388 thoughts on “Visitors Cancel as Governor Won’t Change Rules + Who Pays Quarantine?”
Jason S.
Hawaii and its government are absolute disasters. Total pos. My family has family on the big island. The hassles, bs, that one must endure to go there simply aren’t worth it. Everyone thinking about going to Hawaii should find another destination. Hawaii will not be getting my $20000 this year.
I came to Hawaii to visit a friend, never been there before. Took a test at kaiser 80 hours before I left and was told when I landed that I had to quarantine no matter what. I couldn’t quarantine at my friend’s house and I couldn’t pay for a hotel. I lost my plane ticket money because I had to return. Thank you governor…I was no threat and would certainly have simulated your economy.
We just returned from a trip to Kona. We originally planned to go to Kauai, but that went into the tank when Kauai implemented the 14-day quarantine three days prior to our trip. Thankfully, we were able to shift gears and change our destination and we are so happy we did! Testing upon arrival sure seems to be a partial solution that would ease of a lot of the problems visitors are experiencing during COVID travel restrictions. The testing at Kona airport was easy enough, with minimal inconvenience, and we were able to enjoy our time in the Islands. It’s unfortunate the testing on arrival isn’t being implemented on the other islands.
We also signed up for the AlohaSafe Alert app, so we would know if we were exposed while visiting.
Lastly, thank you BOH for passing along all the helpful information! We monitored your posts closely while planning our trip and you helped to make it happen. Aloha!
Thank you BOH for such a through reporting of everything that is going on in Hawaii. We cancelled most of our trip to Kona next week, but decided last minute to give it a chance, without stressing ourselves if we have to cancel it hours before if the test results do not arrive on time. We will go with Vault since they seem to be the only reliable Trusted Test Partner in California. Do you have any further recommendation, do you happen to know what is the updated count of false positives after the antigen test in Big Island? That is our main stressor but I read that in the beginning it was only 0.3% of the passengers, not sure if that has increased.
My wife and I have canceled a trip for the end of this month because of a lack of confidence in the testing partners. We’ve also taken into account the perceived idea that many Hawaiians don’t want us to visit right now. We are hoping for a better situation in April.
We are headed home to Maui on Friday after a visit to WA to help my dad after heart surgery. We have been social distancing in a hotel room for the past week and have our tests this morning. I scheduled and paid for two just to be on the safe side. Hopefully they will be back by Friday am but if not we planned a 14 day quarantine, stocked fridge etc.., for when we get home. Once home we will have friends pick up produce and dairy for us and will then quarantine until our next test on the 22nd. It can be done but if we were doing this for a vacation I wouldn’t do it.
Thank you for keeping me up to date with requirements. We are coming Thursday with our negative tests taken yesterday, results were within hours. I was under the impression if you have a rental you can quarantine there if needed.
While I agree with you guys, Kawakami obviously does not. He has made clear that having travelers that are not quarantined for two weeks is what is “not sustainable.” His popularity is based on no one getting this infection, and also he is popular with the anti-tourist, anti vacation rental residents, and this is a sizable amount of people. It does not impact him politically that thousands of tourist-based jobs are lost. And many of your commenters agree/support Kawakami. The older, frightened residents have little if ay financial stake in the local businesses. They may feel sorry for the business and job losses, but that’s as far as that goes. Again, amplified by your own commenters.
Anecdotal, but we walked the Kapa`a section of the paved Ke Ala Hele Makalae Path yesterday, then ate at a local restaurant. The hotel rooms at the massive (and ugly IMO) Pono Kai Resort were nearly all shuttered up. The restaurant was 1/2 full, mostly due to Monday Night Football playing on the TVs. As you guys observe, not enough to be sustainable.
Thanks for well over 100 comments to date. And the frequent good humor too. We are waiting to see which of our Hawaii politicians will be the first to forego their lucrative salary given the financial devastation being experienced by their constituents. Just saying.
If test results don’t come in on time due to the lab taking 72+ hours or more the state can just wait. I am surprised there is no middle ground to work with tourists to quarantine until the results come in. Tourists are the ones supplying the state with the income Hawaii needs. How do you think people will talk about Hawaii on the mainland among friends? The tourists should be fully refunded if such an example happens, not refunding tourists is just robbery.
How is not defunding tourists robbery? People voluntarily agreed to participate in the safe travels program and thus should have understood the risks associated with things not working out. Yes it sucks not get money back but many travel partners such as airlines and hotels have the most flexible cancelation policies in history right now.
Beat of Hawaii has done a good job with providing people with the good, bad and ugly of what it is like to participate in the safe travels program.Hawaii doesn’t care about it’s perception on the mainland because of this because the demand for tourism to the State will still be there regardless… And actually it would be healthier for the islands if there were less tourism….
They say you need redults before you board. You get to hawaii and thats when it is stated 72 hours. 1 day too soon and you are quarantined. But if it wasnt taken at that time, no departure.
Taking another test- no upload. It has to be prior to departure.
The exempt form is asking to waive for personal information on submission. Unconstitutional for covid results?
Does this qualify as false imprisonment for failure to meet covid19 because as a consumer i am unsatisfied with these procedures being unconstitutional for the cruel and unusual punishment without crime.
Im in quarantine over a day. And reading this, appears it might get overturned.
When Im gone?
Hawaii doesn’t want travelers from US to come and spend their money over there on boring and overpriced vacations?! Well go somewhere else , Cancun is much more fun, no stupid requirements and testing, you don’t have to bring any dang Covid results, everything is open and safe , I was there myself recently and I’m fine, no bs Covid whatsoever…Another option Dominican , yeah take your money somewhere else and spend it there. Hawaii is the US territory and they have funding from the federal government, if it’s cut, this Hawaiian governor would be on his knees begging you to come…
First, Hawaii is NOT “the US territory”!! We are a state, and have been since 1959. The whole country is in the middle of a horrendous pandemic. Numbers are out of hand in almost every state. Hospitals are full, field hospitals are being utilized, refrigerator trucks are lined up in many places to store the dead bodies. Presently, Hawaii is one of the safest states. We would like to keep it that way, and that involves not letting tourists like you just come over without any precautions right now. People who test positive are a threat to everyone they come in contact with, and yet many don’t know they are positive.
