Tips, essential Rules, latest changes. Save Time and avoid Worry. What to know before traveling to Hawaii.
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595 thoughts on “Revised November 2021 Guide to Hawaii Travel During COVID”
Tips, essential Rules, latest changes. Save Time and avoid Worry. What to know before traveling to Hawaii.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
I’m probably not the only person trying to schedule a pre-travel COVID test at a CVS on Mon., June 7. The CVS reservation system is showing NO appts available that entire day at ANY location I tried (even randomly tried Chicago – I’m in Ohio). That day’s not a holiday (right?). I called the CVS Minute Clinic 866-389-2727 line & they don’t know why it’s blocked out. If anyone has any info or success scheduling for that day, please share. Thanks.
Could it be that you’re scheduling too far in advance? Walgreens told me that the window to schedule is 3 days prior to when one needs to take the test. So if I’m flying on a Friday, the earliest I could test would be on Tuesday. The earliest I could schedule an appointment would be on Saturday online. I hope this makes sense and helps you.
To close the loop on this issue, it appears CVS has fixed the June 7 scheduling problem I encountered.
Hello there 🙂
Traveling to Maui in 2 weeks. Can you please confirm if the Walgreens Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID NOW) is acceptable for travel to Maui?
Thank you!!
Hi Cynthia.
It is our understanding that yes it is accepted. The state is the ultimate authority and the Hawaii Safe Travels help desk is at 855-599-0888.
Aloha.
hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/
Walgreens – Available by appointment at walgreens.com/covid19testing. There are no out of pocket costs for eligible individuals ages 3 years or older that meet CDC criteria. Either the Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID NOW) or the Diagnostic Lab Test (PCR) will be accepted.
Taken from the above website, assumed to be correct. Have not talked to anyone in person. There is a different antigen based Rapid Test (Binax?) that is not accepted.
Thanks, mahalo for keeping this site up to date. This has been my go to site since we 1st were married on Oahu in ’89 and when we came back to visit. Now we live on Oahu and I still love chwcking your site for info.
Mahalo
Many/most of the Trusted Partners for COVID testing seem to be west coast based. Has anyone successfully completed testing in Michigan? Does anyone know which of these Partners offer testing in Michigan?
STAN L… You are correct, However, check hawaiianairlines.com/covid-test-options to see what is available in your departure city. (You don’t have to be flying Hawaiian.) Vault Health offers on line testing anywhere in the US and will expedite for Hawaii travel.(You can order your kit at any time – we already have our for July.) And some states, such as ours, offer Vault testing for any reason at no charge. CVS does show Covid testing in Michigan on their website (since I didn’t know where you live, I didn’t explore further). Walgreen’s shows over 100 locations, about 80% of which have the “red dot” (Rapid Results testing offered). I stopped counting at 100. You have far more options that I – we have to drive 7 hours and an extra overnight to get Rapid Results testing unless we’re willing to take the 72 hour risk. There isn’t a single CVS or Walgreens in our entire state that offers Rapid Results testing – regular testing, yes, but not Rapid!
Hawaiian has no departures from Michigan. I only learned of the Walgreens Rapid (ID Now) test being acceptable after posting. I plan to inquire at my local Walgreens today. Thanks.
We’re from Traverse City and use Vault. Mail in test, we had our results emailed within 30 hours. Would use Vault again.
Hi Daniel.
Thank you! We appreciate both the nice words and loyal readers like you.
Aloha.
I highly recommend Vault for testing. We had our results back the next day.
Try Walgreens or CVS if you have either near by. My daughter and family got tested at a Walgreens in Wisconsin
This has been most frustrating process and we would have not considered Hawaii if we knew all of this was expected. My family has to pay $600 for tests and that’s a whole lot of money that Hawaii won’t see!
Please, what are the covid rules for a fully vaccinated (in Miami, USA) air passenger who has a few hour layover in Honululu until the onward flight to Sydney, Australia?
Thank you for any help that you can provide. Regards, Richard B
Hi Richard.
We suggest checking with the airline. As far as we know, you will not need to meet any requirements in Honolulu so long as you remain in transit at the airport.
Aloha.
