# WALK-THROUGH - HAWAII'S NEW TRAVEL POLICY: My experience traveling to Hawaii



## GregT

Good morning TUGgers,

I hope that this is helpful, I arrived yesterday to Maui Ocean Club and describe below my experience, and what I would do differently.    This looks like alot of steps, but it really turned out to be pretty easy.    I only include each step to be very complete -- it went very smoothly.

1) I booked my flight in late-September, arriving October 30
2) Early in October, I created a login for myself on the Safe Travels website (travel.hawaii.gov)
3) My flights were from San Diego to Honolulu, and then connecting to Honolulu to Maui
4) The first task we have to complete on Safe Travels is to create records for each of your trips
5) I created a record for my first trip (San Diego to Honolulu) and then I created a second record for my second trip (Honolulu to Maui)
6) I know that my flight departed at 8:55am on Friday and that I needed a COVID test from an approved provider (https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/)
7) The Sunday before, I made an appointment with CVS to do a _voluntary _COVID test  (https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing/voluntary-testing
8) I had first wasted time with CVS regular website for COVID testing, before realizing there was a separate one for voluntary COVID tests (that cost $139)
9) My appointment was for Tuesday at 2:30pm (~67 hours before departure) - the rule is to get the test no more than 72 hours from departure
10) The website FAQ says the 72 hours is measured from your last mainland leg to Hawaii (ie, Chicago-Seattle-Honolulu is measured from the Seattle departure)
11) I travel to CVS and it was a drive-through test that I administered on myself while the practitioner witnessed my self-test to make sure I did it right
12) When I checked in for the test, I received an email from CVS telling me to create a MyChart account where they would post my test results
13) When I got home, I created the MyChart account on my computer, and was able to find an app to also download it to my phone
14) On Thursday morning (within 24 hours of departure), I completed the Health Questionnaire on Safe Travels website (see #2 above) - this questionnaire can only be completed within 24 hours of departure
15) After completing the Health Questionnaire, the system emailed me a QR Code for my SAN-HNL flight and a separate email with the QR code for my HNL-OGG flight (this email is important)
16) I saved both emails with the QR Code in a separate folder for quick access
17) On Thursday at 2:20pm (about 48 hours after the COVID test), I received an email from CVS telling me my test results were available
18) I download my COVID results to my computer (saved as a PDF), then login into Safe Travels and I upload the PDF, which is one of the four tasks/options on the Safe Travels website — I’m now ready to go!!!
19) When I land in Honolulu, I retrieved my SAN-HNL email, which included the QR code at the bottom of the email.
20) Hawaii has set up stations at the Arrival gate (perhaps 10 stations at that gate in Honolulu) where an agent will scan your QR code and check your photo ID, and then let you through.  Perhaps 60 seconds for them to review the materials and approve my travel.
21) A suggestion: Position yourself closer to the front of the plane -- I was mid-plane and had to wait about 15 minutes to get to agent
22)  I then went to my connecting gate as per a normal layover
23) In Maui, I used the QR code in the second email (for the Honolulu-Maui flight) — there were about five agents checking the documents and my personal time was again about 60 seconds with the agent.  I was near the front of the plane though and waited only a couple of minutes to be admitted
24) I reserved a rental car with Enterprise.   I didn't realize I needed evidence that I was admitted without quarantine.   The email with my QR code also has a link to my Safe Travels account, where the evidence was.
25) At the rental car agency, I had to connect to my Safe Travels account and find where it said I was admitted without quarantine.  This evidence is included the flight record (that I'd set up in #5 above) for the Honolulu-Maui flight record.
26) At Maui Ocean Club, I again had to repeat Step #25 as they will neither rent a car to you, nor let you enter the room, without proof that you are exempt from Quarantine

The two things I would do differently are position myself as close to the front of the plane as possible, and I would try to print out hard copies of my QR code after my COVID test was uploaded and accepted (and indicated that I was admitted without Quarantine).  Granted, having a hard copy of the QR code is probably overkill as it was easy to pull up on my phone.

I have uploaded two screen shots -- first is what the Safe Travels records showing that two flights have been entered.  Second is the rrecord from the Honolulu-Maui trip, where it shows that I am exempt from Quarantine (for the rental car agency and your accommodations).

I hope this is helpful to another TUGger -- again it looks like alot of steps but it went smoothly and was very manageable.   It is great to be here -- there are masks everywhere (except for people who are in the pool or ocean, or laying by the pool or ocean) and the property is probably at 50% occupancy.


Best,

Greg


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## DaveNV

Wow.  That was a lot of steps!  Thanks for posting it.  Enjoy your vacation!!

Dave


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## linsj

Thanks for posting this, Greg. It's helpful to have all the steps in one place as a guide. I gave up going to Hawaii this year but still hoping to keep my February reservation.


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## HGVC Lover

Awesome.....some of the most useful information I have seen posted recently in regards to Hawaii travel.  We leave in December so this is a great template for us to follow and not try and reinvent the wheel.  One question.  Does each travel, like a spouse, have to have a Safe Travel account too on their phone and separate QR code if they are on the same airline ticket locator record?


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## mjm1

Greg, thanks for sharing your experience with the process. Great detail. Have a fantastic time!

Best regards.

Mike


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## GregT

HGVC Lover said:


> Awesome.....some of the most useful information I have seen posted recently in regards to Hawaii travel.  We leave in December so this is a great template for us to follow and not try and reinvent the wheel.  One question.  Does each travel, like a spouse, have to have a Safe Travel account too on their phone and separate QR code if they are on the same airline ticket locator record?


You will each need your own accounts and will have separate QR codes.  Have fun!


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## DeniseM

Excellent walk-through - I'm going to make this a Sticky!


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## 10spro

Thanks for sharing. We're going to try it in a couple weeks. Fingers crossed.


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## klpca

I'll write more later but we arrived on Kauai on 10/31. What Greg said was accurate. I will add a few data points that may be specific to Kauai.

1. They expected a hard copy of our negative covid tests. We had ours, but it's not stated anywhere
2. They also expected us to login to the safe travels site (in front of them) and show them the negative test results in addition to the hard copy. Seems redundant, but you had to do it. So, set up a shortcut on your phone and save your login info since you will also have to do this at the car rental place and when checking into your lodging.
3. Our plane arrived 18 min early,  almost at the same time as another flight. It was literally a hot mess at the gate and we waited in line for 35ish min. No social distancing. We were in row 12 so were off the plane quickly towards the front of the line. Our plane was not full. As the flights fill up the lines will take longer.

I received my test results about 40 hours after I was tested. My husband's did not arrive until 12 hours after mine, which was uncomfortably close as the first leg of our flight left at 7:30am. We had no options, I couldn't find any availability for a quick test so we had to roll the dice and hope that the test results would show up and that we wouldn't have to quarantine. I was so relieved when he received his results.

Edit to add photo of the line to show our documents:
Spent over 30 min here. It was hot with no air movement. Definitely the place that I am most worried about. No social distancing but at least people were wearing masks.


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## klpca

One more thing - your test needs to be saved as a pdf before uploading to safe travels. Screenshots won't work because the resolution is wrong.


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## pedro47

Wow , those are to many steps for a vacation travel to Hawaii .


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## MommaBear

pedro47 said:


> Wow , those are to many steps for a vacation travel to Hawaii .


The value of travel makes these step worth it to me for peace of mind that my risk of contracting Covid will be decreased.


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## klpca

MommaBear said:


> The value of travel makes these step worth it to me for peace of mind that my risk of contracting Covid will be decreased.


After our experience yesterday (airport, see above) I don't feel a lot safer! I think that they need to work out the kinks a bit better.


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## Grandma2016

Thanks for this information.   We leave early January for Maui.


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## GregT

This is an amazing time to visit the islands.  I’ve never before been able to drive to Honolua Bay and park right at the trailhead entrance (parking is very limited and most park on the roadside) — and my car is the only one there.  

Same with D.T. Fleming Beach — six cars in the parking lot, including mine and two for the lifeguards.   And no one was on the beach, so don’t know who owned those three other cars?

Maui is stunningly beautiful (it always has been!) and I am very happy to be here!

Best,

Greg


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## klpca

GregT said:


> This is an amazing time to visit the islands.  I’ve never before been able to drive to Honolua Bay and park right at the trailhead entrance (parking is very limited and most park on the roadside) — and my car is the only one there.
> 
> Same with D.T. Fleming Beach — six cars in the parking lot, including mine and two for the lifeguards.   And no one was on the beach, so don’t know who owned those three other cars?
> 
> Maui is stunningly beautiful (it always has been!) and I am very happy to be here!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Greg


We stayed at the resort yesterday except for a walk around Poipu. It is very quiet once you are out of the resort. We are headed out to Hanalei today. I agree, it's a once in a lifetime thing.


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## csodjd

klpca said:


> One more thing - your test needs to be saved as a pdf before uploading to safe travels. Screenshots won't work because the resolution is wrong.


Might be a nice idea to go a step further and create an email address, perhaps a gmail address, ONLY for this purpose -- for interacting with the safe travels site and for receiving your test results, and use a very easy password, so you have easy access without searching to what you need.


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## flindberg

klpca said:


> We stayed at the resort yesterday except for a walk around Poipu. It is very quiet once you are out of the resort. We are headed out to Hanalei today. I agree, it's a once in a lifetime thing.


Would love to know how things are in Hanalei!


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## klpca

flindberg said:


> Would love to know how things are in Hanalei!


We were on the road early. Right now there is no traffic. It reminded us of our first trip in 1983.

Hanalei was Hanalei. It feels stuck in time....so perfect. We drove through on our way to Tunnels. At Tunnels the waves were rolling (full moon). We saw three monk seals, which was cool. After that walk we went back to Hanalei for lunch (Hanalei Gourmet), then for shave ice at the Wishing Well (closed!) before kayaking (rentals also closed!). It started to rain so we skipped the beach and drive back to Poipu where it was warm and mostly sunny, and spent some quality time floting around in the ocean. It's been a delightful trip so far. People are genuinely nice. It has exceeded our expectations by a large margin.


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## gejone

Had a similar experience as Greg, but when I got in front of the agent she told me my QR code was invalid. I had it on my phone, on paper and on the Safe Travel web site. All the required steps had been completed.  She finally accepted my drivers license and paper COVID test result, that took 20+ minutes. In trying to figure out the issue I think it was my fault. When you sign up on Safe Travels it asks for additional travelers. I missed the statement, “additional travelers under 18”, so I listed my wife. When I printed my QR code and my wife didn’t receive one I removed her from my account and created hers. That probably messed up my QR code, but there was no way to know that. Additionally, I entered her birthday and the program should have caught the issue from the start.

Some people are traveling with a pending test result. A United passenger recently did that and it cost him dearly. Upon landing he turned on his phone and found a positive test result. He was advised he was quarantined for 14 days at his expense. He had to take a cab or Uber/Lyft to his approved quarantine location. He could not rent a car nor could his friends take him. You get a one use key and all food has to be delivered to the room. They are real serious out here.

Weather is great, no crowds and MMO is as nice as ever. Pic is Front St., Lahaina, Noon last Sunday.


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## csodjd

gejone said:


> Had a similar experience as Greg, but when I got in front of the agent she told me my QR code was invalid. I had it on my phone, on paper and on the Safe Travel web site. All the required steps had been completed.  She finally accepted my drivers license and paper COVID test result, that took 20+ minutes. In trying to figure out the issue I think it was my fault. When you sign up on Safe Travels it asks for additional travelers. I missed the statement, “additional travelers under 18”, so I listed my wife. When I printed my QR code and my wife didn’t receive one I removed her from my account and created hers. That probably messed up my QR code, but there was no way to know that. Additionally, I entered her birthday and the program should have caught the issue from the start.
> 
> Some people are traveling with a pending test result. A United passenger recently did that and it cost him dearly. Upon landing he turned on his phone and found a positive test result. He was advised he was quarantined for 14 days at his expense. He had to take a cab or Uber/Lyft to his approved quarantine location. He could not rent a car nor could his friends take him. You get a one use key and all food has to be delivered to the room. They are real serious out here.
> 
> Weather is great, no crowds and MMO is as nice as ever. Pic is Front St., Lahaina, Noon last Sunday.


Unless you've quarantined yourself for 10+ days before testing, it is very risky to take off to Hawaii without a negative test in hand.


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## gejone

csodjd said:


> Unless you've quarantined yourself for 10+ days before testing, it is very risky to take off to Hawaii without a negative test in hand.



The problem is HI wants a test done within 72 hours before the leg departs. CVS, an authorized HI vendor, says 2-3 days for test results. One needs to do the math and take the test as soon as they hit the 72 limit. Early morning or East coast flights eat into the allowable time. Mine was completed in 44.5 hours.


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## TTSDavid

GregT said:


> Good morning TUGgers,
> 
> I hope that this is helpful, I arrived yesterday to Maui Ocean Club and describe below my experience, and what I would do differently.    This looks like alot of steps, but it really turned out to be pretty easy.    I only include each step to be very complete -- it went very smoothly.
> 
> 1) I booked my flight in late-September, arriving October 30
> 2) Early in October, I created a login for myself on the Safe Travels website (travel.hawaii.gov)
> 3) My flights were from San Diego to Honolulu, and then connecting to Honolulu to Maui
> 4) The first task we have to complete on Safe Travels is to create records for each of your trips
> 5) I created a record for my first trip (San Diego to Honolulu) and then I created a second record for my second trip (Honolulu to Maui)
> 6) I know that my flight departed at 8:55am on Friday and that I needed a COVID test from an approved provider (https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/)
> 7) The Sunday before, I made an appointment with CVS to do a _voluntary _COVID test  (https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing/voluntary-testing
> 8) I had first wasted time with CVS regular website for COVID testing, before realizing there was a separate one for voluntary COVID tests (that cost $139)
> 9) My appointment was for Tuesday at 2:30pm (~67 hours before departure) - the rule is to get the test no more than 72 hours from departure
> 10) The website FAQ says the 72 hours is measured from your last mainland leg to Hawaii (ie, Chicago-Seattle-Honolulu is measured from the Seattle departure)
> 11) I travel to CVS and it was a drive-through test that I administered on myself while the practitioner witnessed my self-test to make sure I did it right
> 12) When I checked in for the test, I received an email from CVS telling me to create a MyChart account where they would post my test results
> 13) When I got home, I created the MyChart account on my computer, and was able to find an app to also download it to my phone
> 14) On Thursday morning (within 24 hours of departure), I completed the Health Questionnaire on Safe Travels website (see #2 above) - this questionnaire can only be completed within 24 hours of departure
> 15) After completing the Health Questionnaire, the system emailed me a QR Code for my SAN-HNL flight and a separate email with the QR code for my HNL-OGG flight (this email is important)
> 16) I saved both emails with the QR Code in a separate folder for quick access
> 17) On Thursday at 2:20pm (about 48 hours after the COVID test), I received an email from CVS telling me my test results were available
> 18) I download my COVID results to my computer (saved as a PDF), then login into Safe Travels and I upload the PDF, which is one of the four tasks/options on the Safe Travels website — I’m now ready to go!!!
> 19) When I land in Honolulu, I retrieved my SAN-HNL email, which included the QR code at the bottom of the email.
> 20) Hawaii has set up stations at the Arrival gate (perhaps 10 stations at that gate in Honolulu) where an agent will scan your QR code and check your photo ID, and then let you through.  Perhaps 60 seconds for them to review the materials and approve my travel.
> 21) A suggestion: Position yourself closer to the front of the plane -- I was mid-plane and had to wait about 15 minutes to get to agent
> 22)  I then went to my connecting gate as per a normal layover
> 23) In Maui, I used the QR code in the second email (for the Honolulu-Maui flight) — there were about five agents checking the documents and my personal time was again about 60 seconds with the agent.  I was near the front of the plane though and waited only a couple of minutes to be admitted
> 24) I reserved a rental car with Enterprise.   I didn't realize I needed evidence that I was admitted without quarantine.   The email with my QR code also has a link to my Safe Travels account, where the evidence was.
> 25) At the rental car agency, I had to connect to my Safe Travels account and find where it said I was admitted without quarantine.  This evidence is included the flight record (that I'd set up in #5 above) for the Honolulu-Maui flight record.
> 26) At Maui Ocean Club, I again had to repeat Step #25 as they will neither rent a car to you, nor let you enter the room, without proof that you are exempt from Quarantine
> 
> The two things I would do differently are position myself as close to the front of the plane as possible, and I would try to print out hard copies of my QR code after my COVID test was uploaded and accepted (and indicated that I was admitted without Quarantine).  Granted, having a hard copy of the QR code is probably overkill as it was easy to pull up on my phone.
> 
> I have uploaded two screen shots -- first is what the Safe Travels records showing that two flights have been entered.  Second is the rrecord from the Honolulu-Maui trip, where it shows that I am exempt from Quarantine (for the rental car agency and your accommodations).
> 
> I hope this is helpful to another TUGger -- again it looks like alot of steps but it went smoothly and was very manageable.   It is great to be here -- there are masks everywhere (except for people who are in the pool or ocean, or laying by the pool or ocean) and the property is probably at 50% occupancy.
> 
> 
> Best,
> 
> Greg


Those seemed to be a lot of good steps to get ready to travel to Hawaii. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.


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## csodjd

gejone said:


> The problem is HI wants a test done within 72 hours before the leg departs. CVS, an authorized HI vendor, says 2-3 days for test results. One needs to do the math and take the test as soon as they hit the 72 limit. Early morning or East coast flights eat into the allowable time. Mine was completed in 44.5 hours.


The key is the self-quarantine ahead of time to ensure, as best one can, that you won't test positive and only find out when you land in Hawaii. Yes, it may be out of your control to have to depart before your test result comes back, but that's okay (not ideal, but okay) so long as you aren't positive. If you REALLY want to play it safe, start self-quarantine about 12-14 days ahead, and about 5 days before you leave take a test. That way you'll pretty much know for certain what the second test -- the one that counts -- will show.


