Another wild tale from those who discovered firsthand what happens for not following Hawaii COVID protocols.
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We went to the Big Island in April, no problem getting the correct COVID test from a trusted partner, we used a trusted partner with the lab on-site, so we had our results in 20 minutes. We are currently on Kauai, having used proof of vaccination to avoid quarantine here. I feel very strongly that the information on the safetravels web site is more than adequate, and I feel there’s no reason to not have things go smoothly if you just read what it says and follow the instructions. My husband and I are in our 70s and if we can cope with following the instructions AND get all the data onto our smart phones, most people should be able to do it. Thanks you for providing all the helpful information. We went to Ke’e Beach and your information about the Hanalei Hill was extremely valuable in planning that day trip !
BTW, United Airlines is also a good partner and gave us our wristbands in Denver so arrival at our destination both times was a breeze.
Sorry to here of the family’s trip where a late covid test result led to then having to fly home . I think that after sept 13 any Oahu traveler either gets the vaccine or goes elsewhere as without a vaccine card or vaccine passport you will need a covid test within 48 to enter restaurants and other businesses UPDATE: 2:00 p.m.
“Customers at restaurants, gyms and other businesses will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within the last 48-hours to enter the establishments beginning September 13th.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced the Safe Access O‘ahu program today, in hopes that it would decrease the high levels of COVID-19 infection circulating on the island.”
The party that used Walgreens resulted in a bad outcome. However Walgreens does not guarantee results in time for travel. That is why I chose to use Hawaiian’s Trusted Travel Partner in San Diego and pay the money to be on the safe side. I could have gotten the tests for free at Walgreens. Caveat Emptor.
Very frustrating that Hawaii partners with Walgreens/CVS who cannot guarantee 72 hour results, but will not accept state government authorized testing which guarantees faster results. For example: Test Iowa is a partnership between the Iowa Department of Public Health and the State Hygienic Lab.
Please tell me where else in Iowa that tests are acceptable besides CVS and Walgreens which are not guaranteed. Yes, I’ve read the Hawaii Trusted Testing Partners list, but its quite convoluted trying to find what is available in each state.
I’m not saying Hawaii is making bad rules, but they should be making “test site partnerships” for travel with companies who can guarantee 72 hours or less since that is what is required. Who can argue with that? I’m willing to pay more, but I don’t see any other testing options available in Iowa. Should we just cancel our trip?
You could try Vault.
This is someone who can’t follow simple guidelines, ie;trusted partners are clearly listed on the Safe Travels Hawai’i site.
I have no time for attention deficit people.
Pay attention or don’t travel.
(Edited – warning on not adhering to https://beatofhawaii.com/comment-policy/
Thank you! Trusted Partners are clearly listed, but NOT necessarily available in all states. So far in Iowa, the only Trusted Partners are CVS and Walgreens which do NOT guarantee results in 72 hours. Shouldn’t “Trusted Partners” guarantee the 72 hour results that are required? Please explain how this process is easy or reliable?
Marie,
Call the safe travels people. They will help you thru this.
I am not sure where to begin. I have been to Hawaii twice in since January 2021. Yes, it is a cumbersome process (which we compounded by going island hopping) but in the end totally manageable. It is obscene to blame the State of HI for doing their job (protecting the well being of its citizenry). Traveling during a pandemic has and should to require more than clicking the confirm payment button.
This level of entitlement being blasted on the same people you expect to welcome you to their hometown is horrifying.
The Requirements aren’t difficult. Especially if you use a trusted airline partner (the ones that give wristbands – Alaska Airlines ftw). That helps in 2 ways: 1. Ensures you have all necessary documentation before you leave your zone of familiarity, and 2. Once you get to HI you can breeze through the airport and begin your vacay.
Thank you to the people of both Hawaii and Maui for the two amazing trips this year.
This is standing applause for your comment! The entitlement especially on this site is out of control. I can tell you from my experience in June, almost all tourists and locals were very nice, helpful and glad to see us. Treat others with respect and you will get it in return. Treat people like your entitled to something. Yeah.
