388 thoughts on “Visitors Cancel as Governor Won’t Change Rules + Who Pays Quarantine?”
Ashley G
My family and I are leaving Seattle for Maui today. We used BioTek (through Hawaiian Air) for our testing & WOW, we got our brains swabbed at 4pm and had results emailed to us same day at 10pm. We used the Shoreline location, which has the lab on site and is running labs around the clock. Highly recommend! Also – my mom used Carbon Health (through Alaska) and got results next day. She’s already there enjoying the sun. 🙂
I came from Canada and got a negative test result from a partner that is being out into place Dec 17th and when I arrived they would not accept it, flew back to LA and had a test in the airport the next morning, lived in the airport for two days until I got my test results and then flew back to Oahu. If you leave the airport in LA you are under quarantine for 14 days, something has to change for sure.
I went to the Calif. for my Daughters Wedding and was Tested at Urgent Care for 400 Dollars, they told me it would 3to5 Days to get the results. I had everything needed to return to Honolulu, Home!!.I didn’t make the 72 hour time Frame. Sooo, Now I’m in 14 Days Quarantine. This trip would have never happened if it wasn’t for the Wedding Anyone have a Daughter??Bud.
Thank you for your updates. We went to the Big Island and Maui December 2-12. When I read about the results requirement before departure, I lost confidence in the Vault tests I ordered and drove 5 hours each way to get Worksite Labs tested in Las Vegas, we had results the next day. Best decision I made as the next day, Vault sent a message no longer to be used for Wednesday travel due to shipping issues. Would only offer half of what we paid for a refund. Clinical Labs in Waimea for travel to Maui went fantastic, 15 hours later we had our results and the nicest people.
Hello,
My husband and I have plans to travel to the Big Island in March 2021. We’re flying Southwest to San Diego on a Saturday, and flying Alaska Airlines to Kona on a Monday. We’re going to get our test in San Diego as soon as we arrive on Saturday through Carbon Health (partnered with Alaska Airlines) which promises to have results by 2pm the day after you take the test–so we should have results in hand before flying to HI. All the flights and hotels we planned have excellent last-minute cancellation policies, so we won’t lose any money if we have to cancel!We plan to assess the situation and make the decision whether or not to cancel before even leaving our hometown.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has used Carbon,and if you could please tell me your experience with them.
Thanks so much!
Hello!
My husband, myself and two of our friends used Carbon Health in November in Seattle. We had our results back in 45 minutes. We went on to enjoy a week in Poipu before Kauai shutdown again. We’re so thankful we got to celebrate our 20th anniversary there! We plan to return the end of March with our two sons for spring break if Kauai is welcoming back visitors by then. We will definitely use Carbon again because of the great experience we had back in November. 🙂
This decision is just asinine. If the time frame gets extended to 96 hours, where is the medical decision that that won’t work? And the most ridiculous thing…your negative results can get to you an hour after you arrived and you still have to quarantine? That’s pure and simple punishment and needs to be stopped.
We were one of the “lucky” ones to arrive in Maui and got our results in time using City Health Urgent Care in San Francisco (one of the trusted partners). Our flight was direct from San Jose on Southwest and we were 2 of 10 on the airplane (heard many canceled last minute probably because they didn’t get their results in time) We opted to pay the $120 to get our results in less than 24 hours. Fortunately I had made the online appointment almost 2 months ago otherwise they are booked out into January. We actually got our results (this was last week) in 8 hours. Sooooo happy we made it and are having a great time. We wear our masks everywhere like almost everyone and are doing our best to support small businesses and local markets. No negative experiences. We love Hawaii!
Thank you for your report. We postponed our plan from Dec to March but our test appt were/will be through cityhealth thru OAK & I was planning to pay the extra for same day results. So it good to know that option worked for you all.
Thank you so much for updates…I am trying to return safe and prepared and fully cooperative…but the quarantine budget and regulations have had me very confused in planning.
Gov Ige and company.
it’s Mike (Maui. just to cover the reply protocol…please and thank you (and pass the milk too).
seriously, thank you for doing the right thing. sometimes in life what is right is not so popular.
Maui/Hawaii needs its economy to evolve – an historic sole reliance on visitor revenue could not be sustained forever. the “pandemic” is simply an accelerate for many things about human life that needed to change – was going to change.
so again, thank you for being more than just short-sighted, as so many in the travel industry would prefer.
we (Hawaii) will find a way to evolve, and ultimately prosper ! but it won’t happen overnight – there will be more hardship. but honestly, anything worth having in life is hard-earned, comes with hard work.
with patience, insight, and a strong will – we will overcome these times and prosper ! – MF
I can’t believe the lack of creative strategy by officials to resolve at least a portion of the dilemma regarding tourists. I own a rental condo in Maui and so far have lost $70,000 in rental income and have had to come up with $32000 out of pocket to keep up with my mortgage payment. I’ve had no choice but to place my condo on the market for sale. I’ve been paying Hawaii taxes for 15 years and this was not in my plans. Come on people. You were put in office to solve problems not create them. No Mahalo from this disappointed and dis-illusioned home homeowner. I can’t wait to sepaate myself from a place I once loved.
It must be nice to have a condo in Maui a seventy thousand dollar income from it and 32 Grand in your pocket to make ends meet…is that a wad of cash or you just happy not be homeless? I am sorry, I am just jealous if well to do people’s problems, I feel for your frustrations but seriously if I had 32 thousand bucks I could live comfortably the next five years…🙏 I hope your worries lighten…maybe I’,ll share a rusty can of corn with you someday🌺🌴💖
I’m right with ya on that one! Geesh..his comment was better left unsaid! He is more than fortunate obviously,and didnt need to rub it in the faces of the ones who dont have as much as him!..well said my friend! Mahalo..
Maybe you, kim & christy, should check your comments. Frank said that he has a rental which has lost $70k in income, meaning this is a source of income that has been $0. And had to come up with $32k in cash to cover that condo’s mortgage, NOT that this is cash he just “had in his pocket” and that this is a condo he has had for 15yrs and the money it made covered its mortgage & gave him an income. Many people get loans & purchase Properties to rent as an income. You don’t know his full story. You don’t know if he’s retired and this was his main source of income. You don’t know if he had to take out of his 401k to cover the morgage. You don’t know anything about this person and are taking what he said into a context that he’s some wealthy person throwing around money, if that was the case he wouldn’t be selling it and would ride this out. The fact is that many people have realestate on the islands that they use as income that has been frozen for months. I’m not saying $ is more important then lives but covid has had a major financial impact to people’s incomes and they are allowed to state it. Not only that but all he stated was there was a lack of creative strategy to make economy and health both work.
Why on God’s green earth would anyone want to go to Hawaii at this point in the game? They have been rude towards tourists to say the least. Mexico has been so warm and welcoming throughout this pandemic- 180 degrees opposite of Hawaii. Y’all can have their liberal agenda. As for me and my house, we’ve made the change to MX and willl probably never look back.
I used vault and results came back in 24 hrs. Highly recommend them. We also used afc here in texas and got results in 30 minutes. Did both in just in case.
