Hawaii open by June?

13,070 Views | 123 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Phat32
Jock 07
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AG
Wife is begging for a trip this summer so for ****s and giggles I started looking at flights and hotels. LAX-HNL is ~150 round trip (United) and there looks to be availability at the hale koa and the Hilton next door is pretty close in price and might be worth the extra $. Wife and I were out there 5 or 6 years ago and I've been back for work 3 times over the past few years. We'd probably be out there for a weekish.

I'd really like to do another island but I think my wife prefers the Waikiki scene unfortunately. I think I might be able to try and drag her to another island for a few days maybe. I was thinking Maui but hotel prices seem significantly higher than Oahu.

Any recommendations and any suggestions on keeping a 5 year old entertained beyond just hanging at the beach all day?

If it was up to me we'd be waiting for a Badass ski trip next season instead, especially since we live 15 damn minutes from a beach here.
The Grinder (99)
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Isn't it open now? I believe they require a covid neg test within 72 hours. By then I imagine proof of vaccination will also be accepted. My guess is this summer will be busy with travel. People have been dreaming of a trip anywhere and are probably coming out of this thinking big.

But my guess is it's open. My guess is also that it will be busy. May be what to book now, I bet prices start going up a lot
drumboy
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We went for Thanksgiving staying in Waikiki and other than most lauas and some restaurants, everything seemed to be open. We had to get a covid test before travel but I know that there are some rules about inter-island travel so not sure how easy it is to island jump.

Pearl Harbor was open (theater was closed) as was the Dole plantation.
aggie4231
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Remember the Hale Koa is for Armed Forces members and other eligible Veterans.

If you can stay there, it's nicely located. My grandparents stayed there every year for their wedding anniversary for almost the last 10-12 years. Always had an ocean view.
TAMUG'04 Marine Fisheries.
Keeper of The Spirits
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Keep the 5 year old busy by leaving it at home
Jock 07
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Yup wife and I stayed there at the hale koa last time we were there. I think they've updated since last time we were there. Although earning the Hilton points seem like a pretty good incentive to move next door if the prices are comparable.
Jock 07
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Ha I wish that were an option
EliteElectric
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Looking at Aulani for around Labor Day so watching this thread.
JMac03
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Oahu is open, you just have to take a COVID test 72 hrs or less in advance.


Some of the other islands require quarantine regardless of test.


https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/getting-to-hawaii/
Austintm
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EliteElectric said:

Looking at Aulani for around Labor Day so watching this thread.
So if you've been to Aulani and liked it, ignore the following
I'm assuming you are staying there because you have kids and want the Disney Hawaii experience. If that's it, OK.
Having stayed in that resort area (though not Aulani), I can tell you it is very, very crowded, and cant imagine how crowded it will be at the time you are going. It is also a very "touristy" area. The lagoons are fine, but really not Hawaii.
We've been to Hawaii several times now, and been to Oahu, Kauai and Maui, all multiple times (Big Island is on the list) Daughter and son-in-law live on Oahu, but we started going even before they lived there. We've circumnavigated Oahu, Maui and as much of Kauai as you can. The west-side resort area of Oahu is dry (the West side of Oahu is the dry side) and not the "lush" Hawaii you see on TV. The drive from Honolulu is basically like driving on an Interstate anywhere. Compared to other parts of the islands, it's just not that nice.
If you stay there, venture over to the east side (and drive through the mountains and forested sides) between Honolulu and Kailua, and take the road north to Haleiwa.
In the resort area, eat at Monkeypod, a casual concept by Peter Merriman, who is one of the top chefs in Hawaii. The lu-au at teh Marriott next door is one of the better ones on the Island because he guy that runs it is tied in with a lot of the top dancers, and brings in an incredible troupe of fire dancers. Avoid the Paradise Cove lu-au, which brings in bus loads of tourists.
Hincemm
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Agree on all parts except the crowds. Granted it depends on the timing but we never felt overcrowded at aulani.

Enjoyed our stay there
EliteElectric
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We've been to Aulani several times. It's our 7yo's favorite resort on earth and to tell the truth mommy and daddy love it too. We usually go for a week and use it as a home base. We've done turtle swims, Dole, Jurassic, Northshore, Sea Life Park, hiked Diamondhead, several helo tours and trips etc. Also while at Aulani I can always walk across the street and play Ko'olina GC .

***ETA***
We usually go in spring and have never considered it "crowded" by any means.
The Milkman
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My wife and I are looking at going to Hawaii in May for 7 nights total, 4 in Maui and 3 in Kauai.