Well stated!
If the so-called “entitlement” is “out of control” why do you continue to get on this website. I appreciate BOH for not censoring comments and allowing freedom of speech. If you don’t like it go somewhere else where everybody thinks as you do.
I couldn’t agree more! I just got back from a week on the Big Island, and it was wonderful. The people were friendly and helpful, and we had a great time! I suspect that was mostly because, as you suggested, we were respectful and just plain ‘ol grateful to be there. You reap what you sow.
I’m surprised that the word “respectful” is in your vocabulary.
Bunch of twenty something entitled brats….rad, understand, follow the rules….same for the rest of the things in your life.
I agree with your assessment of Latonia’s situation. It has been clear all along that you will have to stay in quarantine if you do not have a negative test upon arrival. Full stop. IMO, Hawaii doesn’t need entitled visitors with a nasty attitude anyway. However, I don’t understand why the honeymooners would have to quarantine. If they were fully vaccinated, why would it matter that they got the incorrect type of test? I wonder why they got tested at all? Were they just extra conscientious about not wanting to bring Covid with them even though they were vaccinated? (Which would be a great idea.) Or did that happen after vaccines were available but before Hawaii changed the rules to allow vaccinated travelers without negative tests? Thanks for clarifying!
Sorry but she sounds like another self entitled individual that thinks because they spend money to book a budget trip that they’re entitled to complain when things aren’t perfect. This is a global pandemic with no signs of slowing down currently. The airlines all need to stop having fire sale prices to lure tourists and recoup what they lost. Everyone plays a part in this, this isn’t just an island problem, this is a societal problem that will only be fixed by all of us striving toward the same goal. No one should be traveling here right now and if they do, be prepared for it to not be what you hoped for. This isn’t Disneyland, this is our home, please stop treating it like it’s only Hawaiians responsibility and blaming our ‘system’ because you can’t follow the simple rules we have in place. Thank you..
I suggest Hi residents Not be allowed to travel to the mainland
They’re the ones bringing it back.
Yep blame the locals. Stay away from Hawaii
Yep, blame the science and the data, that’ll fix your local problem.
It’s easy to say “follow the rules” but with the current surge, getting test results back in 72 hours isn’t always possible even if you do everything right. Some friends had to change them flight at the last minute and pay hundreds more for a different flight because the tests they took from a trusted partner were not ready as of their flight departure. They didn’t want to risk quarantine so decided to pay the money for a new flight. The results ended up coming in when they would have still been in the air on their original flight, but of course they didn’t know that would happen. I love Hawaii but I won’t be back until there are no restrictions. It’s not worth the gamble, losing my vacation and lots of money, when no one can guarantee a 72 hour turn around on test results.
If you choose to travel during a global pandemic, then you need to take into account that labs are backed up, just like lines at grocery stores, restaurants, and mail shipments. The fact that your test does not come back in time is NOT the fault of the state of HI. If you cannot afford to deal with this as a possibility, or choose not to, then halt your travel plans till it is less likely to happen. From the beginning of the pandemic this has been an issue. It is not the responsibility of the residents or government of HI to ensure your travel plans go smoothly during a global health emergency.
Make the choice to travel and accept the fact that things may not go your way. Or better, stay home during these periods of uncertainty and save your $ for a better HI experience in the future.
My take on this… is yet another mainlander that didn’t do the proper reading or legwork for their trip. So many actually GET IT RIGHT…. This is just a case of an uninformed traveler blaming their -for lack of a better term- ignorance, on the state. I have no real pitty for her. What I will say… is that the state of Hawaii’s Safe Traveler app really is NOT user friendly for the generic public.
My daughter and her friend thought that a Covid test 6 hours before the three day threshold was good enough, and they were flying from LA to London! Sensibility and a bit of “Are you crazy?” prevailed and they went and got retested the next morning. Can you imagine if they were turned away and had to fly back from Heathrow to Los Angeles? What’s with all of this fuzzy logic?