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## sjsharkie

I thought I'd share my experiences here as well.  I am currently at MKO enjoying the Hawaiian sunshine.

1.  I also used a CVS minute clinic.  Drive thru setup went smoothly -- test was taken ~67.5 hours prior to my departure time.
2.  I did not receive my test results prior to departure.  I was worried, because there are some horror stories online of people receiving tests in the SF Bay Area 6-7 days later.
3.  Luckily, I received my results when I turned my phone back on after landing.  They were sent at around 9AM Pacific time, so roughly 69 hours after I took my test.  It felt like the old days when we deplaned as we walked out onto the tarmac and walked to the terminal entrance for screening.
4.  I was able to upload the results via my phone to the website.  Interestingly, the screener that checked my paperwork didn't accept the CVS app version of the test.  She asked me to click on the text link which brought me to a different webpage -- this was accepted and I was approved for non-quarantine status.  I was at the front of the plane, so there was no wait for me to be checked, though it did take about 10 minutes to sort out the paperwork.  Greg's advice to be in the front of the plane is wise -- though there were about 9-10 stations at HNL checking people in.
5.  Rental car and hotel both checked the app prior to letting me rent a car and check-in to the room.  Check-in line was about 8 parties long when I arrived -- took about 20 minutes to get to the front.  However, the resort itself does not seem to be that busy. 

It rained yesterday and rain is in the forecast for the remainder of the week... but it's Hawaii so I'm not complaining.

Stay safe.

-ryan


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## samara64

sjsharkie said:


> I am currently at MKO enjoying the Hawaiian sunshine.



Maybe you can join the GOO tomorrow on Wednesday 7.30PM next to the resturant.


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## sjsharkie

samara64 said:


> Maybe you can join the GOO tomorrow on Wednesday 7.30PM next to the resturant.


Thank you. klpca sent me a note as well.

Will definitely try to make it.

Ryan

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## flindberg

klpca said:


> We were on the road early. Right now there is no traffic. It reminded us of our first trip in 1983.
> 
> Hanalei was Hanalei. It feels stuck in time....so perfect. We drove through on our way to Tunnels. At Tunnels the waves were rolling (full moon). We saw three monk seals, which was cool. After that walk we went back to Hanalei for lunch (Hanalei Gourmet), then for shave ice at the Wishing Well (closed!) before kayaking (rentals also closed!). It started to rain so we skipped the beach and drive back to Poipu where it was warm and mostly sunny, and spent some quality time floting around in the ocean. It's been a delightful trip so far. People are genuinely nice. It has exceeded our expectations by a large margin.


Thank you! So good to hear your experience was positive... in such a nerve wracking time.


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## mendota1

sjsharkie said:


> I thought I'd share my experiences here as well.  I am currently at MKO enjoying the Hawaiian sunshine.
> 
> 1.  I also used a CVS minute clinic.  Drive thru setup went smoothly -- test was taken ~67.5 hours prior to my departure time.
> 2.  I did not receive my test results prior to departure.  I was worried, because there are some horror stories online of people receiving tests in the SF Bay Area 6-7 days later.
> 3.  Luckily, I received my results when I turned my phone back on after landing.  They were sent at around 9AM Pacific time, so roughly 69 hours after I took my test.  It felt like the old days when we deplaned as we walked out onto the tarmac and walked to the terminal entrance for screening.
> 4.  I was able to upload the results via my phone to the website.  Interestingly, the screener that checked my paperwork didn't accept the CVS app version of the test.  She asked me to click on the text link which brought me to a different webpage -- this was accepted and I was approved for non-quarantine status.  I was at the front of the plane, so there was no wait for me to be checked, though it did take about 10 minutes to sort out the paperwork.  Greg's advice to be in the front of the plane is wise -- though there were about 9-10 stations at HNL checking people in.
> 5.  Rental car and hotel both checked the app prior to letting me rent a car and check-in to the room.  Check-in line was about 8 parties long when I arrived -- took about 20 minutes to get to the front.  However, the resort itself does not seem to be that busy.
> 
> It rained yesterday and rain is in the forecast for the remainder of the week... but it's Hawaii so I'm not complaining.
> 
> Stay safe.
> 
> -ryan


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## mendota1

Greg,
Thanks for your detailed list.
I have questions that I am looking for answers from Tuggers please 
We are flying out of MSP Thanksgiving morning and arriving in Seattle at 9am    We leave Seattle at 5 pm for Kauai arriving at 10 pm . When does the 72 hours end at 7a with arrival to Seattle, or 5 pm leaving Seattle  ?
We were planning to take a cab and see Seattle during the layover however I am now wondering if leaving the Seattle airport is not allowed. 
When a person does not have their Covid results before they leave home, how do they get a paper copy of the final results to give in Kauai ?  
Hoping to hear from Tuggers
Mendota1


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## GregT

mendota1 said:


> Greg,
> Thanks for your detailed list.
> I have questions that I am looking for answers from Tuggers please
> We are flying out of MSP Thanksgiving morning and arriving in Seattle at 9am    We leave Seattle at 5 pm for Kauai arriving at 10 pm . When does the 72 hours end at 7a with arrival to Seattle, or 5 pm leaving Seattle  ?
> We were planning to take a cab and see Seattle during the layover however I am now wondering if leaving the Seattle airport is not allowed.
> When a person does not have their Covid results before they leave home, how do they get a paper copy of the final results to give in Kauai ?
> Hoping to hear from Tuggers
> Mendota1


Hello Mendota, 

If you are flying on Thanksgiving (Thursday) and your last mainland (to Hawaii) flight departs at 5pm PT, then you will need to take your COVID test on Monday after 5pm PT/7pm CT, which is your departure time for Seattle - Kauai.   I don't now if any of the trusted partners are doing tests at night, so you may be Tuesday morning as early as you can.   But I hope you can find someone that will do your test after 5pm PT/7pm CT on Monday. Good luck and enjoy the trip!

Best,

Greg


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## controller1

GregT said:


> Hello Mendota,
> 
> If you are flying on Thanksgiving (Thursday) and your last mainland (to Hawaii) flight departs at 5pm PT, then you will need to take your COVID test on Monday after 5pm PT/7pm CT, which is your departure time for Seattle - Kauai.   I don't now if any of the trusted partners are doing tests at night, so you may be Tuesday morning as early as you can.   But I hope you can find someone that will do your test after 5pm PT/7pm CT on Monday. Good luck and enjoy the trip!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Greg



The bigger question could be would the test performed after 5:00 pm PT (if available) on Monday arrive at the lab any earlier than the one performed Tuesday morning.


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## melissy123

Someone on trip advisor had reported that they weren’t looking at the time of the test as much as the date, that it had to be three days ahead of your flight.


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## csodjd

melissy123 said:


> Someone on trip advisor had reported that they weren’t looking at the time of the test as much as the date, that it had to be three days ahead of your flight.


Maybe. But is that a chance anyone wants to take? There’s no cure if they do look and you missed by an hour.


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## Henry M.

I put this on another forum, but I thought it might be useful in this sticky location.

Trusted Testing Partner CVS reports test results using MyChart. My doctor's office uses MyChart. I was just playing with the MyChart app on my iPad, though not with a CVS COVID report file.

An iPhone/iPad trick to create PDFs is to go print a file, and then save a pdf before you actually send the file to a printer. For example:
1.) Open a document in MyChart -> My Documents
2.) Press the symbol on the upper right hand corner to share the document (rectangle with arrow pointing up). Say yes to the prompt from MyChart.
3.) Scroll down to "Print" and tap it. This will show an image of the document at the bottom and will try to locate a printer.
4.) Zoom in on the image (place your thumb and index finger on it and separate the fingers). The image opens up all by itself.
5.) Share that file (again, upper right hand corner) and "Save to Files". This will put a pdf into your iCloud files. I have a folder there called Hawaii Travel so I can put things related to my trip in one place.

On the Safe Travels web site, I can then go to "Documents" and then "Upload File". From there, I can "Choose File", then "Browse" and see my iCloud Drive to navigate to the Hawaii Travel folder and select the MyChart.pdf previously created.

This all sounds more complicated than it really is. You can try things ahead of time by selecting a photo or some other non-pdf file and trying to print it. A photo is saved as Photo.pdf, for example. The MyChart file is originally a tif file, but the printing process lets you save it as a pdf. Almost any file you can open and print should be convertible to PDF this way.

Alternatively, I have PDF Expert on my iPad. I can share documents from MyChart into it, and then save the document in PDF Expert as a pdf. It isn't worth getting the app just to save a document as a pdf. The app can edit the pdf and do many other things. The Print trick should work.


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## melissy123

Just wanted to add that the pink paper given to you when you clear the airport is very important. We needed that for renting the car and checking into the Marriott. Long line at the airport but everyone kept a respectful distance. But getting here, I have to say it was really even more stressful than I imagined. This process is not for the faint of heart. I love Maui but even I’m not sure I would want to repeat the process.


----------



## klpca

melissy123 said:


> Just wanted to add that the pink paper given to you when you clear the airport is very important. We needed that for renting the car and checking into the Marriott. Long line at the airport but everyone kept a respectful distance. But getting here, I have to say it was really even more stressful than I imagined. This process is not for the faint of heart. I love Maui but even I’m not sure I would want to repeat the process.


That was exactly how I felt. I knew that I would have to be flexible and roll with the bumps in the road, but complying with the testing requirements was difficult at best because so much is out of your control. You are completely reliant on the labs and to them you are just one test in a million. They cannot worry about individual tests.


----------



## Henry M.

Id be interested in knowing:

Test Company
Day of the week test taken
Day of the week results received

or any links to discussions of the various companies. I am going for Vault based on another TUGger's experience, but I really have no idea which is the quickest service to return results. My flight is on a Wednesday, so that complicates getting a UPS shipment going, since they don't pick up next day air until late Monday.

I ordered the Vault tests Friday around 3:00 EST. I just got notice from UPS that they are out for delivery this Saturday morning, less than 24 hours later.


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## melissy123

Walgreens. Tested on Tuesday morning. Results on Thursday morning.


----------



## slip

I used CVS in Honolulu and tested on Wednesday and got the results Friday morning.


----------



## Grandma2016

Henry M. said:


> Id be interested in knowing:
> 
> Test Company
> Day of the week test taken
> Day of the week results received
> 
> or any links to discussions of the various companies. I am going for Vault based on another TUGger's experience, but I really have no idea which is the quickest service to return results. My flight is on a Wednesday, so that complicates getting a UPS shipment going, since they don't pick up next day air until late Monday.
> 
> I ordered the Vault tests Friday around 3:00 EST. I just got notice from UPS that they are out for delivery this Saturday morning, less than 24 hours later.


I leave in januady and so far Vault looks like my choice too.


----------



## klpca

It will be interesting to see if the surge in cases will affect turnaround time in the labs, especially in light of Hawaii saying that you cannot get out of quarantine unless you have your results before departure.

We tested on Wed morning, Oct 28 at CVS (who uses Quest). I received my results on Friday Oct 30 at 7am. My husband received his results on Friday Oct 30 at 8:30PM. That led to some tense times at our house. The first leg of our trip departed at 7am on Saturday morning. 

I have heard that despite taking the test in the morning, there is just one pick up from the testing location per day, and that is late in the afternoon. So really we are talking about needing a 48 hour turnaround on the test results (day after the test plus the following day) since on day one (test day) it is just sitting somewhere waiting for pickup (even Vault), and then you need it *before* your travel day since you cannot depart without the results. That is a very narrow window and if testing demands increase I can't see how they can maintain this turnaround time. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.


----------



## csodjd

klpca said:


> It will be interesting to see if the surge in cases will affect turnaround time in the labs, especially in light of Hawaii saying that you cannot get out of quarantine unless you have your results before departure.
> 
> We tested on Wed morning, Oct 28 at CVS (who uses Quest). I received my results on Friday Oct 30 at 7am. My husband received his results on Friday Oct 30 at 8:30PM. That led to some tense times at our house. The first leg of our trip departed at 7am on Saturday morning.
> 
> I have heard that despite taking the test in the morning, there is just one pick up from the testing location per day, and that is late in the afternoon. So really we are talking about needing a 48 hour turnaround on the test results (day after the test plus the following day) since on day one (test day) it is just sitting somewhere waiting for pickup (even Vault), and then you need it *before* your travel day since you cannot depart without the results. That is a very narrow window and if testing demands increase I can't see how they can maintain this turnaround time. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.


Two things come to mind from your post. First, I think Hawaii might be doing us all that want to travel to Hawaii a favor by basically saying, don't come if you don't have your results yet. Going and hoping is not a great strategy. 

Second, knowing something about the pickup/shipping/delivery schedule of test specimens can be very helpful, especially when it comes time to decide what time you want to schedule for your flight and your test. If there is an overnight shipment at, say, 6:00pm, you can test at 4:30pm, make it in time for that shipment, and look for a flight that departs at 3:00pm or so. That gives you most of the day you are flying on to get results.


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## Henry M.

The issue is that many people have connecting flights. You really need to have the results before you leave for the airport.

In my case, my flight to Maui leaves at 12:30, but my initial flight leaves at 8:21 and it takes me an hour to leave for the airport. I need the test results by 6:30 in the morning. I think Vault might be able to deliver,  it we will have to see. Fortunately, with the airlines doing away with cancellation fees, I can just postpone departure by one day of the results are not back in time. I would call the timeshare and let them know I'm coming a day late. We'll be there 7 weeks, so a single day is not a huge issue.


----------



## Grandma2016

Henry M. said:


> The issue is that many people have connecting flights. You really need to have the results before you leave for the airport.
> in my case, my flight to Maui leaves at 12:30, but my initial flight leaves at 8:21 and it takes me an hour to leave for the airport. I need the test results by 6:30 in the morning. I think Vault might be able to deliver,  it we will have to see. Fortunately, with the airlines doing away with cancellation fees, I can just postpone departure by one day of the results are not back in time. I would call the timeshare and let them know I'm coming a day late. We'll be there 7 weeks, so a single day is not a huge issue.


Thats exactly what i was planning.  Just move flight one day and call timeshare.


----------



## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> The issue is that many people have connecting flights. You really need to have the results before you leave for the airport.
> 
> In my case, my flight to Maui leaves at 12:30, but my initial flight leaves at 8:21 and it takes me an hour to leave for the airport. I need the test results by 6:30 in the morning. I think Vault might be able to deliver,  it we will have to see. Fortunately, with the airlines doing away with cancellation fees, I can just postpone departure by one day of the results are not back in time. I would call the timeshare and let them know I'm coming a day late. We'll be there 7 weeks, so a single day is not a huge issue.


That works, but only IF you remain within the 72 hour window from test time to departure (of the next day's flight). And that may not be possible if you were giving yourself the maximum possible time to get the test results. 

Seems to me the best approach is an afternoon test on a Monday (~4:00pm), before either the cut-off for sending an overnight (Vault) or before the specimens are picked up for delivery to the lab (Quest). Plan a Thursday late morning (10:00 - noon) departure for Hawaii. And, hopefully, there is another flight in the early afternoon (2:00-3:00) that is less than 72 hours from your Monday test time. So now you have all day Tuesday, all day Wednesday, and Thursday morning, or if necessary until mid-day Thursday, to get results. (This also works Tuesday-Friday). 

This assumes a direct flight to Hawaii. If you have a layover you really do need that test back by Wednesday night.


----------



## Henry M.

I'm starting my adventure getting to Maui. I ordered the Vault test. I went through the Hawaiian Airlines web site, since they claim a special relationship with Vault: https://learn.vaulthealth.com/hawaiian/. My wife set up two separate accounts to order the tests. I ordered the tests on Friday, Nov. 20, and had them in my hands the following day, Saturday, Nov. 21. 

Today (Monday, Nov. 30), I took the test with my wife. We have a flight on Wednesday, Dec. 2, but UPS doesn't pick up on Sunday, so we waited until the flight time today to take the test. This way  the results can still be used for a Thursday flight. UPS doesn't pick up from the UPS store until after 5:00 pm anyhow. If we don't have the results by the time we need to leave for the airport on Wednesday, we will just cancel Wednesday and go Thursday. I have mileage tickets on American Airlines and there is no cost to cancel as long as you do it at least two hours before the flight. Apparently, the test results don't include a time, so it may not be critical to wait for exactly the 72 hour mark. Just make sure it is no more than 3 days before the date of the flight. 

I logged on to the Vault Health web site on two devices to register the test kits. Each login said the wait time would be approximately 15 minutes. Clicking on Next had me fill out the test ID from the barcode on the test tube. My computer's camera couldn't scan the code. After clicking Next again is asked for the tracking ID of the UPS envelope included in the kit. Clicking on Next a third time actually gets you to the waiting room and there was a different number for the approximate wait time. In my case it said 20 minutes, but an agent came on in about 5 minutes. 

I was logged on on two devices, but the agent said she could process both tests on one session, so I closed the other one.

Testing was pretty easy. The agent has you spit into the tube. It is a bit of spit and the agent went away for a few minutes, but came back right as we were ready. At the end, you screw a top with some liquid onto the tube with your spit and shake the tube to mix it well. This top took a little effort to screw on, and it has the potential for spilling. Still, it wasn't too hard to do. 

The agent then told us to put both tubes into a single box and write "2 Individual Tests" on the outside of the box. Then we placed the box in the prepaid shipping envelope. The agent recognized these were expedited tests because the envelope had a pink sticker on it. She said this would cause the tests to be processed as soon as they were received. We dropped off the envelope at a nearby UPS Store. I'll report back as the tests are received and processed.


