. You could still travel to Hawaii, isolate for the 10 days which is still the safest method to prevent spread of COVID and then have 15 days to spend enjoying Hawaii.. Just a thought a different way to look at things.
Also, I think the State of Hawaii cares about attempting to keep COVID rates low in the islands and doesn’t care if the traveler is a returning resident or a visitor and where they started their travels from…
Doug
Sarah R is right, you are perfect for Kauai! Use your first ten days here to quarantine at a bubble resort where you can roam the resort, use the pool, and build your tan so you don’t have that pasty white look that most tourists have when they get here fresh off the plane! Then, after quarantine, enjoy your two weeks of freedom here!
Kim H
We planned this trip for the last year. Did everything right including restricting our contact with others, and ordering our tests through Costco, a trusted testing partner. But Kauai closed with the 14 day quarantine anyway and we were forced to cancel our trip. Enjoyed 10 days spending our money in Jackson WY rather than helping Hawaii’s economy. Too bad for The people of Kauai.
TheDavid B
Kim, your comment caught my eye. We have been at our Kauai home since early November, but our mainland home is in “Wydaho” (near Jackson). This past summer was record number of tourists. Most visitors GTNP has ever had. Downtown Jackson was like downtown Disneyland, and to be avoided at all costs. People wanted out of cities (for obvious reasons), and the entire west coast was on fire or otherwise choking in smoke. Was a warm dry summer, which also increased the usual weekend crowds from SLC.
But, it’s “butt cold” there now, hiking trails are under snow, fishing is only for the very hard core, and unless you spent all that those 10 days on sketchy early season skiing/snowmobiling, I don’t know what the heck you did for 10 days in Jackson other than stay inside. Glad to hear you had a good time. Just checked our web cam, and is is dumping snow. Here on the island, it is dumping partly cloudy with a light breeze and sunshine upper 70s.
DaveR
Seems like some sort of contest going on here, but I’m not sure what it is. My daughters live in Jackson (going on 20 years there) and love it. I live in San Diego and love it. I used to live on O’ahu and loved it. To each his/her own, and there’s a time for every place.
David B
No contest, was just coincidence that we fled Jackson for warmer climes Hawaii, and her alternative to Hawaii was Jackson this time of year. Very different types of vacations. That’s all.
DaveR
My daughters live in Jackson (going on 20 years there) and love it. I live in San Diego and love it. I used to live on O’ahu and loved it. To each his/her own, and there’s a time for every place.
David B
Yes. I believe you. I thought I replied? I was not saying Jackson is not a great location to live, it’s just an odd substitute for Hawaii, especially this time of year. That’s all I was getting at. We live on the other side of the Tetons, but still in Wyoming, just over the state line from Idaho. But, for me to get my wife to agree to live there, we are in Kauai for 3 months in winter. I still ski, but she hung them up, and to her, the snow and cold (especially when its May) gets old.
DaveR
I’ve tried to post the following, but it was immediately removed:
“My daughters live in Jackson (going on 20 years there) and love it. I live in San Diego and love it. I used to live on O’ahu and loved it. To each his/her own, and there’s a time for every place.”
Is there something offensive about this?
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Dave R.
The prior comment is there too. Nothing was removed. All comments go through manual moderation.
Aloha.
DaveR
Apparently the State of Hawai’i values their citizens’ lives over your money. Many would say they are doing the right thing.
terryg
The testing reality is as off last week only discover health and maybe kieser have a chance in hell of meeting the HI rules and deadlines. Carbon health no longer does the tests (too many requests for pre-employment. Wallgreens does in theory but you have to wait days to be tested and zero certainty of meeting the 72 deadline. It’s basically uwmc’s world leading lab with insanely fast test turn around time that really has a chance of getting a result in 24 hrs. I did a test the wk before as required for a medical procedure but couldn’t use that result as the verbage and didn’t have the HI seal on the test result. Going through the process in Kona was ok, temp check, show your safe travels qr code, then have that and your test ltr out for inspection. Your car rental firm, hotel will also need to see your negative result so have them ready (seperate tab in broswer, download and open in Acrobat). Vibe was way more chill then some of the scary karen stories coming out of hi media would have you believe. They do need to accept test results from more places, and waive all of it if you have your 2nd vac if things are to ever get back to normal. Hotel told me tons of cancels bc can’t get tested. Still thinking I would have had an easier time going to Tahiti even though they require 2nd test but accept tests from more labs. The fact that you can rent a car for $28 / day all up, speaks to the low level of travel to hi. Vegas in Apr was like $14.