Thank you for the reporting you do, I have been watching closely since Covid hit and I do agree it feels like Hawaii and some of the islands are making up rules on the fly. I love visiting Hawaii. But honestly this is why I will not be going there for a while yet. You can do everything you are supposed to but a test result comes back late and mandatory 10 day quarantine.
Regarding travel to Hawaii. Please get the correct test and follow all safe travels guidelines.
Otherwise, don’t hate on Hawaii. It’s getting old, complaining about the islands. We are trying to remain open and still have some measure of safety for everyone. We have tons of visitors every day, and they have figured it out. Travel in a pandemic is tricky and protocols have to be followed. Everyone has a vacation from hell story from a trip in their life. Part of it is how you plan and how you perceive life. Hopefully Latonia’s friends/clients will consider the source and make their own informed decisions.
Tourists are not contributing to your pandemic. Your local residents are doing 98% of the damage. You need to reign them in and stop blaming “mainlanders”.
If you want a great vacation, come to the Central Coast of California. Great restaurants, wineries, and 80-degree beach weather. We use common sense in dealing with Covid.
Thanks but it’s the locals who go to Vegas and bring covid back!
Please stay home. This is not vacationland, it is a state of emergency.
Thank you.
Went to Hawaii in June and earlier this month (Aug). Did not have any problems entering both times as the instructions are pretty clear on the Hawaii Safe Travels website. It is the traveler’s responsibility to be informed of the requirements. I flew 2 different airlines and each one reminded me of the requirements and provided the website. So the travelers who have issues cannot blame the state of HI
It’s really not that difficult.
Follow the rules exactly as stated on the Hawaii COVID website. Don’t ask advice of random sites or service providers. Get the correct, approved test, and yes it costs to do so. Upload all required info to Safe Travels 24 hours in advance. Make NO assumption that any variation to the rules or thinking the the right test from the wrong vendor will exempt you from quarantine.
Better yet, take a staycation at home and come to HI when the pandemic subsides.
Yeah, sure, caveat emptor and all that stuff. But the reality is the the testing requirements and rules are generally stupid and inflexible–and not the kind of thing that generates on-going good will and a positive brand experience for Hawaii. I haven’t been back to my house on Hawaii since September because of the ever changes and continuously stupid rules for inbound travelers. My nephew visited me in the mainland in April and literally could not find one single acceptable place to get tested in the Salt Lake City area that could guarantee his results would be back in the narrow window allotted by the state of Hawaii… so he just flew back without a test and had to quarantine at his home when he arrived.
The real question here is: Why, after having 18+ months to plan and execute a better system–is Hawaii still doing it the hard way? For example, if your test results–from an acceptable test through an acceptable partner–don’t arrive before your flight leaves–but become available while you are en route–or shortly after you arrive–why would that not be acceptable to the state? You clearly tested negative–and jumped through all the hoops… why be pedantic and make those folks quarantine or return home? Or why not set up testing facilities in the airports? For the folks that didn’t quite get it right–but at least made the effort and made honest mistakes or got bad information from somewhere? How hard would that be? And even if the state PAID for those tests–wouldn’t that be more than made up for in hotel taxes, sales tax at every bar and restaurant those travelers visited–the 50%+ tax on rental cars, etc, etc, etc?
If the point is TRULY public health and public safety, why not make that the ACTUAL focus of the safe travels program… instead of making it into some kind of gauntlet / IQ test that travelers have to make it through for the priviledge of spending their money in our state?
I can see your point, but 10’s of thousands, maybe 100’s of thousands of people have figured it out and traveled here without incident. Even some from SLC, I’d bet. Every system can be improved, but allowing for flexibility is just going to introduce uncertainty and inconsistency. How flexible? and who decides? and what kind of mood are they in the day they are being asked to be flexible? It is the inflexibility that makes it possible for people to rely on the rules. If they know exactly what will be required then they can rely on being able to bypass quarantine if they have what is specified.