As I understand their travel restrictions this would require us to:

1. Have a negative test within 72 hours of departing for Maui from mainland then
2. After being on Maui for at least 72 hours, get another negative test in Maui in order to travel to Kauai

Is that correct?
EliteElectric
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Behold! The fried shrimp and poke smothered burrito one can only get from a Northshore food truck!!!!!!





JMac03
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AG
The Milkman said:

My wife and I are looking at going to Hawaii in May for 7 nights total, 4 in Maui and 3 in Kauai.

As I understand their travel restrictions this would require us to:

1. Have a negative test within 72 hours of departing for Maui from mainland then
2. After being on Maui for at least 72 hours, get another negative test in Maui in order to travel to Kauai

Is that correct?

I don't think you can go to Kauai without quarantining - but their website is very confusing. I think all travelers have to quarantine if they go to Kauai. But the way they word the inter-island isn't very clear.
Austintm
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Hincemm said:

Agree on all parts except the crowds. Granted it depends on the timing but we never felt overcrowded at aulani.

Enjoyed our stay there
I was specifically not chiding you for staying there, as it seems like a good place if you have kids. There are a lot of activities. We were there in the summer. Setting aside two times we stayed in the Waikiki area (one because I was there for court for a week and needed to be close to downtown, and once when we stayed at the Ritz while visiting our daughter), that area is, IMO, more crowded than anywhere I've stayed in Oahu, Maui or Kauai, so maybe it was just by comparison (we have generally chosen places away from the crowded/resort areas). Maybe we just hit a really bad time, but restaurants were backed up and people were pretty wall-to-wall throughout that area. Regardless, it's hard to have a bad time anywhere in Hawaii.

Oh but my other points stand. That truly is the dry side of the island, and if you haven't ventured west to Kailua or north to Haleiwa (or make a "loop" and do both), you should really do so and check out the island. If you really want an incredible place, sometime stay on the north shore of Kauai.
AgOutsideAustin
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EliteElectric said:

Behold! The fried shrimp and poke smothered burrito one can only get from a Northshore food truck!!!!!!

Love me some Sharks Cove and Teds Bakery





2wealfth Man
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AG
Anyone stay at the Kahala Resort before? Did you play Wai'alae? Thinking about jumping on that.
EliteElectric
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So, while reminiscing about Hawai'i and Aulani I came across some pics I took of my (then) 4yo and I playing golf at Ko Olina GC.



At the Michelle Wie statue



10 Tee




On the practice green


and

and

and


the best pic of all, still wish i would have gone to the door and introduced myself with a loud HOWDY!

This was off the 14th fairway



scoodogg
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We had a cruise booked last year that was canceled. We took their offer of 125% back in the form of a future cruise credit, plus an additional 20% off their current advertised prices. We ended up with an amazing deal (essentially half the normal price) on a Hawaiian cruise for this May. With that now looking like it will get canceled, we're stuck with a decision. Do we still just go to Hawaii anyways, since we've already got flights booked? If so, we would end up flying into Oahu, staying 4 nights and then bouncing over the Maui.

Assuming the testing restrictions are still in place, I guess we would have to get tested within 72 hours of flying to Oahu and then again once we get to the island so that we can travel to Maui. Is that correct?

I'm getting close to throwing in the towel and looking for someplace else to go that would have less of a headache.

muleshoe
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Has anyone been and figured out the testing, from Texas? Most of Hawaii's trusted clinics seem to be on the west coast. CVS and Walgreens won't guarantee any results in time for Hawaii travel, so they recommend you go elsewhere. That seems to leave the airline, or for us more than likely American. The problem that seems to be there, is the groups doing American's testing are not on Hawaii's trusted clinics. AA website has the ever friendly "*"
*You may also use your own local testing provider. Check your destination government's website for specific testing requirements.

Which puts you back to square one. I'll see what more I can figure out and let you all know.....any insight would be great.
txam92
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muleshoe said:

Has anyone been and figured out the testing, from Texas? Most of Hawaii's trusted clinics seem to be on the west coast. CVS and Walgreens won't guarantee any results in time for Hawaii travel, so they recommend you go elsewhere. That seems to leave the airline, or for us more than likely American. The problem that seems to be there, is the groups doing American's testing are not on Hawaii's trusted clinics. AA website has the ever friendly "*"
*You may also use your own local testing provider. Check your destination government's website for specific testing requirements.

Which puts you back to square one. I'll see what more I can figure out and let you all know.....any insight would be great.
We're planning to go in March and according to Trip Advisor, if you do the Walgreens Rapid "ID NOW" test, you can get the results back in time and they will be accepted in Hawaii. Of course, I'm still a bit nervous about that so I'm continuing to research. Also... the one done by American is run by CareNow which in turn is owned by one of the parent companies that is on the official Hawaii partner list (don't remember which one).
The Lost
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We're going end of march to the big island and were just going to do the walgreens id now at exactly 3 days and pray
muleshoe
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Jock.....apologies, didn't even bother to pass anything along.