And there are those are selfish and don’t care who they infect, such as several traveling nurses recently, who after getting several positive tests were out shopping in stores like Macy’s.
Unless you are willing to do your part to keep people safe, stay home.
Back in May I had booked a 10 day vacation in Kauai for mid February 2021 at the Koloa Landing in Poipu for my family 6 people (my wife, myself and 2 adult children and their spouses) We had a 3 room villa, 3 full size rental cars, 6 roundtrip airplane tickets, and many additional activities and tours planned including daily visits to local restaurants. ($$$)
This past week I cancelled the entire trip because of the uncertainty coming out of Hawaii and their changing visitor policies, and now Kauai’s most recent new rules for visitors. I can’t tell you how disappointed we all are, but until there is more certainty from the state I had to make a decision now and not wait till the last minute in order to get refunds on accommodations and airfares. We want to come to the islands, but the state needs to get their act together so that visitors don’t have to roll the dice on a trip.
My resort has just informed me that they won’t permit anyone to quarantine at the resort so if you don’t have the negative test on arrival they will cancel your reservation and you will have to find other accommodations or go back home!
Many thanks to BOH for keeping us informed.
No, Wanda, you can’t get tested upon arriving in Honolulu as the safe travels program is currently constructed to avoid the 10-day quarantine.
For a pre-travel test to expect you from quarantine it must be taken from an approved safe travels partner no more than 72 hours before your departure to Hawaii and have the negative result uploaded before your plane departs for the islands.
Wish more airports had labs onsite. A lot of the stores are closed so there’s plenty of retail space available. It’s reasonable to ask for visitors to test before traveling. That being said there are a lot of legitimate reasons to travel to Hawaii – a lot of people have second homes and a lot of extended family go to visit them, often one group at a time. Looks like Christmas will be cancelled unless there’s some sort way through for people willing to follow the rules.
I get tourism is a nuisance but the state of Hawaii doesn’t really stack up in the rankings for tourism numbers. 10M for the state basks in the shadow of a few cities on the mainland. Washington DC gets 23M, Orlando gets 67M, heck 3 Key Wests would equal 10M. Arguably Hawaii doesn’t know what a “tourism problem” is. Visitation to a state is a normal and preventing Covid is fine but I see a failed policy that tends to be uncertain and unfair to people taking all the precautions and following the rules.
We just went to Maui after having our trip in May cancelled. The condo refunded our money, but airlines refused, said we had to use it by the end of the year or lose it. So we scheduled a trip for November 30th and scheduled test at Kaiser where the promised results in on or two days. As it got close Kaiser said they couldn’t guarantee quick test results. So finally after exhausting all other places we went to the ER and begged for tests paid $90 each and got the results that day, had filed all the papers on Travel Hawaii and printed them. We had a woman with two kids scheduled to go but after trying over a dozen places couldn’t get quick tests so cancelled. We still had to pay for the extra bedroom at the condo. Unless the governor changes this bad policy you will continue to lose visitors. Also when we checked in the airport we had a horrible woman who even though we had all the necessary documents and QR code demanded to know the exact time of our tests even though that wasn’t a requirement. This happened on November 30th at Maui airport. This caused us to have to sign into our medical accounts for which our passwords were at home, so we had to change both passwords and show her the exact time of the tests , which delayed usa half hour to forty minutes while our in law’s waited. This woman should be severely reprimanded for demanding this above the actual requirements which was just a tests negative in the last 62 hours before the flight. If you want people to come stop having people like her harassing travelers and change requirements to 96 hours. Once in we enjoyed our time there snorkeling, hiking, visiting Hana, arboretums and all the small communities on the island. We missed going to museums, but enjoyed restaurants , shops etc. Just make it easier to get there. We met struggling owners trying to make it in this limited time. The leaders should help their people by changing the travel policy to 96 hour test and getting through the check in with no hassle.
Hello, my wife and I have already rescheduled one trip back in September to this February. I know you don’t have a crystal ball, but with the vaccine going out will there still be a 14 day quarantine at the end of February? Thoughts?
Thank you for your time.
We aren’t qualified to comment on vaccine progress. Nor can we say what Kauai will do, which has its own rules. Otherwise, if you come in February, however, you can certainly expect everything to be the same in terms of testing, masks, distancing, etc. Those don’t appear to be changing anywhere, at any time soon.
BoH has been the absolute best source of information on the Covid subject. I have been monitoring many Hawaiian media outlets for 3 months now, trying to determine the viability of our February Maui vacation, and BoH gives the clearest picture of the situation. We sadly pulled the plug last week – along with another couple – on both of our 40th wedding anniversary celebrations. The primary concerns were the unstable policy climate and sharing the experience of our beloved Maui (provided we were cleared to do so) under the threat of civil penalty if we let our guard down regarding restrictions. We – and our $ – will only return when Island life is back to 100% actual normal. Again – Thank You, BoH! Continue your impressive reporting! I’ll be here in the “Winter Wonderland” reading!
Thanks for your first comment; we appreciate it. It is understandable that you canceled, although likely (which is obviously not good enough), everything would have been fine and you’d have had a great time. We hope you can return again soon.
I had a feeling you wouldn’t post my comment.
Too much truth for you. At least show me the science that proves that masks, bandanas, t-shirts, and scarves offer effective protection from airborne viral cotagions. Such science, or proof does not exist. Please reply.
Mahalo.
Please get off this hoax virus. Look at the numbers for total deaths from flu/covid combined for 2018,2019,2020. You will see that total related deaths are very similar at about 230,000 for ’18, ’19, and trending down for’20. All you need to do is look at mortality rates. Flu kills more ppl annually than covid. Look how high the rate of recovery and how low the mortality rate is for covid. It’s time we stopped the waste of money and recources.Look at the global numbers and look at the damage we’re causing in ppl’s lives, killing small business. And the stupidity of muzzling the public! Look at the science ppl! Maaks, bandanas, t-shirts, scarves, etc., can’t even stop dust…and viruses are 1000 smaller than a speck of dust. Just think, what do viroligists where when there’s a danger of airborne contagions? An oxygen suit. That is the only type of equipment that will protect you. C’mon ppl. We’re smarter than this. It was proven that the lockdown hurt more than it helped, or don’t you remember, yet here’s Biden calling for another lockdown and mask mandate. Liars. You’re killing us with your lockdowns. And at the very worst there has always been a proven treatment available;HDC.
