526 thoughts on “Hawaii Travel Upheaval: Stakeholders Livid As Adversaries Now Concur”
Kristie D
We just canceled our 2 week stay to Maui. It just seems to many chances of a complete shut down may happen.
We love our visits to Maui just too many hassles to deal with.
Razorg
We have cancelled several 10 night stays. As others all over the world have found out, there is no hiding from this virus, only delaying it. In the mean time tremendous destruction has occurred in the Islands and also in the states that have shut down only to find that it did no good.
bill w
Was planning a trip for five to the Big Island next May but with so much uncertainty I’m planning on Las Vegas instead, it is the 9th Island after all, at least all the locals should be happy now, no tourists.
Phyllis A.
Thank you for some information that I find useful from time to time.
Please accept a severe criticism from me:
The following statement is inaccurate, misleading, and insulting. It is based on what’s perceived as best for a particular segment of the populatin and because of this, although I hate to say it, it is self-serving:
This week’s Kauai shutdown poses bigger problems for the entire state. When one island can make its own arbitrary decisions…”
Arbitrary?
Not at all!
There is logic, science, common sense, and good public health practices behind this.
If you want information that might help you understand better I will be happy to help you.
If you have only a commercial goal and are not interested in learning, I will understand.
I am willing to meet you half way if you want serious conversation. I have been reading these newsletters for the last few months with growing concern as I used to admire you and your views.
Phyllis
Michael S.
You are 100% wrong. NO other state is shutting down to this degree and to think this is solely a medical/scientific decision is just naive. You have to balance the economic issues with the medical. 14 day quarantine… That is longer than the CDC has in place now. The original testing plan made sense. But right now, you are killing the economy and there is no evidence what is proposed actually is working. So please, just stop because you don’t know what you’re talking about.
David B.
There is this trend of people, especially of a certain political bent, to keep evoking the word Science . Science is merely a process. Science may provide some answers (beyond statistics) about this or other viruses, but Science does not make public policy decisions. Governments do.
Science does not require Kauai to shut down. If public policy is take absolutely no risks, then OK, shut everything down. Including cars. We’ve had a number of vehicular deaths and serious injuries on Kauai over the past couple of years, and yet Mayor Anger Management (TM) has not ordered all the roads closed. Why not?? SCIENCE says that would save lives.
Obviously different people have different risk tolerances. But you don’t get difference Science.
Second most abused: “studies say ….”
Jerry T
Kauai has 11 ICU beds! If you ……..then there’s no need trying to explain.
Denise L.
The decision to change the requirement that a negative Covid result must be in hand was a big change already. Then to add the change to Kauai going backwards to quarantine after all the efforts the people and businesses took to get there! so soon after first change! Not smart leadership. Also it seems that many cases are from residents returning. Tourists mostly keep to themselves. Residents come back and mingle with their loved ones and friends which causes more spread.
Douglas E
Getting Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai to agree to one clear cohesive plan seems harder than getting a jury of 12 to agree on a verdict. Come on Hawaii, wake up and smell the plumeria. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
Jared X
People should vote with their wallets. Hawaii has Plenty of great options other than Kauai… especially now. Sure, stupidly, many public and organized things are still closed on all the islands. But as they say, “outside is free”–and even dumbest mayors and governors can’t change the weather or restrict access to the ocean. Not just now–but going forward–people should just stop going to Kauai at all if they don’t need to. Let drown in their own stupidity over there. There’s plenty of fun to be had on the other islands. The airlines could also play a little chicken with the mayors and tell them if they don’t get their shit together and work together to make it affordable, easy–yet still reasonably safe–for vistors to fly to their specific island–they simply won’t fly to that island for the next six months.
I can’t speak for all of the counties but on the big island, for the past 9 months months, basically the county employees have just been busily re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. They’d chain up the beach parks–and have police writing tickets to white skinned people going through the parks to (legally) get to the ocean… but still had the county landcaping crews cutting and edging the park grass every few days. I’d see empty buses driving up and down my street all day–with not a soul on them–and other county employees constantly and endlessly spraying down outdoor like bus stops and traffic crossing and signal buttons and public benches–despite there being a 14 day qurantine for all new arrivals–and essentially Zero cases and Zero deaths most of the year. A complete waste of time, money, and resources.
Imagine if they had spent even One Tenth of that time, money, and resources trying to make it safe and easy for visitors and locals to travel to and from the islands–instead of disinfecting outside that no one ever even touches–for months and months after the CDC confimed that the virus rarely spreads from touch.
brenda b.
We were leaving for kauai today with our grandchildren. Had taken all precautions necessary, masks,covid tests…
(don’t suppose the mayor of kauai wants to reimburse me 500.00 for covid tests!) then requirements are changed again. We understand there is a pandemic but wish things could have been different. Maybe more notice instead of the few days we had, don’t know what the answer is but we will be holding off any trips to hawaii for awhile. Time to explore the mainland in our rv! Hope to get back when things settle. We will miss your paradise!
Kimo C
What happened to you was on my mind when they started this
Like you I wanted to know if someone in my party of 4 failed right before take off who was going to reimburse me for lodging and the expensive tests ?
I passed on Hawaii First time in 20 years we won’t be going !
