One reader and Hawaii visitor stated the situation well. Read what she had to say and our thoughts.
113 thoughts on “Why Hawaii Visitors Are So Frustrated”
Comments are closed.
One reader and Hawaii visitor stated the situation well. Read what she had to say and our thoughts.
Comments are closed.
Eve does have a point. We were originally supposed to meet our son and his family in Maui in April. Fortunately, the landlord on our rental condo allowed us to postpone our visit within a specific time frame, as did the airlines. We are rebooked for December and are concerned about how long Hawaii will have quarantine restrictions. We’re not sure that the landlord and the airlines will be so accommodating again, which could result in the loss of thousands of dollars between our 2 families. However, I do understand Hawaii’s reluctance to fully open up. We live in a tourist town flooded with people from Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California. As older people, we cannot enjoy a stroll through town because of the proliferation of tourists.
Yesterday we witnessed how the Hawaii Government has been lying to the people of the state about COVID-19 Contact Tracers, what else are they lying about? They were caught red-handed and responded with anger instead of honesty. I for one am very thankful for the continued honesty the Beat of Hawaii offers, we need to hold our officials feet to the fire, electing someone and not questioning what’s going on is always dangerous. I sincerely hope all eligible voters will start asking the hard questions and not just think because a person is in office they must have the best intentions for all of us.
Hi Paula.
Thanks.
Aloha.
Your readers’ point about there being no way to avoid hurting/upsetting anyone I say really, really good. I had been looking forward to returning to Hawaii this September after three years away because I’d been taking some courses which ate up my spare cash. I want to come back, but I can’t take the risk of bringing something that would hurt so many people in Hawaii which already has a healthcare services problem, especially for the most vulnerable populations.
my other concern is that when it is safe to come back the prices will be out of my reach, a concern I think a lot of regular Hawaii travelers, particularly readers of your blog.
They should extend the quarantine only in Oahu and open up the other islands with the new 72 hour test.
Mainlanders could still travel non-stop to the other islands like Maui and the Big Island. Travellers would still have to take the NAAT coronavirus test 72 hours before. The Big Island only had 144 cases and only 5 required hospitalization. Maui is 206 cases and 27 hospitalized. Vs Oahu 4,177 cases and 242 hospitalized. It would be a chance for some tourism business and a way to test the procedures with a more controllable inflow of people.
Good, constructive idea, Rob. I’d also add that (1) the Dept. Health must work out their
Contact Tracing issues, (2) Rapid Testing must be more widely available on the outer islands, so as to not have to transport testing samples to Honolulu, & (3) IF there is a cluster-outbreak of cases, why the secrecy from DOH? Case in point: it would have been good to know which specific fast-food establishments to avoid, weeks ago, when that occurred here on the Big Island.
Rob – I respectfully disagree. I think visitors should be allowed to go to Oahu since that is where the most Covid cases are and the most ventilators. Visitors don’t have to quarantine. The other islands are not equipt to deal with a surge.
I personally am not traveling at this time because I don’t feel it is right to take the chance of inadvertently spreading some form of the virus because I may be an asymptomatic carrier. But then that’s just me. I am one of those silly people that believes if everyone had just complied with wearing a mask, social distancing and practicing proper hygiene from the start, we would not be in the economic crisis that we are experiencing today.
Surely, it isn’t just visitors who are frustrated. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this whole thing resolve itself after November 4th. If not, we will make plans to vacation elsewhere.
Just biding our time to see how this all plays out. Right now, I wouldn’t count on any kind of Hawaiian Holiday any time soon. We have July reservations at our timeshare, but will decide early next year whether to bank them and go elsewhere next year.
Under the present circumstances, Hawaii does not sound like a fun place to visit. It is all very sad. This whole mess is very sad – for everyone. We haven’t even begun to see the catastrophic after effects. They are yet to come. Hang onto your hats, everyone.
this is getting really old I mean COME ON. This is a worldwide Pandemic and has nothing to do with democrats or trying to Hurt Trump for FFS Come on. Its not going to be magically gone November 4th. Good grief
So somehow the virus will magically disappear after November 4? Wasn’t that supposed to happen already? The President said it would, and so did Jared. But all those scientists said it wouldn’t, and they were right. The medical personnel on the front lines of this, as well as the survivors of the 173,000 dead, and the tens of thousands of survivors still fighting debilitating symptoms after leaving the hospital, are under no illusions about this very nasty disease. It’s astounding that so many people don’t want to listen.