And the vaccine that Trump pushed in record time. Is covid so deadly that it requires us to testing for it to see if we’re infected? Apparently so. So deadly that we’re willingly giving up our freedom. Our livelihood. Our rights. Funny how the ppl that order us to wear muzzles refuse to wear it themselves. There will be no end to this unless we grow some backbone and stand up for our rights
Stick a fork in the Hawaiian tourist industry, it’s dead. At least for a while.
The critical path is the 72-hour test window. If they can’t figure out how to get an all but guaranteed test performed with results back within the 72 hour window then many people (including myself) won’t risk thousands of dollars on plane tickets and lodging reservations a few months prior. Even if the price for a “guaranteed” test was fairly high – such as $200 pp…I could still work that into an overall vacation budget and decide if it was worth it.
Given how long it’s taken the Governor to get where he is, it would seem that they start planning for the rules associated with vaccine “passports” now that vaccines are starting to become available.
At this point I think we’ll be lucky if Hawaii is reopened by Fall 2021 using some kind of vaccine passport scheme – more likely we’re talking 2022. I hope I am wrong – meanwhile Cancun seems to be doing brisk business for Americans willing to risk COVID and wanting to escape to a warm beach.
Thank you for maintaining one of the more newsworthy websites on the Internet.
Thanks for saying that. We haven’t heard one peep from the state about how they envision vaccines in the tourism plans. Perhaps it is just too early to say. Our sense is that before we get to that, there will still be other changes coming.
We are ones who canceled our trip because of the rules that the Gov and Kauai officials be sure of the ever changing rules. We did not want to get to Kauai and have to quarantine. Also, it seemed like a lot of restaurants were not open. Case and point, the Grand Hotel in Poopy has closed. It was very stressful trying to figure out when to get tested because it had to be 72 hours from last departure city. We were flying from the East coast with a stop in Denver. I wish the Hawaiian people well during this time.
I had a test done before I left at the ER of a local hospital in San Luis Obispo, CA. No, it wasn’t a Partners Certified lab, but the test was a NAAT type test and it came out negative. It was accepted at the airport in Hawaii so I’m in quarantine. I am not on vacation— I came to help my older sister sell her Townhouse and make a very seminal move back to the Mainland. Her husband passed away a year ago. She wants to to near her family. I am halfway through my quarantine. It’s a real drag. I understand the reason for caution, but it is counterintuitive to place a negative test result and someone coming from a rural area with the lowest case numbers (I live in a town north of San Luis called Cambria), on a 14-day quarantine. They should have a test in HI for arrivals. Also consider the circumstances of the traveler and the area from which we come.
We just canceled our Christmas trip due to the impossible timeframe to get results back. Only one partner on the list offers the demanded test and the results don’t come back for 3 to 5 days. The governor shut down Hawaii without actually stating the order. We think it’s a political move more than a safety precaution. We are hoping that he will adjust time frames for results. We essentially canceled Christmas. It seems there could be a better way.
I work in tourist industry on Maui and restaurants are busy. Many do not follow Maui rules and regulations. Numbers are on the rise for our small hospital to handle. Kupuna may die along with the stories and traditions all for an opportunity to “escape reality” when those that live here are just trying to survive. Its a sticky situation for Hawaii to not have any other industry to rely upon. I do hope visitors are aware that there is still a pandemic happening and you can still get sick even out here in the middle of the pacific.
Hi again. I realize I now have to arrange return testing. This is a crazy trip. Glad the grandkids are dears! Question: Do I need a test to fly to Honolulu for a connection to Asia? Anyone know of a same day PCR test lab in Kona? They all say 3-4 days minimum and I need a 72 hour PCR – AND with the time change it immediately gets dated one day behind. I guess vault doesn’t work with shipping to Hawaii?? Just when I thought I could relax………………..
Mahalo for any help!
I am enjoying these little guys!! I feel very, very grateful to be here! Thanks for half good news. I need a PCR test to return to Bali. Is the required – trusted partner test a PCR test? Anyone know of a same day or 24 hours turn around PCR test in Kona? Mahalo!
I still don’t understand why people are still traveling here with all the rules and extra money spent for testing. Why can’t people wait until this is pandemic is finally over and things go back to normal again. The governor should allow no travel to Hawaii and he and Caldwell also should have closed the airport until the pandemic was done. If they would have done that we wouldn’t be in this problem in the first place.
And then Hawaiis economy would have been far off worse than it is right now. The current restrictions in Hawaii are ridiculous. I have a home in pa and oh. I travel back and forth between states with no problem. I’ve driven between fl and pa with no problems. Keeping Hawaii isolated from the rest of the states, and world, is not a good idea.
Because ppl are tired of that Covid BS and want to relax but local authorities acting dumb with all these requirements…
There should be no testing no quarantine and free entrance like in Cancun, Mexico . Don’t go to Hawaii ppl it’s boring and overpriced… and one more thing Covid is a total fake and BS.
You have to be completly insane to go to Hawaii now, or maybe ever. I do nor anticipate my family to travel to this messy state in coming years. Caribbean are so much safer bet.
On Oahu, for those last minute quarantined, just house and feed them at a military facility, for free until they are released. This is a national emergency, so let the feds chip in here.
Please… Just stop visiting Hawaii, or any unnecessary travel, until the pandemic is under control. You don’t need to go on a big vacation. Period. There is no other side to this. The economy is hurting all over the world, worse in the US because people won’t stop living ‘business as usual’. It sucks Hawaii has such a high percentage of economy tied up in tourism. It does. But the short term economic gains vs the long term losses due to continued travel during the peak (so far) of the pandemic isn’t helping anyone in the end. Stop going on vacation until this is under control. Save your health. Save your money. Save the person next to you on the plane. Save the local people of Hawaii, even if it doesn’t seem like it in the short term. You can go a year without a tropical vacation. In fact, you can go many years, even forever if necessary. Just do it. It’s the right thing to do.
Why we have to stop? Because you said so or some jerks like the Hawaiian governor? We want to live life and enough of this Covid bs for us. And you can stay without a vacation a year or two if you want. I’ve been traveling at least 4-5 times a year and they stole from me and other ppl, -and now we have to listen.