----------



## slip

Henry M. said:


> I'm starting my adventure getting to Maui. I ordered the Vault test. I went through the Hawaiian Airlines web site, since they claim a special relationship with Vault: https://learn.vaulthealth.com/hawaiian/. My wife set up two separate accounts to order the tests. I ordered the tests on Friday, Nov. 20, and had them in my hands the following day, Saturday, Nov. 21.
> 
> Today (Monday, Nov. 30), I took the test with my wife. We have a flight on Wednesday, Dec. 2, but UPS doesn't pick up on Sunday, so we waited until the flight time today to take the test. This way  the results can still be used for a Thursday flight. UPS doesn't pick up from the UPS store until after 5:00 pm anyhow. If we don't have the results by the time we need to leave for the airport on Wednesday, we will just cancel Wednesday and go Thursday. I have mileage tickets on American Airlines and there is no cost to cancel as long as you do it at least two hours before the flight. Apparently, the test results don't include a time, so it may not be critical to wait for exactly the 72 hour mark. Just make sure it is no more than 3 days before the date of the flight.
> 
> I logged on to the Vault Health web site on two devices to register the test kits. Each login said the wait time would be approximately 15 minutes. Clicking on Next had me fill out the test ID from the barcode on the test tube. My computer's camera couldn't scan the code. After clicking Next again is asked for the tracking ID of the UPS envelope included in the kit. Clicking on Next a third time actually gets you to the waiting room and there was a different number for the approximate wait time. In my case it said 20 minutes, but an agent came on in about 5 minutes.
> 
> I was logged on on two devices, but the agent said she could process both tests on one session, so I closed the other one.
> 
> Testing was pretty easy. The agent has you spit into the tube. It is a bit of spit and the agent went away for a few minutes, but came back right as we were ready. At the end, you screw a top with some liquid onto the tube with your spit and shake the tube to mix it well. This top took a little effort to screw on, and it has the potential for spilling. Still, it wasn't too hard to do.
> 
> The agent then told us to put both tubes into a single box and write "2 Individual Tests" on the outside of the box. Then we placed the box in the prepaid shipping envelope. The agent recognized these were expedited tests because the envelope had a pink sticker on it. She said this would cause the tests to be processed as soon as they were received. We dropped off the envelope at a nearby UPS Store. I'll report back as the tests are received and processed.



Hope everything goes smooth for you!!


----------



## Henry M.

Following up on my testing experience through Vault:

After taking the test yesterday, I put the two samples in one box and took it to the UPS store around 1:45 pm CST. UPS notified me the tests were delivered at 9:06 am today. Vault sent me an e-mail that they had the sample at 10:11 am. The e-mail said it would be between 24 and 72 hours to get the result. Both my wife and I received separate e-mails, so I am sure they are working on both samples and didn't just go by the UPS tracking information to receive the material into their system.

When I looked at the tracking information at UPS.com yesterday, the site said the estimated time of delivery was "by 9:00 PM". Fortunately they beat that by almost 12 hours. I think that is just a standard message. From what I've read elsewhere, the samples are typically delivered in the morning. Hopefully the results will be in by early tomorrow.


----------



## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> Following up on my testing experience through Vault:
> 
> After taking the test yesterday, I put the two samples in one box and took it to the UPS store around 1:45 pm CST. UPS notified me the tests were delivered at 9:06 am today. Vault sent me an e-mail that they had the sample at 10:11 am. The e-mail said it would be between 24 and 72 hours to get the result. Both my wife and I received separate e-mails, so I am sure they are working on both samples and didn't just go by the UPS tracking information to receive the material into their system.
> 
> When I looked at the tracking information at UPS.com yesterday, the site said the estimated time of delivery was "by 9:00 PM". Fortunately they beat that by almost 12 hours. I think that is just a standard message. From what I've read elsewhere, the samples are typically delivered in the morning. Hopefully the results will be in by early tomorrow.


There's a big difference between 24 hours from receipt at the lab and 72 hours from receipt at the lab when dealing with Hawaii travel!


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## Henry M.

Of course. I think that is a form letter. What I've read so far is that Vault typically provides results within 24 hours for airline travel. The UPS envelope they provided had a bright neon-pink sticker that the test supervisor inoticed and mentioned is used to indicate priority for processing. They try to get to those right away when the package comes in.


----------



## Henry M.

The saga continues! My wife's results came in at 6:30 pm CST, just over 8 hours after they got the test sample. However, mine is not back yet.

The e-mail has the test result, but you have to log back into the Vault account to download a pdf of the results. You click where it says "Order" and the original package was listed. The test results and a file to submit for reimbursement are listed there. You can download the pdf from there and the upload it at the Safe Travels site.

Hopefully my results will come in over the night.


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## Henry M.

Success!

My own test results arrived this morning, just as I was getting ready to cancel my flights to leave tomorrow instead. I'm on the plane now. 

I had to leave the house around 6:15 am and the test result arrived at 5:31 am. I was sitting in front of my computer and did some other things before calling the airline. I was in the process of dialing when the e-mail came.

The Vault site has some explanation why different samples take different amount of time to process. Sometimes results are inconclusive and the sample needs to be tested again, sometimes they can't get a good result, etc.

All in all, Vault did come through. First result was received a little over 9 hours after UPS delivered the samples, and the second result took a little over 20 hours.

The samples were shipped to Piscataway, NJ.


----------



## eyedude

Henry M. said:


> Success!
> 
> My own test results arrived this morning, just as I was getting ready to cancel my flights to leave tomorrow instead. I'm on the plane now.
> 
> I had to leave the house around 6:15 am and the test result arrived at 5:31 am. I was sitting in front of my computer and did some other things before calling the airline. I was in the process of dialing when the e-mail came.
> 
> The Vault site has some explanation why different samples take different amount of time to process. Sometimes results are inconclusive and the sample needs to be tested again, sometimes they can't get a good result, etc.
> 
> All in all, Vault did come through. First result was received a little over 9 hours after UPS delivered the samples, and the second result took a little over 20 hours.
> 
> The samples were shipped to Piscataway, NJ.


That is awesome!  We just took our Vault test this morning (Wednesday). It is my understanding that Vault does not put a timestamp on the test so it does not have to be 72 hours exactly, it just has to be 3 days before. Henry can you confirm that there was no timestamp on the test taken?  Our departing flight to OGG leaves the west coast at 1:40 pm Pacific Coast time Saturday, but we took our test this morning and and dropped our tests off at the UPS Store. I was reading on other forums that sometimes the wait to get tested could be an hour or two and I wanted to make sure we got our test off to the UPS center before the last pickup time. I have also read on the forums that a Bright pink sticker indicates it is for Hawaii. My test had a bright pink sticker on it but my wife and two children did not.  I went to the store and bought some extra pink stickers to put on the packages and box. I also wrote "stat Hawaii" on the stickers as others have suggested.
As a backup, this afternoon I have an appointment to get tested with Costco (Azova).  This one has a set appointment time (3:45 central time) so I  am confident we can get this test off safely before the last pickup. I don't know about others but ever since I took the test this morning I am a bit paranoid. Every little itch in my throat, rumble in my belly, or ache makes me worry that I have covid-19.  I will update and let others know how things went just for another data point.


----------



## 10spro

eyedude said:


> That is awesome!  We just took our Vault test this morning (Wednesday). It is my understanding that Vault does not put a timestamp on the test so it does not have to be 72 hours exactly, it just has to be 3 days before. Henry can you confirm that there was no timestamp on the test taken?  Our departing flight to OGG leaves the west coast at 1:40 pm Pacific Coast time Saturday, but we took our test this morning and and dropped our tests off at the UPS Store. I was reading on other forums that sometimes the wait to get tested could be an hour or two and I wanted to make sure we got our test off to the UPS center before the last pickup time. I have also read on the forums that a Bright pink sticker indicates it is for Hawaii. My test had a bright pink sticker on it but my wife and two children did not.  I went to the store and bought some extra pink stickers to put on the packages and box. I also wrote "stat Hawaii" on the stickers as others have suggested.
> As a backup, this afternoon I have an appointment to get tested with Costco (Azova).  This one has a set appointment time (3:45 central time) so I  am confident we can get this test off safely before the last pickup. I don't know about others but ever since I took the test this morning I am a bit paranoid. Every little itch in my throat, rumble in my belly, or ache makes me worry that I have covid-19.  I will update and let others know how things went just for another data point.


They do not check any timestamp at the airport, at least not at OGG, not when we came through last week. Actually they seem overwhelmed just processing everyone. I agree scheduling a backup test is a good idea, especially with the surge in cases on the mainland.


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## Henry M.

I can confirm that the test result only states the date taken, and not the time.

The agent had me put both test samples in one box/mailer and write on the box there were two individual samples. You could have fit a couple more in there. Both mailers I received had pink stickers on the outside envelope. The agent said there was no need to write anything, since the pink sticker already meant the tests were for Hawaii travel and should be processed as quickly as possible.

It would be less stressful to travel any day other than Tuesday or Wednesday, so there is more time to send the test sample in. Saturday pickups can be tricky for a Tuesday departure, and the only option for Wednesday travel is a Monday shipment, which only allows for a day of processing time with few hiccups.


----------



## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> I can confirm that the test result only states the date taken, and not the time.
> 
> The agent had me put both test samples in one box/mailer and write on the box there were two individual samples. You could have fit a couple more in there. Both mailers I received had pink stickers on the outside envelope. The agent said there was no need to write anything, since the pink sticker already meant the tests were for Hawaii travel and should be processed as quickly as possible.
> 
> It would be less stressful to travel any day other than Tuesday or Wednesday, so there is more time to send the test sample in. Saturday pickups can be tricky for a Tuesday departure, and the only option for Wednesday travel is a Monday shipment, which only allows for a day of processing time with few hiccups.


I see that as a big point... best to travel Thur, Fri or Sat. That gives you the benefit of the full available time. I suspect Vault isn't being swamped by the surge as much as Quest, LabCorp and other more mainstream labs, so that's probably helping them keep to their Hawaii-priority schedule.


----------



## eyedude

With Vault....the nurse today said the volume is down...It was really busy for Thanksgiving travel.  Hope this means they can turn my test around in a timely fashion.


----------



## Henry M.

I suspect many are putting off coming to Hawaii with the tightening restrictions. It can be stressful to wait for test results, even with the full 3 days available.


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## Henry M.

Arriving in Maui was very easy. I looked at my watch as I was exiting the plane and again when I got to the ground floor to go to the tram that takes you to the rental cars. It took all of four minutes to walk to the gate, then up a slight incline to where the checkers are, show the QR code and then down the escalator.

The gate was close to the checkers. We were on American Airlines Premium Economy, just behind first class. First class was full, but the rest of the plane was 1/2 to 2/3 full. There were no other flights ahead of us.

I had uploaded everything needed (pictures, COVID test results, trip information) to the Safe Travels site and had the QR code at the Safe Travels site ready on our iPhones. The lady scanned them with an iPad, looked at our drivers license and gave us the pink sheet you need to pick up a car and check into your lodging, all in less than a minute. We did not have anybody in front of us, and there were perhaps a dozen stations to service everyone.


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## ared505

It's 12/20 and our time on the Big Island starts 1/9. Coming from New Mexico, we have a layover and flight from Phoenix to HI at 9:30am. The timing causes anxiety. The Walmart/Qwest testing partnership is no more, and Walgreens discourages Hawaii travelers testing because they can't promise results in time. Costco and CVS could work, but specimen pick up isn't till ~6pm. Turnaround used to say 24-48 hrs from receipt, now says 48-72 hrs. With labs getting slammed, we're discouraged and plan to cancel tomorrow.


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## b2bailey

I'm scheduled to begin 4 week stay at Ko-Olina on January 3. 
After inviting 4 different friends to join me for the first week -- it looks like I am going alone. After reading stories of stressful waiting for results (and considering the possibility of a false positive) I'm considering not testing and just accepting ten day quarantine. Am I crazy?


----------



## csodjd

b2bailey said:


> I'm scheduled to begin 4 week stay at Ko-Olina on January 3.
> After inviting 4 different friends to join me for the first week -- it looks like I am going alone. After reading stories of stressful waiting for results (and considering the possibility of a false positive) I'm considering not testing and just accepting ten day quarantine. Am I crazy?


Yes. There is no downside to testing. Maybe you’ll avoid quarantine. No reason to just assume you won’t get a timely result. Not sure about your area, but around here we have a trusted partner doing rapid tests with results in about 30 minutes. Maybe you can find someone offering that.


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## Henry M.

Walgreens offers a rapid test in some locations. If there is one near you, you should get the results in a few hours.


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## bnoble

b2bailey said:


> After reading stories of stressful waiting for results (and considering the possibility of a false positive) I'm considering not testing and just accepting ten day quarantine. Am I crazy?


False negatives are more likely than false positives, and I imagine quarantine will get old quickly. Hard to see the downside of getting tested.


----------



## b2bailey

csodjd said:


> Yes. There is no downside to testing. Maybe you’ll avoid quarantine. No reason to just assume you won’t get a timely result. Not sure about your area, but around here we have a trusted partner doing rapid tests with results in about 30 minutes. Maybe you can find someone offering that.


Thanks. I will look for that. Since my flight departs on 01/03, I was concerned about Holiday delay on 01/01.


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## zentraveler

b2bailey said:


> Thanks. I will look for that. Since my flight departs on 01/03, I was concerned about Holiday delay on 01/01.



Good decision. We leave 1/17 and although I would quarantine if I had to, by all means make an attempt to get tested. 10 days in your hotel room 24/7 would not be fun! We love Ko Olina so have a great time.


----------



## rthib

Doing Island hopping, do I have to get a new test on every island?
So arriving Oahu, then going to Maui, then to the Hawaii (Big Island) and the Kauai (assuming they go back to normal)
The way I read it, I have to get test before coming to Oahu from States. Then another a test in Oahu to go to Maui, a test in Maui to go to Big Island then another test to go to Kauai?
Is that correct?


----------



## 10spro

rthib said:


> Doing Island hopping, do I have to get a new test on every island?
> So arriving Oahu, then going to Maui, then to the Hawaii (Big Island) and the Kauai (assuming they go back to normal)
> The way I read it, I have to get test before coming to Oahu from States. Then another a test in Oahu to go to Maui, a test in Maui to go to Big Island then another test to go to Kauai?
> Is that correct?


The order matters. No test going going to Oahu from neighboring islands. Might be easier to go to Maui or BI first.


----------



## slip

rthib said:


> Doing Island hopping, do I have to get a new test on every island?
> So arriving Oahu, then going to Maui, then to the Hawaii (Big Island) and the Kauai (assuming they go back to normal)
> The way I read it, I have to get test before coming to Oahu from States. Then another a test in Oahu to go to Maui, a test in Maui to go to Big Island then another test to go to Kauai?
> Is that correct?



Yes, you need one at each stop. Like 10spro said, you can avoid one coming to Oahu from one of the other islands. It’s not the best time to island hop.


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## lynne

slip said:


> Yws, you need one at each stop. Like 10spro said, you can avoid one coming to Oahu from one of the other islands. It’s not the best time to island hop.


Totally agree with Jeff.  In addition to having to test within 72 hours of travelling, at your cost, you will lose a day of vacation per hop.   4 islands, 4 days of lost vacation.


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## Kfp13

*Just returned from Maui and had multiple family members flying in so multiple tests in different geographic locations.

Here are my Lessons Learned/Take Away’s :
Walgreens*- their drive through worked well although you need to watch the online calendar as they only open test appointments 3-4 days out. We found that if there are multiple people you can go in one vehicle which allows you to knock out 2-3 family members test at one time. Insurance is reimbursing so for many people it will be at no charge. Took between 18-22 hours and 2 days for tests results. Make sure you also loan the Walgreens app as test results appeared faster there. Print out hard copy as the Wi-Fi in the airport gets slow.

*Costco/Azova*- tests were purchased online you want the one with video verification because it’s the only one Hawaii accepts, current cost is $139. This is a slightly different tests as its Saliva in a tube vs Swab up the nose, but both methods are accepted by Hawaii provided you use one of their approved vendors. Our East Coast family member got great turnaround of less than 28 hours, but that maybe because Lab was in Savanah. The Colorado tests were delayed by ice storm in Louisville and UPS delays. Strongly suggest if you go with this one to drive it to the main UPS sort location to give you a better chance of no sorting delays. Also, UPS in many locations doesn't deliver on Sundays so factor this into your planning. Also, at the time we registered they weren't doing COVID-19 tests for anyone under 18. This may have changed.

*American Airlines/Let’s Get Checked*- we purchased their online tests through Let’s Get Checked. They know as part of your test registration that you are flying on American, and the date and time of your flight. It appeared tests results were given priority to those whose flights were rapidly approaching. We got their results in under 48 hours. We also had one member do the rapid test at the DFW Airport, Terminal D, which is limited to those flying to Hawaii. It is the most expensive option but start to finish it took 22 minutes and walked out with printed negative test results and walked 2 gates away to board the plane.

*Other Steps to Take in Advance:
1. You need to Register with State of Hawaii- Safe Travels and load their app onto your smartphone. The airport process is expedited if you have pre-loaded the app and QR code onto your phone. The state approval once granted in the airport shows you have been passed , do not need to quarantine, and is how you will be able to show the hotel and rental car that you have been cleared.

2. Another great resource is aloha@hawaii-guide.com, as there are answers to many questions, its frequently updated and it addresses the constantly changing rules.

3. Once the flight arrives those seated forward, Business Class and Premium Economy got queued up first and they cleared a good 30-45 minutes before those in the back of the plane. So, if possible, a seat towards the front of the plane may aid how long you are in line.

4. Remember to have some battery left on your cell phone and to take it off airplane mode so you can access the airport Wi-Fi to pull up the state of Hawaii site when you get to the counter where your documents are reviewed.

5. Also keep your mask on as you deplane and all the time in the airport

Yes, it’s a different process and a bit of a hassle but it was still great to be in 80-degree weather, with blue skies and whales visible. After a tough year I would gladly do all this again for the time we had in Hawaii.
Hope this information helps, as many other Tuggers have helped us over the years!
Enjoy and Aloha*


----------



## Garden115

I went through the tests and uploads, questionnaire and when flying direct from SEA to OGG, we were given wrist bands and upon arrival were given our own lane straight through to baggage. Others had to wait in line to show proof and ID. This was Alaska Airlines. I suggest one goes through all the steps.