It’s a disease, not a political issue.
First of all, I would like to thank all of the administrators for trying to keep up with all of the changes that are happening with travel to Hawaii. We had a reservation for November for Maui and decided to change it to March 2021 to be on the safe side. It was very easy because we did purchase travel protection. Our flights are actually better than we had previously because now we only have one stop instead of 2 both ways. Thank you again fir the updates.
Hi Judy.
Thank you.
Aloha.
My fiancée spent her childhood between the Marshall and Hawaiian islands due to her father being in the military. Hawaii holds a very special place in her heart and is why two years ago we chose it for our 2020 wedding. Living in the north east we fully understand the danger of Covid-19 as we were hit hard by it early on. We were forced to postpone our May ceremony, rescheduled for September, and now have chosen to reschedule our for 2021. The health and well being of those who live local, our family, and guests is more important than our celebration.
What is troubling is the complete lack of guidance and direction from the Hawaiian government. It feels as if they are constantly kicking the can down the road and appears that they have no idea how to actually put a viable plan of action in place. What a sad moment for the people of Hawaii. This lack of leadership has us seriously considering abandoning Hawaii as our destination entirely. What a sad moment in history for everyone there.
Our local and surrounding governments here in New England put phased plans together starting in March. They provide constant updated information and have made it clear the situation is ever evolving. With a clear set of guidelines and expectations in place there is a path to reopening and recovering our economy. We can make clear, informed decisions, and actually plan our lives around Covid-19. While our local government leaders are not perfect, the difference between here and Hawaii is night and day.
Best wishes and good health to everyone. Stay safe.
Hi JJ.
Thanks for your comment.
Aloha.
It’s so easy to criticize HI government from afar! I just checked the Massachusetts website. I don’t see any path to anything. I do see that as of August 1 there were new restrictions imposed. “Starting Saturday, Aug. 1, visitors from outside of New England, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii will be required to quarantine for 14 days or pass a COVID-19 test, otherwise risking a $500 fine each day under an order issued by Gov. Charlie Baker.” Sounds pretty similar to Hawai’i. It’s true that New England has a nice outline of phased openings. So does California, but now there are problems and backtracking due to the changing health environment. The travel restrictions above are an indication that in New England, reality dictates unexpected changes to policy. That’s the reality of the situation. All states are having problems trying to figure out school openings. All sports at all levels, nationwide, ditto. The notion that any part of the US has a nice, clean, predictable program in place appears to be a myth.
My family has been traveling to Hawaii for as long as I can remember and we have had to cancel our plans to Hawaii 3 times this year. I have lived in Rhode Island for over 20 years and work in Massachusetts. The two regions have had drastically different approaches to handling Covid-19. One has had a plan in place while the other is still planning. How many months does it take to put a plan into action? The phased reopening in Massachusetts seems to be working with there being a 1.5% positive test rate and you can travel through most states in New England with a negative test result. Last I read Hawaii was over 8% with quarantine and lockdown requirements in place for months! Something clearly isn’t working there and the people of Hawaii will be the ones who pay the price for it.
It’s an island not mainland good grief. Its not as simple as that.
At the end of the day Hawaii has to look out for their own safety. It is an island. Just face the fact that you probably shouldn’t be scheduling a trip to the islands in 2020. So stop doing it. Respect the people who have to live there not so you can go have a vacation for a couple weeks and go back to your home.
The following thoughts from a conservative may seem strange but I think we all need to cut the elected officials just a little slack. This virus is a moving target. I had surgery on March 17th which was a 6 week recovery and everyone thought it was a great time to be out because the virus would be gone. Instead it is 6 months later and the virus has taken many different paths. The officials don’t have a crystal ball and even though politics are involved, they just do not know which way to go. Hindsight is always 20/20. This little voice inside of me says “Learn Patience” so we are planning on spring 2021. Experts say the thing that ended the 1918 pandemic was when everyone on the planet had been exposed. Maybe we all need a little patience.
Wise thoughts, Bob
AMEN Bob. Well stated. And no not strange to me, Smart on your part to think that out.
Aloha everyone…
I wish we could go back to the days when we were frustrated at how long it took Southwest to begin flying to HI. Keep vibing high everyone, keep the Aloha spirit, I’ll ask Hawaii to send some mana over to the mainland, we need it! Lots of mana to go around, and Aloha blessings and wisdom to everyone as we navigate this crazy Covid storm.
Mahalo for the updates.
Hi Trades.
Thanks.
Aloha.