Insanity rules the day , while government employees get paid the people will starve
Aloha and happy travels !
arthur b
thank you for your consistent updates. My wife and I have been here (Hawaii) for a week. AND safe travel hawaii site as of today Is Still saying pending verification! Had we not had paper print outs we would have been in trouble. We both got random covid test on arrival to Kona and uploaded those results to the site as requested. The site still, as of today says “verification in process.” Website failure. We fortunately kept the paper copies of all test results as they are required for the various places we are staying who say they must see the saft travel approval. We were fortunate and hope being forewarned you will be also.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Arthur.
Thank you. We appreciate you sharing your experience. Enjoy the Big Island.
Aloha.
Jeff N.
Mid November cancelled 2 hours before flight time since family had not received CVS “Trust Partner” results. Did not want to risk a lengthy quarantine. (Thank goodness, the “Trusted Partner” CVS results came on day 6!)
Made a last minute switch to Palm Desert. Had a great time, golf, pools, dinning, everything but a beach. Spent many thousands in Palm Desert instead of Hawaii.
P.S. – Hey Trusted Partner CVS, when do I get my $500 back? I know – never! CVS – you knew you could not deliver results in 72 hours, but you took my money anyway! CVS is a rip off and I never plan to shop there again!
Ed. C
We canceled our annual September trip. We were supposed to have departed again on December 2nd and canceled once again. We still have a trip scheduled for mid February to Maui, but am increasingly doubtful that will happen either. Even with a vaccine I doubt the Hawaiian craziness will subside.
We love Hawaii, but this is just nuts. Life where we are has pretty much returned to normal except for everyone wearing face masks. Stores are open. Restaurants are open.
Get on with your life. Wear a mask and wash your hands. It’s not that hard.
But also, how many people were exposed to Covid-19 by the returning residents who knew they were positive and boarded the plane anyway. They are despicable and selfish people.
Mahalo to BOH.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Ed.
We hope you’ll be able to return to Maui as planned. Thanks.
Aloha.
Janese G.
We will be canceling our whole 2 week vacation for January 9 to the 23rd. We thought we would stay longer if things worked out. We would have visited Hawaii, Kauai, and possibly Maui. So sad to not be going!!
Tuan
We booked our travels to Kauai before the 14-day mandatory quarantine, Kiwi will not refund our flights. It’s very unfortunate. We normally travel to Hawaii two times a year. There are so many uncertainties now. More importantly, it’s tragic for the Hawaiian economy.
TS
We own a vacation rental and live on Kauai and we just spent close to $30,000 renovating our condo during the initial 14 day quarantine down time… opened our condo and instantly had some rentals… All of which have cancelled so we are on the hook for more months of Zero renters. Our story isn’t nearly as sad as the people being laid off but I can’t imagine the people who’s primary income Is based on their rental units… how are they paying their mortgages? Most people who own multiple condos/ houses do so by leveraging debt… but with no income it’s just All debt which could bring the Real Estate market down quite a bit as foreclosures ramp up or sell offs start flying in.
Shutting down again was just a power play by our Mayor trying to make a name for himself and has nothing to do with safety. We have Zero people in the hospital at this point. If this was about safety he would say Clearly “When we are back to 0 positive cases” or “as long as we can maintain <5 people in the hospital for Covid related issues". What he's saying is he hopes to hide from it until it magically goes away? He's playing politics with peoples lives.
Kevin C
Maybe some people on Kauai should not have voted for Trump.
Charlotte D
We had over 3 weeks reserved in January on Kauai, Maui and Kona. We love Hawaii and go every year now that we are retired. We’ve canceled Kauai and Kona and just rescheduled Maui to early March and insured our trip. The testing situation is too dicey and stressful at the current time for us to even think of traveling to Maui next month. We will reassess our decision as March gets closer.
Patricia P.
Thank you for continuing to keep your subscribers up to date on Hawaii travel. My husband and I returned from a 12 night wonderful vacation from Kauai on November 19th. We stayed at two different Bonvoy properties in Poipu and everything was great. People wore their masks on hotel property, at shopping centers, at restaurants before they ate, etc. It was a very enjoyable, almost normal feeling, Kauai vacation. Small businesses like Anuenue, Fish Express, The Tasting Room,etc. were grateful to have our business and thankful to be open for business. One business mentioned that they didn’t think they could survive another shut-down. The shut-down is out of line. Bring a Mercy Ship to the islands if ICU beds are such a concern. I also don’t think a mandatory 14-day quarantine without a negative test result upon arrival is unreasonable. We traveled to Aruba in September and Kauai in November and were required to test before both trips. We were able to meet the deadlines and have all our paperwork in order to travel…it just takes a little organization and diligence! My two cents, all islands need to stay Open and require a Negative test result upon arrival…no exceptions! We tested through a private lab when we traveled to Aruba and through Kaiser when going to Kauai, both without issue. Get it together people and more importantly get it together Hawaii!
Suzanna G
Hi Patricia,
We are plans for Maui Dec30th at the Sheraton Black Rock. Do you mind if I ask how many days before your flight you scheduled your Kaiser tests? We will be using Kaiser in the Sacramento area. Thank you!
Lisa A
After a hellish year, my family was looking forward to some relaxing on Oahu over the holidays. But with the stress of possibly not getting covid test results back in the 72 hour window and who-knows-what closures and business availability we may find once we get there, we decided it’s not worth the risk financially and health-wise.
