Hawaii & Covid

[OKW Lover]

Just back from ~12 days on Oahu. First 2 nights were at the Sheraton Waikiki and the next 9 nights were at Aulani. We are fully vaccinated.

Arrival at HNL airport was pretty smooth. We had flown LAX>HNL on Delta. Before leaving LAX we had to show our Safe Travels Hawaii QR code. They gave us a wrist band to be worn until clearing the Hawaii checkpoint.

Got a taxi to Waikiki ($35 + tip) with our masks on. Its a requirement for taxi/Uber/Lyft. At the Sheraton we had to actually log in to our safe travels account and show them the approval page. Same when we checked into Aulani. That's right, the QR code itself wasn't enough. So, we had taken a picture of our QR code for no reason.

At Aulani we received a black wrist band that we had to wear for the entire stay. Annoying, but actually not terrible.

Every restaurant in Hawaii requires you to show your vaccination card (a photo is fine) and a government ID. They also require contact information for one person of your party. Also annoying. At least the Aulani restaurants don't require this step as all you do is show them your wrist band.

 

[JC1984]

Thanks for the update and your experiences. How was your trip overall?

 

[OKW Lover]

Overall the trip was great. Mask wise, we found few situations where we had to wear one. So much of Hawaii is open-air stuff so no mask needed in many activities. In restaurants, they are quick to bring you water when you sit down allowing you to remove your mask. It was hardly a burden.

All of our usual places to visit were open with one exception. A favorite restaurant, Anna Millers, is not open yet. We did a lot of sightseeing as this was a first visit for some of our party. The island is as beautiful as ever and we found the people to be universally friendly.

 

[jujubiee4]

Overall the trip was great. Mask wise, we found few situations where we had to wear one. So much of Hawaii is open-air stuff so no mask needed in many activities. In restaurants, they are quick to bring you water when you sit down allowing you to remove your mask. It was hardly a burden.

All of our usual places to visit were open with one exception. A favorite restaurant, Anna Millers, is not open yet. We did a lot of sightseeing as this was a first visit for some of our party. The island is as beautiful as ever and we found the people to be universally friendly.

Did you rent a car? Did your price come down and somewhat "reasonable"?

 

[OKW Lover]

The friends that joined us on this trip rented the car so I can't comment about the price. I do know from casual conversation with the friend that the price had come down since it was reserved ~ 6 months ago.

 

[BayGirl22]

Did you rent a car? Did your price come down and somewhat "reasonable"?

I've been looking at car prices for Nov for a while. I've rebooked twice and my latest is down to 1/4 of the original quote I had. Keep checking. My lowest now is through the Chase travel site (and if you have a Chase Sapphire you have good rental coverage).

 

[Unclelude]

Did you rent a car? Did your price come down and somewhat "reasonable"?

We were there Sept 16-26... 10 days was only $450 for full size sedan...

 

[MouseOfCards]

I've been looking at car prices for Nov for a while. I've rebooked twice and my latest is down to 1/4 of the original quote I had. Keep checking. My lowest now is through the Chase travel site (and if you have a Chase Sapphire you have good rental coverage).

Cheaper than Costco?

 

[MouseOfCards]

We were there Sept 16-26... 10 days was only $450 for full size sedan...

Great price - especially compared to a couple of months ago!

 

[bsmcneil]

Just reading all that gives me a headache. Ige is a menace.

Sounds absolutely reasonable and non-intrusive to me. Like ... what about any of that creates a problem?

ETA: I mean - I suppose it could be frustrating to have taken 10 seconds to screenshot the QR code and not use it? But if they hadn't actually checked your info, you easily could've gotten someone to send you a screenshot of a QR code (which wouldn't have helped demonstrate you having cleared the requirements). Giving one person's contact info? I mean - I guess that 45-60 seconds could've been used sight-seeing. That said, contract tracing is a super helpful part in slowing/stopping the spread of a disease that kills (and whether you care or not, it could help someone else). And as we all know, it's not like Hawaii has the easiest way to treat people or get supplies, given its location. I mean - if every single person had to take a rapid test before eating in any restaurant/going into any store, that would've seemed like a headache/unbearable process to me. I just don't know/see how it could be made any easier to juggle travel and a pandemic.

 

[Unclelude]

Cheaper than Costco?

The 10 days for $450 was thru costco!

 

[OKW Lover]

comment deleted by author

 

[BayGirl22]

Cheaper than Costco?

Yes. I had a reservation for $440ish after fees through Costco, my new reservation is $331 all in, for a bigger car (compact SUV was the cheapest option). Same dates - a Thurs through Wed right before Thanksgiving. Both were with Hertz, my preferred rental company.
The Chase reservation was pre-pay but fully cancellable - that was the only difference.
When i was getting quotes 2-3 months ago I was seeing rates closer to $1000 for those dates.

 

[JC1984]

I got a minivan for 7 days for $387 in January. Feel like I won the lotto.

 

[MouseOfCards]

I got a minivan for 7 days for $387 in January. Feel like I won the lotto.

Wow, that's a great price!

 

[SteveH]

@OKW Lover we had a very similar situation, 4 nights on the Big Island at Royal Kona and 4 nights on Maui at the Royal Lahina.

Similar flight and COVID protocols for us too, we sailed right through to get our rental both places. On the Big Island there is no requirement to show Vax cards as its not a rule there (yet). Felt those at the hotel and other places we visited were very nice about reminding people to wear a mask, but really I'd say most were good about it in public places. Maui, like Oahu requires Vax cards to eat indoors. Some even for outdoor areas for safety of the staff they said. I'd say sitting indoors in Hawaii is a punishment, so most all the time we tried to sit outdoors. I was very impressed how well organized all the restaurants we ate at were; from the QR codes to the menu to clear signage about masks. Most all were doing a great job addressing the social distancing spacing of tables, but was also nice to sit at the bar as well.

We ran into the whole logging into the Safe Travels Hawaii upon check-in to both of our hotels and a couple of other places, I wouldn't mind if their website didn't require a code via email. On Maui they were consistent about asking for ID & Vax cards; either on your phone or physical card didn't matter. But they never asked about contact information, must have been more of an Oahu rule I guess.

I don't think we ran into one rude employee our entire trip. In fact I felt like the vast majority were appreciative we were there and they were working.

I was very happy to find that we had daily room service at both of our hotels, they seemed to both be well staff for cleaning, upkeep and for meal services. Plus the lack of parking fees in Maui and not baloney resort fees was nice!