Another wild tale from those who discovered firsthand what happens for not following Hawaii COVID protocols.
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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.