Teresa
delightful! Used Vault, I did my test almost precisely 72 hours prior to my flight on Hawaiian Airlines as they are always on time. I received my test results in less than 48 hours and was good to go. My husband and father in law joined me a week later using the same process. No problems. We had a delightful time and made some much needed repairs to our home.
TRACY Y
Thanks BOH – wondering why you would state “you can still visit Hawaii as long as you follow these steps” when the “rules” are still the same. Countless people have followed these very steps and have had to forfeit at the last minute because the “trusted testing partners” couldn’t deliver. The turn time on test results is, has been and will continue to be out the visitors control.
Bob L
And once again, Hawaii figures out a way to bite the hands that feed them. When will those in HI government realize that they need to treat tourists with more respect. Our $$$ are literally your only economy! By alienating us you are shooting yourself in the foot, over and over! This is literally the worst example of customer care that I have ever seen!
Nancy R
Aloha Bob,
I am sorry you feel that way. You did not say (or if you did earlier, I missed it) whether you tried to come here and complied with Hawai’i’s testing requirements, only to be unfairly thwarted. And if so, what testing system you used. And you are correct insofar as tourism is a large part of our state’s economy. But not the the only contributor. The military contributes a lot, we have agriculture, we have some other sources, including the operation of this state for the people of this state, such as teachers, govt workers, police, fire, medical, etc. also construction and other private industry.
And we are not trying to bite tourism’s hand. I acknowledge the system is flawed. But this is a special place and however inept our government might be, it’s goal is to protect its people.
DaveR
Thank you for a sensible response that could apply to many people.
Troy H.
We did letsgetchecked and had our results back with in 24 hrs
Kelly
Glad that so many Americans are able to get test results and travel successfully and safely to Hawaii. Unfortunately for those of us Canadians, it’s not so easy or affordable. Being from Vancouver, there are only 3 designated/approved labs and we have to pay $250 per Covid test…for our family of 6 that’s $1500 on top of flights, accommodation, car rental. Definitely won’t be able to go until there are free or cheap testing options 🙁
Nancy R
Aloha Kelly,
I empathize with Canadians who, unless they can route thru US and then test there (meeting time limits), find it almost impossible in effort and money to come visit us. Some of the most delightful people I have I have met here on Maui are from Canada. I wish our state government had factored Canada into the testing formula. I hope soon it does, even before vaccination makes it unnecessary. We miss you, Canada.
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
Stay abreast of the latest island travel news, tips, deals, and more. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and let Hawaii come to you. Mahalo!
We are here in Maui. We flew Alaska and followed their protocol. We used their partner provider Carbon Health and got our negative results. We flew out two days later. The check in at the airport took a few extra minutes to review the documents. We were nervous because any hiccup could cancel our trip. We had all the boxes checked and sailed through. The flight was nice because it was about 30% full. Upon arrival we had our wristband on and went through the check process in about 30 seconds. All in all, there were extra steps but nothing that was impossible. And now we are enjoying Maui and trying to support the local economy!!
We travel next week. This is so nerve-wracking! Five in our party, three of us have appointments for Kaiser tests on time. The other two don’t seem to understand the need to follow the rules exactly. No, you can’t drive through the testing site at the fairgrounds! No, CVS will not guarantee results on time!
An enjoyable family vacation is tainted by pre-travel stress! If the testing window was 96 hours, and the number of Trusted Testing Partners was expanded, that would make a huge difference in making it easier to get to Hawaii.
Thank you so much for keeping us all up-to-date, and especially for sharing the Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down experiences.
Hi Tonya.
Thanks. Please let us know how it goes. Kaiser unfortunately is not recommended, as we have had many comments saying their testing to results time frame is not reliable at this point. We’d definitely suggest you change to another in-site provider for a fast PCR test. Vault mail-in could work, but the week before Christmas seems dicey due to UPS overload.
Aloha.
Ack!!! More stress and uncertainty! Please Governor Ige change it to 96 hours!
I would recommend whatever partner your airline recommends. We did not use Kaiser because they would not guarantee test results. Kaiser said they would reimburse the expense of going to an outside provider but Im not holding my breath. Good luck.