Aloha,
I have a 51 minute layover on Oahu on my way to Guam, and a 64 minute layover on my return trip. Do I need COVID tests going to Guam and/or coming back from Guam? I am fully vaccinated.
Mahalo.
Hi Jeff.
Vaccinations don’t matter yet. For your other questions, it appears you would be complying with the Guam rules so long as you remain in transit in Honolulu. To determine if that is the case, we suggest you call the Hawaii Safe Travels help desk at 855-599-0888.
Aloha.
I am traveling to Oahu on June 6 and then to Kauai on June 8 early morning. If I had a test done in California through a trans-pacific trusted partner on June 6, would that still work for the Kauai leg if it falls within 72 hr.?
Just confirming if I am reading the rules correctly. Obviously before I leave the mainland I will need a negative Covid test 72 hours from departure. We will be on the Big Island for one week and then fly to Maui for a 2nd week. Do we have to get another negative Covid test on the Big Island before flying to Maui? Thanks for any input/advice. trip in in 3 weeks.
Hi Greg.
Yes you’ll need another test, as it stands today.
Aloha.
Thank you for always being so informative! Testing question that I can’t seem to get clarification elsewhere: My family & I are traveling mainland to Hawaii in about 6 weeks (3 of us are vaccinated by our local county health dept, & 1 is too young for vaccine). We are first staying on Oahu for about +/-72 hours, then traveling to Kauai for the remainder. We will obviously take a pre-travel test 72 hrs before our flight to Oahu. Then with Kauai’s current inter-island travel requirements, will we need to test again in Honolulu at some point before travel to Kauai? Or if we schedule our flight to Kauai “right” (staying in Honolulu less than 72 hrs) can we take one more test within 72 of the flight to LIH, which could be before we leave our initial departure city? Or do we HAVE to test in Honolulu since we are spending some time there, even if under 72 hrs? This is totally stressing me out & I don’t want to do it wrong & jeopardize our trip! Thanks much for any guidance you may have!
Hi Rebecca.
Your six weeks from now trip may well see changes to the rules, so perhaps wait a bit to see what unfolds. As of now, you would be required to take an additional test on Oahu before flying to Kauai. There would not be a way to have that test taken on the mainland.
Aloha.
Captain Obvious here,
If you can reverse the order of the islands you are visiting, then you would not need the second test. Go to Kauai first. Then go to Oahu. No test required to travel from Kauai to Oahu (at least there wasn’t any required when I made that same trip back in February). Otherwise, once you leave the airport on Oahu, it is considered a separate trip needing a separate test to get to Kauai to avoid being locked up for 10 days locked up at the Tip Top.
I travelled from Honolulu to Maui 5/23/21. We were not cleared at the airport before departing for Maui.When we arrived in Maui we had to wait in line to show our QR code and I.D. before we could go to baggage claim. It was a long wait. They were short staffed, iPad cameras did not work to take a picture of QR code. Then we had to place our I.D. On a piece of paper and take a photo of our I.D.’S so we could exit the airport. We rented a car and had to pull up our proof of negative COVID test at the car rental counter. There is no WiFi and AT&T cell phone carrier does not pull up easily. If you can’t show proof of negative test you can’t rent a car. Cars are renting for $100.00 plus a day. The process is faulty. If we had shown our QR code in Honolulu before boarding for departure to MAUI and been given the wrist band the process in Maui would have been much smoother. Also know that you MUST test 72 hrs before you travel inter island. NO EXCEPTIONS. You will be detained. Three passengers did not follow protocol and they caused a big delay for everyone else. If you aren’t a patient person you might rethink travel to Hawaii for now.
If I haven’t gotten my covid-19 test results back by the time I board the plane and get the results after the plane has landed, will I still have to stay quarantined for 10 days? If I am quarantined and get the results of the covid-19 test while I am quarantined will I be able to go outside or still have to stay inside?
If you don’t get your results in time to upload them prior to boarding your flight, do NOT board that flight, because you will just have to immediately fly back to the mainland OR spend the next 10 days locked in a room at your (significant) expense. It does not matter if your test results come back negative, or if you are vaccinated. Hawaii does not care. Once you board the plane without them, you are doomed.