Much love to the islands. I hope your (and mainland) politicians can get organized and see us through this asap.
Joe B
It’s not worth the gamble for us to book another trip to Hawaii, with all this uncertainty. We are retired and have been there many times and always enjoyed our stays. After reading some comments how many Hawaiians actually feel about visitors. I don’t think we will be returning to your islands. Hawaii has lost all it’s appeal to us.
Craig R
My wife and I still have reservations for early March after postponing an October trip. I’m figuring we will have to postpone again … Which will cost us more once again. While we love Hawaii, I wish we had chosen to go somewhere else. I don’t like thinking that we may get our trip ruined at the last minute by rule changes or late test results beyond our control.
Laurie G.
We are scheduled to go to Kona in January. With all of this going on – the changes, the rules, the testing – we are trying to decide whether to keep it or postpone, at a cost of over $5,000 that we would lose!! The rules need to be the same for the State of Hawai’i – not each individual island.
Jim H.
We have reservations at Marriott Waiohai June 18- July 2, 2021, can you provide any insights regarding what regulations might be required by then like proof of vaccination or just a negative test?
Thanks,
Jim H.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Jim.
It is simply far too early to know.
Aloha.
Greg R.
Yes! We had a two week vacation planned for December 19 through January 2; one week on Kauai and one week on Maui. We decided to cancel the entire trip due to the uncertainties. Everything bought and payed for last year. We were looking forward to this trip since we had to cancel our June trip. The one plus that takes some of the sting out of our disappointment, is seeing all of that already spent money flow back into my bank account. Maybe June 2021 will happen but not getting my hopes up.
Scottie
Hi. I hope this finds you well. Wife and I are scheduled to go to Kauai Jan 8th and stay at an Aibnb, rent a car, do tourist stuff etc. Now we don’t know. Really bummed. Hang in there Hawaii, we will be back
PAM M
Hi guys!
Mahalo, again, for your amazing job of reporting updates on “As the stomach turns”.
Question: Does anyone know if Hawai’i has distributed all/or any of the money from the CARES act?
Seriously, this is horrific. I honestly think it’s time for the Federal Government to step in and help Governor Ige fish or cut bait.
Unbelievable mess.
Hawai’i and her people deserve better than this.
Aloha
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Pam.
We aren’t certain, so will let someone else comment on the CARE money. You always being a smile to us. Thanks.
Aloha.
Roy H
Pam
Yes the state of Hawaii is using CARES monies. The use of CARES monies changes daily. I know it’s being used for schools, unemployment insurance, National Guard, covid testing programs and in the hospitals. I’m sure there are other uses too. Josh Green has commented several times about CARES monies not being used in an expedient way.
Cf
Wow my predictions are all coming true about attacking tourists and endless random restrictions ending with financial meltdown for the state.
Im not suprised at all but was hoping i would be wrong when I started making these comments back in April. Hawaii has largest unemployment and homelessness in the entire usa, yet they want to protect every life from covid. It just doesn’t add up at all.
And the suicide rate and domestic violence rates are probably way up too. Probably more deaths from these than the covid issue. Hawaii is just way way way too extreme and will not get its act together.
It would be better to have no restrictions at all like South Dakota and Sweden than what they are doing now. Death rate in those places is about the same as the rest if usa.( And yes i have checked the statistics. )
People should probably try to vacation elsewhere just for their own wellbeing and sanity. Even when covid is over i feel like Hawaii has put the nail in the coffin for tourism and publicly humiliated themselves. The economic and social situation in hawaii is not good. I know that the carribean and Florida or cancun is looking good to me right now vs hawaii. Theres also San Diego and south texas beaches and mexico
Joerg H.
Ah, you checked the numbers? Where? North Dakota and South Dakota have the highest rate of COVID cases in the county by population. 107K and 95K per million respectively. Also, Sweden has seen the error of its ways. In Nov. they announced restrictions by area and limited gatherings to fewer than 8 people. “the Swedish ambassador in Washington, stressed that widespread trust in the country’s public agencies meant that most Swedes would voluntarily heed social distancing guidelines. Sweden’s robust social safety net and enhanced paid sick leave, she argued, would help ensure more Swedes would stay home if they felt symptoms or feared contracting the virus at their workplaces.” These are all things that the Right-wing in this country hates, which would make implementing the Swedish Model more difficult here. For example, if we would all just wear masks when in public, we could turn down the rate of spread and open up more businesses. But because of the politicization of mask-wearing in the US, fewer than 1/2 of us wear masks. Compare that to, say Spain, where it’s over 95% saying they always do, and another 2% say they frequently do. The current surge peaked at the beginning of Nov, and is now down to pre-Oct. levels and continuing to trend downward. So, all that being said, the lockdowns are necessary for this country, because people simply won’t do the Other things that are needed to get this more under control. So if you’re looking for someone to blame for the lockdowns, the bad economy, etc. just look at those people who aren’t wearing masks, not social distancing, and still gathering in bars and restaurants or having large family gatherings without masks, etc. Add to that our so-called “leaders” who refuse to take this seriously and model the proper behavior and that leaves few options beyond lockdowns.
Brad B
Please continue your coverage even though it is depressing to see the sad state of the islands’ politics and the damage it is doing to your tourism.
We were planning a trip to Maui for the spring break but will shelve that until the fall. This depends on how the vaccination roll out is (mis)handled.