Alaska said carbon health which is no longer doing the tests. And yes that love of cost is ave bonus and stk buy backs means they hire ppl that don’t update the website which says you can get test at the Northgate Mall.
“Five in our party, three of us have appointments for Kaiser tests on time. The other two don’t seem to understand the need to follow the rules exactly.”
Sounds like there will be three in your party.
airline
Dont get on the plane unless you [1] are flying to an island that is not Kauai, [2] have your negative test results [3] from an approved test type [4] administered by a trusted partner listed on the Hawaii Safe Travels Website, that [5] was taken no more than 72 hours before your departure time. Read all these comments on this blog from people who skipped one of these 5 keys.
Another commentor had great advice – dont book a trip other than with everything fully refundable/cancelable at the very last minute. Do not advance pay for a rental car or hotel. Be mentally prepared to to cancel if your test results dont get back in time, like the woman in the airport parking lot. That is still way better than wasting your time flying out, being locked in a room and flying back. You can lock yourself in a room at home, if you are into that sort of thing.
Don’t count on Kaiser! You’ll have to reschedule your whole trip like we did because your results won’t be released in time. They’re completely overwhelmed and travel testing is not a priority right now.
It seems that the state of Hawaii only cares about certain people
Traveling to Hawaii. We live in Georgia and it looks like Walgreens is our only testing option. They too have posted they cannot guarantee tear results for travel purposes!! So now what? I see something about testing at the Oakland Airport where we leave the mainland. That may be our last straw before our entire vacation is trashed!! And keep in mind we are not coming for 5 or 7 days but 25 days! That is one heck of a vacation to flush down the toilet.
Of course things keep changing and maybe they will change to help the traveler? Poor Hawaii…how many years will it tak for you to recover?
Thoma, you make note of the fact that your vacation plans are for 25 days. Being subjected to the new 10 day travel quarantine wouldn’t completely wreck your vacation. You could still travel to Hawaii, isolate for the 10 days which is still the safest method to prevent spread of COVID and then have 15 days to spend enjoying Hawaii.. Just a thought a different way to look at things.
Also, I think the State of Hawaii cares about attempting to keep COVID rates low in the islands and doesn’t care if the traveler is a returning resident or a visitor and where they started their travels from…
Sarah R is right, you are perfect for Kauai! Use your first ten days here to quarantine at a bubble resort where you can roam the resort, use the pool, and build your tan so you don’t have that pasty white look that most tourists have when they get here fresh off the plane! Then, after quarantine, enjoy your two weeks of freedom here!
We planned this trip for the last year. Did everything right including restricting our contact with others, and ordering our tests through Costco, a trusted testing partner. But Kauai closed with the 14 day quarantine anyway and we were forced to cancel our trip. Enjoyed 10 days spending our money in Jackson WY rather than helping Hawaii’s economy. Too bad for The people of Kauai.
Kim, your comment caught my eye. We have been at our Kauai home since early November, but our mainland home is in “Wydaho” (near Jackson). This past summer was record number of tourists. Most visitors GTNP has ever had. Downtown Jackson was like downtown Disneyland, and to be avoided at all costs. People wanted out of cities (for obvious reasons), and the entire west coast was on fire or otherwise choking in smoke. Was a warm dry summer, which also increased the usual weekend crowds from SLC.
But, it’s “butt cold” there now, hiking trails are under snow, fishing is only for the very hard core, and unless you spent all that those 10 days on sketchy early season skiing/snowmobiling, I don’t know what the heck you did for 10 days in Jackson other than stay inside. Glad to hear you had a good time. Just checked our web cam, and is is dumping snow. Here on the island, it is dumping partly cloudy with a light breeze and sunshine upper 70s.
Seems like some sort of contest going on here, but I’m not sure what it is. My daughters live in Jackson (going on 20 years there) and love it. I live in San Diego and love it. I used to live on O’ahu and loved it. To each his/her own, and there’s a time for every place.
No contest, was just coincidence that we fled Jackson for warmer climes Hawaii, and her alternative to Hawaii was Jackson this time of year. Very different types of vacations. That’s all.
My daughters live in Jackson (going on 20 years there) and love it. I live in San Diego and love it. I used to live on O’ahu and loved it. To each his/her own, and there’s a time for every place.