Me and my fiancé recently traveled to Hawaii and had to quarantine after receiving a negative Covid-19 test. Of which was from a trusted partner so they say CVS. Upon our arrival this was not the case. Reading further in small print the Covid test performed by CVS is not on one of Hawaii’s trusted partners. Neither is the Department of IL public which is acceptable in other parts of the US. Such as Puerto Rico or none US like Cancún. Every governor has his/her process on containing the spread of this pandemic. But when your state relies on tourist to boost your economy or keep economy from poverty stricken circumstances you need to re-evaluate the rules and regulations you set forth. As we chose to return home rather than stay and self quarantine it was a very educational experience to say the least as were both front-line essential workers. Once revealed the treatment was quite different. I hope Hawaii will have applied different rules by December of 2021 being that the vaccine has rolled out. Thank you
Thank you for all the information here. Many comments helped. With much uncertainty we were able to arrive in Maui on the 24th Nov with a night flight back 9 days later. Getting there was not without anxiety, extra precautions at work and while out when needed as well as a delayed flight which could have went having to leave airport overnight to catch connection next day. Thank God for tailwinds. We used Walgreens rapid NAAT and it was accepted. Printed out everything for backup. We feel blessed. If it was only a vacation we would have canceled months ago, but I so wanted to see my daughter. Reservations first made in January.
I believe we have to give our governors support as they are only doing what they feel best for their people. Here in Illinois we also have stringent guidelines that many residents gripe about. There is light at the end of this.
I am leaving on Wed Dec 23 for Honolulu to visit my parents .
I scheduled a test through Kaiser ( a credited provider ) for Sunday Dec 20.
I am hoping the results come back by the time I depart from SF to HNL. The results will be posted online thru my Kaiser APP.
I am only staying a week at my parents’ home .
Help ! I’m feeling uneasy about not getting the results on time . Sounds like I may be “rejected “ once I land and forced into a hotel .
Am I right ?
Not sure about quarantine location, but I emailed the Hawaiian visitors bureau and asked if you have to stay the full 14 days in quarantine or can you go back on an originally scheduled flight (in our case 6 days later) and I was told you could go back on your original flight.
Aloha
Do you folks have any sense of the timing of New directions? It is 15 days from New Years Eve and many of us are awaiting to see if any new policies will happen or if no changes are being made and the current policies are what they are until 2021.
Mahalo
We are trying to keep Covid19 at bay in the Hawaiian Islands by following the science. All efforts are made to enable tourism but the science must come first.
You all realize the second testing date was tried on Kaua’i with 2% compliance and that with a gift card for participating.
If, if we could get tourists that second post arrival test we could all be assured a much safer Covid19 experience but no, people are too busy on “their” vacations. So when people get exasperated please remember there is a right way to do it but it takes the traveling public’s cooperation and that hasn’t happened.
I agree, and if I come to Maui, I plan to do the second test and am thrilled that it is available at no charge.
I was reading just this week, though, that the majority of new cases there are from locals via community spread and not from visitors. There were even locals suggesting the mask patrol check the town sidewalk crowds vs. the beaches and parks
I agree, and if all goes well and I get to come to Maui, I plan to do the second test 3- 5 days after arrival and am thrilled that it is available at no charge.
I was reading just this week, though, that the majority of new cases on Maui are from locals via community spread and not from visitors. There were even locals suggesting the mask patrol check the town sidewalk crowds for lack of compliance vs. the beaches and parks. I’m going to wear a mask unless I’m in the water or inside.
Although I know it is safe to have them off while outside, sitting or walking on the beach, or in a park, as long as over 10 feet from others, I’ll still comply with the rule. I know they say 6 feet, but I’d rather give more space for extra precaution, as the trade winds may carry others exhales a little further. I hope they change this masks on outside rule though, as it doesn’t make sense to need them on in open air, if distancing properly.
I don’t mean to be a jerk here, but we are all aware about covid and have been for months now. So, if you book a trip to Hawaii or anywhere else and that state or country decided to lock you out because of covid, then you cannot go, period. You have no one to blame but yourself for booking a trip while covid is running wild.
Unfortunately, airlines and other hospitality companies do not offer refunds or even partial refunds. That’s unfortunate, but once again you really have no one to blame but yourself. At this time your main goal should be to stay home and not go on a vacation until the covid virus is under control. I know, I know, as an American citizen you have the right to travel wherever you please. But at this time, your rights have been put on hold by some states and some countries. But don’t worry, there is a vaccine on the way. Once we all get it, we can feel free to travel once again. But don’t be surprised if some states and countries will demand proof of vaccination before you can travel there.
The Pfizer so called “vaccine” is actually made in Germany by Biontech. This company is owned by a billionaire Turkish muslim Ugur Sahin(german ally in ww I).
Dr. Francis Boyle(Harvard PhD bioweapons expert) has exposed these covid vaccines as spreading HIV and causing sterility. Dr. Boyle exposed the Pentagon/CIA forcing experimental Anthrax vaccines during the Iraq war causing the deaths of thousands of US soldiers from adverse vaccine “reactions”.
These so called vaccines are called “mrna” which mutate human DNA also causing cancer. There is currently no proof these “vaccines” immunize people successfully and stop them from spreading covid. The long term effects of these experimental vaccines are unknown.
International law/Nuremburg code, established after WW II, bans forcing experimental medical treatments on humans.
Jon A- my brother is a major in the US Army as well as biochemist in infectious diseases that has studied & written published work on covid, covid medicine, and vaccines. What you are stating are all ramped up conspiracy theories. You have the right to refuse vaccines. I will trust my brother and his science, thank you.
Jon has been stuck inside 4Chan and other areas the dark web a bit too long during his pandemic isolation.
I won’t bother with the conspiracy declarations. Instead, I’ll simply focus on the “science”. DNA is a totally different bugger from RNA. DNA strands and the genes contained dictate the makeup of our heredity and are like the writer composing our own personal symphony. The mRNA sequence carries the genetic code to ribosomes (site of the translation) in order to produce the protein, in this case, that mimics the spike protein of the SARS2Covid-19 virus, thus generating an immune response and antigens that ward off future viral invasions.
mRNA can NEVER “mutate DNA”. In fact RNA is highly resistant to UV rays that can alter DNA, thus in some people generating cancer cells.
Tune out to this poster as the dangerous garbage is totally untrue.
Thanks for that and for all of your many comments. We appreciate it.
Aloha.
Bill K
I sent the following to the Lt.Govenor Green a week ago and still await even a courtesy response:
Dear Mr. Green,
My wife * and I have homes in Waianae and Morley, Michigan. After being here in Waianae since early January, in late August we traveled to Morley to take care of some property issues and to see Michigan children/grand children. Our return to Oahu was planned for yesterday, Wednesday, December 9th.
* and I followed the pre-travel guidelines, we used a Hawaii approved testing facility, and had the approved test. The Walgreen website indicated a 48 hour result and our testing was 55 hours prior to the last leg of our trip. There was not a better opportunity to accomplish a 72 hour lead time which would have required a late Sunday night appointment.
Our negative results arrived at 5:59PM, 28 minutes after our arrival on Oahu, and 61 hours after the test was administered.
I tried to enter the results into the SafeTravels website and was locked out.
The current process does not seem to best service the residents of Oahu and our Waianae community.
I would like the opportunity to discuss this further with you.
I thought I would comment after Lori’s situation. My sister and I had a trip planned to come back home for the holidays and also see my son get engaged.
In July, I contacted the host of my Airbnb to discuss her cancellation policy. She promised to give me a 100% refund if the COVID situation worsened and we had to cancel. So I paid half of the cost ($3,200) to reserve a beautiful house in Kailua.