Karen M
This is such a sad situation, especially on Kauai. I had a 2 week trip planned for the end of the year to Kauai. For weeks I stressed about whether to cancel or not. Once I finally gave up & canceled the trip, I’m now looking at spending my travel dollars elsewhere
Robert L.
Hawaii is digging it’s own grave. No one wants to spend thousands of dollars on a gamble. As much as we love our yearly trips, we have decided to go elsewhere from now on. There are too many other places to visit. I see nothing but headaches and massive layoffs for the people. Not sure if the islands will ever recover.
Scottie
yes they will recover! Hawaii has been a paradise long before tourist
Debra N
Well, I am sorry for all the working people on Kauai. We have cancelled 3 times to go to our timeshare on Kauai, and were charged $600 additional to move all three weeks into 2021. I just received my maintenance fee bill for the first quarter. I am inclined to tell them to keep it. I don’t think we will go in 2021, and possibly never go back. I have a lot of money invested in it, and have thought of renting it, but who wants to jump through the hoops to even try? We have to move on.
Gwen C
I visit Kona or Kauai every year. This was the first year I decided to wait until after the islands were back to “normal.” I pray for all the Hawaiian residents on all the islands, that they will be able to persevere through these confusing times.
Thank you for keeping us updated.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Gwen.
Thank you. We hope you’ll be back again soon!
Aloha.
Suzanna G
We have a trip scheduled to Maui on 12/30. Not hearing much about what’s happening there. Can you please give any updates on how things are going on Maui, especially Ka’anapali & Lahaina? Thank you! Mahalo, Suzanna G
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Suzanna.
We don’t have any updates on Maui at this time. Others have reported many Lahaina businesses aren’t open. Perhaps those there could give us a further hand with your question.
Aloha.
rochelle h
We were scheduled on Kauai for the first 2 weeks of Jan but changed in November to 2 weeks in May on Maui. Now I am debating whether to keep those reservations or find somewhere else to go. I do not feel confident that they will have a solution in place by then.
Joanb
Aloha
I just cancelled my December reservation. I know that reservations are cancelling left and right and people are telling me they will not come back to Kauai. Tiki Iniki restaurant is closing. They are one of many. Friends on the island are telling me merchants are crying and unable to stay open. It’s pretty dire.
It is a very sad state of affairs with so few sick. At least with pretesting you knew who was sick or not. With quarantine you should assume everyone is positive.
StillAuthenticDavid B
“Tiki Iniki restaurant is closing.”
Michelle will be fine. But not her employees unless they keep getting enhanced unemployment benes. PV eats just opened dining back up, but I suspect they will shut back down to take out by next week. Is owned by Foodland, same with the new “upscale” market in Kilauea. Kalypso and Opakapaka said they are going to try and stay open, but I don’t see them lasting. Same with most-all of the restaurants in Hanalei. The Nui was closed when we drove by yesterday. Maybe was just a one day thing? Same with Hops and Taps in Kapa`a. Probably whatever was open in June/July will be what is still open by next week.
Small silver lining: they finally started the slope stabilization work on mauka side of Kuhio Hwy, just west of Kilauea. The traffic back ups if we had full tourist rental cars would be for miles in either direction. So, this will be a good time to get some of that work done.
Stephane
Hello,
We are a family of 4, with young kids on the East coast. We want to visit Maui, Kauai and Big Island on 2 weeks. 5 days by islands.
It means for us 4 test during our vacation. If one of us don’t have a result, it change our vacations from Difficult dream to a nightmare…
With Kauai now closed… and us not visiting twice a place … we cancelled for the 2nd time this year.
We will try this spring but when I see how Hawaii manage this crisis … my hope is very low. That’s sad for you Hawaiian people …
That’s a lot of work and organization for me to re-re-book these island… (without talking of money wasted)
Sad… sad… sad…
Wish you all to finish well 2020 and hope for the best in 2021 !
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Stephane.
Thanks for your comments and this update. We hope you can return again soon.
Aloha.
Vicki B.
Was scheduled to fly into Kauai on Thanksgiving, then flying over to Maui three weeks later for a month long stay there a total of 7 weeks. On Thursday before Thanksgiving I was notified by the resort I was booked, that if our COVID tests were still pending upon arrival I would not be permitted to stay at said resort. With all the unknown of getting our test results in a timely matter prior to departure and the quarantine, I cancelled the entire trip. At first the resort in Kauai (which I will not name) was not willing to refund my money as I had paid entire balance on October 25th once the islands had re-opened, they indicated that I was within 30 days of arrival and that was their policy. I got corporate involved and only then did the resort in Kauai agree to give me a full refund.
Thank you BOH for all your informative articles. Much aloha.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Vicki.
Best to you too. Thanks for your update and we hope you can return again soon.
Aloha.
Bev F
We currently have travel plans for March 24-April 8. 6 days on Oahu and 9 in Kauai. I am trying to change Kauai to Maui, presently. Everything I read makes me uneasy about keeping reservations for The Garden Isle. We will decide by the end of January if we will travel at all to Hawaii.
Gary S
This latest mess has caused us to delay our winter trip (10 weeks) twice, then move it back twice and shorten it, and finally yesterday, cancel it altogether. Aloha.