Aloha!
I believe you will be in 10 days quarantine. Perhaps I am incorrect but that is how has been. Do not board without your results. Schedule a quicker test.
Can you please confirm that Walgreens’ ID NOW rapid test is indeed an acceptable test to get in order to go to Hawai’i? Mahalo.
Hi Lesa.
As others have reported, yes it is.
Aloha.
Hi – my wife and I have a 3-hour layover at OGG. Do you know if we need to have a test? We will not be leaving the airport. Thank you!!
Hi Colin.
You should not need an additional test so long as you remain in the airport and in transit.
Aloha.
Is rite aid pcr testing approved to go to Hawaii?
Thank you so much for the article! My family of 4 is traveling to Oahu on June 1. The second portion of our from is from SLC to HNL leaving SLC at 11:59am on June 1. Would the earliest we can all get tested at Walgreens be on May 29th at 12:00pm? Also, what if the flight departs a little early or is delayed. How does that affect things?
Hi Jeremy.
The within 72 hours rule is based on the scheduled departure time. So as long as you work with that, you should be fine if the flight is early or late.
Aloha.
Please put me on your email list
Hi Deb.
Happy to have you. It is a self-service subscription and the link is here: https://beatofhawaii.com/subscribe.
Aloha.
Hi there! We are flying to Kona, on the 3rd day we are flying to Honolulu for 12 hours and back to Kona. I know we don’t need to have a negative test to go to oahu but we need one to go back to Kona. Can we test in Kona prior to our Day excursion or does the test have to be from Oahu on the day we are there? Thanks!
Hi Michelle.
Good question, and unfortunately we aren’t sure of the answer. The county website says, “Inter-county travelers to Hawai’i County may bypass the mandatory 10-day quarantine if they they take an FDA-approved Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from TRUSTED TESTING AND TRAVEL PARTNERS up to 72 hours prior to departure, and the traveler receives a negative result. Inter-county travelers to Hawai’i County may also break quarantine and elect to get a post-arrival test from a trusted partner. This would require the traveler to remain in quarantine until the negative test is reported and verified.
So there’s no mention of where the pre-test needs to take place.
Aloha.
Hello I’ll be traveling to Honolulu in June and I want to make sure I schedule my Covid test at the correct time. I depart from Oakland Airport at 9:20 I do have a layover in Kauai for an hour and my flight leaves at 1:10 for Oahu. I’m so confused on what time I should get my test. Do I schedule my test at after 9:20 or after 1:10. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Hi Priscilla.
It is with 72 hours of your trans Pacific flight.
Aloha.
Hi, coming to your beautiful state in June. Travel plans include staying on the big island and then going to Oahu for an overnight stay. Do we need to test before going to Oahu? and do we need a test before coming back to Kona? Please advise. thanks
Hi Jessica.
As of today’s rules, you will need to test before returning from Honolulu to Kona. Not when traveling from Kona to Honolulu.
Aloha.
I am flying from Guam to San Francisco with a 2 hour layover in Honolulu.
Will I be required to have a COVID test for Honolulu?
I will not be leaving the airport.
All this is way too complicated with each of island having different requirements. We filled out the safe travels with proper covid test and flew into Honolulu on Tuesday. Sat. We flew to Maui and we’re informed we needed an additional test back on Honolulu before we could enter we had to rush around and get a flight back to Honolulu get tested get a hotel and flight back to Maui at a substantial cost. Irony was we had to stand in line three times with hundreds of travels from all over the world to make sure we were safe. How can that be safe? Never coming back.
Jim A -I am dumbfounded that people traveling to Hawaii right now aren’t able to figure out that it is hard for a reason and our state is being careful because we can be overwhelmed quickly, healthcare wise. Those same people stomp their keyboard feet when they haven’t done the proper research themselves and then scream “never coming back” as some sort of threat to our existence if you don’t return (like the people of Hawaii care if you don’t come back – we don’t, there are plenty of others that will). I hope you can find travel somewhere that doesn’t care about it’s residents or ability to care for them, so you can vacation freely. Aloha!
