tidy

It looks as though Hawaii is going to eliminate the requirement to quarantine upon arrival but still require a negative corona test within 72 hours. We may consider going in January. We have been to Maui a couple of times and Kauai only once long ago. We are thinking about visiting the Big Island and may visit Kauai as well. What can you all tell me about the Big Island... which area to stay, things you like about the island etc.Thank you,

Songdoc

Effective tomorrow (Oct. 15th) the quarantine can be bypassed by providing an approved negative test taken w/in 72 hours of arrival. Those who voluntarily get a 2nd test three days after arrival on Kauai and Maui will receive incentives, such as restaurant gift cards and special discounts.

However this does NOT apply to the Big Island, where they are having a surge of cases.

Kauai has NO active cases. It's a bit confusing, but in the event that there are more than 8 active cases within a given a week on Kauai, they will return to the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

There is a "tier" system. If there are 1 to 4 cases within a given a week on Kauai, some restrictions will be re-imposed. If there are 5 to 8 cases, stricter restrictions will be re-imposed.

Songdoc

I am now hearing different info re: the Big Island. It seems to be changing every day.

suze

I heard the same. That Big Island was doing something different than Oahu.

I love Hawaii and would normally be there next month on Oahu in Waikiki, but personally... I'm waiting until late spring/early summer and even then with finger-crossed. For all concerned!

Songdoc

Suze: I think that's a wise choice.

The article read in today's Garden Island (Kauai's newspaper) was completely confusing.

It will be very interesting to see what develops. I suspect it will keep changing as the # of cases go up and down.

suze

There is lively and current conversation and updates on the Trip Advisor's Oahu and Maui destination forums (I assume the other island forums as well).

Certainly it is possible to go, but for me January would be too soon. Things are not 'normal' so what people liked about the island on previous trips may not hold true or be available now. I miss traveling as much as the next person but for me having to deal with the testing or quarantine, extra sanitation precautions, wearing masks, limited group gatherings, closures, etc. etc. doesn't inspire me to go quite yet. Personal opinion I realize but meant w/ aloha...

KonaJoe

If you are coming to Hawaii, be aware that the local population is very concerned about tourism opening (including many of those who work in hospitatlity). SO, be prepared to jump thru the hoops established by the different islands...because so far they are not uniform. Do your reading before you come so you know what you face. BE EDUCATED... know for example what the requirements are for testing before AND possibly during. ALSO, be aware of the masking requirements. Many here do not want visitors yet and especially those who DO NOT RESPECT OUR LAWS OR CUSTOMS. We have already had issues with visitors refusing to wear masks and telling the locals to "Fxxx Off". That is rude and will potentially get you arrested. Say it to the wrong local and it may potentially get you beat up! It is NOT A LIBERTY ISSUE! It is an item of safety AND a law that you must wear a mask outside...even sitting on the beach. We dont want you making US sick. Dont like it or dont want to play by the rules STAY HOME! We can die from you not following the rules...that means our normal ALOHA and smiles can quickly turn upside down into frowns and resistance. Treat us as you would your own close family. It has only been a few days and already there are negative rumblings over lack of social distancing, lack of masks, not following rules. Behave appropriately and for many you will be welcome. Its pretty much common sense and good civil responsibility. Dont be the ones that ruin it for others.

suze

Why not wait? Why do you need to take a vacation right now?

KonaJoe

It IS not NORMAL TIMES. It is very different and people need to have appropriate expectations. Lots of hotels, restaurants, shops, activities are closed or have gone out of business. For those of us who live here, it has been very challenging as we have seen what is happening on the Mainland come here in the form of sickness and death. We have had poor governmental management just like on the Mainland and opened/liberalized too early. Now we are VERY sensitive to bad decisions, risks being taken that seem inappropriate, decisions being pushed that dont seem to have our best interests at heart but instead are those of the Mainland companies that have taken over our hotels, shopping malls, restaurants, etc. Many of us are enjoying that our roads are not full of traffic, our beaches are not clogged with people leaving garbage, our trails are not clogged with people leaving garbage, taking stupid risks, parking in front of our driveways, making noise late at night in residential neighborhoods, and so on. We feel very empathetic for our friends and family who are out of work and have businesses and livelihoods at risk BUT even they recognize that things must be managed carefully. We are a society where often we have 2-3 or more generations in homes. If a kid or teenager gets Covid it can kill off grandparents, parents, siblings. We dont for the most part have big houses with lots of rooms/space to quarantine. Our homes are small, crowded, usually not air conditioned and that can be deadly. The TV tonight showed lots of visitors walking around Waikiki without masks, sitting or standing close together on the beach, generally doing stuff that is potentially spreading Covid. Doesnt mean they have it BUT statistically it will slip through. The government authorities have already messed up the arrival process just allowing in people with tests from non-partners, whithout results...who knows what validity and credibility these results have? The cops cannot monitor all of this. Kauai is very aggressive about doing it but Oahu sucks at it. We have seen months of people coming in with cheap fares, not quarantining, not wearing masks, misbehaving while posting arrogantly on social media how they are beating the system. If things blow up it wont be nice.
So, maybe you should wait before you rush out here. The same way many if not most of us are also waiting to travel out of Hawaii....I dont want to be crass and say go to Florida or Texas, Mexico or California...they all have water but they also have problems too. Get past the pandemic fatigue and push thru to spring. It is a marathon NOT a sprint.