Martin M
I had planned on Kauai trip then decided to go to Maui but now i plain don’t trust the every daily changes and cannot plan a trip that may be postponed. while i can get my airfare back from what i’m reading getting accomodations back is next to impossible as owners are not easy to work with. good luck, and thanks for keeping us informed!
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Martin.
Thank you. We hope it still works out for your Maui travel plans, but understand if you decide to go elsewhere.
Aloha.
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
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We just canceled our 2 week stay to Maui. It just seems to many chances of a complete shut down may happen.
We love our visits to Maui just too many hassles to deal with.
We have cancelled several 10 night stays. As others all over the world have found out, there is no hiding from this virus, only delaying it. In the mean time tremendous destruction has occurred in the Islands and also in the states that have shut down only to find that it did no good.
Was planning a trip for five to the Big Island next May but with so much uncertainty I’m planning on Las Vegas instead, it is the 9th Island after all, at least all the locals should be happy now, no tourists.
Thank you for some information that I find useful from time to time.
Please accept a severe criticism from me:
The following statement is inaccurate, misleading, and insulting. It is based on what’s perceived as best for a particular segment of the populatin and because of this, although I hate to say it, it is self-serving:
This week’s Kauai shutdown poses bigger problems for the entire state. When one island can make its own arbitrary decisions…”
Arbitrary?
Not at all!
There is logic, science, common sense, and good public health practices behind this.
If you want information that might help you understand better I will be happy to help you.
If you have only a commercial goal and are not interested in learning, I will understand.
I am willing to meet you half way if you want serious conversation. I have been reading these newsletters for the last few months with growing concern as I used to admire you and your views.
Phyllis
You are 100% wrong. NO other state is shutting down to this degree and to think this is solely a medical/scientific decision is just naive. You have to balance the economic issues with the medical. 14 day quarantine… That is longer than the CDC has in place now. The original testing plan made sense. But right now, you are killing the economy and there is no evidence what is proposed actually is working. So please, just stop because you don’t know what you’re talking about.
There is this trend of people, especially of a certain political bent, to keep evoking the word Science . Science is merely a process. Science may provide some answers (beyond statistics) about this or other viruses, but Science does not make public policy decisions. Governments do.
Science does not require Kauai to shut down. If public policy is take absolutely no risks, then OK, shut everything down. Including cars. We’ve had a number of vehicular deaths and serious injuries on Kauai over the past couple of years, and yet Mayor Anger Management (TM) has not ordered all the roads closed. Why not?? SCIENCE says that would save lives.
Obviously different people have different risk tolerances. But you don’t get difference Science.
Second most abused: “studies say ….”
Kauai has 11 ICU beds! If you ……..then there’s no need trying to explain.
The decision to change the requirement that a negative Covid result must be in hand was a big change already. Then to add the change to Kauai going backwards to quarantine after all the efforts the people and businesses took to get there! so soon after first change! Not smart leadership. Also it seems that many cases are from residents returning. Tourists mostly keep to themselves. Residents come back and mingle with their loved ones and friends which causes more spread.
Getting Oahu, Hawaii, Maui and Kauai to agree to one clear cohesive plan seems harder than getting a jury of 12 to agree on a verdict. Come on Hawaii, wake up and smell the plumeria. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
People should vote with their wallets. Hawaii has Plenty of great options other than Kauai… especially now. Sure, stupidly, many public and organized things are still closed on all the islands. But as they say, “outside is free”–and even dumbest mayors and governors can’t change the weather or restrict access to the ocean. Not just now–but going forward–people should just stop going to Kauai at all if they don’t need to. Let drown in their own stupidity over there. There’s plenty of fun to be had on the other islands. The airlines could also play a little chicken with the mayors and tell them if they don’t get their shit together and work together to make it affordable, easy–yet still reasonably safe–for vistors to fly to their specific island–they simply won’t fly to that island for the next six months.
I can’t speak for all of the counties but on the big island, for the past 9 months months, basically the county employees have just been busily re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. They’d chain up the beach parks–and have police writing tickets to white skinned people going through the parks to (legally) get to the ocean… but still had the county landcaping crews cutting and edging the park grass every few days. I’d see empty buses driving up and down my street all day–with not a soul on them–and other county employees constantly and endlessly spraying down outdoor like bus stops and traffic crossing and signal buttons and public benches–despite there being a 14 day qurantine for all new arrivals–and essentially Zero cases and Zero deaths most of the year. A complete waste of time, money, and resources.
Imagine if they had spent even One Tenth of that time, money, and resources trying to make it safe and easy for visitors and locals to travel to and from the islands–instead of disinfecting outside that no one ever even touches–for months and months after the CDC confimed that the virus rarely spreads from touch.
We were leaving for kauai today with our grandchildren. Had taken all precautions necessary, masks,covid tests…
(don’t suppose the mayor of kauai wants to reimburse me 500.00 for covid tests!) then requirements are changed again. We understand there is a pandemic but wish things could have been different. Maybe more notice instead of the few days we had, don’t know what the answer is but we will be holding off any trips to hawaii for awhile. Time to explore the mainland in our rv! Hope to get back when things settle. We will miss your paradise!
What happened to you was on my mind when they started this
Like you I wanted to know if someone in my party of 4 failed right before take off who was going to reimburse me for lodging and the expensive tests ?
I passed on Hawaii First time in 20 years we won’t be going !