I was traveling from Minnesota, with my sons coming from Ohio and California. My sister was also traveling from California. The restrictive options of where we need to get tested is very challenging. Also, the testing websites include disclaimers that do not guarantee you will get your results in time. We thought if one person in our group did not get their results in time, being self-quarantined at our beautiful rental in the sunny weather wouldn’t be so bad. But no, the official Hawaii website does not allow that. We would be forced to stay and pay more to stay in a hotel.
Also, there are 8 of us in our group. The rental details allows family members to visit. With the five person limit in Tier 2, we would not be allowed to have any of our family who live in Hawaii to visit us.
So we asked ourselves if we were going to wait until the morning of our flight to see if we all get our results and if not, cancel at that time. We decided that was too big of a risk and we would also not be together for Christmas. We decided to cancel last week and make different plans. The worst part of it is that our Airbnb host said that Hawaii is open for business, so the situation has not worsened. She denied my refund. Out $3,200.
After reading this article, I think we made the right decision, especially with all of the uncertainty with what the governor plans to do.
Many people plan vacations far in advance. Before these lockdowns began. Much if not all is nonrefundable. All of you who are bashing Joyce need to think about that. If it were you, I’m sure you would feel the same way.
I was one of the people who was critical of Joyce P. I have lost money as result of canceled travel plans as result of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, yet I’m not asking those states for a refund! I can’t speak for the others but one of the reasons I was so critical and harsh towards Joyce P was that she want the State of Hawaii to give her the money back which is such utter BS. Joyce P accepted the risk of having to possibly quarantining when she decided to proceed with her travels to Hawaii as part of the safe travels program. Each person who chooses to try and travel to Hawaii right now takes that risk… it’s not the state’s fault that the testing partners are overwhelmed and she couldn’t get the results in time.
Regardless of when one booked their travel, a person is always at risk loosing money if anything goes wrong; Pandemic or no pandemic. The authors of Beat of Hawaii recommend travel insurance for that very reason. So with that I rebuff your logic, Carol. Also, right now the airlines and many other travel partners have better cancelation or change policies in place as a direct result of the pandemic. Joyce could have chosen to take advantage of those for a refund, travel credit or rebook her vacation to a place such a Mexico that is easier to travel to right now.
We went through the dance with no hitches. Southwest doesn’t charge if you need to change your flights last minute. Don’t knock what’s keeping you safe, Hawaii! Mahalo!
My wife’s first visit to Oahu has been such a disappointment as we both followed all the requirements needed for entry, except the lab test results did not come through in time. Instead of accepting a negative test result, after arrival my wife and I are quarantined for the next two weeks. The Governor’s short sighed policies has ruined our vacation plans. I will not encourage anyone to jump through all these policy hoops when testing/quarrentine on arrival is the common sense thing to do. Before other businesses go out of business, the Governor needs common sense policy please for visitors. Where is HI Aloha? Sadly it is missing…
Sorry to hear that you feel your vacation was ruined by Hawaii’s government, Wayne E. Thanks for sharing your experience but here is my question why did you board the plane to Hawaii without our negative tests uploaded & in hand knowing that you’d be subjective to the quarantine upon arrival?
To receive Aloha, you must show Aloha as well and sadly your post above fails to do that when you complain about Hawaii’s government who put a plan into place to hopefully restart the tourism safely and help restart the economy.
I get you are frustrated and angry but to say Hawaii has no Aloha because of that is misguided…
It’s so disturbing that after a year of ridiculous policy (or lack thereof) that there can’t be a safe, logical, and caring policy in place. One that allows for visitors, but keeps the islands safe.
Here’s a simple one…
Test prior to arriving.
Test daily during a visit (packet issued to each visitor instructing them to test with hotel). The Hotels have much to gain, and will comply or shut doors. The test will be administered in room, all rooms prior to 8am starting at midnight. No gathering to test, no lines, no worries of spreader events). All people must agree to contact tracing over prior 24 hours regardless of test result.
If at any time a person tests positive they are quarantined until their departing flight. So is the entire travel party in that room.
This is as safe as it can get.
This will cost money. This will also create/protect jobs. The State and Fed pay for everything…Because they already are going to end up paying for everything. This will cost billions less.
I admit, Hawaii is caught in a tough spot right now; needing the tourist dollars but being the only state capable of shutting down its borders during a pandemic, a luxury the other states wish they could afford. The Safe Travels policy as it stands today is very heavy handed on the part of trying to keep the borders closed. We went to the state 2 weeks ago and experienced a vacation so filled with angry and frankly self-entitled Hawaiians that we now just refer to the place as the “H-word”.
I understand that every state would like to close now but you don’t see the national guard at the borders on the mainland like you see them all over the airport screening areas in Hawaii. It’s all just gone too far. The government of Hawaii needs to rethink what they are doing if they ever hope to revive they’re once thriving tourism industry. I know we will never return.
Seriously? This is all easy to understand and if you don’t have insurance that covers testing that is not Hawaii’s problem.
Quickest path back to normal is all of these mainlanders quit bringing disease and fix their own states before infecting ours.
Sucks that its difficult to visit family and friends on other islands so we can cater to a bunch of people who mistreat the islands and people here. But sucks worse to think we have to pay for entitled idiots who can’t follow directions and come out here anyway, especially like those fools who get one positive test and still come anyway. Should be manslaughter
Jon D- seriously back at you. Obviously it isn’t that simple since you can’t comprehend a good majority of the “infection” was brought by “islanders” leaving and coming back. That not everyone traveling are “tourists”. And that nothing is going to be normal for a while so all forms of government need to get on the same page and find a comprehensive path forward for everyone to start healing health & economy. Ya, some may be complaining about their vacations or money lost but that is only part of it. And for you to speak entirely to 1 audience makes your viewpoint just as short sided.
Due to the dictates from tyrannical King Ige, my family and I won’t be spending our vacation money in his kingdom. Our hearts go out to all the small businesses who rely on the tourists industry. The risk Covid posses on us is very low and we are willing to travel. So we will be spending our vacation days in Free states, like Florida instead. Thank you.
Thanks KJK for stating that Hawaii is a kingdom. Do you think could you help Hawaii regain it’s sovereignty that was stolen by the rulers of your land of the free?
We are in Maui but not without challenges getting here. Our stay is for many weeks so it wasxworth the hassle. Our covid results did not arrive in time. But we got lucky that we reached customer service where we had the test done & got thru the airport. Then we had a hassle where we are staying as the system showed our results were pending..finally after the resort called whomever we checked in.