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## zentraveler

Garden115 said:


> I went through the tests and uploads, questionnaire and when flying direct from SEA to OGG, we were given wrist bands and upon arrival were given our own lane straight through to baggage. Others had to wait in line to show proof and ID. This was Alaska Airlines. I suggest one goes through all the steps.



Very helpful. We are flying SFO-OGG next Sunday and are getting our testing done through UA at the airport (before the flight). We have the HI website link set up and will bring paper copies as well (thank you GregT). I hope it goes this smoothly.


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## csodjd

Me, my wife, and our 19 year old are going to Honolulu Jan 28. I know I must create an account for each of us in the Safe Travels website. The question I have goes to the "Trips" section. 

I choose that and "Add Trip." In the Add Trip section it asks basic info about the upcoming trip. Here is where I am uncertain, where it asks for "Quarantine Exemption Approval ID." What is that? How do you get that? Is that something you can only enter AFTER uploading your negative test results? If so, does that mean you can only create a trip after your test and right before you depart? I was hoping to have all this done ahead of time.


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## Lv2Trvl

You can create your account and trips then add your test results when received. 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## csodjd

Lv2Trvl said:


> You can create your account and trips then add your test results when received.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


So are you saying I can enter everything into the "Trip" except the "Quarantine Exemption Approval ID" and it will save, and I can come back and edit the trip later to add that ID number?

And to confirm, is that ID something you get when/after you upload the negative test results? How long after the upload do you get that?

I think what confuses me somewhat is that at the end it doesn't say "Save", it says, "Submit." But if I don't have all the required information it seems Submit would be a bad choice.


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## Tucsonadventurer

After you upload your test it will say approaval pending and soon after it will say yes under quarantine exemption. Save that email as you need it for check in at the hotel.


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## csodjd

Tucsonadventurer said:


> After you upload your test it will say approaval pending and soon after it will say yes under quarantine exemption. Save that email as you need it for check in at the hotel.


Thanks. Does that email have the Approval ID that I need to put into the "Trip" in the Trip section?


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## Tucsonadventurer

Mine didn't I just rechecked my email


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## Lv2Trvl

Yes. You create what info you have for your trip. Flight info etc and "submit". It can be edited later. Remember you need a separate trip for each leg of trip. In fact I had to change ours several times in November-December as flights  were changed and canceled. I would advise you to create your accounts before the last minute so all that is needed to add is test result. Also carry a printout of QR codes in case problem with phones. One island I needed the paper copy to pickup rental car  the next only wanted the phone QR. Timeshare check-ins wanted phone code. 
Have a good trip! Aloha 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## csodjd

Lv2Trvl said:


> Yes. You create what info you have for your trip. Flight info etc and "submit". It can be edited later. Remember you need a separate trip for each leg of trip. In fact I had to change ours several times in November-December as flights  were changed and canceled. I would advise you to create your accounts before the last minute so all that is needed to add is test result. Also carry a printout of QR codes in case problem with phones. One island I needed the paper copy to pickup rental car  the next only wanted the phone QR. Timeshare check-ins wanted phone code.
> Have a good trip! Aloha
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Thank you. For this trip its easy, LAX-HNL-LAX. March will involve a hop to Maui. Cross that bridge later. Like you suggest, I'm trying to get all our Safe Travel info teed up and complete just pending the test results.


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## csodjd

One more question. It says something about uploading a picture of yourself. 





Is that required? I don't see any other reference to doing that except one mention somewhere that you can upload a "selfie."


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## Lv2Trvl

Yes. Selfie time. It's easy to miss.  I had to point it out to our son. He missed it for the entire family! Very last minute for them. It was checked in both Kona and Lihue.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## Henry M.

I think the Quarantine Approval Exemption ID mentioned in the form is for those that have an exemptions as described at https://ag.hawaii.gov/travelexemption/. This is different than the exemption due to having a negative COVID test. IT doesn't apply to most travelers. I left that line blank. The uploaded negative test results are all that are needed to get an exemption as a tourist.


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## Lv2Trvl

Yes Henry M. I agree. My answers have been from memory so kind of forgot about that. 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## slip

Henry M. said:


> I think the Quarantine Approval Exemption ID mentioned in the form is for those that have an exemptions as described at https://ag.hawaii.gov/travelexemption/. This is different than the exemption due to having a negative COVID test. IT doesn't apply to most travelers. I left that line blank. The uploaded negative test results are all that are needed to get an exemption as a tourist.



I believe this is correct. Some essential workers going between the islands may get an exemption and they can fill that in.

When I went inter-island we left it blank also.


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## csodjd

Lv2Trvl said:


> Yes. Selfie time. It's easy to miss.  I had to point it out to our son. He missed it for the entire family! Very last minute for them. It was checked in both Kona and Lihue.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Okay... three selfies it is. Thx.


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## gejone

Our last trip to Maui was Oct. 31, 2020, the old rules were in effect. We leave Jan. 17, 2021 for our latest trip, new rules in place. Due to the change in Safe Travel partners our local CVS could not do the test. We are changing planes in DFW so my first thought, do the test at the airport, the airport price is $239.  Did some more research and decided to use Vault Health. All started out well, received the test kit on Monday, went online Thursday, took the test, placed my tube and wife's in the same box and shipped it Thursday afternoon and it arrived at the lab 10:00 am Friday. A Tugger suggested use one box marked "2 tests" and the Vault person said that was a good way to keep them together. Last night, midnight, my wife's test arrived, mine didn't. Called Vault, they couldn't find the sample tube. Said the looked everywhere, including the "orphan" stack, which are those the can't match to a name. They offered me a $119 refund. I then requested a refund of my wife's charge, that would then pay for the DFW test. We were lucky that we have a 3 hour layover in DFW. What if we hadn't? They were so sorry. They may look at the hundreds of tubes a day they receive and say, Oh well, it was just one, but what about the loss of my vacation and those funds? Had I been connecting in a city that didn't have onsite testing, we would be SOL. New backup plan, there is a Care Now a 10 minute Uber from DFW, if we have to I'll go off site. I don't mind going to Plan B, but I hate to go to Plan C. Aloha,


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## csodjd

gejone said:


> Our last trip to Maui was Oct. 31, 2020, the old rules were in effect. We leave Jan. 17, 2021 for our latest trip, new rules in place. Due to the change in Safe Travel partners our local CVS could not do the test. We are changing planes in DFW so my first thought, do the test at the airport, the airport price is $239.  Did some more research and decided to use Vault Health. All started out well, received the test kit on Monday, went online Thursday, took the test, placed my tube and wife's in the same box and shipped it Thursday afternoon and it arrived at the lab 10:00 am Friday. A Tugger suggested use one box marked "2 tests" and the Vault person said that was a good way to keep them together. Last night, midnight, my wife's test arrived, mine didn't. Called Vault, they couldn't find the sample tube. Said the looked everywhere, including the "orphan" stack, which are those the can't match to a name. They offered me a $119 refund. I then requested a refund of my wife's charge, that would then pay for the DFW test. We were lucky that we have a 3 hour layover in DFW. What if we hadn't? They were so sorry. They may look at the hundreds of tubes a day they receive and say, Oh well, it was just one, but what about the loss of my vacation and those funds? Had I been connecting in a city that didn't have onsite testing, we would be SOL. New backup plan, there is a Care Now a 10 minute Uber from DFW, if we have to I'll go off site. I don't mind going to Plan B, but I hate to go to Plan C. Aloha,


Scary. We go on Jan 28. It's costing a bit more, but I've opted for a local site that does quick-result tests. Doing that the morning of Jan 26. If there's any hiccup, we have all day the 27th and can go down to LAX and get the test there.


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## Henry M.

I used Vault too. We sent my wife's and my test tube in one box, marked that there were two test samples on the outside. UPS reported the test arrived around 9:00 am the following day. Vault sent me an email for each test around 10:00 am. My wife got her results around n 6:30 pm, but mine didn't show up until 5:35 am the next morning. We had to leave the house at 6:00 am so it was cutting it close. Still, we got our results less than 24 hours since Vault received them.

If I were doing it again, I'd try to find a Walgreens location that can do the rapid test. There is only one where I live, and is a bit of a drive. Still, results come back quicker. Note that not all Walgreen's do the rapid test. The normal one takes up to 72 hours, just like Vault.


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## zentraveler

One wrinkle I had not expected is that as smooth as the QR code reading was at OGG, for some inexplicalbe reasons Hertz and Westin (and I have to imagine the other car rental companies and resorts) do NOT have QR readers (??) so you need to be able to pull up the Safe Travels QR email on your phone so they can read the writing and not just see the code.

I had trouble with my password for some reason, had to reset it was more hassle than I had counted on. If anyone has  speculations as to why neither Hertz or the Westin had a QR reader I would love to hear it. It can't be for lack of money but I can't imagine what possible reason it could be.


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## controller1

zentraveler said:


> One wrinkle I had not expected is that as smooth as the QR code reading was at OGG, for some inexplicalbe reasons Hertz and Westin (and I have to imagine the other car rental companies and resorts) do NOT have QR readers (??) so you need to be able to pull up the Safe Travels QR email on your phone so they can read the writing and not just see the code.
> 
> I had trouble with my password for some reason, had to reset it was more hassle than I had counted on. If anyone has  speculations as to why neither Hertz or the Westin had a QR reader I would love to hear it. It can't be for lack of money but I can't imagine what possible reason it could be.



Can't the camera on most smartphones function as a QR reader?


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## zentraveler

controller1 said:


> Can't the camera on most smartphones function as a QR reader?



Yes as far as I know. That is why I am flumoxed as to why the car/resort folks won't read a QR code issued by the state of Hawaii. They were both looking for print when staring in the face of a QR code that the airport had just read to let us through!


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## Henry M.

I just had to show Hertz and the resort (Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villa) the pink form that I got at the airport right when I got off the plane. I don't think I had to show the QR code.


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## zentraveler

Henry M. said:


> I just had to show Hertz and the resort (Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villa) the pink form that I got at the airport right when I got off the plane. I don't think I had to show the QR code.



I know you have been there for a while Henry M and I think the procedures are quite in flux.We did not get pink slips or any paper, just our QR code that was scanned at the airport.


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## Henry M.

Things do change quite a bit. I find the change of procedure more of a problem than the actual hoops you need to jump through. They also just added the requirement for a contact tracing app on your smartphone.

Sorry about the weather! It has been great until now. Hopefully it will blow over by tomorrow afternoon.


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## zentraveler

Honestly, both are fine with me. We don’t get enough rain in California these days so I’m happy to see it wherever I can get it. And happy to be here looking at the ocean and a change of scenery even though in a real piece of irony, it is warmer and sunnier in San Francisco right now than it is here. 

And even though the Covid tracing doesn’t go into effect until tomorrow, we signed up for it right away. I’d be happy for the information to be available.


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## Henry M.

I got the app too. Contact tracing doesn't keep your information. It uses a random number ID to determine that one device has been near another device for a certain amount of time. If the owner of one device reports being COVID positive, the system can use the list of random IDs to notify all devices that have been near it. There are safeguards in place to not store personally identifiable information. It is up to you to then do something about it. I don't mind getting notified about having been near someone COVID-positive.


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## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> I got the app too. Contact tracing doesn't keep your information. It uses a random number ID to determine that one device has been near another device for a certain amount of time. If the owner of one device reports being COVID positive, the system can use the list of random IDs to notify all devices that have been near it. There are safeguards in place to not store personally identifiable information. It is up to you to then do something about it. I don't mind getting notified about having been near someone COVID-positive.


Why would I NOT want to know if I was exposed? Why would I NOT want others to know if I was tested positive and they may have been exposed? Contract tracing is about as evil as donating food or money to a charity or giving up your seat to a disabled person.


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## Garden115

Skip those - they do not apply to you.


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## csodjd

Tucsonadventurer said:


> After you upload your test it will say approaval pending and soon after it will say yes under quarantine exemption. Save that email as you need it for check in at the hotel.


So how soon is "soon?" I uploaded a scanned PDF of the test results from an approved partner this morning at about 10:00am. It's now 6:30pm and it still says "verification in progress." Same for my wife's account and my daughter's account. How long does it take for the Safe Travels website to show the test as negative?


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## csodjd

klpca said:


> One more thing - your test needs to be saved as a pdf before uploading to safe travels. Screenshots won't work because the resolution is wrong.


Deleted. Duplicate.


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## slip

csodjd said:


> So how soon is "soon?" I uploaded a scanned PDF of the test results from an approved partner this morning at about 10:00am. It's now 6:30pm and it still says "verification in progress." Same for my wife's account and my daughter's account. How long does it take for the Safe Travels website to show the test as negative?



It changes right away. I think I uploaded it again and made sure I only uploaded the first page. I think that’s what the instructions say. I tried two or three times so it doesn’t matter how many times you upload. Once it’s the right format it will accept it right away.


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## csodjd

slip said:


> It changes right away. I think I uploaded it again and made sure I only uploaded the first page. I think that’s what the instructions say. I tried two or three times so it doesn’t matter how May times you upload. Once it’s the right format it will accept it right away.


THANK YOU. So I did that -- just uploaded again. But I changed the "form type" to "standard" instead of "provider." Immediate negative!


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## slip

csodjd said:


> THANK YOU. So I did that -- just uploaded again. But I changed the "form type" to "standard" instead of "provider." Immediate negative!



Awesome, glad it worked. Now you’ll get your QR code and you can relax!!


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## Seagila

This is the current status of our Safe Travels account.  At which point does it show we're exempt from quarantine?  After being screened?  Thanks in advance.


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## csodjd

Virtually the same here:





I believe once they screen you at the airport it changes to Yes.


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## csodjd

csodjd said:


> Virtually the same here:
> 
> View attachment 31623
> 
> I believe once they screen you at the airport it changes to Yes.


So we went through everything today. Yes, immediately after the agent at the airport checks your ID and scans your QR, the Screened changes to YES and turns green (after you refresh). You don’t HAVE to have the QR code on your computer — they can scan a printout also, I had both and used both because my daughter was having a problem connecting. (I did a screen grab and pasted it into a new PDF then printed, and used that printout.) For three of us it took perhaps 3-4 minutes to clear through the check.


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## Henry M.

My niece came to visit us while we are staying at WKORV. She arrived Wednesday. We registered her at the resort so she would be recognized if she needed something without us around. During that process, the front desk needed to see an approved quarantine exemption form. The printed copy she brought from home was not enough. She had to sign into the SafeTravels web site and show the page with the quarantine exemption approved. It was no big deal, but I wanted to highlight that just a printout from before leaving for the airport is not enough to check into a hotel or rent a car. I think the car rental companies also want to see the approved quarantine exemption. When I arrived in early December, they were giving out a pink sheet that hotels and rental car agencies wanted to see. Now they want to see the page from the SafeTravels site or a new printout with the exemption approved.


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## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> My niece came to visit us while we are staying at WKORV. She arrived Wednesday. We registered her at the resort so she would be recognized if she needed something without us around. During that process, the front desk needed to see an approved quarantine exemption form. The printed copy she brought from home was not enough. She had to sign into the SafeTravels web site and show the page with the quarantine exemption approved. It was no big deal, but I wanted to highlight that just a printout from before leaving for the airport is not enough to check into a hotel or rent a car. I think the car rental companies also want to see the approved quarantine exemption. When I arrived in early December, they were giving out a pink sheet that hotels and rental car agencies wanted to see. Now they want to see the page from the SafeTravels site or a new printout with the exemption approved.


That's all correct. A printout will get you through at the airport, then they trigger your Safe Travels trip showing that you are exempt from quarantine. From that point on you show the trip page from the Safe Travels website to show that you have cleared the airport and determined to be exempt from quarantine.


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## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> That's all correct. A printout will get you through at the airport, then they trigger your Safe Travels trip showing that you are exempt from quarantine. From that point on you show the trip page from the Safe Travels website to show that you have cleared the airport and determined to be exempt from quarantine.



I had been mystified why the car rental companies and resorts did not have code readers, but I learned yesterday that once it is scanned at the airport it cannot be scanned again. I will need to go through this again on Kauai and it does seem that they want to see it from the email QR code on a mobile device and not a paper copy so am still confused about what and when we can use a paper copy pre- or post- airport.


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## Henry M.

The printed copy from before you arrive doesn't say you are approved to be exempt from quarantine. Once you are checked at the airport, the online form changes to say you are exempt. Unless you print the form AFTER you are checked in at the gate, you need to show the QR code from the Safe Travels web site so the person checking can see the exemption.


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## zentraveler

Henry M. said:


> The printed copy from before you arrive doesn't say you are approved to be exempt from quarantine. Once you are checked at the airport, the online form changes to say you are exempt. Unless you print the form AFTER you are checked in at the gate, you need to show the QR code from the Safe Travels web site so the person checking can see the exemption.



Ah, got it Henry. That is the piece I was missing. Thanks.


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## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> The printed copy from before you arrive doesn't say you are approved to be exempt from quarantine. Once you are checked at the airport, the online form changes to say you are exempt. Unless you print the form AFTER you are checked in at the gate, you need to show the QR code from the Safe Travels web site so the person checking can see the exemption.


To be more clear, it’s not the QR code they need to see... its where it says (in green now, not red) that you’re exempt from quarantine. It says “Yes” by “Screened.” So they say they need to see your QR code, what they really mean is just under the code where it says you are cleared and don’t have to quarantine.


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## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> To be more clear, it’s not the QR code they need to see... its where it says (in green now, not red) that you’re exempt from quarantine. It says “Yes” by “Screened.” So they say they need to see your QR code, what they really mean is just under the code where it says you are cleared and don’t have to quarantine.



Yes, one of the agents told me they need to see what is written below the QR code so this all makes sense now. When we got here I had this naive idea that I would just keep showing the QR code at Hertz, Westin etc and I was flabbergasted (and annoyed ) that no one had QR readers and no one explained any of this at the time. Glad to know what is happening now.


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## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> To be more clear, it’s not the QR code they need to see... its where it says (in green now, not red) that you’re exempt from quarantine. It says “Yes” by “Screened.” So they say they need to see your QR code, what they really mean is just under the code where it says you are cleared and don’t have to quarantine.



