Kauai could shut down tourism at any time. What can you do if you get caught in this Catch-22?
82 thoughts on “Will Kauai Visitors Risk All and Return With This Looming?”
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I’m glad we cancelled our 3 week trip! When Kauai shows an interest in having visitors again, I may return.
Good Day Beat of Hawaii,
I thought I sent a message and then I did not see it. So I am sending another one. My question is this. If we are already on Kauai and they transition to tier 1 or 2, do we have to quarantine? Or do we get to continue to visit the island? I read the Mayor’s order and while I am not a lawyer, the language would have one believe that only people entering Kauai after they transitioned to tier 1 or 2 would have to quarantine. Or am I reading that wrong. Perhaps wishful thinking on our part. Thanks for all of your information. You guys are great!!
mike b
Hi Mike.
Thank you. We read it the same way that you do, and there has been no further clarification from the county. Maybe you are a forever optimist too. 🙂
Aloha.
I love the islands but at this time it is too much of a hassle to visit there. I would opt for somewhere else. There are so many places that are great in the lower 48
Aloha. I do not believe the 59 count for Kauai is mostly”visitors”. The majority of cases were actually residents. The largest cluster was a group visiting Las Vegas. Yes there were a few visitors who tested postive on Kauai after first getting sick on Maui. I know of a recent visitor case who had been in quarantine while getting ill.
I just had a friend who has 4 vacation rentals on the island and all 4 future reservations (up through Feb) cancelled because of the tier order. No one wants to plan a very expensive vacation and then 2 weeks before has to cancel. Just remember that one household of 5 getting covid could cost the island millions in losses and completely shut down the economy again. There is no more bailouts and rent forgiveness is going away. For a family of 5 and some with no symptoms, is this what you want? Maybe it is. Thanks!
Hi Joan.
Thank you. We corrected that error. Good points.
Aloha.
Mahalo for your very helpful updates. I have received more helpful information here than any other source. We were supposed to be coming to Hawaii on Saturday but had to cancel our trip today due to craziness and misinformation around COVID Pretests. Plan A got shut down – We are from Canada and found our that if we get the same test that approved partners are using that would work, but no it was confirmed that only preferred partners can administer the test. Plan B just got shut down – We had a connecting flight in SFO and thought we could arrange an appointment for the The rapid Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test – administered by GoHealth Urgent Care at SFO for United passengers… but when we tried to book the appointment we were informed that only flights “originating” from SFO could get the PreTest appointment. Because we were connecting in SFO we were NOT eligible. Very disappointing to us but thought we’d share to help others avoid the same disappointment we have gone through. Missing our Ohana. Mike & Rachel
Hi Mike.
Sorry to hear that did not work out and thanks for letting us know. Did you try checking the Quest mail-in testing? That’s what others have been reporting as working easily, albeit expensive.
Aloha.
We just canceled our trip more or less for these reasons. We are from small town in Idaho and none of the “approved” partners are even close to us. I have been doing all my research and keeping up with the news and the minute the list came out I was searching all over for any partner I could get too, but no luck. Super bummed. Seems a little sad to me that the partners they are using are only in the areas with lots of cases and the area with hardly any cases don’t even have a chance.
Hi Rebecca, So sorry you had to cancel your trip. By chance did you see the Vault Covid test? Vault is on the approved list of tests. It is a mail in test that provides results within 24 hours of Vault receiving your specimen. It comes with a $150.00 testing fee though. However the $150 includes all the shipping charges.
We live just over the border in Western Wyoming. We just saw an announcement that WY is paying for the Vault test for any resident, so we ordered ours (and, sure enough, the $150 was waived with a comment on their web site that WY paid for it). We don’t travel to Hawaii for another 3 weeks, but the test kits don’t “expire”
I don’t know if Idaho is also paying for ID residents to take Vault test, but you may want to at least check. Plus, kids under 12 can take them
Thank you for your coverage. We are supposed to travel (family of 4) from LA to Kauai in December. We already cancelled two HI trips this year. I tried to cancel this one but American Airlines will not refund my $ unless there is a major schedule change. This is all proving to be more complicated than a 6 day vacation should be, not to mention the extra cost of testing. Please keep up the coverage! We miss HI and want to visit – hoping in the next 8 weeks this gets easier.
Hi Beth.
We just had the first report from someone arriving in Honolulu, all without a hitch. Fingers crossed for that to continue to be the news.
Aloha.
Because the threshold is so low, Kauai will go to Tier 1 or 2 very soon. LG Green has said several times that if you want to stay in lockdown just be forthright about it. Clearly this system has been set up to circumvent Ige’s decision. I don’t fault the concern behind this at all. I just wish there was a bit more transparency. What do you guys think?
Mahalo for all you do!
Hi Jon.
Thanks for your many comments. We just don’t know whether Kauai will get to 5 active cases or not, and aren’t qualified to assess that. Hopefully, the State and County health departments were actively involved in planning this and must have given significant thought to the plan’s viability. Or at least we would hope so.
Aloha.
Have you ever been able to clarify if that is 5 new cases per day, or 5 total active? That is a big difference.
I don’t think it will matter because they will probably get to 5 cases per day soon
No thank you Hawaii too many variables we will wait until this is all clear to visit Hawaii again!
Aloha from HNL! Waiting for a connection to Hilo but smooth, easy arrival at Southwest terminal. Mahalo, Honolulu!!
Hi K.M.
You’re the very first to let us know. Thanks so much – that’s great to hear.
Aloha.
Where were you flying in from, just curious?