Insanity rules the day , while government employees get paid the people will starve
Aloha and happy travels !
thank you for your consistent updates. My wife and I have been here (Hawaii) for a week. AND safe travel hawaii site as of today Is Still saying pending verification! Had we not had paper print outs we would have been in trouble. We both got random covid test on arrival to Kona and uploaded those results to the site as requested. The site still, as of today says “verification in process.” Website failure. We fortunately kept the paper copies of all test results as they are required for the various places we are staying who say they must see the saft travel approval. We were fortunate and hope being forewarned you will be also.
Hi Arthur.
Thank you. We appreciate you sharing your experience. Enjoy the Big Island.
Aloha.
Mid November cancelled 2 hours before flight time since family had not received CVS “Trust Partner” results. Did not want to risk a lengthy quarantine. (Thank goodness, the “Trusted Partner” CVS results came on day 6!)
Made a last minute switch to Palm Desert. Had a great time, golf, pools, dinning, everything but a beach. Spent many thousands in Palm Desert instead of Hawaii.
P.S. – Hey Trusted Partner CVS, when do I get my $500 back? I know – never! CVS – you knew you could not deliver results in 72 hours, but you took my money anyway! CVS is a rip off and I never plan to shop there again!
We canceled our annual September trip. We were supposed to have departed again on December 2nd and canceled once again. We still have a trip scheduled for mid February to Maui, but am increasingly doubtful that will happen either. Even with a vaccine I doubt the Hawaiian craziness will subside.
We love Hawaii, but this is just nuts. Life where we are has pretty much returned to normal except for everyone wearing face masks. Stores are open. Restaurants are open.
Get on with your life. Wear a mask and wash your hands. It’s not that hard.
But also, how many people were exposed to Covid-19 by the returning residents who knew they were positive and boarded the plane anyway. They are despicable and selfish people.
Mahalo to BOH.
Hi Ed.
We hope you’ll be able to return to Maui as planned. Thanks.
Aloha.
We will be canceling our whole 2 week vacation for January 9 to the 23rd. We thought we would stay longer if things worked out. We would have visited Hawaii, Kauai, and possibly Maui. So sad to not be going!!
We booked our travels to Kauai before the 14-day mandatory quarantine, Kiwi will not refund our flights. It’s very unfortunate. We normally travel to Hawaii two times a year. There are so many uncertainties now. More importantly, it’s tragic for the Hawaiian economy.
We own a vacation rental and live on Kauai and we just spent close to $30,000 renovating our condo during the initial 14 day quarantine down time… opened our condo and instantly had some rentals… All of which have cancelled so we are on the hook for more months of Zero renters. Our story isn’t nearly as sad as the people being laid off but I can’t imagine the people who’s primary income Is based on their rental units… how are they paying their mortgages? Most people who own multiple condos/ houses do so by leveraging debt… but with no income it’s just All debt which could bring the Real Estate market down quite a bit as foreclosures ramp up or sell offs start flying in.
Shutting down again was just a power play by our Mayor trying to make a name for himself and has nothing to do with safety. We have Zero people in the hospital at this point. If this was about safety he would say Clearly “When we are back to 0 positive cases” or “as long as we can maintain <5 people in the hospital for Covid related issues". What he's saying is he hopes to hide from it until it magically goes away? He's playing politics with peoples lives.
Maybe some people on Kauai should not have voted for Trump.
We had over 3 weeks reserved in January on Kauai, Maui and Kona. We love Hawaii and go every year now that we are retired. We’ve canceled Kauai and Kona and just rescheduled Maui to early March and insured our trip. The testing situation is too dicey and stressful at the current time for us to even think of traveling to Maui next month. We will reassess our decision as March gets closer.
Thank you for continuing to keep your subscribers up to date on Hawaii travel. My husband and I returned from a 12 night wonderful vacation from Kauai on November 19th. We stayed at two different Bonvoy properties in Poipu and everything was great. People wore their masks on hotel property, at shopping centers, at restaurants before they ate, etc. It was a very enjoyable, almost normal feeling, Kauai vacation. Small businesses like Anuenue, Fish Express, The Tasting Room,etc. were grateful to have our business and thankful to be open for business. One business mentioned that they didn’t think they could survive another shut-down. The shut-down is out of line. Bring a Mercy Ship to the islands if ICU beds are such a concern. I also don’t think a mandatory 14-day quarantine without a negative test result upon arrival is unreasonable. We traveled to Aruba in September and Kauai in November and were required to test before both trips. We were able to meet the deadlines and have all our paperwork in order to travel…it just takes a little organization and diligence! My two cents, all islands need to stay Open and require a Negative test result upon arrival…no exceptions! We tested through a private lab when we traveled to Aruba and through Kaiser when going to Kauai, both without issue. Get it together people and more importantly get it together Hawaii!
Hi Patricia,
We are plans for Maui Dec30th at the Sheraton Black Rock. Do you mind if I ask how many days before your flight you scheduled your Kaiser tests? We will be using Kaiser in the Sacramento area. Thank you!
After a hellish year, my family was looking forward to some relaxing on Oahu over the holidays. But with the stress of possibly not getting covid test results back in the 72 hour window and who-knows-what closures and business availability we may find once we get there, we decided it’s not worth the risk financially and health-wise.