Yes, one of the agents told me they need to see what is written below the QR code so this all makes sense now. When we got here I had this naive idea that I would just keep showing the QR code at Hertz, Westin etc and I was flabbergasted that no one had QR readers and no one explained any of this.


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## fernow

Maybe already covered somewhere but in addition to military, essential worker and flight crew exemptions, you can get an exemption if you had and recovered from COVID within 90 days pre travel, in which case you would receive and enter an exemption code.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## tatmtr7

Any updates for those of us traveling fully vaccinated?


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## gejone

Regarding the lack of QR readers at hotels and rental car counters. Open the QR code on your phone, swipe up and your uploaded test result will show. I used that twice on our last trip and I could tell that was a known procedure.


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## TheHolleys87

Any more mumbles or rumors about Hawaii loosening travel restrictions for those who have been vaccinated? I really want to book but refuse to commit to anything until I know we won’t have to jump through the testing hoops!


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## csodjd

TheHolleys87 said:


> Any more mumbles or rumors about Hawaii loosening travel restrictions for those who have been vaccinated? I really want to book but refuse to commit to anything until I know we won’t have to jump through the testing hoops!


I suspect it's going to be a while. Hawaii has been very conservative in its approach, and aggressive in trying to keep COVID out. I cannot imagine them being at the front of the line to implement a new protocol to allow people INTO Hawaii. I can imagine, for instance, that they'd want to know what the number of "breakthru" cases are (vaccinated individuals that then become infected) compared with the number of infected people that the 3-day advance negative testing misses. In other words, is the vaccine AS or MORE effective at keeping infected travelers out as their current testing protocol? 

Then there is the more pragmatic logistics of it all and ensuring valid data. Look at the hoops you have to go through to PROVE a dog is protected from Rabies before you can bring a dog in, as if a large number of dogs are (i) brought in and (ii) bite people when they are there. Nonetheless, it is quite a process to absolutely guarantee nobody can bring a dog with Rabies into Hawaii. I'm not sure they will be less demanding with people and COVID.

As a fully vaccinated family, I'm all with you and hope they do this and the sooner the better. I'm just not optimistic it will be soon. 

That said, the idea that you've tested and come to Ohau, but if you've been in Oahu for a week and then have to test AGAIN to go to another island, well, that should go now, effective immediately. The risk of becoming infected IN Oahu is very very low, and the other islands can readily handle the very minimal contract tracing or medical care that very low risk presents. It is just an unnecessary burden and expense making inter-island travel less desirable, which hurts the state.


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## dmelcher13

Here is some interesting verbiage from the EIGHTEENTH PROCLAMATION RELATED TO THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY.

2. Self-Quarantine Exceptions 
...
or (3) upon the establishment of an exception by the Director of HIEMA, persons who, prior to departure to the State, upload into the State’s Safe Travels program or otherwise provide written hard copy validation that they have completed a vaccine regimen approved by DOH. This third exception is not available as of the date of this Proclamation, requires action by the Director of HIEMA and details will be posted at https://hawaiicovid19.com/. Persons under the age of five accompanied by a traveler who meets existing test exceptions are not required to obtain a test prior to arrival. 

It sounds like something is in the works for a vaccination exception.

Dave


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## csodjd

dmelcher13 said:


> Here is some interesting verbiage from the EIGHTEENTH PROCLAMATION RELATED TO THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY.
> 
> 2. Self-Quarantine Exceptions
> ...
> or (3) upon the establishment of an exception by the Director of HIEMA, persons who, prior to departure to the State, upload into the State’s Safe Travels program or otherwise provide written hard copy validation that they have completed a vaccine regimen approved by DOH. This third exception is not available as of the date of this Proclamation, requires action by the Director of HIEMA and details will be posted at https://hawaiicovid19.com/. Persons under the age of five accompanied by a traveler who meets existing test exceptions are not required to obtain a test prior to arrival.
> 
> It sounds like something is in the works for a vaccination exception.
> 
> Dave


That is interesting. Nothing posted at the website in weeks though. Not even a new bulletin since Feb. 16.


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## lynne

The discussion at the moment is on inter-island travel.  Last week we had 3  "breakthru" cases are (vaccinated individuals that then become infected) from residents that traveled to the mainland.









						Vaccines could lead to lifting of Hawaii’s travel restrictions
					

The state might loosen interisland travel restrictions as early as next month, with similar adjustments under consideration for trans-Pacific travel, if vaccine distribution supports the plan.




					www.staradvertiser.com


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## pedro47

This is some great information on this thread IMHO. We have delayed any pre planning for a vacation to the Big Island until 2022.
I just pray, I am alive and physical able to travel. Two (2) weeks or maybe three (3) week is a mandatory  stay in Hawaii and we must fly First Class both ways to The Big Island; with a couple of days in my favorite City of San Diego; going and coming on this trip..


----------



## csodjd

lynne said:


> The discussion at the moment is on inter-island travel.  Last week we had 3  "breakthru" cases are (vaccinated individuals that then become infected) from residents that traveled to the mainland.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Vaccines could lead to lifting of Hawaii’s travel restrictions
> 
> 
> The state might loosen interisland travel restrictions as early as next month, with similar adjustments under consideration for trans-Pacific travel, if vaccine distribution supports the plan.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.staradvertiser.com


The breakthru cases, which are inevitable and certain (that's the difference between 94% and 100% effective) are double edged swords, but I believe will prove to support relaxing restrictions. First, they are asymptomatic -- these are people that are being tested for job reasons and discovering they are positive. Second, to my knowledge, there is not yet any evidence any breakthru case has led to infection of another person. This supports the data found in Israel, where breakthru patients were shown to have viral loads in their nasopharynx that were insufficient to infect another person. 

So the data is accumulating that vaccines prevent illness and spread, even if they do not prevent infection 100%. In basketball terminology, the breakthru's will be shown to be "harmless fouls" that require no regulatory/legislative response.


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## rickandcindy23

Our kids and grandkids passed their Covid tests and are heading here to Maui tomorrow.  Excited to take the older grandkids to the beach.  They have a fantastic unit at MMO.  Too bad check-in was Saturday and they delayed their trip to tomorrow.  They are visiting a friend in Seattle.


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## VacationForever

We completed our COVID tests at Walgreens at no cost to us, and got our negative results in email in less than an hour.  We have uploaded the results to the Safe Travels website and our records have been updated as Covid Negative.  Now we will wait for another 2 days to complete the questionaire.  We don't see a request for a selfie picture.

The stress was in trying to get to Walgreens this morning for a 11:45am appointment.  When we went into the garage at 11am, the car's hatch was opened and car was beeping at us, and the battery was dead/flat.  We think my husband had accidentally bumped the car key fob and opened the hatch since yesterday and it drained the battery.  These appointments have to be made 3 days before and if we had missed the appointments, we would have to look for other non-Walgreens options.  I looked through my phone directory for friends who live close to us and in town.  It was frantic but our realtor who lives a few houses down from us came to our rescue.  She is usually in California for her husband's cancer treatment or busy with closings.


----------



## Olienh

We got up this morning to make the hour and twenty minute drive to a Walgreens with ID now.  By the tome we got home, we had five negative results and we are ready to go to Maui!  We uploaded the PDFs and got the immediate update that the result was confirmed COVId Negative.  
To add you picture, you use the same “upload Files” option you use to upload Covid results, but there is an option in the first drop down to add a recent photo. 36 hours to takeoff!!!


----------



## VacationForever

Olienh said:


> We got up this morning to make the hour and twenty minute drive to a Walgreens with ID now.  By the tome we got home, we had five negative results and we are ready to go to Maui!  We uploaded the PDFs and got the immediate update that the result was confirmed COVId Negative.
> To add you picture, you use the same “upload Files” option you use to upload Covid results, but there is an option in the first drop down to add a recent photo. 36 hours to takeoff!!!


I don't even see that they ask for a photo.


----------



## Lv2Trvl

It's there. Take a selfie! 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


----------



## klpca

Olienh said:


> We got up this morning to make the hour and twenty minute drive to a Walgreens with ID now.  By the tome we got home, we had five negative results and we are ready to go to Maui!  We uploaded the PDFs and got the immediate update that the result was confirmed COVId Negative.
> To add you picture, you use the same “upload Files” option you use to upload Covid results, but there is an option in the first drop down to add a recent photo. 36 hours to takeoff!!!


So glad that you mentioned the photo - that is new since we visited in November. I just uploaded mine and have scheduled my test for next week. Fingers crossed for this trip.


----------



## VacationForever

Lv2Trvl said:


> It's there. Take a selfie!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Found the verbiage on the first page.  Done!


----------



## csodjd

Olienh said:


> We got up this morning to make the hour and twenty minute drive to a Walgreens with ID now.  By the tome we got home, we had five negative results and we are ready to go to Maui!  We uploaded the PDFs and got the immediate update that the result was confirmed COVId Negative.
> To add you picture, you use the same “upload Files” option you use to upload Covid results, but there is an option in the first drop down to add a recent photo. 36 hours to takeoff!!!


Just be sure to make dinner reservations NOW, before you go.


----------



## VacationForever

csodjd said:


> Just be sure to make dinner reservations NOW, before you go.


We have reservations at Michels in Honolulu, Oahu.  Looking forward to it.


----------



## Olienh

csodjd said:


> Just be sure to make dinner reservations NOW, before you go.


We are coming for two weeks and have reservations every other night.  I made the Mama’s Rez 3 months ago because a good friend that lives in that part of Maui recommended it. Being an over-anxious, over-planner paid off this year!


----------



## melissy123

Ugh. We are getting the “verification in progress” after test results were uploaded. Called the help desk and left a message. Hopefully someone can do a manual over-ride instead of waiting at the airport for it to get verified


----------



## dmelcher13

melissy123 said:


> Ugh. We are getting the “verification in progress” after test results were uploaded. Called the help desk and left a message. Hopefully someone can do a manual over-ride instead of waiting at the airport for it to get verified



Recheck the instructions on the site. Are you uploading just the first page and selecting the correct test type? It should show negative almost immediately.


Dave


----------



## csodjd

melissy123 said:


> Ugh. We are getting the “verification in progress” after test results were uploaded. Called the help desk and left a message. Hopefully someone can do a manual over-ride instead of waiting at the airport for it to get verified


Disregard that and do it over, but choose the OTHER form from the drop down. If you do it right you’ll get an almost instant NEGATIVE. If it says verification in progress you probably chose the wrong form. I always choose the Hawaii Standard or Standard Hawaii (don’t recall the exactly wording) form.


----------



## melissy123

dmelcher13 said:


> Recheck the instructions on the site. Are you uploading just the first page and selecting the correct test type? It should show negative almost immediately.
> 
> 
> Dave


There’s only one page for the report from Walgreens


----------



## melissy123

csodjd said:


> Disregard that and do it over, but choose the OTHER form from the drop down. If you do it right you’ll get an almost instant NEGATIVE. If it says verification in progress you probably chose the wrong form. I always choose the Hawaii Standard or Standard Hawaii (don’t recall the exactly wording) form.


I tried that now. Still shows Verification in Progress


----------



## dmelcher13

Does the name on the test result exactly match the name you used on the Hawaii website?


Dave


----------



## melissy123

dmelcher13 said:


> Does the name on the test result exactly match the name you used on the Hawaii website?
> 
> 
> Dave


Yes, it does match. Husband’s results are the same.


----------



## klpca

melissy123 said:


> I tried that now. Still shows Verification in Progress


Are you uploading a pdf or a screenshot? You need the actual pdf. A screenshot doesn't have the right resolution. You are probably doing it right but I know that this is one of the unexpected issues.


----------



## melissy123

klpca said:


> Are you uploading a pdf or a screenshot? You need the actual pdf. A screenshot doesn't have the right resolution. You are probably doing it right but I know that this is one of the unexpected issues.


I am using a pdf


----------



## klpca

melissy123 said:


> I am using a pdf


Well then that is a stressful way to start your trip! So sorry that you are going through this.


----------



## melissy123

I read something on one site that said that for Walgreens (some labs) the lab name doesn’t match so it will ask for verification of results. While we did the test at Walgreens, the top of our form says the results are issued by Aegis Labs


----------



## melissy123

Just spoke to Southwest. I won’t be able to use their “Pre-clear” process and skip the line at the airport in Hawaii without a “negative” test in the Safe Travels portal. I can’t show the Southwest gate agent the printout of the test, I have to do that in Hawaii.  
I’ve emailed IT support for Safe Travels and called. No response.  Supposedly they can manually clear the results once they see the PDF that’s online


----------



## melissy123

Tech support came through!  I got an email that our tests should now read Covid Negative and they do!  We had made printouts anyway to show for car rental and check in at Marriott. But this will make life so much easier (hopefully) with getting the Pre-Clear bracelets from Southwest and skipping the long lines in Hawaii.


----------



## csodjd

melissy123 said:


> Tech support came through!  I got an email that our tests should now read Covid Negative and they do!


Any clue offered as to why it didn't work automatically?


----------



## melissy123

csodjd said:


> Any clue offered as to why it didn't work automatically?


Not from tech support. I read somewhere it was because Walgreens says Aegis Labs but then I looked at our lab results from Walgreens in November and it said Labcorp at that time.

edited to add: I did ask tech support and asked if I did something wrong since I have to go through the process again in a week when we go to the Big Island. 
They said I hadn’t done anything wrong and that the AI that reads the lab results is still in its infancy and it sometime just glitches. I thought it was curious it glitched for all three of us.


----------



## magmue

We arrived in Waikoloa a week ago Friday. We also did our tests via Walgreen’s drive through and got results via email within 2 hours. 
The “summary” result was negative. The email included two pdf’s- a “lab pdf” and a “patient friendly pdf”. I uploaded the “patient friendly” pdf to my Safe Travels page, and it registered as Verification Pending. 
An hour later, I helped DH with his, and chose the “lab” pdf version - it immediately registered as Negative. I went back to mine, which still showed Pending, and added the Lab pdf - immediately recognized as negative. On travel day, the original upload was still Verification Pending.

So if you get results in two pdf versions, and one doesn’t flip the switch, upload the other one too.


----------



## melissy123

magmue said:


> We arrived in Waikoloa a week ago Friday. We also did our tests via Walgreen’s drive through and got results via email within 2 hours.
> The “summary” result was negative. The email included two pdf’s- a “lab pdf” and a “patient friendly pdf”. I uploaded the “patient friendly” pdf to my Safe Travels page, and it registered as Verification Pending.
> An hour later, I helped DH with his, and chose the “lab” pdf version - it immediately registered as Negative. I went back to mine, which still showed Pending, and added the Lab pdf - immediately recognized as negative. On travel day, the original upload was still Verification Pending.
> 
> So if you get results in two pdf versions, and one doesn’t flip the switch, upload the other one too.


LOL. I did upload both of these also. I couldn’t get any combination to work. I had something like six different test results uploaded at one point.


----------



## klpca

I'm sitting in the San Diego airport at my gate watching people trying to do the Hawaii pre-screen. Lots of issues with negative test results from Walgreens not showing up correctly on the Safe Travels site. Travelers have a hard copy but it is not confirmed in the system. So if you have a choice I'm not sure that I would choose Walgreens. I used UCSD.


----------



## NiteMaire

klpca said:


> I'm sitting in the San Diego airport at my gate watching people trying to do the Hawaii pre-screen. Lots of issues with negative test results from Walgreens not showing up correctly on the Safe Travels site. Travelers have a hard copy but it is not confirmed in the system. So if you have a choice I'm not sure that I would choose Walgreens. I used UCSD.


I just used Walgreens this week (flew back to Hawaii yesterday).  No issues at all.  When I arrived at the gate in Dallas, I was directed to the pre-screen table.  I showed my QR code and received my pre-screen "bracelet".  Arrived at HNL and it was smooth sailing to the baggage claim.


----------



## VacationForever

klpca said:


> I'm sitting in the San Diego airport at my gate watching people trying to do the Hawaii pre-screen. Lots of issues with negative test results from Walgreens not showing up correctly on the Safe Travels site. Travelers have a hard copy but it is not confirmed in the system. So if you have a choice I'm not sure that I would choose Walgreens. I used UCSD.


All four of us used Walgreens' results and had no issue.  The main thing is to select Lab.pdf and form type as provider form.  If the person picks easy read.pdf, the safe travel website is unable to parse the fields for the results, which ends up as "processing" instead of negative.


----------



## klpca

Maybe it's San Diego. It was at least 20 people that I saw. They had done multiple uploads and two of them had been able to have someone at Hawaii Safe Travels fix it on their end. I felt bad for them. So stressful!


----------



## alwysonvac

Thanks to all who shared their tips and experiences. 

All four adults (2 from NJ and 2 from MI) used Walgreens ID NOW (no charge). Test results were received within 4 hours. Used Lab.pdf and form type as provider form. 

We all flew on United Airlines. My sister-in-law and nephew had a connecting flight in Denver to OGG. They received their pre-clearance bracelets in Denver. My hubby and I had connecting flights in Honolulu via Hawaiian Airlines but we only received pre-clearance for the EWR to HNL leg (but it didn’t include HNL to OGG on Hawaiian Airlines) even though both legs were purchased from United Airlines.


----------



## WatsonC2

Daughter flew to OGG from Seattle this AM (alaska air).  College Roommate flew from Sacremento to OGG (united).  Both did the 72 hr prior testing, accounts, got the band, etc...No test upon arrival.  I walked her to the terminal and will give Kudos to Alaska for their setup in Seattle.  Staff really knew the website and she was on here way with a wristband in a couple minutes.


----------



## Tucsonadventurer

anyone know of any tests for Hawaii at the Phoenix Airport?


----------



## yeereid

Aloha! Wanted to provide feedback on our travel experience as we arrived on Oahu yesterday. We live in Orange County, CA.