It’s all logical and makes sense except the fact that Ritz-Carlton in Maui has strict no refund policy and I’m not willing to lose $6000 that’s been paid in full. The state officials need to ask hotels to ease on their strict no refund policies and I’ll be more than willing to cxl or postpone.
That’s so sad. I pray that all of this works out for you . Overall, be blessed and be safe out there. Closing the airport would’ve been the the right thing to do in the first place . As far as testing is concerned, my daughter couldn’t take the test in LA because Hawaii wouldn’t accept their test site so she had to do the 14 day quarantine. She had to come because of my surgery as well . People should wait until this mess is in under control.
We took test as instructed, Quest lost our test. Did not find out until there. Hawaii threw us in our room and refused to help us in anyway. We had to return home and got locked in our room for 3days without food or water. Governor never even responded to our email.
People don’t go to Hawaii! Don’t waste your time and money. The governor over there is a selfish dumb who lost the sense of reality and thinks he is a “king of the world”…Arrest him and throw him in a jail…
Why would the governor waste his time responding to your sob story? His job is to work for the people of Hawai’i not Tourist Tom.
You voluntarily agreed to participate in his safe travels program and thus you should have understood the risks associated with travel and the possibility that the testing portion wouldn’t work out for you to avoid the quarantine. However, I find it hard to believe that you didn’t have water in a hotel room; there is sink in the bathroom 🙄.. The state of Hawaii shouldn’t help you because believe me when I say it has bigger problems to deal with than Tom’s ruined pandemic vacation! While I’m sorry that it you have a horrible experience don’t expect a response from the Governor.
I truly hope your hotel a had a nice view for you to enjoy.
Thank you BOH for all your info! Well, add us to the list of casualties. We got everything planned to spend a month in Hawaii, getting away from the madness and virus in CA right now, working and schooling remotely, and spending some vacation time with my parents who live in Kona. We made our testing appointments with Kaiser and were told results would take 1-3 days. We got our tests done Friday morning (which were extremely painful BTW, not just “uncomfortable”!), and were told the results would take 3-4 days. They said we should have had our doctor order the tests “urgent” so they’d be sent out to a different lab and returned within 24 hours. I spent hours on the phone trying to reach anyone at Kaiser who could help us. I drove 5 hours each way over the weekend to bring our dog to his “grandma”. Finally, this morning I heard back that Kaiser only orders “urgent” tests for health care workers who’ve been exposed. Two, then three of our four test results trickled in this morning, so we rushed to the airport hoping to get the fourth result before our flight left at 10:30. We didn’t get it, so we turned around and drove home. We got the final test result two hours later. Kaiser won’t schedule new tests for us because it’s too soon after the worthless tests we just took. After spending all day today trying to figure out another way to get tests, we will drive 3 hours tomorrow to the only test site with appointments available in Northern CA, pay $90 per test, then drive home 3 hours. We will keep our fingers crossed that we’ll receive our test results in time, and Hawaiian airlines won’t change our new flight, which now costs $100 more per ticket. Total cost of all this = $760, plus driving costs, about 80 hours of our time, and 5 years of our lives due to stress. Remind me why we doing this??
“Why was the test painful? You do the nasal passage? And if you dint have medical insurance go to CVS its free. Scgedule, go through a drive-thru, its easy. Much easier but the thing is getting results. Average is 3 days if you take test early in day. Make sure you go to myhealth for cvs because they are separate sites.
But tell me why are you putting yourself in that stress and made your family go thru this because of Hawaii ? Don’t go there , go to Tulum, Mexico same nature nice water , no stupid tests no f. Masks I’ve just been there and enjoyed. Forget Hawaii ppl and soon they’ll be kissing out a** to come and spend our money there..
Kim, the $90 tests by worksite labs and affiliated with Hawaiian Air were great. We took them Sunday 10/6 because Valut wasn’t guaranteed for Tuesday/Wednesday departure dates. We drove 4 hrs to SF and back same day. I have Kaiser insurance as well, but heard similar horror stories about getting results within 72hrs. Make sure to upload test results to the Safe Travels site and link them to both trips if you have a layover in Honolulu. Good luck and it will be worth it once you get there!
We flew American Airlines from Dallas to Maui on Sunday and tested at the airport a couple of hours before our flight. It was extremely easy, and the results came in 15 minutes. We highly recommend testing at the airport!
Hi Cassie. That’s good to know! Our vacation is scheduled for July (leaving out of DFW). While things will likely change by then, I like to know the options. Did you make an appointment for the testing in advance? How many hours in advance did you arrive at DFW?
This who thing is criminal look at the percentages of deaths
Not what the criminals at the government paid for CDC and Fauchie. Were are out constitutional rights. Everyone will be exposed get over it stop these bastards from destroying our country. Go to Costa Rica No bull they want your money
Mike, it might help your argument if you discovered that thing called “spell check”. BTW, the only bastard destroying our country is exiting 1600 Penn. next month.
Hawaii and its government are absolute disasters. Total pos. My family has family on the big island. The hassles, bs, that one must endure to go there simply aren’t worth it. Everyone thinking about going to Hawaii should find another destination. Hawaii will not be getting my $20000 this year.
Not going to Hawaii until it’s open. Problem solved.
I came to Hawaii to visit a friend, never been there before. Took a test at kaiser 80 hours before I left and was told when I landed that I had to quarantine no matter what. I couldn’t quarantine at my friend’s house and I couldn’t pay for a hotel. I lost my plane ticket money because I had to return. Thank you governor…I was no threat and would certainly have simulated your economy.
“Took a test … 80 hours before I left”
Public Schools?
We just returned from a trip to Kona. We originally planned to go to Kauai, but that went into the tank when Kauai implemented the 14-day quarantine three days prior to our trip. Thankfully, we were able to shift gears and change our destination and we are so happy we did! Testing upon arrival sure seems to be a partial solution that would ease of a lot of the problems visitors are experiencing during COVID travel restrictions. The testing at Kona airport was easy enough, with minimal inconvenience, and we were able to enjoy our time in the Islands. It’s unfortunate the testing on arrival isn’t being implemented on the other islands.
We also signed up for the AlohaSafe Alert app, so we would know if we were exposed while visiting.
Lastly, thank you BOH for passing along all the helpful information! We monitored your posts closely while planning our trip and you helped to make it happen. Aloha!
