A Safety Net Just Announced May Help Avert Hawaii Vacation Disasters.
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Mahalo
Aloha. I sent a note to Governor Ige and some others and happy to share it with you but it is a word doc. The gist of it is this. From the East Coast or the Midwest it is almost impossible to accomplish getting to HI with anything but an 108 hour grace period before boarding the plane to HI. The only way around it is what this article talks about. Here is how it would have to work. You fly to the “designated city” you spend 2-3 nights there. Day 1 early flight to desig city on West Coast, take test. Clock begins after gets to lab. Day 2 test processes. Day 2 night results in or in AM of Day 3 and you enter them in system. Day 3 you wait for system to say good to go. Day 4- board plane. Unrelated but my question is what if you island hop? We are trying to come home to visit mom in Hilo, dad on Oahu and then chill on Maui. Mahalo
Hi Randy.
You will need to test before mainland departure, then test on Oahu before Maui. No test needed before travel to Oahu.
Aloha.
Randy,
You describe exactly what we did in early November. Traveled first from Wyoming to San Jose California on Friday Oct 30th. Took Vault tests Monday 10:30 am Nov 2nd, and dropped off at UPS store by noon. Got results late Tuesday Nov 3 (election day!); uploaded results and filled out Health Questionnaire morning of Wednesday 4th; results were immediately accepted, and we received the QR codes from the questionnaires being completed; Got on plane for your 9 am flight Thursday 5th.
The extra travel/expense involved is not insubstantial. Was not a problem for us, because we are able to combine with visiting many friends and family we have in SV area, but that is a deal breaker for anyone having only one week total available, since most all of it would be on west coast instead of on Hawaii.
As long as you have UPS store in reasonable distance, you should not have to do this just to make the three days, but you then have to trust Vault. For reasons expressed in these comments, that is gambling a bit.
Aloha David. The solution I ran through is the only one we could see happening but 3 nights in San Fran or LA or Vegas is not what we are trying to do so there is that. As a general comment for broader readers, there are many points of failure and that is the problem. From East Coast, many airlines have stopped non stop from airports to West Coast- that adds time. From what I have seen on the back end, there is no assurance of timeline once you put your negative result into the SafeTravels app, so website suggests 24 hours- that adds time. The squeeze is simply too much when squeezed from both sides of the trip. Many many issues and it is not just about the new mandate of having a test before you take off- that actually makes a lot of sense to us, but the 72 hour has to be extended. We calculated 108 hours which was Day 1 Test- Days 2,3,4 test process. Day 5 Put into SafeTravel App and fly to West Coast hoping app is updated when you land. Day 6 fly to Hawaii. (This is normal for East Coast 2 days to fly to HI). So HI either extends hours or East Coast is shut out of Hawaii- unless you plan 3 days on West Coast before HI.
Are they going to get more travel partners not located on the west coast? We are on a direct flight from Chicago and there is nothing other than CVS and Walgreens, which often take longer than 72 hours, to accommodate people not on the West coast.
Aloha Stephanie
We live in AZ (from IL) and got our rapid test at Walgreen’s. We had results in less than an hour. A quick search of participating stores shows several in the greater Chicago area. Just be sure to choose rapid test locations. You can easily back time the 72 hours with a direct flight. Pomaika’i
I could say so much but here is my advice after the experience my family had after reading every forum, being from Seattle and being uber prepared.
1) Use Carbon Health if testing in Seattle/Flying out with Alaska. They get you results under 24 hours. I got mine in 12. Lots of appointments daily and last minute as of the 22nd of November. Clearly Alaska wants travelers and doesn’t want testing to stop that.
2) Be careful with Vault! We ordered 4 tests and sent them back 80 hours before we flew (yes, not 72 hours because Vault has an exception to the time stamp so you can test Thursday morning even if you are flying out Sunday evening- that part had me worried that our tests would be rejected, but I was assured they would not)
*WRITE “STAT HAWAII” on the inside box not just on the shipping bag (we were told it didn’t matter.. BUT, 3 of my family wrote it on the inside and outside and got their results in less then 24 hours) My results they couldn’t find a result and assured me they be there Saturday night. They did not come. When Sunday morning came we had to rush to find a testing site (Carbon Health!!) for my test which wouldn’t come till the next day.
3) If one in your party has a delayed test do not travel with them! You will all be subjected to quarantine! Better option is to ask the airline to change your ticket and travel when your result comes. That is what we did and they helped us for free since we had done everything right and the testing company messed up. THANK YOU ALASKA AIRLINES!!!!
4) Argue for your money back for missing tests. Vault was at least apologetic and paid for all 4 of our tests since it caused such a hassle.
I thought I’d posted this already so apologies if this is a duplicate…
IF you are traveling over Christmas or New Years… Be very diligent in your homework regarding testing as even the 24/7 shop at Vault is not working full days and UPS’s shipping schedule is limited. (Vault’s website has infinite detail on monitored calls, lab hours and even UPS shipping.) (Azova doesn’t work on Saturday and Sunday anyway and Christmas and New Years are on Fridays.)
We’ve actually moved our trip out two weeks because we couldn’t see how we could get tested on time for a 12/27 departure. (We have no access to Rapid Results testing.)
I tried to schedule testing in Las Vegas for our return Hawaiian Airlines flight back home to Hawaii in 3/9, and received message that no appointments available. (At airport). Now what?
If you truly mean your travel is March 9, I doubt very much any appointments would be available yet. If I misread your comment and you can provide accurate date, I’ll be happy to give suggestions.
It’s not mentioned that the test in Culver City is $90 per person. But with that said, the security of knowing that it will be done on time and accepted when I arrive in HI is worth it.
Hi Carole,
It’s pricey to travel during a pandemic both for your heath and the health of those around you, not to mention your wallet.
Please help us keep the islands safe by quarantining in LA as well in before your flight and wearing a mask and distancing form others as much as possible in flight. Also, when in the islands please take a post travel test to continue to ensure the safety of the islands along with wearing our masks and following state & county guidelines.
Thank you for your diligent work in keeping us updated!
Hi Diane.
Thanks for saying that.
Aloha.
I commend Hawaiian Air and others who may be proactive in trying to save their businesses. But it doesn’t make much difference because the HI government is still unpredictable and inconsistent in their actions. As long as the target keeps moving, visitors can’t effectively plan a vacation to HI.
It is a start. Does not answer problem of people who do not live in the four areas served. It means a 2 day lay over. Because of this, I have cancelled my 2 months on the islands. Maybe see you next year!