Will this plan further deter visitors from visiting Kauai? Interesting read.
89 thoughts on “Kauai Proffers Its Own Reopening Plans, But Not So Fast…”
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Will this plan further deter visitors from visiting Kauai? Interesting read.
Comments are closed.
Succinctly put.
🤙🏼🏝😎
Watching your updates closely as we plan to visit Kauai in January. Thank you. ….fingers crossed.
Hi CHristie.
Thanks. We’ll continue to update this as it evolves.
Aloha
My husband and I have been coming to Hawaii since 1994. We have great respect and love for Hawaii, its people and culture. We are scheduled to come to Kauai on 10/30 for five weeks. I am happy to take covid tests, as many as necessary, but of course, they are only point in time tests. But, in my opinion, mask wearing and social distancing is the key, along with frequent hand washing. Many people just don’t do these things as a regular routine.
But, right now, I’m worried about the reception we will get from the local residents. Do you really not want us there? I don’t want to be where I’m not welcomed. This is important for us to know. Thanks for all your information and assistance.
Hi Brenda.
There haven’t been visitors here for a long time. How that will all work out is totally unclear, but our sense is that you will be fine and welcomed. It isn’t the same world it was when you were last here obviously.
Aloha
I hate to say this but for whatever it’s worth, I did have the experience of mentioning to a couple of locals in a park pavilion here that I had just returned from a same day medical appointment on Oahu. They have me major stink eye and immediately stood up and left. It was one of the most ignorant responses to anything that I’ve ever seen. Fortunately, I don’t think most will react negatively, but I do find that some of the less ignorant people here still basically share that attitude. I would recommend keeping the non local talk low key until you vibe out the mindset of whomever you are talking to a little. Hope it goes well for you. Aloha and mahalo. Brent
Hi Brent.
Thanks for your insightful comments.
Aloha.
Janice H.
Thank you for your comments. I’m relieved to know that we will find open and friendly locals! I agree that visitors who are rude and obnoxious can lead to negative views. There are always a few. We are not among that group. Deep respect for Hawaii.
Mahalo and Aloha
Aloha Brenda H, my sister in law is also a Brenda H and they live in Oregon. Speaking for myself, and my family… Attitudes are great, there is no resentment towards our visitors. However, negativity brought to the islands is never received well! If we all keep in mind that we are in this together, and that only together, will we be able to conquer it.
Kawakami has political ambitions and, being born and raised rich (his family was the owners of Big Save supermarkets here on Kauai prior to selling out to the Times), he has no instinctual empathy for the effects of restrictions. This is a perfect example. Four tiered systems are typically created when, as with Oahu currently, one is at the beginning tier 1, not already at the end tier 4, as is Kauai. The guy lives to make rules that he believes will curry favor for his political future. Unfortunately, like the vast majority of politicians, he doesn’t have any real understanding of the issues on his own. This allows for acts like our totally pointless curfew a while bac, when they tried to force me into an internment camp concentrated together with all the other homeless, for the safety of the decent members of our citizenry. Now this nonsense. He is simply determined to find some way to out restrict Ige to impress all the braindead, frightened, rules followers in his electorate. It has nothing to do with actual protection or even with legitimate virology. Thank you.
You are very right. I think Kawakami’s political ambitions and insulation from having to earn a living make him come up with all these hare brain ideas.I have been through 3 quarantines in Kauai April 1 through August 10th. During these visits I found out that 1) there are exempted individuals (e.g. all airline crews and construction workers commuting from Oahu and probably many others 2) any resident coming back quarantines at his or his relatives home where he has ample contact with them and the relatives can become the spreaders ( indeed this was how the largest number of Covid cases came into being on Kauai. As to visitors: way at the beginning ( March) there was one case at Mariott and none later. He is trying to get brownie points by blaming visitors. I have visited Kauai on the average 3 to 4 times a year since 1986 and my observation is that Kauai tourists are usually families who are very well behaved and respectful of both the locals and the environment and most of them are return visitors not interested in going to the other islands. Whenever I see a mess or a very noisy gathering at Poipu Beach it is from a local event and not from the tourists. I think if Kawakami has the guts he should come out and say I am closing the Island no matter what the governor says and I will deal with the exploding poverty of those who work in the tourist industry.
Thank you so much for providing all the updates in such a timely manner! Your site is the only Hawaii travel info site I use for up-to-date information.
Hi Alex.
Thanks for saying that.
Aloha.
Can you please explain your POV when asking “How can Garden Island-bound visitors safely plan, buy tickets, and pay for accommodations, etc., with any real prospect that between the time of their purchases and their actual arrival, they could become subject to an unacceptable 14-day quarantine?” Shouldn’t potential visitors who are traveling on vacation during a deadly pandemic have an understanding that this is a very real possibility no matter what today’s mandate is. If the numbers blow up a 14-day quarantine will kick back in, that is a reality. People traveling anywhere for vacation (vs business or family) during a deadly pandemic seems nuts to me. I understand “wanting” to leave it all behind, but this adds challenge to the lives of those at your destination area who now are responsible for you. If you were to come down with COVID as a result of riding on a plane with one or two or ten who perhaps already had the virus, you may require an ICU bed or Ventilator to save your life, but that is in very short supply (using Kauai as an example 9 for 70k+ residents). Traveling to destinations that are challenged by a shortage of health care just doesn’t seem like a win for anyone. Relating to any kind of travel guarantee…you simply aren’t going to get one, unless you can buy travel insurance. Do they still offer this during COVID?
Hi Jill.
Yes, you can still buy travel insurance, and cancel for any reason option provides the most flexibility.
Visitors just will not come with either a quarantine possibility, be it short or long, or separate rules by island.
Aloha.
Amen, we’ve been visiting for 25 years, but if there a chance we could end up spending half of our vacation stuck in our hotel room we’d rather stay home and watch it snow. It costs a lot to visit and 9 hours in the air wearing a mask, plus 4 hours in various airports, normally all worth it, but not to sit in a room you can’t leave only to have real expensive takeout delivered and everyone upset you’re there. Especially when you paid to have a negative covid test before you came and practiced safe guidelines for months to stay safe so you would remain negative! Mahalo!
Kauai should not open.
thanks
This new plan is pure insanity. As you said, “How can Garden Island-bound visitors safely plan, buy tickets, and pay for accommodations, etc., with any real prospect that between the time of their purchases and their actual arrival, they could become subject to an unacceptable 14-day quarantine?” Four confirmed cases would trigger the 14 day quarantine. No one is going to take that risk. This will effectively keep the island closed and businesses will continue to suffer.
Although Hawai’i is a small state the difference between Oahu and the neighbor islands is dramatic. Honolulu is a large international city with extensive medical resources. If you fall ill to a complex medical condition on a neighbor island it is standard procedure to transfer to either Oahu or a mainland hospital (if you have health care insurance). Opening up Oahu does not represent a major risks to Oahu residents as they have the medical resources to handle a surge in infections. Kauai does not. Dr Fauci clearly stated a second test was far superior to the Governor’s plan….which is obvious to everyone. Kauai has the second tests in hand and ready to distribute. Finally Kauai is in the process of changing marketing to pursue visitors who will stay longer and participate more fully in our environmental culture. Oahu and Maui are better organized to service the volume tourist trade. The Governor’s plan may be good for Oahu but represents a significant risk to neighbor island residents.
Succinctly put.
🤙🏼🏝😎
Mark W., couldn’t have stated the dilemma facing the neighbor islands better myself…mahalo