Hi Ben.
Thanks for the report on your trip to the Big Island. Glad that everything went well!
Aloha.
Thank you BOH for such a through reporting of everything that is going on in Hawaii. We cancelled most of our trip to Kona next week, but decided last minute to give it a chance, without stressing ourselves if we have to cancel it hours before if the test results do not arrive on time. We will go with Vault since they seem to be the only reliable Trusted Test Partner in California. Do you have any further recommendation, do you happen to know what is the updated count of false positives after the antigen test in Big Island? That is our main stressor but I read that in the beginning it was only 0.3% of the passengers, not sure if that has increased.
Hi Jeff.
Thanks, and please let us know how it goes. We have not heard any stats on that Big Island arrival test.
Aloha.
My wife and I have canceled a trip for the end of this month because of a lack of confidence in the testing partners. We’ve also taken into account the perceived idea that many Hawaiians don’t want us to visit right now. We are hoping for a better situation in April.
Today is December 15th and we’re planning our April 2021 trip. Should we wait?
We are headed home to Maui on Friday after a visit to WA to help my dad after heart surgery. We have been social distancing in a hotel room for the past week and have our tests this morning. I scheduled and paid for two just to be on the safe side. Hopefully they will be back by Friday am but if not we planned a 14 day quarantine, stocked fridge etc.., for when we get home. Once home we will have friends pick up produce and dairy for us and will then quarantine until our next test on the 22nd. It can be done but if we were doing this for a vacation I wouldn’t do it.
Thank you for keeping me up to date with requirements. We are coming Thursday with our negative tests taken yesterday, results were within hours. I was under the impression if you have a rental you can quarantine there if needed.
Hi Lyndeen.
Not sure what you mean by “if you have a rental.” The quarantine can only be in a hotel, not in a vacation rental.
Aloha.
Lynden- where did you get your test results? Did you use Valut or another partner thats more reliable?
Aloha Guys-
If you were betting men (maybe you are!), what would you say the odds are that travel to Kauai without a quarantine will be possible on April 1?
thanks for your great insights
Hi Jon.
Thanks for your 50 comments! We’d say yes, something will change before then. What’s happening now is not sustainable.
Aloha.
“What’s happening now is not sustainable.”
While I agree with you guys, Kawakami obviously does not. He has made clear that having travelers that are not quarantined for two weeks is what is “not sustainable.” His popularity is based on no one getting this infection, and also he is popular with the anti-tourist, anti vacation rental residents, and this is a sizable amount of people. It does not impact him politically that thousands of tourist-based jobs are lost. And many of your commenters agree/support Kawakami. The older, frightened residents have little if ay financial stake in the local businesses. They may feel sorry for the business and job losses, but that’s as far as that goes. Again, amplified by your own commenters.
Anecdotal, but we walked the Kapa`a section of the paved Ke Ala Hele Makalae Path yesterday, then ate at a local restaurant. The hotel rooms at the massive (and ugly IMO) Pono Kai Resort were nearly all shuttered up. The restaurant was 1/2 full, mostly due to Monday Night Football playing on the TVs. As you guys observe, not enough to be sustainable.
Hi David.
Thanks for well over 100 comments to date. And the frequent good humor too. We are waiting to see which of our Hawaii politicians will be the first to forego their lucrative salary given the financial devastation being experienced by their constituents. Just saying.
Aloha.
Cancun had 1.25 million visitors in November. How many would have been Hawaii visitors.
If test results don’t come in on time due to the lab taking 72+ hours or more the state can just wait. I am surprised there is no middle ground to work with tourists to quarantine until the results come in. Tourists are the ones supplying the state with the income Hawaii needs. How do you think people will talk about Hawaii on the mainland among friends? The tourists should be fully refunded if such an example happens, not refunding tourists is just robbery.
How is not defunding tourists robbery? People voluntarily agreed to participate in the safe travels program and thus should have understood the risks associated with things not working out. Yes it sucks not get money back but many travel partners such as airlines and hotels have the most flexible cancelation policies in history right now.
Beat of Hawaii has done a good job with providing people with the good, bad and ugly of what it is like to participate in the safe travels program.Hawaii doesn’t care about it’s perception on the mainland because of this because the demand for tourism to the State will still be there regardless… And actually it would be healthier for the islands if there were less tourism….
They say you need redults before you board. You get to hawaii and thats when it is stated 72 hours. 1 day too soon and you are quarantined. But if it wasnt taken at that time, no departure.
Taking another test- no upload. It has to be prior to departure.
The exempt form is asking to waive for personal information on submission. Unconstitutional for covid results?
Does this qualify as false imprisonment for failure to meet covid19 because as a consumer i am unsatisfied with these procedures being unconstitutional for the cruel and unusual punishment without crime.
Im in quarantine over a day. And reading this, appears it might get overturned.
When Im gone?
Hawaii doesn’t want travelers from US to come and spend their money over there on boring and overpriced vacations?! Well go somewhere else , Cancun is much more fun, no stupid requirements and testing, you don’t have to bring any dang Covid results, everything is open and safe , I was there myself recently and I’m fine, no bs Covid whatsoever…Another option Dominican , yeah take your money somewhere else and spend it there. Hawaii is the US territory and they have funding from the federal government, if it’s cut, this Hawaiian governor would be on his knees begging you to come…
First, Hawaii is NOT “the US territory”!! We are a state, and have been since 1959. The whole country is in the middle of a horrendous pandemic. Numbers are out of hand in almost every state. Hospitals are full, field hospitals are being utilized, refrigerator trucks are lined up in many places to store the dead bodies. Presently, Hawaii is one of the safest states. We would like to keep it that way, and that involves not letting tourists like you just come over without any precautions right now. People who test positive are a threat to everyone they come in contact with, and yet many don’t know they are positive.
And there are those are selfish and don’t care who they infect, such as several traveling nurses recently, who after getting several positive tests were out shopping in stores like Macy’s.
Unless you are willing to do your part to keep people safe, stay home.
