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.
Comments are closed.
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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.