Hello,
Thank you so much for the information. My husband and I are hoping to fly from San Francisco or San Jose depending on flights, however wanted to confirm. If we’re flying into Kauai and have a negative COVID test and decide to visit Honolulu about 4 days later, would we need another test to enter Honolulu? We were considering this since there are more flight options in flying home from Honolulu. I tried researching and emailing online and couldn’t find any direct answers. Please advise, thank you so much!
Hi Linda.
No test is required flying from Kauai to Honolulu.
Aloha.
The CDC (echoed by the US President reading a teleprompter) announces: “Fully vaccinated people can travel without pre-testing and go mask-less indoors and outdoors (except on the airplane because reasons)”
Hawaii government says “Fully vaccinated people will be locked up in a hotel room at their own expense for ten days unless they pre-test from a limited list of often expensive providers and get results all within 72 hours of flying … and even then must still wear masks out on the beach (because reasons)”
Aloha Hawaiian Bro’s of the Mask
First there was the Mask, then The Son of the Mask, coming to theaters on June 15th, The CDC’s you don’t need a Mask if you’re vaccinated.
Not quite a Star Wars trilogy, but ok.
The next trilogy will start with Revenge of the Double Maskers!
Lmao!!! Thanks for this. I needed a good laugh!!!!!!
No, part 3 will be “The Revenge of the Variants” because we earthlings fight over masking for way too long and the Virus was able to stick around long enough to mutate. We earthings are a low-intelligent species, easy to get into non-essential spats over things like masking, and the species is so easy to overwhelm.
This is not going to go over well with the forever-maskers, aka “vaxer-maskers.”
I envision new virtual-signaling lawn signs with, “In this house, we all wear two masks, even in the shower”
In your Island by Island section above you note for regulations specific to interisland travel to Kauai, “a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival is required (fully vaccinated Hawaii residents are exempted)”. Should the negative test be administered within 72 hours of arrival or departure? We’ll be traveling to Kauai through Honolulu after being in Maui for about a week. We currently have appointments for COVID tests in Maui within a 72 hour window of our departure form Maui to Kauai. If we need to consider our arrival time in Kauai, we’ll need to move our appointments to later times. Please advise.
Hi Aaron.
Per County of Kauai: “Within 72 hours of departing to Kauai.”
Aloha.
on the Safe travels site it says you must do daily Check ins…is this still true?
I hope the gov will announce that people that travel from the mainland wont have to quarantine and testing with the covid19 vaccine in
June or July
.p.s keep me updated
Thank you
Curious if I am understanding correctly. Took a test today that is supposed to be back to me with results in 72 hours. If for some reason it is pending when I arrive, the results should be to me within hours of arrival! What would happen then?
Thanks!
Hi Paige.
If you don’t have the results when you arrive you will be in quarantine and, unfortunately, getting results later will not change that.
Aloha.
So, yeah, essentially the same song and dance as a year ago. Back in December, Ige announced a $1.4 BILLION budget shortfall every year for the NEXT FOUR YEARS due largely to his shoddy, fear-vs-fact-based handling of the COVID situation. And yet… STILL… they erect road block after road block after road block to prevent a quick and safe tourism recovery–not to mention the return of unfettered travel between the islands and the mainland by local Hawaiin residents–which also costs the state millions in revenue. (I haven’t been back to my house on the big island since September. I spend thousands of dollars monthly when I’m there. And I’m just one of MANY thousands of part-time residents that haven’t been back for months.
I’m sure somewhere on every island right now there’s also a crew of over-paid county employees driving around aimlessly, needlessly disinfecting park benches and bus stops and handrails… just like they were a year ago–despite the science that has proven that to be pointless and useless. Unless the local voting population finally votes the ignorant bums that run the state out of office at the next election, Hawaiians will just keep living in a failed state… with billions and billions of dollars in new public debts to pay for.
They don’t follow science in Hawaii. It’s not in the school curriculum
Aloha BOH Bro’s
Funniest line in the article: “Currently, the state has not finalized its plan for how and when Hawaii travel for vaccinated visitors will start” hahaahha
Anybody, surprised by this, anybody?
Shout out to the vaccinated, thanks for being part of the largest clinical study in the history of the world. Especially to those of you who got vaccinated thinking you’d avoid the 72hr Hawaiian covid travel pretest.