Back in May I had booked a 10 day vacation in Kauai for mid February 2021 at the Koloa Landing in Poipu for my family 6 people (my wife, myself and 2 adult children and their spouses) We had a 3 room villa, 3 full size rental cars, 6 roundtrip airplane tickets, and many additional activities and tours planned including daily visits to local restaurants. ($$$)
This past week I cancelled the entire trip because of the uncertainty coming out of Hawaii and their changing visitor policies, and now Kauai’s most recent new rules for visitors. I can’t tell you how disappointed we all are, but until there is more certainty from the state I had to make a decision now and not wait till the last minute in order to get refunds on accommodations and airfares. We want to come to the islands, but the state needs to get their act together so that visitors don’t have to roll the dice on a trip.
My resort has just informed me that they won’t permit anyone to quarantine at the resort so if you don’t have the negative test on arrival they will cancel your reservation and you will have to find other accommodations or go back home!
Many thanks to BOH for keeping us informed.
Hi Judy.
Thanks. We appreciate the update about your resort’s policy. That isn’t unusual.
Aloha.
Can I get tested once arrive to Honolulu?
No, Wanda, you can’t get tested upon arriving in Honolulu as the safe travels program is currently constructed to avoid the 10-day quarantine.
For a pre-travel test to expect you from quarantine it must be taken from an approved safe travels partner no more than 72 hours before your departure to Hawaii and have the negative result uploaded before your plane departs for the islands.
Hope that explanation helps
Wish more airports had labs onsite. A lot of the stores are closed so there’s plenty of retail space available. It’s reasonable to ask for visitors to test before traveling. That being said there are a lot of legitimate reasons to travel to Hawaii – a lot of people have second homes and a lot of extended family go to visit them, often one group at a time. Looks like Christmas will be cancelled unless there’s some sort way through for people willing to follow the rules.
I get tourism is a nuisance but the state of Hawaii doesn’t really stack up in the rankings for tourism numbers. 10M for the state basks in the shadow of a few cities on the mainland. Washington DC gets 23M, Orlando gets 67M, heck 3 Key Wests would equal 10M. Arguably Hawaii doesn’t know what a “tourism problem” is. Visitation to a state is a normal and preventing Covid is fine but I see a failed policy that tends to be uncertain and unfair to people taking all the precautions and following the rules.
We just went to Maui after having our trip in May cancelled. The condo refunded our money, but airlines refused, said we had to use it by the end of the year or lose it. So we scheduled a trip for November 30th and scheduled test at Kaiser where the promised results in on or two days. As it got close Kaiser said they couldn’t guarantee quick test results. So finally after exhausting all other places we went to the ER and begged for tests paid $90 each and got the results that day, had filed all the papers on Travel Hawaii and printed them. We had a woman with two kids scheduled to go but after trying over a dozen places couldn’t get quick tests so cancelled. We still had to pay for the extra bedroom at the condo. Unless the governor changes this bad policy you will continue to lose visitors. Also when we checked in the airport we had a horrible woman who even though we had all the necessary documents and QR code demanded to know the exact time of our tests even though that wasn’t a requirement. This happened on November 30th at Maui airport. This caused us to have to sign into our medical accounts for which our passwords were at home, so we had to change both passwords and show her the exact time of the tests , which delayed usa half hour to forty minutes while our in law’s waited. This woman should be severely reprimanded for demanding this above the actual requirements which was just a tests negative in the last 62 hours before the flight. If you want people to come stop having people like her harassing travelers and change requirements to 96 hours. Once in we enjoyed our time there snorkeling, hiking, visiting Hana, arboretums and all the small communities on the island. We missed going to museums, but enjoyed restaurants , shops etc. Just make it easier to get there. We met struggling owners trying to make it in this limited time. The leaders should help their people by changing the travel policy to 96 hour test and getting through the check in with no hassle.
Hello, my wife and I have already rescheduled one trip back in September to this February. I know you don’t have a crystal ball, but with the vaccine going out will there still be a 14 day quarantine at the end of February? Thoughts?
Thank you for your time.
Hi Rusty.
We aren’t qualified to comment on vaccine progress. Nor can we say what Kauai will do, which has its own rules. Otherwise, if you come in February, however, you can certainly expect everything to be the same in terms of testing, masks, distancing, etc. Those don’t appear to be changing anywhere, at any time soon.
Aloha.
BoH has been the absolute best source of information on the Covid subject. I have been monitoring many Hawaiian media outlets for 3 months now, trying to determine the viability of our February Maui vacation, and BoH gives the clearest picture of the situation. We sadly pulled the plug last week – along with another couple – on both of our 40th wedding anniversary celebrations. The primary concerns were the unstable policy climate and sharing the experience of our beloved Maui (provided we were cleared to do so) under the threat of civil penalty if we let our guard down regarding restrictions. We – and our $ – will only return when Island life is back to 100% actual normal. Again – Thank You, BoH! Continue your impressive reporting! I’ll be here in the “Winter Wonderland” reading!
Hi TM.
Thanks for your first comment; we appreciate it. It is understandable that you canceled, although likely (which is obviously not good enough), everything would have been fine and you’d have had a great time. We hope you can return again soon.
Aloha.
What will restrictions be if you’ve been vacinated?
I had a feeling you wouldn’t post my comment.
Too much truth for you. At least show me the science that proves that masks, bandanas, t-shirts, and scarves offer effective protection from airborne viral cotagions. Such science, or proof does not exist. Please reply.
Mahalo.
Hi Armando.
All comments are manually moderated. Your comment was published.
Aloha.
Please get off this hoax virus. Look at the numbers for total deaths from flu/covid combined for 2018,2019,2020. You will see that total related deaths are very similar at about 230,000 for ’18, ’19, and trending down for’20. All you need to do is look at mortality rates. Flu kills more ppl annually than covid. Look how high the rate of recovery and how low the mortality rate is for covid. It’s time we stopped the waste of money and recources.Look at the global numbers and look at the damage we’re causing in ppl’s lives, killing small business. And the stupidity of muzzling the public! Look at the science ppl! Maaks, bandanas, t-shirts, scarves, etc., can’t even stop dust…and viruses are 1000 smaller than a speck of dust. Just think, what do viroligists where when there’s a danger of airborne contagions? An oxygen suit. That is the only type of equipment that will protect you. C’mon ppl. We’re smarter than this. It was proven that the lockdown hurt more than it helped, or don’t you remember, yet here’s Biden calling for another lockdown and mask mandate. Liars. You’re killing us with your lockdowns. And at the very worst there has always been a proven treatment available;HDC.