Aloha! I am a local now living on the mainland (La,Ca.) but have most of my family in Oahu. I had a flight booked for 12/3 to Oahu returning from Kauai (best friend lives there) 12/19 but chose to cancel due to surge in cases here, state recommendations to not travel & no guarantee results would be back in time. Coming from my perspective which is 1. a local 2. having loved ones on 2 islands (1 is super vulnerable) & 3. travel there frequently all of the pre-travel requirements do no good to protect anyone. Whether it is 72 or 96 hrs if there is no quarantine after testing up to departure there is no guarantee a person is not infected upon arrival. We know a negative result is only in that moment. A person can become infected w/in 72 hrs despite having a negative result in hand so why go through pre testing? What matters is what you test when you arrive. There should be mandatory testing upon arrival w/ quarantine until results. This is the only way to ensure upon release into the public we are not infected & to already have those who are. A partnership w/ testing agencies for results w/in 24-48 hrs and hotels to house visitors is needed. Either on the front end or back this makes sense for protecting Hawaii. I always stay w/ family but was going to retest and quarantine until my results to protect them especially my Nana who is 86 yrs old. Visitors may feel differently b/c they have no responsibility to protect a specific someone. My retest & quarantine plans were the same for Kauai but now I can’t go which I completely agree with. I also understand that w/ any new program you have to roll w/ the punches & make changes as you go. Knowing it’s a new program based on a deadly virus should you be the 1st to try it then complain it’s not perfect? You chose to be the guinea pig. It seems our concerns for protecting Hawaii is the same so now it just needs to be done in a more effective, efficient & definitely less costly way. I’ll wait 🙁 Mahalo
We just cancelled our dream trip to Hawaii due to all of the inconsistencies across islands and for the obvious risk we take if we go. We were supposed to leave this Thursday and our first island was going to be 7 days on Kauai. With the 14 day quarantine, we had to cancel all of our accommodations over the weekend (we had 2 places booked on opposite ends of the island and we can’t rent a car in quarantine). Hawaii would be our last state to visit with our kids before they graduate high school (our lifelong goal). I am SO bummed, but have faith it will happen later. I appreciate all of the updates here and through email! It helped us make a decision and feel good about it.
So glad we have a big world and a huge America…and some great governors on the mainland!! We have too many choices to be offended w/Hawaii’s crazy, illogical sliding “health” demands, edicts/rules…
So glad we have a big world and a huge America…and some great governors on the mainland!! We have too many choices to be offended w/Hawaii’s crazy, illogical sliding “health” demands, edicts/rules…
I disagree with you Joyce, the state should Not pay for “14 day inconvenience, plus meals.” Everyone’s knows we’re in a pandemic with published CDC guidelines going on 10 months now?! If you Choose to take the risk and travel, you’re doing so with the understanding that you may be required to quarantine or isolate. The people of Hawaii shouldn’t have to “pay” for your self-inflicted misfortune. And by pay, I mean in taxes And potentially lives. Yes, we want tourists to return but in a safe way to protect residents.
Nice reply Chris. The rules are very clear. There is risk. If people don’t want to take the risk or don’t want to comply with the rules, then they shouldn’t try to go. As mainlanders, we should want to help protect Hawaii and it residents and keep paradise as safe as possible.
Hawai’i shouldn’t have to pay for your inconvenience! You choose to travel to Hawaii as part of the safe travels program. Thus you should have understood the risks involved with the pre-testing exemption possibly not working out for you and if that was the case then would be responsible for the costs associated with quarantining or a return ticket. This is one of the reasons Hawai’i made the change to the save travels program requiring you to have the results uploaded prior to departure, so a traveler knew for sure that they were eligible to avoid the quarantine before flying to Hawaii.
Believe me when I say the state of Hawai’i should be using it’s limited finical resources for better things than paying out Joyce P because her pandemic vacation got ruined! Check your in the mirror, be grateful that you have the resources to purchase the plane ticket in the first place and find a bit of Aloha in your heart for the state that is struggling finically as result of the pandemic.
Why would anyone travel anywhere now??? Why should Hawaii pay for your “inconvenience”? When you decide to travel during a pandemic you are risking inconvenience as well as your health.So self entitled. Stay home.
So, your opinion of Hawaii should pay for someone deciding to travel to an isolated and medically strapped group of islands during a global pandemic…..yeah….no. Why don’t you try and go to Europe right now and see if they even let you in…because they won’t. Such a privileged statement. People are well aware of the possible pitfalls of traveling to Hawaii right now, so why in the world should Hawaii pay for you (or anyone) taking that gamble? Never going to happen. Hawaii will not pay for tourists to come here and quarantine. I’ve been in on a lot of the conversations, as well as in constant communication with some of our state leadership and DOH. Hawaii won’t be paying for your choice to travel here. I’m so glad Kauai’s Mayor is doing it right and enforcing the quarantine. Your attitude is exactly why we had to go back to a quarantine in the first place. For the record…I swear these comments get more and more entitled as the days go on. It’s sad. We know our economy is being impacted negatively and we know it will take our communities pulling together to rebuild. This type of comment thinking Hawaii is responsible for a tourists inconvenience is so incredibly selfish.
@JoyceP. Why? Will you foot the bills if the pandemic goes buck wild on the islands? Ok, then. Do your part and stop being the problem in this trying times.
I have traveled all over the World and it was very difficult to jump through all the hoops to get to Hawaii. The quick test is almost a must and cost us $400 even though we got tested by Walgreens the day before, but with no test results and less than 18 hours before our flight we decided to pay for the walk up test with results in 30 mins. The airline was telling us something different. My solution, print everything, upload everything on the safe travels website and uploaded pdf’s on my phone. Took about 45 minutes after landing. Whew we made it. Paradise is worth it.
Very wise of you! I only wish more of our potential visitors had your foresight. We don’t want to turn away visitors, but so far we have been successful in keeping COVID to a minimum here with our ‘draconian’ measures. No one wants to become the next hot spot! Agreed, OTOH, that more clarity is needed in the procedures.
Yes 96 hrs will help we need our visitors back stop this lock down it doesn’t help anyone we are a visitor economy these testing centers just can’t keep up with demand vault had 24 hr turnaround for hawaiianair passengers. Now say they can’t guarantee 24 hr please listen to reason and make it easier for our visitors your destroying our economy
Hello! So our family of 6 finally made to maui. We tested thru walgreens in washington thru the state of Hawaii site took the rapid ID now test. We got our results the next day. Walgreens said 1 to 2 hours for results but had some Technical problems so thats why we didnt get them till the next day.We flew Alaska airlines which once we got to the airport were very good to work with at checking all our registered information thru the state of hawaii. They sign off thru the computer that you have all your info and your QR code is updated and you are given a blue bracelet that allows you to walk thru an express lane once you arrive in maui. The blue bracelet allows you to skip any temp checks and paperwork there in maui airport.
That was nice! However for the car rental they do want to see your QR code. Trying to get here was hard. I didn’t think it would happen with all the changes every week. We have found that the people we have dealt with here are happy to have visitors and be back in business.
My family and I are leaving Seattle for Maui today. We used BioTek (through Hawaiian Air) for our testing & WOW, we got our brains swabbed at 4pm and had results emailed to us same day at 10pm. We used the Shoreline location, which has the lab on site and is running labs around the clock. Highly recommend! Also – my mom used Carbon Health (through Alaska) and got results next day. She’s already there enjoying the sun. 🙂
I came from Canada and got a negative test result from a partner that is being out into place Dec 17th and when I arrived they would not accept it, flew back to LA and had a test in the airport the next morning, lived in the airport for two days until I got my test results and then flew back to Oahu. If you leave the airport in LA you are under quarantine for 14 days, something has to change for sure.
I went to the Calif. for my Daughters Wedding and was Tested at Urgent Care for 400 Dollars, they told me it would 3to5 Days to get the results. I had everything needed to return to Honolulu, Home!!.I didn’t make the 72 hour time Frame. Sooo, Now I’m in 14 Days Quarantine. This trip would have never happened if it wasn’t for the Wedding Anyone have a Daughter??Bud.