Another shout out to the CDC who put the decimal point in the wrong spot when saying less then 10 percent of people have gotten covid during outdoor activity when the real number is .10 or less.
You have more of a chance of dying boarding the rental car tram at OGG on a busy Saturday then contracting covid outdoors. It’s true I looked it up you have a about .2 percent of dying on the tram, but hay keep double masking……
did not get vaccinated JUST so I can come to Hawaii. I did it because I have many in my life who are immune compromised and I do not want any of them to die. I have already had several close to me die from this virus and some who are experiencing long term affects of having the virus.
I will keep double masking as long as I need to. Why are you even here? Are you planning a trip to Hawaii? If not go find somewhere else to whine about things and leave this forum to those of us who are actually coming to Hawaii
PAULC, Roy or Jeff or who ever is the moderator on BOH didn’t have a problem with my comment. Complain to them cause you’re wasting your key strokes on someone who mocks everything.
Maui October 2021!!!!
Richard C… As “someone who mocks everything”, getting vaccinated (or not) is not something to be “mocked”. Trying to travel to Hawaii while obeying the regulations is not something to be “mocked”. In the future, please notate your comments that you wish to be taken as “mocking” so the rest of us know how to read your words.
Hey Barb
The best part of being a great mocker is 6 months or maybe 5 years down the road it’s found that the mocker may have been right.
Like margarine remember margarine I mocked everyone who believed margarine was better for you then butter. Hmmmmmmm
Hey Richard… Margarine and people’s lives are not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. Grow up! This isn’t a Comedy Store and people take comments seriously – as they are meant to be informative not a comedy career!
Richard C…. Please give us “vaccinateds” credit for taking our health seriously and taking the health of those around us into consideration. If you really think that we got vaccinated to we could go to Hawaii, think again (and there’s a word I’d like to add but it’s not politically correct).
BarbaraM thank you. Its nice to see a voice of reason on here. I would have gotten it either way.
Paul C… You are welome.
funny.. unvaccinated and don’t have a need to be…
Guess going to the gym 6 days a week, eating healthy and not smoking is no longer good enough?
Some.if.us have taken our health seriously all our lives so don’t have to worry about the .01-.03 chance I’d have a slight effect from Covid.
As far as “those around us”, it’s not mine nor my kids responsibility for random strangers who can isolate if they feel the need.
Sean. Lol your last sentence says it all. Not your responsibility. Just wow.
As for your health good for you. I had a friend who was just like you. He got very ill ventilated hospitalized and now cannot even walk fast without being totally winded. A full year after getting it.
Point is it’s a non discriminating virus.
“Especially to those of you who got vaccinated thinking you’d avoid the 72hr Hawaiian covid travel pretest.”
Sadly(?) this was my main reason (not just Hawaii but travel outside of the US). We were going to wait until this summer, since we are not going back to our Kauai house until late August, and the initial “only good for three months” rumors. Since the “three months” limitation was apparently dropped, and my wife not wanting to keep waiting, we went ahead and got them in April.
(And, thanks for the shout out!)
I hope the gov will announce that people with the covid19 vaccine will be available to avoid the quarantine and testing when traveling from the mainland in june or July
Thank
You
I hope the gov will announce that soon
Keep me updated
Hi Greg.
Will do.
Aloha.
Thank you for your work in keeping everyone updated to requirements. We went to maui a couple weeks ago, wasn’t smooth but got through it. Hopefully by next summer things will go back to normal so not a stressful venture.
Hi Kay.
Thanks for letting us know.
Aloha.
Although it is a hassle, the process isn’t really that bad. Been over three times since COVID hit. Once in October 2020, once in January 2021 and most recently in April 2021. Testing went smoothly each time. As long as you have a clear understanding of the rules/requirements and timing of your testing, etc… it’s really not that bad, but you better have a clear understanding or it’s easy to do it wrong and get sent back on a plane to where you came from on your own dime. Happened to the family behind us at the airport. Someone asked about the second test on arrival. In January we went to the Big Island for five days before heading over to Kauai and they did a test upon arrival on the Big Island. Nasal swab just like the pre-travel test on the mainland. They took our phone number and email address and said they’d contact us within 2 hours if the test was positive. Never heard anything (which I expected since the mainland test was negative). Probably going back to Kauai in July.