I used safe travels and had ZERO problems. I called the airlines and they directed me to a testing site at the airport. Easy in and out had our test results in less than 8 hours. Quit whining and do what you need to do to get there if indeed you actually do want to go. This non stop whining about how HARD Hawaii is making things is out of control
We recently returned from 4 weeks on Maui. Minded all the rules and had zero issues. (Except for Maui airport’s ridiculously long TSA lines. Can’t they do an upgrade somehow?) An easy fix to solve this test result problem is for Hawaii to require visitors to be vaccinated. Show your card, buy your ticket, keep your mask on indoors. Hope you stay well, we are very sad to hear of the recent Covid surge.
Good morning, Unfortunately, we did not have a Covid test through a trusted partner, and although it was a negative PCR test at a hospital and we are both vaccinated, we had to go through a 10 day quarantine. Our last day of quarantine (safe travels app) is the 11th. Can we fly back to the mainland on that day? If we have a connecting flight with a Maui layover, do we need a Covid test?
After canceling in November and January, my husband and I finally made it to Hawaii on April 19th. We were both 2 weeks post second vaccination, and had uploaded our negative PCR test results (taken within 72 hours of departure from a listed testing partner) to our Hawaii Safe Travels accounts. In San Diego we waited in line at the departure gate to be screened and have our QR code show turn from red to green. Southwest provided us with a wristband to indicate we were prescreened.
Upon arrival at the Kona airport, all passengers were funneled into a tent for testing. We were told that we would be contacted only if our tests were positive, but we did receive texts to say that our tests had made it to the lab. That was the last communication.
Upon arrival at our hotel, we were informed that because we would be flying to Kauai 3 days later, we would need to get tested again to meet Hawaii Safe Travels requirements. We spent much of our first full day on the Big Island searching for a rapid testing facility. $300 of our travel budget spent on tests #3.
Having uploaded our second set of negative PCR test results to the Hawaii Safe Travels platform, we flew to Kauai. The airport was amply staffed with novice military personnel, helping to get passengers through the screening process. Unfortunately, the person screening my husband’s account approved the wrong leg of the trip (even after having his superior check his work on the iPad he was using). We were told this upon checkin at our Poipu hotel, had to drop our bags and drive all the way back to the airport to have it corrected.
While the rest of our trip was uneventful with respect to Covid and Hawaii Safe Travels, the sparsely populated beaches and trails were not a sufficient trade for the disruptions to our trip and the added expense.
My family was deported from Kauai back to Honolulu after we arrived in Kauai with our negative tests and we codes from Honolulu. We were rejected because we had spent 3 days in Honolulu which invalided our clearance.
Dear Beat of Hawaii,
Mahalo for all the great information you have provided over the past 18+ months. We have just returned from a fantastic Kauai vacation. Although the planning process was extremely stressful, thank to you we were able to do everything correctly and have a vacation we will never forget.
We took the Walgreens ID NOW test and got the results back the same day. We were able to get the pre-clearance bracelets at LAX. We got a rental car at Enterprise. We hiked the Waimea Canyon and the first mile of the Kalalau Trail. We snorkeled at Ke’e and Tunnels beaches. We swam with turtles and colorful tropical fish. We went through the landslide 3 times. We flew with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters and toured the Napali Coast with North Shore Charters. We fell in love with the island, brought back lots of pictures and lifetime memories. We cannot wait to go back one day again.
Big Mahalo for all your help!
Hi Niki.
Thank you. So happy to hear that you had a fantastic vacation on Kauai!
Aloha.
Niki S,
Thank you for that info. Tests are difficult to find here with a guarantee of getting results on time. I contacted a local Walgreens and they have those tests.
I don’t intend to return to Hawaii until vaccinations are the only requirement, but IF I change my mind, and decide to visit friends and extended Ohana, now I know where I can get an acceptable test with results on time.
Hawaii needs to follow current news or follow it better (Talk about bubbles).
Aloha all!
I hope those gals know they will definitely need to take another Covid test before traveling from Oahu to Maui, as currently the only vaccinated individuals who are exempt from providing negative test results for interisland travel, are those who have been vaccinated in the State of Hawaii.