Much love to the islands. I hope your (and mainland) politicians can get organized and see us through this asap.
It’s not worth the gamble for us to book another trip to Hawaii, with all this uncertainty. We are retired and have been there many times and always enjoyed our stays. After reading some comments how many Hawaiians actually feel about visitors. I don’t think we will be returning to your islands. Hawaii has lost all it’s appeal to us.
My wife and I still have reservations for early March after postponing an October trip. I’m figuring we will have to postpone again … Which will cost us more once again. While we love Hawaii, I wish we had chosen to go somewhere else. I don’t like thinking that we may get our trip ruined at the last minute by rule changes or late test results beyond our control.
We are scheduled to go to Kona in January. With all of this going on – the changes, the rules, the testing – we are trying to decide whether to keep it or postpone, at a cost of over $5,000 that we would lose!! The rules need to be the same for the State of Hawai’i – not each individual island.
We have reservations at Marriott Waiohai June 18- July 2, 2021, can you provide any insights regarding what regulations might be required by then like proof of vaccination or just a negative test?
Thanks,
Jim H.
Hi Jim.
It is simply far too early to know.
Aloha.
Yes! We had a two week vacation planned for December 19 through January 2; one week on Kauai and one week on Maui. We decided to cancel the entire trip due to the uncertainties. Everything bought and payed for last year. We were looking forward to this trip since we had to cancel our June trip. The one plus that takes some of the sting out of our disappointment, is seeing all of that already spent money flow back into my bank account. Maybe June 2021 will happen but not getting my hopes up.
Hi. I hope this finds you well. Wife and I are scheduled to go to Kauai Jan 8th and stay at an Aibnb, rent a car, do tourist stuff etc. Now we don’t know. Really bummed. Hang in there Hawaii, we will be back
Hi guys!
Mahalo, again, for your amazing job of reporting updates on “As the stomach turns”.
Question: Does anyone know if Hawai’i has distributed all/or any of the money from the CARES act?
Seriously, this is horrific. I honestly think it’s time for the Federal Government to step in and help Governor Ige fish or cut bait.
Unbelievable mess.
Hawai’i and her people deserve better than this.
Aloha
Hi Pam.
We aren’t certain, so will let someone else comment on the CARE money. You always being a smile to us. Thanks.
Aloha.
Pam
Yes the state of Hawaii is using CARES monies. The use of CARES monies changes daily. I know it’s being used for schools, unemployment insurance, National Guard, covid testing programs and in the hospitals. I’m sure there are other uses too. Josh Green has commented several times about CARES monies not being used in an expedient way.
Wow my predictions are all coming true about attacking tourists and endless random restrictions ending with financial meltdown for the state.
Im not suprised at all but was hoping i would be wrong when I started making these comments back in April. Hawaii has largest unemployment and homelessness in the entire usa, yet they want to protect every life from covid. It just doesn’t add up at all.
And the suicide rate and domestic violence rates are probably way up too. Probably more deaths from these than the covid issue. Hawaii is just way way way too extreme and will not get its act together.
It would be better to have no restrictions at all like South Dakota and Sweden than what they are doing now. Death rate in those places is about the same as the rest if usa.( And yes i have checked the statistics. )
People should probably try to vacation elsewhere just for their own wellbeing and sanity. Even when covid is over i feel like Hawaii has put the nail in the coffin for tourism and publicly humiliated themselves. The economic and social situation in hawaii is not good. I know that the carribean and Florida or cancun is looking good to me right now vs hawaii. Theres also San Diego and south texas beaches and mexico
Ah, you checked the numbers? Where? North Dakota and South Dakota have the highest rate of COVID cases in the county by population. 107K and 95K per million respectively. Also, Sweden has seen the error of its ways. In Nov. they announced restrictions by area and limited gatherings to fewer than 8 people. “the Swedish ambassador in Washington, stressed that widespread trust in the country’s public agencies meant that most Swedes would voluntarily heed social distancing guidelines. Sweden’s robust social safety net and enhanced paid sick leave, she argued, would help ensure more Swedes would stay home if they felt symptoms or feared contracting the virus at their workplaces.” These are all things that the Right-wing in this country hates, which would make implementing the Swedish Model more difficult here. For example, if we would all just wear masks when in public, we could turn down the rate of spread and open up more businesses. But because of the politicization of mask-wearing in the US, fewer than 1/2 of us wear masks. Compare that to, say Spain, where it’s over 95% saying they always do, and another 2% say they frequently do. The current surge peaked at the beginning of Nov, and is now down to pre-Oct. levels and continuing to trend downward. So, all that being said, the lockdowns are necessary for this country, because people simply won’t do the Other things that are needed to get this more under control. So if you’re looking for someone to blame for the lockdowns, the bad economy, etc. just look at those people who aren’t wearing masks, not social distancing, and still gathering in bars and restaurants or having large family gatherings without masks, etc. Add to that our so-called “leaders” who refuse to take this seriously and model the proper behavior and that leaves few options beyond lockdowns.
Please continue your coverage even though it is depressing to see the sad state of the islands’ politics and the damage it is doing to your tourism.
We were planning a trip to Maui for the spring break but will shelve that until the fall. This depends on how the vaccination roll out is (mis)handled.