Yes. I believe you. I thought I replied? I was not saying Jackson is not a great location to live, it’s just an odd substitute for Hawaii, especially this time of year. That’s all I was getting at. We live on the other side of the Tetons, but still in Wyoming, just over the state line from Idaho. But, for me to get my wife to agree to live there, we are in Kauai for 3 months in winter. I still ski, but she hung them up, and to her, the snow and cold (especially when its May) gets old.
I’ve tried to post the following, but it was immediately removed:
“My daughters live in Jackson (going on 20 years there) and love it. I live in San Diego and love it. I used to live on O’ahu and loved it. To each his/her own, and there’s a time for every place.”
Is there something offensive about this?
Hi Dave R.
The prior comment is there too. Nothing was removed. All comments go through manual moderation.
Aloha.
Apparently the State of Hawai’i values their citizens’ lives over your money. Many would say they are doing the right thing.
The testing reality is as off last week only discover health and maybe kieser have a chance in hell of meeting the HI rules and deadlines. Carbon health no longer does the tests (too many requests for pre-employment. Wallgreens does in theory but you have to wait days to be tested and zero certainty of meeting the 72 deadline. It’s basically uwmc’s world leading lab with insanely fast test turn around time that really has a chance of getting a result in 24 hrs. I did a test the wk before as required for a medical procedure but couldn’t use that result as the verbage and didn’t have the HI seal on the test result. Going through the process in Kona was ok, temp check, show your safe travels qr code, then have that and your test ltr out for inspection. Your car rental firm, hotel will also need to see your negative result so have them ready (seperate tab in broswer, download and open in Acrobat). Vibe was way more chill then some of the scary karen stories coming out of hi media would have you believe. They do need to accept test results from more places, and waive all of it if you have your 2nd vac if things are to ever get back to normal. Hotel told me tons of cancels bc can’t get tested. Still thinking I would have had an easier time going to Tahiti even though they require 2nd test but accept tests from more labs. The fact that you can rent a car for $28 / day all up, speaks to the low level of travel to hi. Vegas in Apr was like $14.
delightful! Used Vault, I did my test almost precisely 72 hours prior to my flight on Hawaiian Airlines as they are always on time. I received my test results in less than 48 hours and was good to go. My husband and father in law joined me a week later using the same process. No problems. We had a delightful time and made some much needed repairs to our home.
Thanks BOH – wondering why you would state “you can still visit Hawaii as long as you follow these steps” when the “rules” are still the same. Countless people have followed these very steps and have had to forfeit at the last minute because the “trusted testing partners” couldn’t deliver. The turn time on test results is, has been and will continue to be out the visitors control.
And once again, Hawaii figures out a way to bite the hands that feed them. When will those in HI government realize that they need to treat tourists with more respect. Our $$$ are literally your only economy! By alienating us you are shooting yourself in the foot, over and over! This is literally the worst example of customer care that I have ever seen!
Aloha Bob,
I am sorry you feel that way. You did not say (or if you did earlier, I missed it) whether you tried to come here and complied with Hawai’i’s testing requirements, only to be unfairly thwarted. And if so, what testing system you used. And you are correct insofar as tourism is a large part of our state’s economy. But not the the only contributor. The military contributes a lot, we have agriculture, we have some other sources, including the operation of this state for the people of this state, such as teachers, govt workers, police, fire, medical, etc. also construction and other private industry.
And we are not trying to bite tourism’s hand. I acknowledge the system is flawed. But this is a special place and however inept our government might be, it’s goal is to protect its people.
Thank you for a sensible response that could apply to many people.
We did letsgetchecked and had our results back with in 24 hrs
Glad that so many Americans are able to get test results and travel successfully and safely to Hawaii. Unfortunately for those of us Canadians, it’s not so easy or affordable. Being from Vancouver, there are only 3 designated/approved labs and we have to pay $250 per Covid test…for our family of 6 that’s $1500 on top of flights, accommodation, car rental. Definitely won’t be able to go until there are free or cheap testing options 🙁
Aloha Kelly,
I empathize with Canadians who, unless they can route thru US and then test there (meeting time limits), find it almost impossible in effort and money to come visit us. Some of the most delightful people I have I have met here on Maui are from Canada. I wish our state government had factored Canada into the testing formula. I hope soon it does, even before vaccination makes it unnecessary. We miss you, Canada.