May I ask where you did your testing? We’re headed over in two weeks and I want to make sure we choose wisely.
No thanks, It is not worth the risk or hassle. Many other destinations are much more accommodating and deserve my money for their welcoming attitude. The “Aloha” spirt is nothing but an empty saying.
Stay on travel – not politics.
BOH Please police this better. There are so many trolls on here that come here just to trash the Hawaiian islands or the locals that have no intention ever of actually going to Hawaii. Several appear to be here to Promote Florida. Why is this allowed?
Every anti masker, every whiner about rules inconvenience etc are all politically based in their comments. I see many who have genuine questions and concerns. Most get answered but some just get the non stop negativity by these trolls.
Hi Paul.
We do our best to manage and even edit comments. As we’ve said before, you should see what we don’t publish…
Aloha.
Yeah I keep forgetting that!
I am glad that Hawaii is taking this seriously. We are prepared and will do what we need to to get to Hawaii for our relaxation time 🙂 Thanks for all the updates BOH!
Hi Paul.
Thanks! – 400 comments to date.
Aloha.
Love Hawaii…….but your requirements are way over the top. I hope the whole of Hawaii goes bankrupt. Staying in Caliornia………………………..much easier!
Stay in Cali and let those of us who are more than happy to do what we need to to get to Hawaii and actually have respect for the locals
Always appreciate the update. My experience with testing at SMF airport. All ready to go, flight leaving on a Sunday, tested on a Thursday, results on Friday night. Results came back positive…NO IDEA WHY? Cancelled my flight, returned to SMF airport for a retest on Saturday which I was told by several people that the test inaccuracy rarely happens and not to expect a different result. Well they did offer me the 1 hour test result instead of the within 72 hours. That test as I waiting in the parking lot, came back Negative. So what now? Had to rebook my flight, of course at a higher cost, thanks to in false/positive test that I had. Now they want a 2nd test upon arrival…this is all a joke! Vaccinations everywhere and now requiring a 2nd test. Maui Government better stop power grabbing, shame on them for requiring a second test at the airport.
Linda
Oh my goodness, that’s my biggest nightmare. That and my airline canceling its flight without notification as has happened with many traveling on American on the east coast. As it is, my Hawaiian airlines account says I have no upcoming trips and couldn’t locate my reservation. What a panic this all is!
Dont worry. Your flight is still there. Call them. We went thru the same thing. It even said our flight had been cancelled. Their system is overloaded right now. You will make it!
Can’t believe people put up with this. I love Hawaii but it’s supposed to be for relaxation. All these rules make it anything but that. I took all my Hawaii money relandscaped my yard and redid my pool put in a 18 foot awning. Pump out some IZ and call me hawaii buddies on the phone. Much more relaxing.
Totally agree! Was looking so forward to visiting Hawaii however, with all of these “mandatory” rules, we will cancel our plans. Not worth the possibility of testing positive AFTER money has already been put down. Too many other places to visit w/o the restrictions of Hawaii!
Don’t want to follow the rules fine by us but stop clogging up the timeline with complaining.
Thanks for the information. You mentioned you may have to take a second rapid test on the big Island. What exactly is a rapid test? Do they take blood? Is it the cotton swab up into the sinus cavity? I guess this would be easy to answer from someone who has gone through this at the Kona or Hilo airport.
Hi Byron.
These are most often nasal. Perhaps someone else can help out further.
Aloha.
BRYON B… The difference between a “regular” NAAT test and a Rapid Results NAAT test are simply that the lab agrees to return results in a shorter period of time. The way in which the test is conducted is the same – nasal swab. The definition(s) and the test conduction are the same universally and have nothing to do with the physical location except that some labs will do one (regular) and some labs will do both.
Thanks for your reply Barbara. We are just going to wait until they open it up to people who have been vaccinated (like my wife and I) to bypass quarantine. I can’t see going through all these hoops, pay all this money, then get the second rapid test and possibly get a false positive. I know the chances of getting false positives are low. But it does happen. Mahalo