We've been lucky to go a handful of times. Not sure how traffic will be with COVID, but don't be in a hurry.

Waikiki....would recommend The Royal Hawaiian. It the pink hotel you see every time Waikiki pops up. Goes back to the 1920s....the entry is like getting warped back in time. Thought I had better photos. There is a lot going on right there. Diamond Head...Dole Plantation....there is a lot to see/too much to list.



A must is the Arizona if you can get there/is open. It is hard imagine there is oil/fuel still seeping out after nearly 80 years. It is chilling.....


Maui....recommend Four Seasons, it is in the middle of Wailea. They have tons of stuff for the kids. Road to Hana....Everyone has their favorites.

Hope this helps some.....PM me if want to.....have fun wherever you go!
farmer95
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muleshoe said:

Has anyone been and figured out the testing, from Texas? Most of Hawaii's trusted clinics seem to be on the west coast. CVS and Walgreens won't guarantee any results in time for Hawaii travel, so they recommend you go elsewhere. That seems to leave the airline, or for us more than likely American. The problem that seems to be there, is the groups doing American's testing are not on Hawaii's trusted clinics. AA website has the ever friendly "*"
*You may also use your own local testing provider. Check your destination government's website for specific testing requirements.

Which puts you back to square one. I'll see what more I can figure out and let you all know.....any insight would be great.
I just figured this all out this past weekend when we booked travel to Maui for spring break. If you are traveling on American they have partners that can do pre-travel COVID testing. These are not listed as such on the list of approved health partners by Hawaii, BUT American is listed as a partner so people American endorse are good to go. So for DFW CareNow is the partner and is theway to go, they even have an airport location. I read a number of forums and spoke to a knowledgeable CareNow rep that understood it all. The Hawaii site isn't clear on this aspect of Airline partners being valid but it's legit. It took hours for me to sort out but it can be done, so we are going!
muleshoe
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AG
Awesome! Great info....I can taste Mia Tais already!
AgOutsideAustin
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AG
muleshoe said:

Awesome! Great info....I can taste Mia Tais already!


Drank Mai Tais at several places there including Monkeypod on Maui but just didn't care much for them. I wanted to like them though but it seemed the places all made them slightly different. The best one I had was actually on a sunset cruise boat in a plastic cup.
scoodogg
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AG
We planned on flying into Oahu and then to Maui if we still go. Am I reading it correctly that we should probably change that order?

It looks like you can travel from Maui to Oahu without another test. But, it looks like you need another test to travel from Oahu to Maui.
EliteElectric
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Does IAH (United) have an onsite testing kiosk?
dodger02
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Vault Health is an approved tester and has an at-home testing option with instructions on how/when to obtain testing dependent on your arrival date.
muleshoe
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Thank you!
EliteElectric
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Booked Aulani last weekend of April through 1st week of May so,........let the games begin.

AggieZUUL
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muleshoe said:

Has anyone been and figured out the testing, from Texas? Most of Hawaii's trusted clinics seem to be on the west coast. CVS and Walgreens won't guarantee any results in time for Hawaii travel, so they recommend you go elsewhere. That seems to leave the airline, or for us more than likely American. The problem that seems to be there, is the groups doing American's testing are not on Hawaii's trusted clinics. AA website has the ever friendly "*"
*You may also use your own local testing provider. Check your destination government's website for specific testing requirements.

Which puts you back to square one. I'll see what more I can figure out and let you all know.....any insight would be great.

Yes, testing locations in Texas are spotty. We went to AFC with the kids (American Family Clinic), there is at least one here in Katy. And then we did a drive thru test at Walmart via Quest and we got our results back within 72 hrs of our arrival.

EliteElectric
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AggieZUUL said:



Yes, testing locations in Texas are spotty. We went to AFC with the kids (American Family Clinic), there is at least one here in Katy. And then we did a drive thru test at Walmart via Quest and we got our results back within 72 hrs of our arrival.


How close to 72 hrs out did you test? I was thinking about testing 84 hrs out to give us an extra 12 hours.
dodger02
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AG
You can't do that. Testing has to occur within 72-hours of departure to Hawaii. If you fly from DFW to LAX then LAX to Hawaii, your testing has to be done within 72-hours of the LAX to Hawaii departure.

You also have to have results in your possession before the last leg of your trip begins (the LAX to Hawaii leg in my example). If your results come to you while you're in the air over the Pacific, they can place you into quarantine (and per the Hawaii state website, they will do just that).

ETA: Scroll about half-way down this page for the Pre-Travel Testing requirements.
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