And the vaccine that Trump pushed in record time. Is covid so deadly that it requires us to testing for it to see if we’re infected? Apparently so. So deadly that we’re willingly giving up our freedom. Our livelihood. Our rights. Funny how the ppl that order us to wear muzzles refuse to wear it themselves. There will be no end to this unless we grow some backbone and stand up for our rights
Stick a fork in the Hawaiian tourist industry, it’s dead. At least for a while.
The critical path is the 72-hour test window. If they can’t figure out how to get an all but guaranteed test performed with results back within the 72 hour window then many people (including myself) won’t risk thousands of dollars on plane tickets and lodging reservations a few months prior. Even if the price for a “guaranteed” test was fairly high – such as $200 pp…I could still work that into an overall vacation budget and decide if it was worth it.
Given how long it’s taken the Governor to get where he is, it would seem that they start planning for the rules associated with vaccine “passports” now that vaccines are starting to become available.
At this point I think we’ll be lucky if Hawaii is reopened by Fall 2021 using some kind of vaccine passport scheme – more likely we’re talking 2022. I hope I am wrong – meanwhile Cancun seems to be doing brisk business for Americans willing to risk COVID and wanting to escape to a warm beach.
Thank you for maintaining one of the more newsworthy websites on the Internet.
-Greg S.
Hi Greg.
Thanks for saying that. We haven’t heard one peep from the state about how they envision vaccines in the tourism plans. Perhaps it is just too early to say. Our sense is that before we get to that, there will still be other changes coming.
Aloha.
We are ones who canceled our trip because of the rules that the Gov and Kauai officials be sure of the ever changing rules. We did not want to get to Kauai and have to quarantine. Also, it seemed like a lot of restaurants were not open. Case and point, the Grand Hotel in Poopy has closed. It was very stressful trying to figure out when to get tested because it had to be 72 hours from last departure city. We were flying from the East coast with a stop in Denver. I wish the Hawaiian people well during this time.
Mahalo
Hi Ingrid.
Thanks. Until Kauai changes the rules, you made a good choice.
Aloha.
Thank you for this helpful information
I had a test done before I left at the ER of a local hospital in San Luis Obispo, CA. No, it wasn’t a Partners Certified lab, but the test was a NAAT type test and it came out negative. It was accepted at the airport in Hawaii so I’m in quarantine. I am not on vacation— I came to help my older sister sell her Townhouse and make a very seminal move back to the Mainland. Her husband passed away a year ago. She wants to to near her family. I am halfway through my quarantine. It’s a real drag. I understand the reason for caution, but it is counterintuitive to place a negative test result and someone coming from a rural area with the lowest case numbers (I live in a town north of San Luis called Cambria), on a 14-day quarantine. They should have a test in HI for arrivals. Also consider the circumstances of the traveler and the area from which we come.
We just canceled our Christmas trip due to the impossible timeframe to get results back. Only one partner on the list offers the demanded test and the results don’t come back for 3 to 5 days. The governor shut down Hawaii without actually stating the order. We think it’s a political move more than a safety precaution. We are hoping that he will adjust time frames for results. We essentially canceled Christmas. It seems there could be a better way.
I work in tourist industry on Maui and restaurants are busy. Many do not follow Maui rules and regulations. Numbers are on the rise for our small hospital to handle. Kupuna may die along with the stories and traditions all for an opportunity to “escape reality” when those that live here are just trying to survive. Its a sticky situation for Hawaii to not have any other industry to rely upon. I do hope visitors are aware that there is still a pandemic happening and you can still get sick even out here in the middle of the pacific.
Very well put Trevor!
Hi again. I realize I now have to arrange return testing. This is a crazy trip. Glad the grandkids are dears! Question: Do I need a test to fly to Honolulu for a connection to Asia? Anyone know of a same day PCR test lab in Kona? They all say 3-4 days minimum and I need a 72 hour PCR – AND with the time change it immediately gets dated one day behind. I guess vault doesn’t work with shipping to Hawaii?? Just when I thought I could relax………………..
Mahalo for any help!
Hi Nancy.
There is no testing required for flying from Kona to Honolulu. Good thing huh! Enjoy the rest of your time with the grandkids!
Aloha.
R/J
I am enjoying these little guys!! I feel very, very grateful to be here! Thanks for half good news. I need a PCR test to return to Bali. Is the required – trusted partner test a PCR test? Anyone know of a same day or 24 hours turn around PCR test in Kona? Mahalo!
Hi Nancy.
Yes the trusted partner tests are PCR tests. Hope someone will give us a hand on testing at Kona.
Aloha.
I still don’t understand why people are still traveling here with all the rules and extra money spent for testing. Why can’t people wait until this is pandemic is finally over and things go back to normal again. The governor should allow no travel to Hawaii and he and Caldwell also should have closed the airport until the pandemic was done. If they would have done that we wouldn’t be in this problem in the first place.
And then Hawaiis economy would have been far off worse than it is right now. The current restrictions in Hawaii are ridiculous. I have a home in pa and oh. I travel back and forth between states with no problem. I’ve driven between fl and pa with no problems. Keeping Hawaii isolated from the rest of the states, and world, is not a good idea.
I had to come to help my sister who is recently widowed, all alone, and overwhelmed by the death of her husband and then the Pandemic.
Because ppl are tired of that Covid BS and want to relax but local authorities acting dumb with all these requirements…
There should be no testing no quarantine and free entrance like in Cancun, Mexico . Don’t go to Hawaii ppl it’s boring and overpriced… and one more thing Covid is a total fake and BS.
You have to be completly insane to go to Hawaii now, or maybe ever. I do nor anticipate my family to travel to this messy state in coming years. Caribbean are so much safer bet.
Agree! ….Hawaii residents are also wondering…….
What a cluster mess.
On Oahu, for those last minute quarantined, just house and feed them at a military facility, for free until they are released. This is a national emergency, so let the feds chip in here.