This is such a sad situation, especially on Kauai. I had a 2 week trip planned for the end of the year to Kauai. For weeks I stressed about whether to cancel or not. Once I finally gave up & canceled the trip, I’m now looking at spending my travel dollars elsewhere
Hawaii is digging it’s own grave. No one wants to spend thousands of dollars on a gamble. As much as we love our yearly trips, we have decided to go elsewhere from now on. There are too many other places to visit. I see nothing but headaches and massive layoffs for the people. Not sure if the islands will ever recover.
yes they will recover! Hawaii has been a paradise long before tourist
Well, I am sorry for all the working people on Kauai. We have cancelled 3 times to go to our timeshare on Kauai, and were charged $600 additional to move all three weeks into 2021. I just received my maintenance fee bill for the first quarter. I am inclined to tell them to keep it. I don’t think we will go in 2021, and possibly never go back. I have a lot of money invested in it, and have thought of renting it, but who wants to jump through the hoops to even try? We have to move on.
I visit Kona or Kauai every year. This was the first year I decided to wait until after the islands were back to “normal.” I pray for all the Hawaiian residents on all the islands, that they will be able to persevere through these confusing times.
Thank you for keeping us updated.
Hi Gwen.
Thank you. We hope you’ll be back again soon!
Aloha.
We have a trip scheduled to Maui on 12/30. Not hearing much about what’s happening there. Can you please give any updates on how things are going on Maui, especially Ka’anapali & Lahaina? Thank you! Mahalo, Suzanna G
Hi Suzanna.
We don’t have any updates on Maui at this time. Others have reported many Lahaina businesses aren’t open. Perhaps those there could give us a further hand with your question.
Aloha.
We were scheduled on Kauai for the first 2 weeks of Jan but changed in November to 2 weeks in May on Maui. Now I am debating whether to keep those reservations or find somewhere else to go. I do not feel confident that they will have a solution in place by then.
Aloha
I just cancelled my December reservation. I know that reservations are cancelling left and right and people are telling me they will not come back to Kauai. Tiki Iniki restaurant is closing. They are one of many. Friends on the island are telling me merchants are crying and unable to stay open. It’s pretty dire.
It is a very sad state of affairs with so few sick. At least with pretesting you knew who was sick or not. With quarantine you should assume everyone is positive.
“Tiki Iniki restaurant is closing.”
Michelle will be fine. But not her employees unless they keep getting enhanced unemployment benes. PV eats just opened dining back up, but I suspect they will shut back down to take out by next week. Is owned by Foodland, same with the new “upscale” market in Kilauea. Kalypso and Opakapaka said they are going to try and stay open, but I don’t see them lasting. Same with most-all of the restaurants in Hanalei. The Nui was closed when we drove by yesterday. Maybe was just a one day thing? Same with Hops and Taps in Kapa`a. Probably whatever was open in June/July will be what is still open by next week.
Small silver lining: they finally started the slope stabilization work on mauka side of Kuhio Hwy, just west of Kilauea. The traffic back ups if we had full tourist rental cars would be for miles in either direction. So, this will be a good time to get some of that work done.
Hello,
We are a family of 4, with young kids on the East coast. We want to visit Maui, Kauai and Big Island on 2 weeks. 5 days by islands.
It means for us 4 test during our vacation. If one of us don’t have a result, it change our vacations from Difficult dream to a nightmare…
With Kauai now closed… and us not visiting twice a place … we cancelled for the 2nd time this year.
We will try this spring but when I see how Hawaii manage this crisis … my hope is very low. That’s sad for you Hawaiian people …
That’s a lot of work and organization for me to re-re-book these island… (without talking of money wasted)
Sad… sad… sad…
Wish you all to finish well 2020 and hope for the best in 2021 !
Hi Stephane.
Thanks for your comments and this update. We hope you can return again soon.
Aloha.
Was scheduled to fly into Kauai on Thanksgiving, then flying over to Maui three weeks later for a month long stay there a total of 7 weeks. On Thursday before Thanksgiving I was notified by the resort I was booked, that if our COVID tests were still pending upon arrival I would not be permitted to stay at said resort. With all the unknown of getting our test results in a timely matter prior to departure and the quarantine, I cancelled the entire trip. At first the resort in Kauai (which I will not name) was not willing to refund my money as I had paid entire balance on October 25th once the islands had re-opened, they indicated that I was within 30 days of arrival and that was their policy. I got corporate involved and only then did the resort in Kauai agree to give me a full refund.
Thank you BOH for all your informative articles. Much aloha.
Hi Vicki.
Best to you too. Thanks for your update and we hope you can return again soon.
Aloha.
We currently have travel plans for March 24-April 8. 6 days on Oahu and 9 in Kauai. I am trying to change Kauai to Maui, presently. Everything I read makes me uneasy about keeping reservations for The Garden Isle. We will decide by the end of January if we will travel at all to Hawaii.
This latest mess has caused us to delay our winter trip (10 weeks) twice, then move it back twice and shorten it, and finally yesterday, cancel it altogether. Aloha.
I had planned on Kauai trip then decided to go to Maui but now i plain don’t trust the every daily changes and cannot plan a trip that may be postponed. while i can get my airfare back from what i’m reading getting accomodations back is next to impossible as owners are not easy to work with. good luck, and thanks for keeping us informed!
Hi Martin.
Thank you. We hope it still works out for your Maui travel plans, but understand if you decide to go elsewhere.
Aloha.