I work for an airline in Hawaii and we see travelers like this every day. Some out-of-state travelers even arrive without taking ANY Covid test, assuming that because they are vaccinated they are free to roam wherever. It’s hard to sympathize with these travelers because many fail to do their due diligence and fully research requirements for visiting Hawaii. During this pandemic, the State of Hawaii has definitely made it tough to travel to (and between) islands, even for locals, but it’s all for good reason. Many of Hawaii’s counties are not as densely populated as major cities in the mainland. Thus, we’re more vulnerable to the severity of outbreaks due to lack of facilities. However by the same token, our small population helps us keep Covid numbers low and that’s the ultimate goal.
On the flip side, I know researching the most up to date information for traveling to Hawaii, can be a surprisingly tricky road to navigate. (Earlier in the pandemic, even locals had a tough time coping with the ever-changing policies. We were/are also required to produce a negative test result just to hop over to the next island to visit grandma, load up on goods, or see specialized doctors or clinics, for instance.) However, we can ALL find that information, if we just google “State of Hawaii travel requirements”.
My point being that it just takes a little research in order to get it right. Don’t be THAT dummy traveler who arrives in Hawaii only to be sent back to the mainland a few hours later because you didnt read up on the requirements.
hawaiicovid19.com/travel/
Exactly Liana, people need to do the research to find things out. I don’t feel sorry for people like that.
Completely agree with this response! I probably overly-obsessed by checking the requirements every day, but these were the situations I was afraid of. Why spend all that money if you’re not going to do the research? I don’t feel sorry for those people either. Thanks to my OCD, we are currently enjoying the beauty that is Maui!
Just returned from Maui. Upon arrival BOTH my husband and I went through the post-arrival line – I am vaccinated, my husband is not, so why were we in the same line. We were ushered to a table where my husband self-swabbed for the 2nd test. The same worker looked at my Vaccination Card then handed it back to me. My Card could’ve belonged to my neighbor; the worker didnt cross-check it with my ID. When we left Maui the incoming traveller line (with no pre-clear wristband) was massive and the check-in table had only one worker! Amazing to see how many people could not complete the final pre-travel step and get the QR Code – likely a waste of over an hour at the airport upon arrival. The 2nd test ends 7/4 and will be renembered as the biggest waste of $$ … close to $3M spent on a months worth of 2nd tests and only 5 true “positive” tests (2 were returning residents).
Curious if they had uploaded their negative results into safe travels? If so, would/should they have been alerted that it wasn’t an approved test or from an approved partner? We’re planning to get tested at AA’s partner CareNow urgent care before flying AA out of DFW. Anyone else used them? Thanks so much for your very helpful posts!
Hi Connie.
Thanks. We don’t know why they did not or could not upload them to Safe Travels. Some other people have reported the same issue here. And yet it should have alerted them. People need to bring physical proof with them beyond Safe Travels, just in case.
Aloha.
Sorry but no sympathy at this point. This isn’t new news to anyone that has done any sort of research regarding travel to Hawaii. Why do we continue to hear about people’s surprised reaction when they didn’t follow the procedures that have been in place for a year now? I live on Kauai and there are more than enough tourists here right now and obviously they followed protocol to get here so….🤔
Right on NICF, people need to do the research!
We are totally vaccinated, but canceled our trip to Maui. Cancun and Cozumel. This makes two years in a row we’ve gone elsewhere. Hopefully Hawaii will get their act together before too much longer.
Dear Clay, I’m waiting until next year to go to Hawaii for my lifelong dream vacation trip!♡♡
Go ahead and go to Cozumel. We went about three weeks ago, and it was great. Lots of extra precautions being taken for sanitation, etc. No covid test is required to go there, but a test is required to return to the US. Most hotels offer them…and it was only $28 USD for the test. I would totally go back. Go….you will be glad you did.
Hi Clay, you have it wrong. Hawaii does “have its act together”. The act us keeping any more covid from entering the state. And the act works.
Chad, if Hawaii really did have it’s act together they’d be doing more to make sure the locals get vaccinated. They are the source of the recent upsurge in cases and hospitalizations, not travelers who are screened and monitored seven ways to Sunday.