Flight from LAX to HNL at 7am Sat 6/5 on Hawaiian Airlines First Class
Scheduled our COVID tests at Hoag Urgent Care in Irvine which is a Westpac Lab on Wed 6/2 at 9am and registered on the Hawaii Safe Travels site
Received our negative results at 9:45am on Thur 6/3; pleasantly surprised as we were told to expect results in 48-72 hours
Had no issues uploading the test result which did have the Hawaii seal at the top of the form
Fri 6/4 completed the 24 hour questionaire and received our QR codes; printed both the QR codes and negative test result as back up
Spent the night at a hotel near LAX on 6/4 for conveneince and so we could use their shuttle to the airport and leave our vehicle there for the week for a reasonable price
Arrived at our gate at LAX at 5:15am. Around 5:45am, people started lining up at an adjacent service desk next to the main counter and figured out they were waiting to receive their neon green wristbands for clearance upon providing their proper documents, so I joined the line; one female passenger assumed the role "line monitor" as was quite aggressive with bossing passengers around as some people didn't know it was a line and were just congregting by the gate. It was entertaining to watch!
Luckily, at the same time, my husband inquired with the main counter next to the gate about the process and when the lovely agent saw that we were traveling First Class, pulled out her iPad and proceeded to process him so he waived me over to leave the regular line (she wanted to see our printed paper documents vs. on our mobile phones, and gave us the coveted neon green wristbands! Nice perk!
HA First Class was wonderful as we had the lie-flat seats and the flight attendants were most pleasant. I really prefer HA over AA to Hawaii as thier Aloha spirit really sets the mood for your trip and from CA, the First Class seats are worlds better than any of the AA planes which I refer to as "fake First Class" since the seats are just slightly larger but nothing close to the true lie-flat seats on the larger planes. Plus HA was less expensive than AA
Upon arriving at HNL, we got to deplane first but amazingly there was no real hoops to jump through to exit the airport. No one even asksed for our Hawaii agriculture forms that the flight attendants always hand out mid flight
We got our Starbucks on our way out of the airport and soon came upon a divided stanchion, one lane for travelers with wristbands and the other for those without; breezed through the wristband lane with zero wait and proceeded through the baggage claim area to exit
Our friend who lives in Oahu graciously picked us up at the airport, drove us to Foodland Farms at Ala Moana to pick up some provisionals and drove us to our timeshare hotel, Hokulani Waikiki. Our room wasn't quite ready so all of us went to brunch at Hau Tree which was at the super cute Kaimana Beach Hotel. Upon arriving back at the Hokulani Waikiki aout 90 minutes later, our room was ready. Interstingly enough, the hotel only wanted to see our QR code from our phones and would not accept the paper printouts. This was an RCI trade and we lucked out with a great room location overlooking the city at the corner of Kalakaua and Lewers. We love the layout of the room and the location is excellent, especially since we did not rent a car. We can walk everywhere! 
FYI: I booked all of our dinner reservations well in advance and am so gald I did! Our first night's dinner was a Hula Grill at 5pm and couldn't have been more perfect! We were seated at the one of the best tables along the rail and had awesome views of the beach, Diamond Head and the band. As you can see, our first day was Hawaii perfect!


----------



## slip

yeereid said:


> Aloha! Wanted to provide feedback on our travel experience as we arrived on Oahu yesterday. We live in Orange County, CA.
> 
> Flight from LAX to HNL at 7am Sat 6/5 on Hawaiian Airlines First Class
> Scheduled our COVID tests at Hoag Urgent Care in Irvine which is a Westpac Lab on Wed 6/2 at 9am and registered on the Hawaii Safe Travels site
> Received our negative results at 9:45am on Thur 6/3; pleasantly surprised as we were told to expect results in 48-72 hours
> Had no issues uploading the test result which did have the Hawaii seal at the top of the form
> Fri 6/4 completed the 24 hour questionaire and received our QR codes; printed both the QR codes and negative test result as back up
> Spent the night at a hotel near LAX on 6/4 for conveneince and so we could use their shuttle to the airport and leave our vehicle there for the week for a reasonable price
> Arrived at our gate at LAX at 5:15am. Around 5:45am, people started lining up at an adjacent service desk next to the main counter and figured out they were waiting to receive their neon green wristbands for clearance upon providing their proper documents, so I joined the line; one female passenger assumed the role "line monitor" as was quite aggressive with bossing passengers around as some people didn't know it was a line and were just congregting by the gate. It was entertaining to watch!
> Luckily, at the same time, my husband inquired with the main counter next to the gate about the process and when the lovely agent saw that we were traveling First Class, pulled out her iPad and proceeded to process him so he waived me over to leave the regular line (she wanted to see our printed paper documents vs. on our mobile phones, and gave us the coveted neon green wristbands! Nice perk!
> HA First Class was wonderful as we had the lie-flat seats and the flight attendants were most pleasant. I really prefer HA over AA to Hawaii as thier Aloha spirit really sets the mood for your trip and from CA, the First Class seats are worlds better than any of the AA planes which I refer to as "fake First Class" since the seats are just slightly larger but nothing close to the true lie-flat seats on the larger planes. Plus HA was less expensive than AA
> Upon arriving at HNL, we got to deplane first but amazingly there was no real hoops to jump through to exit the airport. No one even asksed for our Hawaii agriculture forms that the flight attendants always hand out mid flight
> We got our Starbucks on our way out of the airport and soon came upon a divided stanchion, one lane for travelers with wristbands and the other for those without; breezed through the wristband lane with zero wait and proceeded through the baggage claim area to exit
> Our friend who lives in Oahu graciously picked us up at the airport, drove us to Foodland Farms at Ala Moana to pick up some provisionals and drove us to our timeshare hotel, Hokulani Waikiki. Our room wasn't quite ready so all of us went to brunch at Hau Tree which was at the super cute Kaimana Beach Hotel. Upon arriving back at the Hokulani Waikiki aout 90 minutes later, our room was ready. Interstingly enough, the hotel only wanted to see our QR code from our phones and would not accept the paper printouts. This was an RCI trade and we lucked out with a great room location overlooking the city at the corner of Kalakaua and Lewers. We love the layout of the room and the location is excellent, especially since we did not rent a car. We can walk everywhere!
> FYI: I booked all of our dinner reservations well in advance and am so gald I did! Our first night's dinner was a Hula Grill at 5pm and couldn't have been more perfect! We were seated at the one of the best tables along the rail and had awesome views of the beach, Diamond Head and the band. As you can see, our first day was Hawaii perfect!



Enjoy your time, that is a great location. Our apartment is only two blocks away on the canal.


----------



## csodjd

yeereid said:


> Aloha! Wanted to provide feedback on our travel experience as we arrived on Oahu yesterday. We live in Orange County, CA.
> 
> Flight from LAX to HNL at 7am Sat 6/5 on Hawaiian Airlines First Class
> Scheduled our COVID tests at Hoag Urgent Care in Irvine which is a Westpac Lab on Wed 6/2 at 9am and registered on the Hawaii Safe Travels site
> Received our negative results at 9:45am on Thur 6/3; pleasantly surprised as we were told to expect results in 48-72 hours
> Had no issues uploading the test result which did have the Hawaii seal at the top of the form
> Fri 6/4 completed the 24 hour questionaire and received our QR codes; printed both the QR codes and negative test result as back up
> Spent the night at a hotel near LAX on 6/4 for conveneince and so we could use their shuttle to the airport and leave our vehicle there for the week for a reasonable price
> Arrived at our gate at LAX at 5:15am. Around 5:45am, people started lining up at an adjacent service desk next to the main counter and figured out they were waiting to receive their neon green wristbands for clearance upon providing their proper documents, so I joined the line; one female passenger assumed the role "line monitor" as was quite aggressive with bossing passengers around as some people didn't know it was a line and were just congregting by the gate. It was entertaining to watch!
> Luckily, at the same time, my husband inquired with the main counter next to the gate about the process and when the lovely agent saw that we were traveling First Class, pulled out her iPad and proceeded to process him so he waived me over to leave the regular line (she wanted to see our printed paper documents vs. on our mobile phones, and gave us the coveted neon green wristbands! Nice perk!
> HA First Class was wonderful as we had the lie-flat seats and the flight attendants were most pleasant. I really prefer HA over AA to Hawaii as thier Aloha spirit really sets the mood for your trip and from CA, the First Class seats are worlds better than any of the AA planes which I refer to as "fake First Class" since the seats are just slightly larger but nothing close to the true lie-flat seats on the larger planes. Plus HA was less expensive than AA
> Upon arriving at HNL, we got to deplane first but amazingly there was no real hoops to jump through to exit the airport. No one even asksed for our Hawaii agriculture forms that the flight attendants always hand out mid flight
> We got our Starbucks on our way out of the airport and soon came upon a divided stanchion, one lane for travelers with wristbands and the other for those without; breezed through the wristband lane with zero wait and proceeded through the baggage claim area to exit
> Our friend who lives in Oahu graciously picked us up at the airport, drove us to Foodland Farms at Ala Moana to pick up some provisionals and drove us to our timeshare hotel, Hokulani Waikiki. Our room wasn't quite ready so all of us went to brunch at Hau Tree which was at the super cute Kaimana Beach Hotel. Upon arriving back at the Hokulani Waikiki aout 90 minutes later, our room was ready. Interstingly enough, the hotel only wanted to see our QR code from our phones and would not accept the paper printouts. This was an RCI trade and we lucked out with a great room location overlooking the city at the corner of Kalakaua and Lewers. We love the layout of the room and the location is excellent, especially since we did not rent a car. We can walk everywhere!
> FYI: I booked all of our dinner reservations well in advance and am so gald I did! Our first night's dinner was a Hula Grill at 5pm and couldn't have been more perfect! We were seated at the one of the best tables along the rail and had awesome views of the beach, Diamond Head and the band. As you can see, our first day was Hawaii perfect!


The reason the hotel wanted to see your QR from your phones was because your Safe Travels page now showed your green check marks as "exempt." Your printout from home doesn't have that. It was initiated by your clearance at the airport. While the printout is useful, there's no way around needing the online access for hotel or car.


----------



## Henry M.

I wrote this in another thread, but thought it would be applicable here.

I paid for my COVID test last November, because the testing company (Vault) didn't want to deal with insurance. I think CVS and others are like that too. They provided a receipt to send in but I just assumed it wasn't covered. When I was talking to my insurance company a couple of months later, I mentioned COVID testing to the representative and they said it was covered in full. I could also get as many as I needed. I sent in the receipt I still had, and I got 100% reimbursement! 

Check with your insurance company even if you pay out of pocket to get the test. I have rarely used my insurance over the years. At least I get a tiny return of all the premiums I've paid in over decades.


----------



## NTP66

Gotta say, Walgreens testing was pretty flawless for us. Drove up to the pharmacy window, got our swabs done, and had results in less than 2 hours.


----------



## Henry M.

I wonder why Walgreen's doesn't provide the rapid test (ID NOW) in California. IT is available in many other states.


----------



## zentraveler

Henry M. said:


> I wonder why Walgreen's doesn't provide the rapid test (ID NOW) in California. IT is available in many other states.



Would have been nice, but fortunately the Color testing site at SFO (associated with United) is easy, quick, well run and a <24 hour turn around time. Not free though (although if I get around to it I may take your advice and send it in to my insurance company; if they don't cover tests for travel - clearly marked on my receipt - they will let me know.)


----------



## NTP66

Henry M. said:


> I wonder why Walgreen's doesn't provide the rapid test (ID NOW) in California. IT is available in many other states.


Payback for us East coast folks who see them being able to fly to Maui for under $300...


----------



## bizaro86

melissy123 said:


> Just spoke to Southwest. I won’t be able to use their “Pre-clear” process and skip the line at the airport in Hawaii without a “negative” test in the Safe Travels portal. I can’t show the Southwest gate agent the printout of the test, I have to do that in Hawaii.
> I’ve emailed IT support for Safe Travels and called. No response.  Supposedly they can manually clear the results once they see the PDF that’s online



Does anyone know the email for the Safe Travels tech support? I can't find it, and we have one member of our party that's throwing an error message saying the identity doesn't match, even though the name and birth date do match.


----------



## lynne

bizaro86 said:


> Does anyone know the email for the Safe Travels tech support? I can't find it, and we have one member of our party that's throwing an error message saying the identity doesn't match, even though the name and birth date do match.


General Information. (1-800-464-2924). If you need technical assistance related to the *Safe Travels* Program and its online form, *call* the *Hawaii* Office of Enterprise Technology Services' help desk at 1-855-599-0888.


----------



## bizaro86

lynne said:


> General Information. (1-800-464-2924). If you need technical assistance related to the *Safe Travels* Program and its online form, *call* the *Hawaii* Office of Enterprise Technology Services' help desk at 1-855-599-0888.


Oh, ok. I thought someone earlier said they were able to email. We already called and left a message.


----------



## lynne

bizaro86 said:


> Oh, ok. I thought someone earlier said they were able to email. We already called and left a message.


Sorry about the mix up, the best I can find for you for an email address
*General Contact Information*


Mailing AddressOffice of Enterprise Technology Services, State of Hawaii
P.O. Box 119
Honolulu, HI 96810-0119Physical AddressOffice of Enterprise Technology Services, State of Hawaii
Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl St., Rm. B-10
Honolulu, HI 96813Phone(808) 586-6000Fax(808) 586-1922Emailets@hawaii.govWebsiteets.hawaii.gov


----------



## lfarmwife1961

GregT said:


> Good morning TUGgers,
> 
> I hope that this is helpful, I arrived yesterday to Maui Ocean Club and describe below my experience, and what I would do differently.    This looks like alot of steps, but it really turned out to be pretty easy.    I only include each step to be very complete -- it went very smoothly.
> 
> 1) I booked my flight in late-September, arriving October 30
> 2) Early in October, I created a login for myself on the Safe Travels website (travel.hawaii.gov)
> 3) My flights were from San Diego to Honolulu, and then connecting to Honolulu to Maui
> 4) The first task we have to complete on Safe Travels is to create records for each of your trips
> 5) I created a record for my first trip (San Diego to Honolulu) and then I created a second record for my second trip (Honolulu to Maui)
> 6) I know that my flight departed at 8:55am on Friday and that I needed a COVID test from an approved provider (https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/)
> 7) The Sunday before, I made an appointment with CVS to do a _voluntary _COVID test  (https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing/voluntary-testing
> 8) I had first wasted time with CVS regular website for COVID testing, before realizing there was a separate one for voluntary COVID tests (that cost $139)
> 9) My appointment was for Tuesday at 2:30pm (~67 hours before departure) - the rule is to get the test no more than 72 hours from departure
> 10) The website FAQ says the 72 hours is measured from your last mainland leg to Hawaii (ie, Chicago-Seattle-Honolulu is measured from the Seattle departure)
> 11) I travel to CVS and it was a drive-through test that I administered on myself while the practitioner witnessed my self-test to make sure I did it right
> 12) When I checked in for the test, I received an email from CVS telling me to create a MyChart account where they would post my test results
> 13) When I got home, I created the MyChart account on my computer, and was able to find an app to also download it to my phone
> 14) On Thursday morning (within 24 hours of departure), I completed the Health Questionnaire on Safe Travels website (see #2 above) - this questionnaire can only be completed within 24 hours of departure
> 15) After completing the Health Questionnaire, the system emailed me a QR Code for my SAN-HNL flight and a separate email with the QR code for my HNL-OGG flight (this email is important)
> 16) I saved both emails with the QR Code in a separate folder for quick access
> 17) On Thursday at 2:20pm (about 48 hours after the COVID test), I received an email from CVS telling me my test results were available
> 18) I download my COVID results to my computer (saved as a PDF), then login into Safe Travels and I upload the PDF, which is one of the four tasks/options on the Safe Travels website — I’m now ready to go!!!
> 19) When I land in Honolulu, I retrieved my SAN-HNL email, which included the QR code at the bottom of the email.
> 20) Hawaii has set up stations at the Arrival gate (perhaps 10 stations at that gate in Honolulu) where an agent will scan your QR code and check your photo ID, and then let you through.  Perhaps 60 seconds for them to review the materials and approve my travel.
> 21) A suggestion: Position yourself closer to the front of the plane -- I was mid-plane and had to wait about 15 minutes to get to agent
> 22)  I then went to my connecting gate as per a normal layover
> 23) In Maui, I used the QR code in the second email (for the Honolulu-Maui flight) — there were about five agents checking the documents and my personal time was again about 60 seconds with the agent.  I was near the front of the plane though and waited only a couple of minutes to be admitted
> 24) I reserved a rental car with Enterprise.   I didn't realize I needed evidence that I was admitted without quarantine.   The email with my QR code also has a link to my Safe Travels account, where the evidence was.
> 25) At the rental car agency, I had to connect to my Safe Travels account and find where it said I was admitted without quarantine.  This evidence is included the flight record (that I'd set up in #5 above) for the Honolulu-Maui flight record.
> 26) At Maui Ocean Club, I again had to repeat Step #25 as they will neither rent a car to you, nor let you enter the room, without proof that you are exempt from Quarantine
> 
> The two things I would do differently are position myself as close to the front of the plane as possible, and I would try to print out hard copies of my QR code after my COVID test was uploaded and accepted (and indicated that I was admitted without Quarantine).  Granted, having a hard copy of the QR code is probably overkill as it was easy to pull up on my phone.
> 
> I have uploaded two screen shots -- first is what the Safe Travels records showing that two flights have been entered.  Second is the rrecord from the Honolulu-Maui trip, where it shows that I am exempt from Quarantine (for the rental car agency and your accommodations).
> 
> I hope this is helpful to another TUGger -- again it looks like alot of steps but it went smoothly and was very manageable.   It is great to be here -- there are masks everywhere (except for people who are in the pool or ocean, or laying by the pool or ocean) and the property is probably at 50% occupancy.
> 
> 
> Best,
> 
> Greg


Thank you for your notes and ideas.  We are headed to Maui in August.  There are 19 of us in our family going, including 5 little kids 4 and under.  Part of our group is vaccinated but most aren't.  These are great help tips for our travels.