Thank you for your updates. We went to the Big Island and Maui December 2-12. When I read about the results requirement before departure, I lost confidence in the Vault tests I ordered and drove 5 hours each way to get Worksite Labs tested in Las Vegas, we had results the next day. Best decision I made as the next day, Vault sent a message no longer to be used for Wednesday travel due to shipping issues. Would only offer half of what we paid for a refund. Clinical Labs in Waimea for travel to Maui went fantastic, 15 hours later we had our results and the nicest people.
Hi Kent.
Thanks for that report on your various testing results.
Aloha.
Hawaii is the lowest state in the nation, don’t screw it up!
time.com/5915084/hawaii-covid-coronavirus/
Hello,
My husband and I have plans to travel to the Big Island in March 2021. We’re flying Southwest to San Diego on a Saturday, and flying Alaska Airlines to Kona on a Monday. We’re going to get our test in San Diego as soon as we arrive on Saturday through Carbon Health (partnered with Alaska Airlines) which promises to have results by 2pm the day after you take the test–so we should have results in hand before flying to HI. All the flights and hotels we planned have excellent last-minute cancellation policies, so we won’t lose any money if we have to cancel!We plan to assess the situation and make the decision whether or not to cancel before even leaving our hometown.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else has used Carbon,and if you could please tell me your experience with them.
Thanks so much!
I do not see Carbon on the approved list for Hawaii Trusted testing partners. Better double check!
Hi! I didn’t see Carbon on the Hawaii approved trusted testing partners list. Better double check!
Hello!
My husband, myself and two of our friends used Carbon Health in November in Seattle. We had our results back in 45 minutes. We went on to enjoy a week in Poipu before Kauai shutdown again. We’re so thankful we got to celebrate our 20th anniversary there! We plan to return the end of March with our two sons for spring break if Kauai is welcoming back visitors by then. We will definitely use Carbon again because of the great experience we had back in November. 🙂
We used carbon a week ago before our flight to Honolulu… excellent service, quick results ( less than 24 hours) You’ll be good to go.
excellent! Thank you so much!
This decision is just asinine. If the time frame gets extended to 96 hours, where is the medical decision that that won’t work? And the most ridiculous thing…your negative results can get to you an hour after you arrived and you still have to quarantine? That’s pure and simple punishment and needs to be stopped.
They’ve done it better than 49 other states.
Thanks trump.
Thanks Trump? Explain to me how Trump has to do with any of this
They need to expand their list of trusted testing sites. We can only use Walgreens and it’s next to impossible to get an appointment.
We were one of the “lucky” ones to arrive in Maui and got our results in time using City Health Urgent Care in San Francisco (one of the trusted partners). Our flight was direct from San Jose on Southwest and we were 2 of 10 on the airplane (heard many canceled last minute probably because they didn’t get their results in time) We opted to pay the $120 to get our results in less than 24 hours. Fortunately I had made the online appointment almost 2 months ago otherwise they are booked out into January. We actually got our results (this was last week) in 8 hours. Sooooo happy we made it and are having a great time. We wear our masks everywhere like almost everyone and are doing our best to support small businesses and local markets. No negative experiences. We love Hawaii!
Thank you for your report. We postponed our plan from Dec to March but our test appt were/will be through cityhealth thru OAK & I was planning to pay the extra for same day results. So it good to know that option worked for you all.
Thank you so much for updates…I am trying to return safe and prepared and fully cooperative…but the quarantine budget and regulations have had me very confused in planning.
Gov Ige and company.
it’s Mike (Maui. just to cover the reply protocol…please and thank you (and pass the milk too).
seriously, thank you for doing the right thing. sometimes in life what is right is not so popular.
Maui/Hawaii needs its economy to evolve – an historic sole reliance on visitor revenue could not be sustained forever. the “pandemic” is simply an accelerate for many things about human life that needed to change – was going to change.
so again, thank you for being more than just short-sighted, as so many in the travel industry would prefer.
we (Hawaii) will find a way to evolve, and ultimately prosper ! but it won’t happen overnight – there will be more hardship. but honestly, anything worth having in life is hard-earned, comes with hard work.
with patience, insight, and a strong will – we will overcome these times and prosper ! – MF
Well said! Your Governor is putting his people before money aka greed.
Governor Ige should be celebrated not questioned.
Kudos Governor Ige!
I can’t believe the lack of creative strategy by officials to resolve at least a portion of the dilemma regarding tourists. I own a rental condo in Maui and so far have lost $70,000 in rental income and have had to come up with $32000 out of pocket to keep up with my mortgage payment. I’ve had no choice but to place my condo on the market for sale. I’ve been paying Hawaii taxes for 15 years and this was not in my plans. Come on people. You were put in office to solve problems not create them. No Mahalo from this disappointed and dis-illusioned home homeowner. I can’t wait to sepaate myself from a place I once loved.
It must be nice to have a condo in Maui a seventy thousand dollar income from it and 32 Grand in your pocket to make ends meet…is that a wad of cash or you just happy not be homeless? I am sorry, I am just jealous if well to do people’s problems, I feel for your frustrations but seriously if I had 32 thousand bucks I could live comfortably the next five years…🙏 I hope your worries lighten…maybe I’,ll share a rusty can of corn with you someday🌺🌴💖
I’m right with ya on that one! Geesh..his comment was better left unsaid! He is more than fortunate obviously,and didnt need to rub it in the faces of the ones who dont have as much as him!..well said my friend! Mahalo..
Maybe you, kim & christy, should check your comments. Frank said that he has a rental which has lost $70k in income, meaning this is a source of income that has been $0. And had to come up with $32k in cash to cover that condo’s mortgage, NOT that this is cash he just “had in his pocket” and that this is a condo he has had for 15yrs and the money it made covered its mortgage & gave him an income. Many people get loans & purchase Properties to rent as an income. You don’t know his full story. You don’t know if he’s retired and this was his main source of income. You don’t know if he had to take out of his 401k to cover the morgage. You don’t know anything about this person and are taking what he said into a context that he’s some wealthy person throwing around money, if that was the case he wouldn’t be selling it and would ride this out. The fact is that many people have realestate on the islands that they use as income that has been frozen for months. I’m not saying $ is more important then lives but covid has had a major financial impact to people’s incomes and they are allowed to state it. Not only that but all he stated was there was a lack of creative strategy to make economy and health both work.
Why on God’s green earth would anyone want to go to Hawaii at this point in the game? They have been rude towards tourists to say the least. Mexico has been so warm and welcoming throughout this pandemic- 180 degrees opposite of Hawaii. Y’all can have their liberal agenda. As for me and my house, we’ve made the change to MX and willl probably never look back.
I used vault and results came back in 24 hrs. Highly recommend them. We also used afc here in texas and got results in 30 minutes. Did both in just in case.
I did the vault test this morning and box is already sent away. Now I wait. Suppose to fly out on Friday. Glad to know it only took 24 hours.
Me and my fiancé recently traveled to Hawaii and had to quarantine after receiving a negative Covid-19 test. Of which was from a trusted partner so they say CVS. Upon our arrival this was not the case. Reading further in small print the Covid test performed by CVS is not on one of Hawaii’s trusted partners. Neither is the Department of IL public which is acceptable in other parts of the US. Such as Puerto Rico or none US like Cancún. Every governor has his/her process on containing the spread of this pandemic. But when your state relies on tourist to boost your economy or keep economy from poverty stricken circumstances you need to re-evaluate the rules and regulations you set forth. As we chose to return home rather than stay and self quarantine it was a very educational experience to say the least as were both front-line essential workers. Once revealed the treatment was quite different. I hope Hawaii will have applied different rules by December of 2021 being that the vaccine has rolled out. Thank you
Hi Therese.