Because the flights have never been cheaper lol
Please… Just stop visiting Hawaii, or any unnecessary travel, until the pandemic is under control. You don’t need to go on a big vacation. Period. There is no other side to this. The economy is hurting all over the world, worse in the US because people won’t stop living ‘business as usual’. It sucks Hawaii has such a high percentage of economy tied up in tourism. It does. But the short term economic gains vs the long term losses due to continued travel during the peak (so far) of the pandemic isn’t helping anyone in the end. Stop going on vacation until this is under control. Save your health. Save your money. Save the person next to you on the plane. Save the local people of Hawaii, even if it doesn’t seem like it in the short term. You can go a year without a tropical vacation. In fact, you can go many years, even forever if necessary. Just do it. It’s the right thing to do.
Useful idiot.
Easy for you to say. Some people need big getaways after all this sh- t. This insanely difficult.
Why we have to stop? Because you said so or some jerks like the Hawaiian governor? We want to live life and enough of this Covid bs for us. And you can stay without a vacation a year or two if you want. I’ve been traveling at least 4-5 times a year and they stole from me and other ppl, -and now we have to listen.
Agree 100%!
It’s all logical and makes sense except the fact that Ritz-Carlton in Maui has strict no refund policy and I’m not willing to lose $6000 that’s been paid in full. The state officials need to ask hotels to ease on their strict no refund policies and I’ll be more than willing to cxl or postpone.
That’s so sad. I pray that all of this works out for you . Overall, be blessed and be safe out there. Closing the airport would’ve been the the right thing to do in the first place . As far as testing is concerned, my daughter couldn’t take the test in LA because Hawaii wouldn’t accept their test site so she had to do the 14 day quarantine. She had to come because of my surgery as well . People should wait until this mess is in under control.
What a disaster! They really do want to kill small businesses and tourism
We took test as instructed, Quest lost our test. Did not find out until there. Hawaii threw us in our room and refused to help us in anyway. We had to return home and got locked in our room for 3days without food or water. Governor never even responded to our email.
People don’t go to Hawaii! Don’t waste your time and money. The governor over there is a selfish dumb who lost the sense of reality and thinks he is a “king of the world”…Arrest him and throw him in a jail…
You should have had your results in your hand before you got on the plane. What if you were positive? Or did you not care about that?
Why would the governor waste his time responding to your sob story? His job is to work for the people of Hawai’i not Tourist Tom.
You voluntarily agreed to participate in his safe travels program and thus you should have understood the risks associated with travel and the possibility that the testing portion wouldn’t work out for you to avoid the quarantine. However, I find it hard to believe that you didn’t have water in a hotel room; there is sink in the bathroom 🙄.. The state of Hawaii shouldn’t help you because believe me when I say it has bigger problems to deal with than Tom’s ruined pandemic vacation! While I’m sorry that it you have a horrible experience don’t expect a response from the Governor.
I truly hope your hotel a had a nice view for you to enjoy.
Thank you BOH for all your info! Well, add us to the list of casualties. We got everything planned to spend a month in Hawaii, getting away from the madness and virus in CA right now, working and schooling remotely, and spending some vacation time with my parents who live in Kona. We made our testing appointments with Kaiser and were told results would take 1-3 days. We got our tests done Friday morning (which were extremely painful BTW, not just “uncomfortable”!), and were told the results would take 3-4 days. They said we should have had our doctor order the tests “urgent” so they’d be sent out to a different lab and returned within 24 hours. I spent hours on the phone trying to reach anyone at Kaiser who could help us. I drove 5 hours each way over the weekend to bring our dog to his “grandma”. Finally, this morning I heard back that Kaiser only orders “urgent” tests for health care workers who’ve been exposed. Two, then three of our four test results trickled in this morning, so we rushed to the airport hoping to get the fourth result before our flight left at 10:30. We didn’t get it, so we turned around and drove home. We got the final test result two hours later. Kaiser won’t schedule new tests for us because it’s too soon after the worthless tests we just took. After spending all day today trying to figure out another way to get tests, we will drive 3 hours tomorrow to the only test site with appointments available in Northern CA, pay $90 per test, then drive home 3 hours. We will keep our fingers crossed that we’ll receive our test results in time, and Hawaiian airlines won’t change our new flight, which now costs $100 more per ticket. Total cost of all this = $760, plus driving costs, about 80 hours of our time, and 5 years of our lives due to stress. Remind me why we doing this??
Hi Kim.
Thanks for sharing that grueling story. Hopefully, tomorrow goes much better for you.
Aloha.
That is a standard reply no doubt
“Why was the test painful? You do the nasal passage? And if you dint have medical insurance go to CVS its free. Scgedule, go through a drive-thru, its easy. Much easier but the thing is getting results. Average is 3 days if you take test early in day. Make sure you go to myhealth for cvs because they are separate sites.
But tell me why are you putting yourself in that stress and made your family go thru this because of Hawaii ? Don’t go there , go to Tulum, Mexico same nature nice water , no stupid tests no f. Masks I’ve just been there and enjoyed. Forget Hawaii ppl and soon they’ll be kissing out a** to come and spend our money there..
Kim, the $90 tests by worksite labs and affiliated with Hawaiian Air were great. We took them Sunday 10/6 because Valut wasn’t guaranteed for Tuesday/Wednesday departure dates. We drove 4 hrs to SF and back same day. I have Kaiser insurance as well, but heard similar horror stories about getting results within 72hrs. Make sure to upload test results to the Safe Travels site and link them to both trips if you have a layover in Honolulu. Good luck and it will be worth it once you get there!
We flew American Airlines from Dallas to Maui on Sunday and tested at the airport a couple of hours before our flight. It was extremely easy, and the results came in 15 minutes. We highly recommend testing at the airport!
How far in advance did you have to schedule your test at the Dallas airport?
Hi Cassie. That’s good to know! Our vacation is scheduled for July (leaving out of DFW). While things will likely change by then, I like to know the options. Did you make an appointment for the testing in advance? How many hours in advance did you arrive at DFW?
Most airports don’t offer testing
Can your democrat governor, Hawaii!!
Why is my comment awaiting “moderation?” Is Google in charge of this site as well?!
This who thing is criminal look at the percentages of deaths
Not what the criminals at the government paid for CDC and Fauchie. Were are out constitutional rights. Everyone will be exposed get over it stop these bastards from destroying our country. Go to Costa Rica No bull they want your money
Mike, it might help your argument if you discovered that thing called “spell check”. BTW, the only bastard destroying our country is exiting 1600 Penn. next month.
Hawaii, It appears you want to bankrupt your small business owners purposefully. Do not expect to be bailed out.
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