socaltraveler

We postponed our family Kauai vacation from June 2020 to June 2021. I have my doubts it will happen then. We are very cognizant of what travel to an island state means for the residents, and know that having multiple restrictions are not how we would choose to vacation. We will wait this out.

tidy

sounds like it is best to wait to visit Hawaii but I will still try and plan for the future trip>

suze

If you are willing to travel during the pandemic and really want to get to a beach, Mexico is open many places, with some but less restriction. I read reports daily from the Puerto Vallarta Trip Advisor forum of people who have chosen to take their trips. Others are preferring the Cancun side for safety measures. Florida is open. And so on.

dianedoumas8797

We went to visit our son and his fiance in October as soon as travel was allowed from the mainland. We followed the instructions posted at gohawaii.com. We ended up quarantined our entire time on Oahu in our son's small apartment. Our negative COVID-19 results from HI's "trusted travel partner" did not come back until 4-5 days into our visit. Once we posted our results, my husband was released from quarantine within hours, but I was not for no apparent reason, even though we did exactly the same thing at the same time. Thankfully, we had already decided to go home a few days early, rescheduling our flight with no penalty. All legs of our flight were safe and uneventful. Once leaving the screening area at the Honolulu airport, however, it is impossible to contact any HI official for help, and the islands do not provide any relief such as quick testing for visitors whose original testing site fails to provide prompt results. The only person who tried to help us was the manager at the resort where we were planning to stay if we had been able to leave our son's place. So, anyone who decides to try traveling to Hawaii, I wish you better luck. Just be prepared that you could end up quarantined for your entire vacation.

Songdoc

dianedoumas8797: I'm so sorry you went through that. It must have been SO frustrating.

The latest (as of yesterday) is that if you arrive on any of the islands w/o an approved test you must quarantine for the full 14 days -- even if your approved negative test result arrives during the 14 days.

On Kauai, we had zero cases for months. Since the mandatory quarantine (with approved negative test) was eliminated, we have had new cases every day. Most days, two new cases, but a couple of days ago, we had five. The mayor wants to require the negative test result PLUS a shorter quarantine (i.e., three days) followed by a second test. This would only apply to Kauai, but the governor is resisting this. We are expecting a decision any day now. If we reach an average of 3 new cases per day, the full 14-day quarantine will be reimposed.

I would not make any plans to visit Hawaii unless they are fully refundable because if case numbers continue to go up, stricter measures will be implemented on all the islands.

tomfuller

As of Monday afternoon our DD and SIL became the newest residents of Oahu. They both had negative covid tests within 48 hours of when they left BWI and still had to get tested when they reached HNL - still both negative. My DD bought a new car yesterday. My SIL's car is still on the ship coming from the port of Baltimore.
Until 10 days ago, our DD (RN) was working on a covid unit in a Baltimore area hospital. As of December 1 she has a job in the Queens hospital in Ewa Beach. Luckily our SIL has the same job that can be done anywhere in the US that he has a secure internet connection. The biggest paperwork hassle they had when they got to HNL was getting the vet to sign off to take their aging cat home with them. Popoki is enjoying his new home.

Songdoc

Tomfuller: congratulations on having a great place to visit!
Yes, you have to jump through a lot of hoops to bring a pet into the islands.

dianedoumas8797

Thank you, and perhaps with time we will all learn how to navigate these challenges more effectively. What bothers me the most is how counterintuitive it seems. I imagine the State of HI is spending tons for the infrastructure to run the safe traveller program, yet it didn't feel like the state was fully committed to bringing tourist revenue safely back into the economy. In our case, we languished on Oahu, COVID-19 negative, for several days while the state's elaborate traveller program kept us quarantined. We fulfilled our goal of spending quality time with our son and his fiance, but I don't think HI benefited much from our visit, and perhaps it cost the state with all the manpower, IT monitoring and infrastructure, etc. Regardless, I wish all the best for our beautiful HI islands and hope for better future visits.

MmePerdu

I suspect the citizens of Hawaii feel it's money & effort well spent to keep residents healthier than governments have done in so many other states. While you may have felt inconvenienced or that the system was cumbersome for you, I think fewer cases & deaths are rightly the priority now and making it easier for visitors is not.

Gretchen

counterintuitive it seems. I imagine the State of HI is spending tons for the infrastructure to run the safe traveller program, yet it didn't feel like the state was fully committed to bringing tourist revenue

NOT The reality with Covid and testing is you test negative until you test positive. It's an ISLAND and they can control what happens with people coming to them better than anywhere else. MOre power to them.

Songdoc

The overwhelming majority of people who arrive with an approved, negative test are able to smoothly bypass quarantine and feed the islands' economies. But there are glitches in the program. This morning, there was a news report about someone who was arrested for breaking quarantine because he left his hotel room to use a bathroom in the lobby. (His mother was taking a very long time in the loo and he couldn't wait.) His negative result arrived while he was in jail, awaiting bail!

They are doing to best they can to balance safety with economic recovery -- but with such limited medical resources, I suspect Kauai will soon be headed for stricter measures. We only have (9) ICU beds on the entire island.