Thanks for sharing what happened.
Aloha.
Thank you for all the information here. Many comments helped. With much uncertainty we were able to arrive in Maui on the 24th Nov with a night flight back 9 days later. Getting there was not without anxiety, extra precautions at work and while out when needed as well as a delayed flight which could have went having to leave airport overnight to catch connection next day. Thank God for tailwinds. We used Walgreens rapid NAAT and it was accepted. Printed out everything for backup. We feel blessed. If it was only a vacation we would have canceled months ago, but I so wanted to see my daughter. Reservations first made in January.
I believe we have to give our governors support as they are only doing what they feel best for their people. Here in Illinois we also have stringent guidelines that many residents gripe about. There is light at the end of this.
Hi Cyndi.
Thanks for that report.
Aloha.
I am leaving on Wed Dec 23 for Honolulu to visit my parents .
I scheduled a test through Kaiser ( a credited provider ) for Sunday Dec 20.
I am hoping the results come back by the time I depart from SF to HNL. The results will be posted online thru my Kaiser APP.
I am only staying a week at my parents’ home .
Help ! I’m feeling uneasy about not getting the results on time . Sounds like I may be “rejected “ once I land and forced into a hotel .
Am I right ?
Hi Carolyn,
Reach out to the Go Hawaii help desk on clarification for your particular situation.
They will be glad to help you figure it out.
Not sure about quarantine location, but I emailed the Hawaiian visitors bureau and asked if you have to stay the full 14 days in quarantine or can you go back on an originally scheduled flight (in our case 6 days later) and I was told you could go back on your original flight.
Aloha
Do you folks have any sense of the timing of New directions? It is 15 days from New Years Eve and many of us are awaiting to see if any new policies will happen or if no changes are being made and the current policies are what they are until 2021.
Mahalo
Hi RB.
We publish whatever we know. So stay tuned for more updates.
We are trying to keep Covid19 at bay in the Hawaiian Islands by following the science. All efforts are made to enable tourism but the science must come first.
You all realize the second testing date was tried on Kaua’i with 2% compliance and that with a gift card for participating.
If, if we could get tourists that second post arrival test we could all be assured a much safer Covid19 experience but no, people are too busy on “their” vacations. So when people get exasperated please remember there is a right way to do it but it takes the traveling public’s cooperation and that hasn’t happened.
I agree, and if I come to Maui, I plan to do the second test and am thrilled that it is available at no charge.
I was reading just this week, though, that the majority of new cases there are from locals via community spread and not from visitors. There were even locals suggesting the mask patrol check the town sidewalk crowds vs. the beaches and parks
I agree, and if all goes well and I get to come to Maui, I plan to do the second test 3- 5 days after arrival and am thrilled that it is available at no charge.
I was reading just this week, though, that the majority of new cases on Maui are from locals via community spread and not from visitors. There were even locals suggesting the mask patrol check the town sidewalk crowds for lack of compliance vs. the beaches and parks. I’m going to wear a mask unless I’m in the water or inside.
Although I know it is safe to have them off while outside, sitting or walking on the beach, or in a park, as long as over 10 feet from others, I’ll still comply with the rule. I know they say 6 feet, but I’d rather give more space for extra precaution, as the trade winds may carry others exhales a little further. I hope they change this masks on outside rule though, as it doesn’t make sense to need them on in open air, if distancing properly.
I don’t mean to be a jerk here, but we are all aware about covid and have been for months now. So, if you book a trip to Hawaii or anywhere else and that state or country decided to lock you out because of covid, then you cannot go, period. You have no one to blame but yourself for booking a trip while covid is running wild.
Unfortunately, airlines and other hospitality companies do not offer refunds or even partial refunds. That’s unfortunate, but once again you really have no one to blame but yourself. At this time your main goal should be to stay home and not go on a vacation until the covid virus is under control. I know, I know, as an American citizen you have the right to travel wherever you please. But at this time, your rights have been put on hold by some states and some countries. But don’t worry, there is a vaccine on the way. Once we all get it, we can feel free to travel once again. But don’t be surprised if some states and countries will demand proof of vaccination before you can travel there.
Stay Home And Be Safe !!!
The Pfizer so called “vaccine” is actually made in Germany by Biontech. This company is owned by a billionaire Turkish muslim Ugur Sahin(german ally in ww I).
Dr. Francis Boyle(Harvard PhD bioweapons expert) has exposed these covid vaccines as spreading HIV and causing sterility. Dr. Boyle exposed the Pentagon/CIA forcing experimental Anthrax vaccines during the Iraq war causing the deaths of thousands of US soldiers from adverse vaccine “reactions”.
These so called vaccines are called “mrna” which mutate human DNA also causing cancer. There is currently no proof these “vaccines” immunize people successfully and stop them from spreading covid. The long term effects of these experimental vaccines are unknown.
International law/Nuremburg code, established after WW II, bans forcing experimental medical treatments on humans.
Jon A- my brother is a major in the US Army as well as biochemist in infectious diseases that has studied & written published work on covid, covid medicine, and vaccines. What you are stating are all ramped up conspiracy theories. You have the right to refuse vaccines. I will trust my brother and his science, thank you.
Jon has been stuck inside 4Chan and other areas the dark web a bit too long during his pandemic isolation.
I won’t bother with the conspiracy declarations. Instead, I’ll simply focus on the “science”. DNA is a totally different bugger from RNA. DNA strands and the genes contained dictate the makeup of our heredity and are like the writer composing our own personal symphony. The mRNA sequence carries the genetic code to ribosomes (site of the translation) in order to produce the protein, in this case, that mimics the spike protein of the SARS2Covid-19 virus, thus generating an immune response and antigens that ward off future viral invasions.
mRNA can NEVER “mutate DNA”. In fact RNA is highly resistant to UV rays that can alter DNA, thus in some people generating cancer cells.
Tune out to this poster as the dangerous garbage is totally untrue.
Thanks.
Hi James.
Thanks for that and for all of your many comments. We appreciate it.
Aloha.
I sent the following to the Lt.Govenor Green a week ago and still await even a courtesy response:
Dear Mr. Green,
My wife * and I have homes in Waianae and Morley, Michigan. After being here in Waianae since early January, in late August we traveled to Morley to take care of some property issues and to see Michigan children/grand children. Our return to Oahu was planned for yesterday, Wednesday, December 9th.
* and I followed the pre-travel guidelines, we used a Hawaii approved testing facility, and had the approved test. The Walgreen website indicated a 48 hour result and our testing was 55 hours prior to the last leg of our trip. There was not a better opportunity to accomplish a 72 hour lead time which would have required a late Sunday night appointment.
Our negative results arrived at 5:59PM, 28 minutes after our arrival on Oahu, and 61 hours after the test was administered.
I tried to enter the results into the SafeTravels website and was locked out.
The current process does not seem to best service the residents of Oahu and our Waianae community.
I would like the opportunity to discuss this further with you.
I thought I would comment after Lori’s situation. My sister and I had a trip planned to come back home for the holidays and also see my son get engaged.
