For those of you only interested in learning about Cancun and the Riviera Maya, you will want to skip this post.  For those of you interested in what it was like to travel back to Hawaii during the COVID pandemic, you many want to stick around and read some tidbits about the travel experience.

The state of Hawaii has been extremely reluctant to reopen due to the very limited medical resources available on the various islands.  Now that they have reopened, there continues to be some very strict guidelines still in place.  Let me just say that traveling to and from Mexico is a LOT easier than traveling to Hawaii.  While I understand residents’ concerns about keeping their islands as safe as possible from COVID, I found many of Hawaii’s travel requirements to be redundant and difficult to maneuver through.  Hopefully this post will offer some info that will help others be able to visit these beautiful islands with the least amount of stress.

First of all, I flew from the west coast to the Big Island of Hawaii with Alaska Air since it offered direct flights (be aware that this is a long haul flight of six hrs. from parts of the west coast so be prepared to amuse yourself since Alaska Air offers no built-in TV screens–if you want an in-flight meal you have to order it in advance otherwise you get two drink go-arounds and one bag of chips).  At first I was going to stay on Kauai since that is my favorite island, but it was not meant to be due to that particular island’s back and forth of being open then closed–after two rounds of cancelled reservations on Kauai, the Big Island seemed a much safer bet.

Here’s the deal with travel requirements to the various islands (while my trip was to the Big Island, I discovered some info about visiting the other islands as well, but the list of travel requirements for other islands is not complete).

Before You Go:

• You must get a COVID test done by a trusted travel partner approved by the state of Hawaii within 72 hrs. of the LAST LEG of your flight to your final destination.  Since I had a non-stop flight I knew exactly what the time parameters were, but another of my party had a connecting flight in Honolulu and therefore had to plan on testing within 72 hrs. of leaving Honolulu to fly into Kona.  I read that a visitor had their COVID test done by the Mayo Clinic and it got rejected–a mandatory quarantine of 10 days is in effect if any part of this requirement isn’t done correctly.
• Be aware that not all trusted travel partners doing the COVID testing will automatically guarantee results by the time you get on your flight.  Research what other travelers have said about that company and judge accordingly.  I chose Carbon Health to do my testing since they guarantee results within 24 hrs. of completing the test.  My phone was buzzed by Carbon Health at 5 a.m. the next morning with my results which was only 15 hrs. after I got the test.
• Bring a hard copy of your negative COVID test results.  I made two copies and packed one separate from my travel docs.  If there is a problem with any of the Pre-Clearance procedures at the airport, at the very least you MUST provide evidence of a negative test result or your travel plans will go up in smoke.
• You must register with Safe Travels in advance of your trip (Safe Travels is essentially travel.hawaii.gov.).  There is no app for Safe Travels, just a website (as far as I could determine; maybe this will change in the near future).  This is imperative since you have to give specific details of your trip, upload your negative COVID test results, and complete a Health Questionnaire on this site; the Health Questionnaire can only be done within 24 hrs. of your initial departure to the islands.  Once you finish the online questionnaire you will get an email with a QR Code–take a screenshot of the QR Code since you will have to show it at various points at the airport as well as Hawaii entry.  Also, be sure you know what email account and password you’ve used for Safe Travels; some airport personnel will not accept just a screenshot of the QR Code and will want you to log into your Safe Travels account to see it.
• If you have a connecting flight, make separate “trips” in the Safe Travels account (one “trip” for each flight segment).  You will be getting a separate QR Code for each leg of your journey which must be shown at various points when you arrive in Hawaii.  Again, take a screen shot of your QR Code for this portion of your trip to show at various points.
• If you get an error message from Safe Travels when trying to upload your COVID test results, try emailing your problem along with your negative test results as an email attachment to info@gohawaii.com.  There is no guarantee that they will solve your problem by the time you leave, but it is worth a shot.  My test results were uploaded with no problem, but another of my travel party had a repeated error message.  I emailed them with what the problem was and while their response said they were way too busy fixing other people’s Safe Travels problems, they just recommended I bring a hard copy of test results.  By the time I got to the airport the problem seemed to have been fixed.
• Be sure to bring your  vaccination card.  While it’s not a necessity to be vaccinated to enter Hawaii, you won’t have to have a second COVID test result done once you land.  Those who didn’t have a vaccination card or who didn’t have enough time elapsed since their last COVID vaccination were sent to a separate line to have another COVID test.  That takes more time away from your vacation.
• And last but not least, there is a HUGE car rental shortage on all the islands (many of the cars with all rental companies were sold off during COVID to defray expenses).  Be sure to make your reservation WAY in advance or you will get stressed about this issue and all the “no vehicles available for your dates” messages you will get.  If you want to read more about where to go to get car rentals on the islands, check out Beat of Hawaii–I’ve found this to be THE best site for travel information to the Hawaiian islands.  Or, you can try AutoSlash–they will email you with possible rentals for your dates and any discounts offered with various companies you may be a part of (AAA, Costco, etc.).

At The Airport:

• With this particular trip and all its pre-travel requirements, I would suggest you get into the full service/assistance lines when checking in.  They will not only check your bags, but will get you pre-cleared and give you a wristband to show all along your route and into Hawaii. (This is true for Alaska Air, and I believe some other airlines have the same procedure–do your research and make the best travel choice for yourself).
• If you don’t have any checked bags, there is a Pre-Clearance line by your gate area.  Get into the line in order to get a wristband; they will want to see your QR Code as well as check your uploaded COVID test results from Safe Travels, so be logged in by the time you get to the front of the line.

When You Arrive In Hawaii:

• All the passengers on your flight will get into the same line for screening (at least this was true on the Big Island, it may be different if your destination is Honolulu).  If there are other flights arriving at the same time on the smaller islands you could have a lengthy wait.  They will check to see if you have a vaccination card and sometimes will also check your QR Code–I just had to show my vaccination card and not my QR Code.
• Now get your checked bags and stand in another line to get your shuttle to the car rental company that has your reservation.  You may need to show your negative COVID test results when picking up your car so be prepared.  I spent an hour and a half standing in a social distanced line just waiting to get to the counter.

And that’s it…(or is it? lol).  I just realized when I re-read this post that I was fortunate to make it here at all.  So for those intrepid vacationers who like a lot of unnecessary stress when traveling, pick Hawaii.  Would I have done this trip if I had known it would involve all the above?  Probably not, reading about it and going through it were quite different.

If you want to check out some of my Big Island travel pics and short videos, check out my other Instagram account, seemegtravel.

Are you planning on going to Hawaii?  Would you go there with all the current restrictions?