----------



## bizaro86

lynne said:


> Sorry about the mix up, the best I can find for you for an email address
> *General Contact Information*
> 
> 
> Mailing AddressOffice of Enterprise Technology Services, State of Hawaii
> P.O. Box 119
> Honolulu, HI 96810-0119Physical AddressOffice of Enterprise Technology Services, State of Hawaii
> Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl St., Rm. B-10
> Honolulu, HI 96813Phone(808) 586-6000Fax(808) 586-1922Emailets@hawaii.govWebsiteets.hawaii.gov



I didn't see this until we had left already. But the phone message we left worked. Someone is obviously checking them, because my wife had tried a second account (to double check birthdates, etc) were all correct, and the one she called and left a message about said "covid negative" in the morning when we woke up to leave for our flight. The other one still said "identity mismatch." So if you have an issue calling seems very worthwhile, imo.

We weren't able to pre-clear (apparently AA only does that for HNL flights and we are going to Kings Land so flew to KOA out of LAX)


----------



## lily28

so i upload my vaccine card on 7/8 and did questionnaire today for our flight tomorrow to maui.  i already receive the QR code.  that is all i need to do right ?   show the code to united tomorrow before boarding?


----------



## csodjd

Does your vaccine card need to be uploaded each time you create a “Trip” on the Safe Travels website, or can you upload it once and link to it each time you create a trip? 

I created a trip. I chose intended resident as reason for going (since I’m staying at my condo) so it only asks for my flight there info (on past trips I chose visitor so it asked for my return flight info). I chose vaccination record as my exemption and uploaded a PDF image of my vaccine card (and completed the questions asked). I don’t go for a week, so I didn’t do the health questionnaire yet. 

In the past, at this point, when I viewed my Trip, it would show Screened, No and Exempt, No, both in red. When I did the health questionnaire I’d get emailed the QR code. The “screened” and “exempt” would change from no to yes (and turn green) when I cleared through the safe travels area at the airport after they scanned my QR code. 

Now, at this point, when I view my Trip, it shows Screened, No (in red) but there is no “Exempt” there at all. Also, where it says “In quarantine,” whereas it said “No” in the past, now it says “-NA-“ (which I assume is not applicable). 

I’m just wondering if anyone knows if this is all normal. I’d like to not have any hassles when I arrive next week and I always get concerned when things look or act differently.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> Does your vaccine card need to be uploaded each time you create a “Trip” on the Safe Travels website, or can you upload it once and link to it each time you create a trip?
> 
> I created a trip. I chose intended resident as reason for going (since I’m staying at my condo) so it only asks for my flight there info (on past trips I chose visitor so it asked for my return flight info). I chose vaccination record as my exemption and uploaded a PDF image of my vaccine card (and completed the questions asked). I don’t go for a week, so I didn’t do the health questionnaire yet.
> 
> In the past, at this point, when I viewed my Trip, it would show Screened, No and Exempt, No, both in red. When I did the health questionnaire I’d get emailed the QR code. The “screened” and “exempt” would change from no to yes (and turn green) when I cleared through the safe travels area at the airport after they scanned my QR code.
> 
> Now, at this point, when I view my Trip, it shows Screened, No (in red) but there is no “Exempt” there at all. Also, where it says “In quarantine,” whereas it said “No” in the past, now it says “-NA-“ (which I assume is not applicable).
> 
> I’m just wondering if anyone knows if this is all normal. I’d like to not have any hassles when I arrive next week and I always get concerned when things look or act differently.



FWIW, mine looks exactly the same way for a trip in August with an uploaded vaccine card.


----------



## csodjd

zentraveler said:


> FWIW, mine looks exactly the same way for a trip in August with an uploaded vaccine card.


It would be helpful/nice if it would acknowledge that the vaccine card is received or something like that, and perhaps something describing what the process looks like on the website (what to expect to see so that if something is not right you have a heads up). 

I understand that the primary source of delay in Hawaii right now is people using the vaccine exemption showing up with their vaccination cards, but no upload of the image to the website. So, they are uploading them as they stand there being checked, which takes some time.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> It would be helpful/nice if it would acknowledge that the vaccine card is received or something like that, and perhaps something describing what the process looks like on the website (what to expect to see so that if something is not right you have a heads up).
> 
> I understand that the primary source of delay in Hawaii right now is people using the vaccine exemption showing up with their vaccination cards, but no upload of the image to the website. So, they are uploading them as they stand there being checked, which takes some time.



Mine does show that my vaccine card has been uploaded and the name of the vaccine is hyperlinked and takes me to the photo of my vaccine card. 

I can't imagine why they would not keep the image of the card for future trips, although if/when boosters become a reality that would change.


----------



## Henry M.

Just to be sure, as of today, Sept. 1, you don't need any testing or other documentation when you get to Maui if you have your COVID vaccination card, right?


----------



## zentraveler

Henry M. said:


> Just to be sure, as of today, Sept. 1, you don't need any testing or other documentation when you get to Maui if you have your COVID vaccination card, right?



When I got here 8/22 I still needed to do all of the same things on the Safe Travels Hawaii. Uploaded my vaccine card, completed the 24 hour questionnaire and got a pre-clearance wrist band from United at SFO before I flew. The pre-clearance [at gate 17 for UA SFO travelers] checked my QR code and marked me cleared and then both Hertz and Westin wanted to see the green checks when on the website/email I arrived. In other words, it was the same procedure as my other trips this year minus the covid test results.


----------



## Henry M.

Thanks. Just making sure. I filled out everything in Safe Travels, except for the health questionnaire that you fill out 24 hours before the trip. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss an announcement the last few days.


----------



## zentraveler

Henry M. said:


> Thanks. Just making sure. I filled out everything in Safe Travels, except for the health questionnaire that you fill out 24 hours before the trip. I wanted to make sure I didn't miss an announcement the last few days.



It worked really smoothly, and familiarly, minus the covid test part. That made it one step easier. I know you are in Texas and not sure which airline you fly, but if you can get pre-certified it makes OGG much easier. The lines for the no-wrist band people were shorter but I was off the plane early.

No new announcements that I know of that affect those incoming, although re-requiring testing would not shock me. Someone on another thread commented that it may be illegal given the CDC recommendation. But not happening now.


----------



## Henry M.

I'll be there Tuesday, staying at Nanea for the first time. I'm flying American since I have lifetime status with them. I usually travel through DFW.


----------



## zentraveler

Henry M. said:


> I'll be there Tuesday, staying at Nanea for the first time. I'm flying American since I have lifetime status with them. I usually travel through DFW.



At least of a few weeks ago I remember knowing that AA was among the few airlines that did _not_ provide pre-arrival clearance. I hope that has changed for your sake because it makes it so much easier at OGG. 

Too bad; I am leaving on Sunday 9/5. Was at Nanea for coffee yesterday morning and then for a drink later and have walked by several times (trying to get some exercise!). I posted an update on South and will update it before I leave but all is pretty peaceful here.


----------



## csodjd

zentraveler said:


> At least of a few weeks ago I remember knowing that AA was among the few airlines that did _not_ provide pre-arrival clearance. I hope that has changed for your sake because it makes it so much easier at OGG.
> 
> Too bad; I am leaving on Sunday 9/5. Was at Nanea for coffee yesterday morning and then for a drink later and have walked by several times (trying to get some exercise!). I posted an update on South and will update it before I leave but all is pretty peaceful here.


I discovered (too late) last month that AA -was- providing pre-departure clearance at LAX out of terminal 41. You had to stop at terminal 41 and you could get a wrist band. Otherwise, the ordinary routine at the airport in Honolulu.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> I discovered (too late) last month that AA -was- providing pre-departure clearance at LAX out of terminal 41. You had to stop at terminal 41 and you could get a wrist band. Otherwise, the ordinary routine at the airport in Honolulu.



Speaking of discovering too late, I found out from my seat mate on my flight that the United Club at SFO is also doing pre-clearance. I have been in and out of that club for decades and there is no evidence _at all_ that that is the case. Apparently someone has to tell you so you don't need to troop down to F-17 (which I have done three times now). At least UA is clear about the F-17 procedure, but one would think that the United Club would make this a quite a bit more clear . Will post something for the SFO folks. 

Glad to hear that AA has joined the party at LAX.


----------



## Lv2Trvl

We gave gotten cleared at SFO United checkin and received our bracelets right there. No long line vs out at the gates. Last time May. Will be going in another 4 weeks hope it will be as easy.. 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## eyedude

QUOTE="zentraveler, post: 2660462, member: 32101"]
At least of a few weeks ago I remember knowing that AA was among the few airlines that did _not_ provide pre-arrival clearance. I hope that has changed for your sake because it makes it so much easier at OGG. 

I was surprised to find AA had preclear at the Phoenix airport. Agree that having the wristband made arrival to OGG very easy. On arrival, I went to get the rental car and my wife got the bags. There were no lines at the rental car when we arrived at 1pm on Friday…and there were tons of cars.  Way different than when we came In December 2020…we waited about 3 hours for our car back then. For this trip, I rented a Turo because I wanted to avoid the lines and the rental car prices were ridiculous when I was reserving. When the rental prices plummeted, I decided to take the risk and rent a car…glad I did.


----------



## Henry M.

I found AA can precertify me if they can see the Safe Travels QR code. From the AA web site at https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/covid-19-testing.jsp, under Destination Information for Hawaii:


----------



## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> I found AA can precertify me if they can see the Safe Travels QR code. From the AA web site at https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/covid-19-testing.jsp, under Destination Information for Hawaii:
> 
> View attachment 39548


A small note... the wait time for screening at LAX Gate 41 was about 30 minutes when I was there about a month ago. I'm sure it varies, and I'd rather wait at the front end than in Hawaii (though if you have checked bags, you would be waiting for them anyway), but one must be sure to allow plenty of time at the departure airport of seeking preclearance.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> A small note... the wait time for screening at LAX Gate 41 was about 30 minutes when I was there about a month ago. I'm sure it varies, and I'd rather wait at the front end than in Hawaii (though if you have checked bags, you would be waiting for them anyway), but one must be sure to allow plenty of time at the departure airport of seeking preclearance.



And a a side note, given my recent experience of finding out that the United Club at SFO also can do pre-clearance screening, it might be worth checking the Admirals clubs for AA travelers to see if they have something similar. 

I ended up at SFO quite a bit ahead of my flight recently and there was no one at F-17 for clearance and I breezed through. When I went by closer to boarding it looked packed and although they were boarding the plane, few were there. They were all in line across the hall getting cleared. So getting there early helps too.


----------



## Henry M.

Just went through pre-clearance by American Airlines at gate D28 in Dallas. There was no wait and it was very quick. My flight departs from Terminal A but it was worth it to get the pre-clearance.

I checked with the Admiral's Club and they don't do pre-clearance there. D28 is the only location.


----------



## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> Just went through pre-clearance by American Airlines at gate D28 in Dallas. There was no wait and it was very quick. My flight departs from Terminal A but it was worth it to get the pre-clearance.
> 
> I checked with the Admiral's Club and they don't do pre-clearance there. D28 is the only location.


From a timing standpoint, how early before your flight did you show up at D28 for the pre-clearance? It seems to me that if you're about to board a flight with 300 people going to Hawaii there is probably a time where the pre-clearance gets pretty busy. Perhaps the Terminal A vs. D issue helped minimize the number of people wanting to utilize the pre-clearance? 

We are flying out of LAX next week and trying to judge when to arrive. We'll depart out of Terminal 4 I'm sure, and the pre-clearance is at gate 41. Assuming we'll board about 40 minutes before departure, I'm trying to figure out what time I need to be at Gate 41.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> From a timing standpoint, how early before your flight did you show up at D28 for the pre-clearance? It seems to me that if you're about to board a flight with 300 people going to Hawaii there is probably a time where the pre-clearance gets pretty busy. Perhaps the Terminal A vs. D issue helped minimize the number of people wanting to utilize the pre-clearance?
> 
> We are flying out of LAX next week and trying to judge when to arrive. We'll depart out of Terminal 4 I'm sure, and the pre-clearance is at gate 41. Assuming we'll board about 40 minutes before departure, I'm trying to figure out what time I need to be at Gate 41.



Not sure if timing at SFO will help, but I had a 10:40 flight out of terminal 3 on United on Sunday:20 8/22. I got to SFO about 8:20 (expecting huge crowds) and breezed through Clear and pre-check  and the terminal felt a bit deserted. Went to F-17 for pre-clearance (not yet knowing that I could have just done this at the United Club) and there was literally no one there; I think a glut of ~ 9 am flights had all left. I was in and out in 3 minutes. By the time I went to board at 10 am there was a very long line for pre-clearance. 

Clearly I was there quite a bit earlier than I needed to be, but was happy to have some breakfast and read the papers. I think it also helped that the morning rush of 9 am flights to HI and other places had all left. LAX may be different of course, but FWIW.


----------



## Henry M.

I arrived inTerminal C of DFW around 7:30. My flight to Maui was at 9:20. 

I did not see anyone with wristbands getting off the plane, and only one family in the tram to the shuttle cars. Very few people got the pre-clearance. I don't think it was advertised much so likely most passengers don't know about it.


----------



## controller1

Henry M. said:


> I arrived inTerminal C of DFW around 7:30. My flight to Maui was at 9:20.
> 
> I did not see anyone with wristbands getting off the plane, and only one family in the tram to the shuttle cars. Very few people got the pre-clearance. I don't think it was advertised much so likely most passengers don't know about it.



I received an email from AA six days prior to departure stating how to get pre-clearance.


----------



## csodjd

zentraveler said:


> Not sure if timing at SFO will help, but I had a 10:40 flight out of terminal 3 on United on Sunday:20 8/22. I got to SFO about 8:20 (expecting huge crowds) and breezed through Clear and pre-check  and the terminal felt a bit deserted. Went to F-17 for pre-clearance (not yet knowing that I could have just done this at the United Club) and there was literally no one there; I think a glut of ~ 9 am flights had all left. I was in and out in 3 minutes. By the time I went to board at 10 am there was a very long line for pre-clearance.
> 
> Clearly I was there quite a bit earlier than I needed to be, but was happy to have some breakfast and read the papers. I think it also helped that the morning rush of 9 am flights to HI and other places had all left. LAX may be different of course, but FWIW.


Thx. The interesting part there is the very long line at 10:00am for a flight departing at 10:40. Normally you'd expect those people to be at the gate getting ready to board. 

Our flight Monday leaves at 6:30pm. We'll be at LAX about 4:15 so we'll be at Gate 41 by about 4:30 at the latest. If your experience at SFO is any guide, I won't expect to see much of anyone there that early. Then we'll probably eat at the Admiral's Club since the AA "box" meals in First basically suck, unless you're a Golden Retriever.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> Thx. The interesting part there is the very long line at 10:00am for a flight departing at 10:40. Normally you'd expect those people to be at the gate getting ready to board.
> 
> Our flight Monday leaves at 6:30pm. We'll be at LAX about 4:15 so we'll be at Gate 41 by about 4:30 at the latest. If your experience at SFO is any guide, I won't expect to see much of anyone there that early. Then we'll probably eat at the Admiral's Club since the AA "box" meals in First basically suck, unless you're a Golden Retriever.



Good plan and sounds like good timing. I have learned, as have you too, that getting the the airport ahead of the curve is worth every minute. Settle in, get ahead of all of the lines, and find some decent food to eat in the clubs, or even in the airport for the plane. 

Amazingly on my two UA flights there was real hot food served! (Not great, but those days are gone.) But honestly, SFO has such great restaurants I am more than willing to spend another $15 to have a comfortable, restful time of it all if that is what it takes. 

Hope it goes well and have fun! Sounds like many of you will be there on all the islands in September.


----------



## csodjd

zentraveler said:


> Good plan and sounds like good timing. I have learned, as have you too, that getting the the airport ahead of the curve is worth every minute. Settle in, get ahead of all of the lines, and find some decent food to eat in the clubs, or even in the airport for the plane.
> 
> Amazingly on my two UA flights there was real hot food served! (Not great, but those days are gone.) But honestly, SFO has such great restaurants I am more than willing to spend another $15 to have a comfortable, restful time of it all if that is what it takes.
> 
> Hope it goes well and have fun! Sounds like many of you will be there on all the islands in September.


I will sheepishly admit that if it were up to me, I'd get there just as they announced boarding for group one. For some reason my wife thinks we should get there earlier and not be stressed.


----------



## seema

I am booked at Maui Ocean Club with family in 4 weeks or so.
I am a Canadian. 
Doubly vaccinated

The numbers per capita of new covid cases in Hawaii are more than in any Canadian province or territory.
So it is worth coming-due to the covid situation.
Governor Ige is discouraging tourism travel to USA.

BUT The numbers are going down- over the last week.


If I go- can anyone give advice from a covid point of view as a Canadian or foreign traveler. As Far as I can gather, all posts on this thread related to Americans going from the mainland to USA.

My question relates to testing on arrival, getting the pcr test on departure (required for anyone including Canadians entering Canada) and also how do we upload our Canadian vaccination record to the appropriate app or web site to make sure we have entry access to all retail or service establishments requiring proof of vaccination.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> I will sheepishly admit that if it were up to me, I'd get there just as they announced boarding for group one. For some reason my wife thinks we should get there earlier and not be stressed.



That is what we wives are for...


----------



## csodjd

zentraveler said:


> That is what we wives are for...


Well, you see which of us prevailed.


----------



## daventrina

Currently, If you are vaccinated and upload your vaccination certificate, you do not need a COVID test. There are no current plans to change that process.

On Oahu and Maui, currently (9/16/21), a vaccination record is needed to enter eating/dinkling establisnments that are operating at 50% capacity. This will liokely continut until the hospitialization levels for COVID are signifacantly reduced.


----------



## csodjd

daventrina said:


> Currently, If you are vaccinated and upload your vaccination certificate, you do not need a COVID test. There are no current plans to change that process.
> 
> On Oahu and Maui, currently (9/16/21), a vaccination record is needed to enter eating/dinkling establisnments that are operating at 50% capacity. This will liokely continut until the hospitialization levels for COVID are signifacantly reduced.