In July, I contacted the host of my Airbnb to discuss her cancellation policy. She promised to give me a 100% refund if the COVID situation worsened and we had to cancel. So I paid half of the cost ($3,200) to reserve a beautiful house in Kailua.
I was traveling from Minnesota, with my sons coming from Ohio and California. My sister was also traveling from California. The restrictive options of where we need to get tested is very challenging. Also, the testing websites include disclaimers that do not guarantee you will get your results in time. We thought if one person in our group did not get their results in time, being self-quarantined at our beautiful rental in the sunny weather wouldn’t be so bad. But no, the official Hawaii website does not allow that. We would be forced to stay and pay more to stay in a hotel.
Also, there are 8 of us in our group. The rental details allows family members to visit. With the five person limit in Tier 2, we would not be allowed to have any of our family who live in Hawaii to visit us.
So we asked ourselves if we were going to wait until the morning of our flight to see if we all get our results and if not, cancel at that time. We decided that was too big of a risk and we would also not be together for Christmas. We decided to cancel last week and make different plans. The worst part of it is that our Airbnb host said that Hawaii is open for business, so the situation has not worsened. She denied my refund. Out $3,200.
After reading this article, I think we made the right decision, especially with all of the uncertainty with what the governor plans to do.
Many people plan vacations far in advance. Before these lockdowns began. Much if not all is nonrefundable. All of you who are bashing Joyce need to think about that. If it were you, I’m sure you would feel the same way.
I was one of the people who was critical of Joyce P. I have lost money as result of canceled travel plans as result of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, yet I’m not asking those states for a refund! I can’t speak for the others but one of the reasons I was so critical and harsh towards Joyce P was that she want the State of Hawaii to give her the money back which is such utter BS. Joyce P accepted the risk of having to possibly quarantining when she decided to proceed with her travels to Hawaii as part of the safe travels program. Each person who chooses to try and travel to Hawaii right now takes that risk… it’s not the state’s fault that the testing partners are overwhelmed and she couldn’t get the results in time.
Regardless of when one booked their travel, a person is always at risk loosing money if anything goes wrong; Pandemic or no pandemic. The authors of Beat of Hawaii recommend travel insurance for that very reason. So with that I rebuff your logic, Carol. Also, right now the airlines and many other travel partners have better cancelation or change policies in place as a direct result of the pandemic. Joyce could have chosen to take advantage of those for a refund, travel credit or rebook her vacation to a place such a Mexico that is easier to travel to right now.
What if the trusted partner that hawaii uses isn’t in the area, where the person wanting to go to Hawaii, is flying from?
We went through the dance with no hitches. Southwest doesn’t charge if you need to change your flights last minute. Don’t knock what’s keeping you safe, Hawaii! Mahalo!
My wife’s first visit to Oahu has been such a disappointment as we both followed all the requirements needed for entry, except the lab test results did not come through in time. Instead of accepting a negative test result, after arrival my wife and I are quarantined for the next two weeks. The Governor’s short sighed policies has ruined our vacation plans. I will not encourage anyone to jump through all these policy hoops when testing/quarrentine on arrival is the common sense thing to do. Before other businesses go out of business, the Governor needs common sense policy please for visitors. Where is HI Aloha? Sadly it is missing…
Please remember this:
If you come to the islands with or contract Covid19 and get sick, you will not leave the islands sick.
Sorry to hear that you feel your vacation was ruined by Hawaii’s government, Wayne E. Thanks for sharing your experience but here is my question why did you board the plane to Hawaii without our negative tests uploaded & in hand knowing that you’d be subjective to the quarantine upon arrival?
To receive Aloha, you must show Aloha as well and sadly your post above fails to do that when you complain about Hawaii’s government who put a plan into place to hopefully restart the tourism safely and help restart the economy.
I get you are frustrated and angry but to say Hawaii has no Aloha because of that is misguided…
The county doesn’t help you. Even when you get the Antigen test, they still quarantine people.
Don’t travel to Kona. No support whatsoever.
It’s so disturbing that after a year of ridiculous policy (or lack thereof) that there can’t be a safe, logical, and caring policy in place. One that allows for visitors, but keeps the islands safe.
Here’s a simple one…
Test prior to arriving.
Test daily during a visit (packet issued to each visitor instructing them to test with hotel). The Hotels have much to gain, and will comply or shut doors. The test will be administered in room, all rooms prior to 8am starting at midnight. No gathering to test, no lines, no worries of spreader events). All people must agree to contact tracing over prior 24 hours regardless of test result.
If at any time a person tests positive they are quarantined until their departing flight. So is the entire travel party in that room.
This is as safe as it can get.
This will cost money. This will also create/protect jobs. The State and Fed pay for everything…Because they already are going to end up paying for everything. This will cost billions less.
Good news in addition…a vaccine is on the way. 🙂
Not everyone stays at a hotel though. We stay at a VRBO or AirBnB apartment; what then?
I admit, Hawaii is caught in a tough spot right now; needing the tourist dollars but being the only state capable of shutting down its borders during a pandemic, a luxury the other states wish they could afford. The Safe Travels policy as it stands today is very heavy handed on the part of trying to keep the borders closed. We went to the state 2 weeks ago and experienced a vacation so filled with angry and frankly self-entitled Hawaiians that we now just refer to the place as the “H-word”.
I understand that every state would like to close now but you don’t see the national guard at the borders on the mainland like you see them all over the airport screening areas in Hawaii. It’s all just gone too far. The government of Hawaii needs to rethink what they are doing if they ever hope to revive they’re once thriving tourism industry. I know we will never return.
Seriously? This is all easy to understand and if you don’t have insurance that covers testing that is not Hawaii’s problem.
Quickest path back to normal is all of these mainlanders quit bringing disease and fix their own states before infecting ours.
Sucks that its difficult to visit family and friends on other islands so we can cater to a bunch of people who mistreat the islands and people here. But sucks worse to think we have to pay for entitled idiots who can’t follow directions and come out here anyway, especially like those fools who get one positive test and still come anyway. Should be manslaughter
Jon D- seriously back at you. Obviously it isn’t that simple since you can’t comprehend a good majority of the “infection” was brought by “islanders” leaving and coming back. That not everyone traveling are “tourists”. And that nothing is going to be normal for a while so all forms of government need to get on the same page and find a comprehensive path forward for everyone to start healing health & economy. Ya, some may be complaining about their vacations or money lost but that is only part of it. And for you to speak entirely to 1 audience makes your viewpoint just as short sided.
Mahalo
Due to the dictates from tyrannical King Ige, my family and I won’t be spending our vacation money in his kingdom. Our hearts go out to all the small businesses who rely on the tourists industry. The risk Covid posses on us is very low and we are willing to travel. So we will be spending our vacation days in Free states, like Florida instead. Thank you.
Thanks KJK for stating that Hawaii is a kingdom. Do you think could you help Hawaii regain it’s sovereignty that was stolen by the rulers of your land of the free?
We are in Maui but not without challenges getting here. Our stay is for many weeks so it wasxworth the hassle. Our covid results did not arrive in time. But we got lucky that we reached customer service where we had the test done & got thru the airport. Then we had a hassle where we are staying as the system showed our results were pending..finally after the resort called whomever we checked in.