I always feel terrible for the people who get bad information from the airlines, of course, it’s the airlines that got all that extra money from the the girls! (I do not actually believe this was in any way intentional by whomever they spoke with, just noticing.)
I really hope the testing requirements for fully-vaccinated people go away; with the vaccination rates in Hawaii for residents and visitors both heading steadily upward I’m hopeful Hawaii can begin recovering soon.
Thank you for getting good information out!
We usually visit Maui every year. It’s not worth the hassle and stress for us to jump through all these hoops. We will happily return once this is all resolved.
Dear Ellen, yes for fully vaccinated people the testing will no longer be a requirement. I think that will start in July. For people who aren’t vaccinated the testing will remain for them as other option.
Aloha BOH Bro’s “Master’s of TikTok”
From another travel site poster (This will really screw up followers of BOH)
“Yep, it’s official!!
No more **arrival tests *** at the airport in Kahului as of June 4th.
Remember, you must still have your approved negative test results before coming to Hawaii”
First question from BOH follower: “Do I still need a 72 hr negative covid test to travel to Maui”
Since the program started there’s only been 2 reported positive cases out of nearly 62,000 tested (0.000032% tested positive).
It’s always been puzzling to me how they pick a date to end mask mandates or programs like this.
Hi Richard.
Yes, Maui on-arrival tests end 6/4 and those on the Big Islanded ended 6/1.
Aloha.
RIP Hawaii tourism. People will hear these stories and go elsewhere. Plenty of nice weather in other parts of the world without the hassle.
very true… You may hear stories of a quicker than expected rebound in tourism. But it is still 40% below normal. Research the Recession and the far less drop in tourism back then. Then extrapolate to today.
If they lifted all this nonsense, Hawaii would bounce right back. Much like Florida.
Hawaii is in big trouble 1-2 yrs down the road.
The Marriott Ko Olina was 98% occuppied when we were there for two weeks end of april beginning of May. Restaurants were swamped. We coulnt even get a table at Monkeypod. Maybe because it’s time shares and we were told “use it or Lose it”. We always come this time of year and honestly it didnt seem any different than previous years. The only exception was the cove at Turtle Bay was a ghost town with the hotel closed for renovations. All the other beaches we frequent were packed. Interestly, I was surpised by the number of Canadians we met and chatted up. Some told us they had to drive into the US to catch a flight.
Hawaii, specifically Oahu, is severely missing international travelers. Overall, hotel occupancy is not as high as many believe. ( maybe at a few certain times over spring break they were packed) Travelers are mostly in short term rentals.
Less restaurants ( closed for good) mean more people crammed into what is left open.
HI unemployment still closer to 10%. While other large tourist destination States are below 5%.
My neighbors ( 3 generational family in 1 home) just had to move to Vegas because of work.
It is a statistical certainty. Crap will definitely hit the fan soon. Remember, evictions an foreclosures are still banned.
I believe the latest number was 14,000 behind on their rent. Local.news just today finally highlighted Kauai and its struggling economy.
Anybody noticing Fauci and his apparent role in Covid? Skyrocketing inflation, gas prices, cost of all goods…
Welcome to the new normal…
Hi BOH!
I have a question or two
So we have our negative results all uploaded in the Hawaii safe travels website, health questionnaire filled out, confirmed flight, checked in for departure date of 6/4. My question is do we for any reason need to use common pass? I cannot get uploaded anything on there. From what I read having our results in safe travels is all we really need and that we will show our qr code at the airport this will enable us to get wrist bands so we don’t have to go thru additional health screening at the airport upon arrival correct? And should breeze right thru? From everything I have read from other posters we should be just fine upon arrival at the air port with just the hawaii safe travels info uploaded. Can you confirm? Thanks! Yes getting everything uploaded and ready has been stressful but will be well worth it! I cannot wait to get there! Paul
Hi Paul.
No, you do not need CommonPass. You should be good to go with your information uploaded to Safe Travels and a backup copy in hand. Let us know how it goes and have a great time!