Aloha! I am a local now living on the mainland (La,Ca.) but have most of my family in Oahu. I had a flight booked for 12/3 to Oahu returning from Kauai (best friend lives there) 12/19 but chose to cancel due to surge in cases here, state recommendations to not travel & no guarantee results would be back in time. Coming from my perspective which is 1. a local 2. having loved ones on 2 islands (1 is super vulnerable) & 3. travel there frequently all of the pre-travel requirements do no good to protect anyone. Whether it is 72 or 96 hrs if there is no quarantine after testing up to departure there is no guarantee a person is not infected upon arrival. We know a negative result is only in that moment. A person can become infected w/in 72 hrs despite having a negative result in hand so why go through pre testing? What matters is what you test when you arrive. There should be mandatory testing upon arrival w/ quarantine until results. This is the only way to ensure upon release into the public we are not infected & to already have those who are. A partnership w/ testing agencies for results w/in 24-48 hrs and hotels to house visitors is needed. Either on the front end or back this makes sense for protecting Hawaii. I always stay w/ family but was going to retest and quarantine until my results to protect them especially my Nana who is 86 yrs old. Visitors may feel differently b/c they have no responsibility to protect a specific someone. My retest & quarantine plans were the same for Kauai but now I can’t go which I completely agree with. I also understand that w/ any new program you have to roll w/ the punches & make changes as you go. Knowing it’s a new program based on a deadly virus should you be the 1st to try it then complain it’s not perfect? You chose to be the guinea pig. It seems our concerns for protecting Hawaii is the same so now it just needs to be done in a more effective, efficient & definitely less costly way. I’ll wait 🙁 Mahalo
We just cancelled our dream trip to Hawaii due to all of the inconsistencies across islands and for the obvious risk we take if we go. We were supposed to leave this Thursday and our first island was going to be 7 days on Kauai. With the 14 day quarantine, we had to cancel all of our accommodations over the weekend (we had 2 places booked on opposite ends of the island and we can’t rent a car in quarantine). Hawaii would be our last state to visit with our kids before they graduate high school (our lifelong goal). I am SO bummed, but have faith it will happen later. I appreciate all of the updates here and through email! It helped us make a decision and feel good about it.
Hi Andrea.
Thanks for letting us know. We hope you can still have your “dream trip to Hawaii” at a better time.
Aloha.
Please remember this:
If you come to the islands with or contract Covid19 and get sick, you will not leave the islands sick…
So glad we have a big world and a huge America…and some great governors on the mainland!! We have too many choices to be offended w/Hawaii’s crazy, illogical sliding “health” demands, edicts/rules…
So glad we have a big world and a huge America…and some great governors on the mainland!! We have too many choices to be offended w/Hawaii’s crazy, illogical sliding “health” demands, edicts/rules…
Hawaii should pay for 14 day inconvenience!!!!!!!plus all meals!!!!!!
I disagree with you Joyce, the state should Not pay for “14 day inconvenience, plus meals.” Everyone’s knows we’re in a pandemic with published CDC guidelines going on 10 months now?! If you Choose to take the risk and travel, you’re doing so with the understanding that you may be required to quarantine or isolate. The people of Hawaii shouldn’t have to “pay” for your self-inflicted misfortune. And by pay, I mean in taxes And potentially lives. Yes, we want tourists to return but in a safe way to protect residents.
Nice reply Chris. The rules are very clear. There is risk. If people don’t want to take the risk or don’t want to comply with the rules, then they shouldn’t try to go. As mainlanders, we should want to help protect Hawaii and it residents and keep paradise as safe as possible.
Agreed. That is why no one should go to Hawaii until HI gets it’s act together. That’s what I’m doing. I’m going to AZ.
Hi Joyce,
Hawai’i shouldn’t have to pay for your inconvenience! You choose to travel to Hawaii as part of the safe travels program. Thus you should have understood the risks involved with the pre-testing exemption possibly not working out for you and if that was the case then would be responsible for the costs associated with quarantining or a return ticket. This is one of the reasons Hawai’i made the change to the save travels program requiring you to have the results uploaded prior to departure, so a traveler knew for sure that they were eligible to avoid the quarantine before flying to Hawaii.
Believe me when I say the state of Hawai’i should be using it’s limited finical resources for better things than paying out Joyce P because her pandemic vacation got ruined! Check your in the mirror, be grateful that you have the resources to purchase the plane ticket in the first place and find a bit of Aloha in your heart for the state that is struggling finically as result of the pandemic.
Why would anyone travel anywhere now??? Why should Hawaii pay for your “inconvenience”? When you decide to travel during a pandemic you are risking inconvenience as well as your health.So self entitled. Stay home.
So, your opinion of Hawaii should pay for someone deciding to travel to an isolated and medically strapped group of islands during a global pandemic…..yeah….no. Why don’t you try and go to Europe right now and see if they even let you in…because they won’t. Such a privileged statement. People are well aware of the possible pitfalls of traveling to Hawaii right now, so why in the world should Hawaii pay for you (or anyone) taking that gamble? Never going to happen. Hawaii will not pay for tourists to come here and quarantine. I’ve been in on a lot of the conversations, as well as in constant communication with some of our state leadership and DOH. Hawaii won’t be paying for your choice to travel here. I’m so glad Kauai’s Mayor is doing it right and enforcing the quarantine. Your attitude is exactly why we had to go back to a quarantine in the first place. For the record…I swear these comments get more and more entitled as the days go on. It’s sad. We know our economy is being impacted negatively and we know it will take our communities pulling together to rebuild. This type of comment thinking Hawaii is responsible for a tourists inconvenience is so incredibly selfish.
Hawaii should pay for 14 day inconvenience!!!!!!!plus all meals!!!!!!
@JoyceP. Why? Will you foot the bills if the pandemic goes buck wild on the islands? Ok, then. Do your part and stop being the problem in this trying times.
I have traveled all over the World and it was very difficult to jump through all the hoops to get to Hawaii. The quick test is almost a must and cost us $400 even though we got tested by Walgreens the day before, but with no test results and less than 18 hours before our flight we decided to pay for the walk up test with results in 30 mins. The airline was telling us something different. My solution, print everything, upload everything on the safe travels website and uploaded pdf’s on my phone. Took about 45 minutes after landing. Whew we made it. Paradise is worth it.
Very wise of you! I only wish more of our potential visitors had your foresight. We don’t want to turn away visitors, but so far we have been successful in keeping COVID to a minimum here with our ‘draconian’ measures. No one wants to become the next hot spot! Agreed, OTOH, that more clarity is needed in the procedures.
Yes 96 hrs will help we need our visitors back stop this lock down it doesn’t help anyone we are a visitor economy these testing centers just can’t keep up with demand vault had 24 hr turnaround for hawaiianair passengers. Now say they can’t guarantee 24 hr please listen to reason and make it easier for our visitors your destroying our economy
Hello! So our family of 6 finally made to maui. We tested thru walgreens in washington thru the state of Hawaii site took the rapid ID now test. We got our results the next day. Walgreens said 1 to 2 hours for results but had some Technical problems so thats why we didnt get them till the next day.We flew Alaska airlines which once we got to the airport were very good to work with at checking all our registered information thru the state of hawaii. They sign off thru the computer that you have all your info and your QR code is updated and you are given a blue bracelet that allows you to walk thru an express lane once you arrive in maui. The blue bracelet allows you to skip any temp checks and paperwork there in maui airport.
That was nice! However for the car rental they do want to see your QR code. Trying to get here was hard. I didn’t think it would happen with all the changes every week. We have found that the people we have dealt with here are happy to have visitors and be back in business.