Aloha.
Aloha Paul, I’m going to Oahu next year & i can’t wait also!!♡♡♡ I’m going to enjoy every second on my time on the beautiful 🏝
I thought that the purpose of quarantine was to stop the spread of the virus. What was done to those visitors was, in my opinion, cruel. The officials knew that they weren’t infected yet chose to punish them. They could have, at least, offered them the opportunity to pay for a test on the Island.
I would not plan any big event in Hawaii such as a wedding, business conference,or even plan on attending events such as the Iron Man Marathon, if I was qualified.
There was a time, earlier in the pandemic, that I would have understood why very strict rules were imposed, but at this point and in the cited examples, I believe that such treatment by the State should be criticized in the media for being unreasonable.The traveling public should be made aware of the State’s attitude towards visitors.
Agreed!!! It’s about our safety and even though these too didn’t understand or do their research to learn “the process”, they were vaccinated and had negative tests results!!! This is where I think it’s no longer about safety and about someone making a buck.
These experiences by Hawaii travelers ae why my husband and I decided to cancel our trip to Oahu and Maui this year. As fourth generation former residents, this hurts. Getting back to both islands is like coming home. But now the hassles of trying to get there is not worth it. To be fully vaccinated yet still not know if we’ll face 10 days of quarantine is not worth the stress and expense of the trip.
My party of 6 recently returned from Kona. Some left from different cities with different travel itineraries to get to Kona (direct flights vs. connecting flights in Honolulu). With a lot of coordination and communication between us, everything worked perfectly with the exception of one of my party–we kept getting an error message when trying to upload his negative COVID test results. Nothing we did helped–the same error message came up. I contacted the Carbon Health site where we got tested and asked for advice, they recommended I email info @ gohawaii.com and ask them to help solve my problem. While they did email me back, the only thing they said was that they were too busy solving other peoples’ problems to help me prior to my flight. We got to Alaska Air check-in and got our pre-clearance wristbands–problem seemed to have been solved. If a problem like this comes up, use the email I listed, it can help get you to the islands….
I have no idea how many people have arrived on the islands only to find out they will have to quarantine. I am an avid reader and subscribe to the Honolulu newspaper, so I’ve been following how Covid has affected the islands and was aware of the precautions in place by island. Find it puzzling that people would not be certain of the rules before they fly to Hawaii. Due to the cost and time spent getting to Hawaii (from the Midwest), we made sure we knew the rules before we went last November. Too many people rely on social media for guidance as to what the rules are. Or maybe they fly airlines other than Hawaiian Airlines–I have found HA’s website to be very informative with respect to the Covid rules.
Anyway, can’t wait to get back on the Big Island for 3 months next winter!
Hi Mary, I’m going to Oahu next year & I’m very excited & can’t wait!!♡♡♡ 🏝 my lifelong dream vacation trip will finally be happening!
Talk about overkill. The daily moving average deaths has been at 0, zero, nada, zilch for over 3 months. Same time period daily positives down 45% to 58. The policies are not science. They are repression and Hawaii businesses and citizens are the ones who are paying.
tale, please
Explain to me why they need to test again before they fly back to North Carolina? They didn’t leave the US.
They need to be tested before they leave Oahu to go to Maui; there is no testing requirement for them to return to North Carolina.
As I’ve reported before, we went to Maui in February. Despite our apprehension, it couldn’t have been easier given the current circumstances. It was not difficult at all to just do a little research from trusted sources (Mahalo, BOH!) and follow the rules! It amazes me, that after all this time people still ask if they need to test because they are vaccinated! Jeez people, just do a little reading. I don’t understand why there is so much confusion….
See you again in September!
Hi Ed.
Thanks. With the number of people arriving, it is clear that albeit confusing and cumbersome, Hawaii’s system is working for most visitors.
Aloha.
Hi Ed, I’m very excited for my life long dream vacation trip to Oahu next year!!♡♡ it definitely will be well worth the wait for me! 🏝 making one of my dreams come true:)