Here is a tip to facilitate getting into Oahu restaurants. Take a picture with your phone of your Driver’s License and Vaccine card. I put my DL just above my vaccine record, and took a picture of them so that they fill the picture. I also did the same for my wife, both on my phone. So now, when we enter a restaurant, I just bring up the photo, show it to them, swipe to my wife’s, show it to them, and we’re good to go. Fast and easy.


----------



## Ianneyan

csodjd said:


> It would be helpful/nice if it would acknowledge that the vaccine card is received or something like that, and perhaps something describing what the process looks like on the website (what to expect to see so that if something is not right you have a heads up).
> 
> I understand that the primary source of delay in Hawaii right now is people using the vaccine exemption showing up with their vaccination cards, but no upload of the image to the website. So, they are uploading them as they stand there being checked, which takes some time.



So what ended up happening when you got to the airport? I have the same red x with "Screened: No"... but my vaccine card has been uploaded. My trip is coming up and like you, I am trying to avoid any hassles or extra time in lines.


----------



## csodjd

Ianneyan said:


> So what ended up happening when you got to the airport? I have the same red x with "Screened: No"... but my vaccine card has been uploaded. My trip is coming up and like you, I am trying to avoid any hassles or extra time in lines.


We pre-screened at LAX (Gate 41 or the Terminal 4 Admiral's club). I used the free CLEAR app to upload our vaccine records via a state-supplied QR Code directly from the California public health dept website. Then in the Safe Travels website I used CLEAR as my exemption and with my username and PW it grabbed the vaccine info. At the 24 hr mark I did the health questions and the QR code came up. I printed the QR code screen and handed that, along with our driver's licenses to the person at Gate 41. He reviewed, typed a bit on his computer, put our arm bands on and that was that. The "Screened" changed to Yes/green. 

At HNL we just showed the armband at the "Y" and went down the "exempt" path straight to baggage. Without the armband we'd have gone the other path to the screening area where they presumably would have done the same thing that we had done at LAX.


----------



## Ianneyan

Thanks! I am using a similar app. I was able to get a QR code for my digital vaccine record uploaded to Common Pass, which created a QR code. Unfortunatel, my hubby and daughter’s digital vaccine records aren’t coming up with our contact info, so we have that challenge. We’ll likely have to stand in line upon landing. As long as we’re not turned away, we’ll be okay.


----------



## csodjd

Ianneyan said:


> Thanks! I am using a similar app. I was able to get a QR code for my digital vaccine record uploaded to Common Pass, which created a QR code. Unfortunatel, my hubby and daughter’s digital vaccine records aren’t coming up with our contact info, so we have that challenge. We’ll likely have to stand in line upon landing. As long as we’re not turned away, we’ll be okay.


You don’t HAVE to use CommonPass or Clear, you can do it the “old fashioned way” by uploading a JPG of your vaccine card directly to the Safe Travels website and linking it to your trip. That works fine. Just a few extra fields of information to fill in. But you can still get pre-clearance doing it that way.


----------



## zentraveler

csodjd said:


> You don’t HAVE to use CommonPass or Clear, you can do it the “old fashioned way” by uploading a JPG of your vaccine card directly to the Safe Travels website and linking it to your trip. That works fine. Just a few extra fields of information to fill in. But you can still get pre-clearance doing it that way.



Good reminder; just take a photo and upload it so Safe Travels. I traveled early in 2021 and that was all we had, but it still works just fine.


----------



## Ianneyan

Thought I’d update my experience. The day of my flight to Maui our clearance in Safe Travels was updated to exempt and we qualified for pre-clear. I guess it doesn’t process the uploaded docs for clearance until after the questionnaire has been completed.


----------



## DaveNV

Just want to ask for clarification here:

We're flying to Honolulu next month from the US Mainland.  We are both US citizens, and fully vaccinated. We have each created a Safe Travels account, uploaded images of our vaccine cards, entered the trip data, and whatever else it asked for. Everything says it was uploaded correctly, and I think we're all set.

So what happens now?  There are so many different sites saying different things, I'm not sure what we need to do - if anything.  Do we still need to get a Covid test before departure?  Will what we've done be enough?  How does this QR code come about?  Do we just show up at the airport, or what?

Please help me sort this out.  It's very confusing. Thanks!

Dave


----------



## slip

DaveNV said:


> Just want to ask for clarification here:
> 
> We're flying to Honolulu next month from the US Mainland.  We are both US citizens, and fully vaccinated. We have each created a Safe Travels account, uploaded images of our vaccine cards, entered the trip data, and whatever else it asked for. Everything says it was uploaded correctly, and I think we're all set.
> 
> So what happens now?  There are so many different sites saying different things, I'm not sure what we need to do - off anything.  Do we still need to get a Covid test before departure?  Will what we've done be enough?  How does this QR code come about?  Do we just show up at the airport, or what?
> 
> Please help me sort this out.  It's very confusing. Thanks!
> 
> Dave



24 hours before your trip you have to do the health questionnaire. After that you should get sent your QR code. Then you can use that at your departure airport if they offer the service. They will give you a wrist band and when you get to Hawaii you can go straight to baggage. If your airline doesn’t have that checkin you will have to show the QR code when you get to Hawaii and then you can go to baggage.


----------



## dsmrp

Be sure to bookmark the Safe Travels site on your smart phone. And keep yourself logged in. I've had to fly to Honolulu twice in the last few months (on Alaska), and both times the pre-clear staff wanted to see the QR code online ( in your Trip event ). Before you get cleared there's a red 'X' next to your QR code. When you are cleared-approved then you want to see the X changed to a green checkmark.  

You'll need to show the green check QR code at car rental and timeshare/hotel checkin.


----------



## controller1

dsmrp said:


> You'll need to show the green check QR code at car rental and timeshare/hotel checkin.



And as in most things in life YMMV. I didn't have to show anything at the car rental counter and we showed photos of our vaccine cards at hotel check-in.


----------



## DaveNV

Thanks, all.  This helps considerably.  I was at a Walgreens the other day, and the woman ahead of me in line was going on and on about how there wasn't enough time, and how was she going to get a Covid test prior to her plane flight, and such.  The person behind the counter was trying to help her with options.  It made it all sound like there were still all the requirements.  Apparently, being vaccinated makes life a lot simpler.

We're flying on Southwest. I'll try and find out if they have the pre-clearance service available at the Las Vegas airport. The wristband thing seems like it'd be a lot easier.

Edited to add:  Southwest does offer the Pre-Clear program. Their website says presenting the approved QR code to a departure gate agent will get us the wristband @slip mentioned, so we can skip the line and go right to baggage claim on arrival. And that is the key. We're arriving very late at night, and I don't want any unnecessary delays.

Thanks,
Dave


----------



## csodjd

DaveNV said:


> Thanks, all.  This helps considerably.  I was at a Walgreens the other day, and the woman ahead of me in line was going on and on about how there wasn't enough time, and how was she going to get a Covid test prior to her plane flight, and such.  The person behind the counter was trying to help her with options.  It made it all sound like there were still all the requirements.  Apparently, being vaccinated makes life a lot simpler.
> 
> We're flying on Southwest. I'll try and find out if they have the pre-clearance service available at the Las Vegas airport. The wristband thing seems like it'd be a lot easier.
> 
> Thanks,
> Dave


Dave… it is a bit disconcerting that the QR doesn’t show up until you do the health questions, but that’s how it works. I always do it pretty much the full 24 hrs ahead just so there is time to fix any problems. And I also print the TRIP screen after the QR code is there because I find it easier than dealing with cell phones when we get our wristbands. But you still need the phone at car/hotel checkin (normally) because they are not looking at the QR code, they are looking to see that you are screened and exempt — both of which will be green and say YES after you get your wristbands (or are cleared at the airport). 

Though not that tough to do, I tried to explain the process to three friends and it’s a bit harder to explain than to do.


----------



## DaveNV

csodjd said:


> Dave… it is a bit disconcerting that the QR doesn’t show up until you do the health questions, but that’s how it works. I always do it pretty much the full 24 hrs ahead just so there is time to fix any problems. And I also print the TRIP screen after the QR code is there because I find it easier than dealing with cell phones when we get our wristbands. But you still need the phone at car/hotel checkin (normally) because they are not looking at the QR code, they are looking to see that you are screened and exempt — both of which will be green and say YES after you get your wristbands (or are cleared at the airport).
> 
> Though not that tough to do, I tried to explain the process to three friends and it’s a bit harder to explain than to do.



Yes, thanks.  I agree, it isn't hard, but for someone who is unfamiliar with the process, there are details and steps to follow. The frustration I was having was the confusing "Do this. Or wait - do that" instructions everywhere.  And the "If you're this, do it this way, but if you're also that, do it that way, instead" stuff.  Very confusing.  And the more they try to simplify it, the more confusing it is.

I've been vaccinated as far as one can do so, (three shots so far) and I just want to drink a MaiTai and stick my toes in the Hawaii sand, ya know?  LOL! 

Dave


----------



## Henry M.

I just take a screenshot of the screen with the screened and exempt information. This is available soon after you are screened at the airport or upon arrival. That way you don't have to rely on an internet connection to bring up the screen on the Sae Travels site. In Maui, I mostly just showed a picture of my vaccination card, but hotels and car rental agencies may still want to see that you've been screened and are exempt from quarantining.


----------



## DaveNV

Henry M. said:


> I just take a screenshot of the screen with the screened and exempt information. This is available soon after you are screened at the airport or upon arrival. That way you don't have to rely on an internet connection to bring up the screen on the Sae Travels site. In Maui, I mostly just showed a picture of my vaccination card, but hotels and car rental agencies may still want to see that you've been screened and are exempt from quarantining.



I expect I'll have pictures and printed copies of everything.  

Dave


----------



## controller1

DaveNV said:


> Yes, thanks.  I agree, it isn't hard, but for someone who is unfamiliar with the process, there are details and steps to follow. The frustration I was having was the confusing "Do this. Or wait - do that" instructions everywhere.  And the "If you're this, do it this way, but if you're also that, do it that way, instead" stuff.  Very confusing.  And the more they try to simplify it, the more confusing it is.



I think it was written by the same team who writes furniture assembly instructions.

STEP 1: Insert Part A into Part B.

STEP 2: Insert the assembled Parts A and B into Part C.

STEP 3: Before inserting the assembled Parts A and B into Part C be sure that . . .

oops


----------



## dsmrp

We had printed copies of our QR codes too. But Alaska personnel didn't want to use them. They wanted to scan code from website, mainly I think to verify that when they updated our status on their tablets, it also updated the Safe Travels trip screening status.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte

csodjd said:


> But you still need the phone at car/hotel checkin (normally) because they are not looking at the QR code, they are looking to see that you are screened and exempt — both of which will be green and say YES after you get your wristbands (or are cleared at the airport).


Based on our travel in August, that is the key.  What isn't clear until you go through the process, is that the QR Code is *not* the get-of-quarantine free card. What gets you into the island and out of quarantine is the *Screened and Exempt status on your account at SafeTravels*.  The QR code + the completed questionnaire is the key to obtaining Screened and Exempt status at SafeTravels.  

That was the mistake I made at the car rental counter.  I thought they wanted to see my QR code, so I had that ready on my phone.  Then I learned they didn't care about that at all.  What they wanted to see was the Screened and Exempt status on my SafeTravels account.  Since I hadn't bothered to set that up on my phone (I did all of that stuff on my computer before we left), I had to step back from the line and get my SafeTravels information into the browser on my phone, then get back in the car rental line.  

Since you can't get the wristband without obtaining Screened and Exempt status, sometimes a vendor or resort will accept the wristband.  But not all.  Budget at Lihue ignored my wristband and wanted to see my SafeTravels account.  The resort, though, was fine with the wristband.


----------



## csodjd

Henry M. said:


> I just take a screenshot of the screen with the screened and exempt information. This is available soon after you are screened at the airport or upon arrival. That way you don't have to rely on an internet connection to bring up the screen on the Sae Travels site. In Maui, I mostly just showed a picture of my vaccination card, but hotels and car rental agencies may still want to see that you've been screened and are exempt from quarantining.


Ha. That’s so obvious and simple… and I never thought of it.


----------



## DaveNV

Henry M. said:


> I just take a screenshot of the screen with the screened and exempt information. This is available soon after you are screened at the airport or upon arrival. That way you don't have to rely on an internet connection to bring up the screen on the Sae Travels site. In Maui, I mostly just showed a picture of my vaccination card, but hotels and car rental agencies may still want to see that you've been screened and are exempt from quarantining.





csodjd said:


> Ha. That’s so obvious and simple… and I never thought of it.



So am I correct in thinking if you show them the screenshot, it looks like a live screen image?  That's brilliant!  (Other than the timestamp, but are they going to take the time to check for that?)

Dave


----------



## klpca

DaveNV said:


> So am I correct in thinking if you show them the screenshot, it looks like a live screen image?  That's brilliant!  (Other than the timestamp, but are they going to take the time to check for that?)
> 
> Dave


FYI, sometimes screenshots of QR codes don't have enough resolution to work for scanners, so only use it for things that don't require the higher resolution.


----------



## Henry M.

All the rental companies outside the airport (cars, hotels, etc.) want to know is that you are exempt from quarantine. They didn't scan the QR code. They just looked at the information.

Most restaurants accept a photo of your covid vaccination card.


----------



## DaveNV

Henry M. said:


> All the rental companies outside the airport (cars, hotels, etc.) want to know is that you are exempt from quarantine. They didn't scan the QR code. They just looked at the information.
> 
> Most restaurants accept a photo of your covid vaccination card.



Henry, was it you who posted that he took a picture of his license and Covid vaccine card together, and presented that at restaurants? Another brilliant idea.

Edit:  I see now it was @csodjd. A really good idea, for sure.

Dave


----------



## csodjd

Hawaii just reported this morning they are 81.8% of eligible people now fully vaccinated. The restaurants have become very efficient at doing a quick check of your vax card, from what I’m seeing, and it’s not much of a burden. My guess is that the requirement will not last that much longer, there just are not that many unvaccinated left. 

What I do notice, however, is that some (many?) of the nicer restaurants have scaled their menu back and offer fewer choices. We ate at Orchids in Waikiki last night, which just opened two weeks ago after closing last March. Their menu was quite limited, especially on the fish/seafood options. I suspect it’s a combination of overall fewer people around and staffing challenges.


----------



## JIMinNC

csodjd said:


> What I do notice, however, is that some (many?) of the nicer restaurants have scaled their menu back and offer fewer choices. We ate at Orchids in Waikiki last night, which just opened two weeks ago after closing last March. Their menu was quite limited, especially on the fish/seafood options. I suspect it’s a combination of overall fewer people around and staffing challenges.



We noticed the same thing last week in Kauai - very limited menu choices compared to normal times. That is one of the biggest negative impacts from the Hawaii Covid protocols that we have experienced so far in our trip. My expectation is that this week on Maui will likely also feature limited menus. My theory is with capacities so seriously limited by the state’s Covid rules, the restaurants can’t stock as wide a selection of ingredients since their number of diners are being so limited. It’s more cost effective to feature only one or two fish choices so they can buy in adequate quantities of each. When more people were allowed in the restaurants, they could offer more selections since they knew they would be selling significant quantities of each.

We have dined out every night but our first (too tired that night from 14 hour trip), and so far the only fish offerings have been Mahi Mahi (everywhere), coupled with either Ahi, Swordfish, or Monchong. No Ono, Opakapaka, etc.

I personally think when they instituted the vaccine mandate for restaurants, they should have allowed those restaurants to go back to 100% capacity. We will be back in Hawaii in early February, so I hope they allow restaurants  to go back to normal by then. It’s so weird sitting in half empty places since we’ve been eating in 100% capacity restaurants in Hilton Head since April or May.


----------



## slip

JIMinNC said:


> We noticed the same thing last week in Kauai - very limited menu choices compared to normal times. That is one of the biggest negative impacts from the Hawaii Covid protocols that we have experienced so far in our trip. My expectation is that this week on Maui will likely also feature limited menus. My theory is with capacities so seriously limited by the state’s Covid rules, the restaurants can’t stock as wide a selection of ingredients since their number of diners are being so limited. It’s more cost effective to feature only one or two fish choices so they can buy in adequate quantities of each. When more people were allowed in the restaurants, they could offer more selections since they knew they would be selling significant quantities of each.
> 
> We have dined out every night but our first (too tired that night from 14 hour trip), and so far the only fish offerings have been Mahi Mahi (everywhere), coupled with either Ahi, Swordfish, or Monchong. No Ono, Opakapaka, etc.
> 
> I personally think when they instituted the vaccine mandate for restaurants, they should have allowed those restaurants to go back to 100% capacity. We will be back in Hawaii in early February, so I hope they allow restaurants  to go back to normal by then. It’s so weird sitting in half empty places since we’ve been eating in 100% capacity restaurants in Hilton Head since April or May.



Yes, keeping those items gets expensive for them and with Hawaii changing back and forth on the capacity, they have been burned a few times and it hurts the cash flow. Our salespeople also say the staff shortage is also playing a large part. They try to keep things simple so the delays are not so long.

We have some items that we have had delays getting but other wise our inventory isn’t any different than before the pandemic.


----------



## marmite

JIMinNC said:


> My expectation is that this week on Maui will likely also feature limited menus. My theory is with capacities so seriously limited by the state’s Covid rules, the restaurants can’t stock as wide a selection of ingredients since their number of diners are being so limited. It’s more cost effective to feature only one or two fish choices so they can buy in adequate quantities of each. When more people were allowed in the restaurants, they could offer more selections since they knew they would be selling significant quantities of each.
> 
> We have dined out every night but our first (too tired that night from 14 hour trip), and so far the only fish offerings have been Mahi Mahi (everywhere), coupled with either Ahi, Swordfish, or Monchong. No Ono, Opakapaka, etc.



I came back a couple of weeks ago from Maui, and actually loved having the restaurants at half capacity with a bit more room between tables. I usually try new restaurants each trip, and am not a 'regular' anywhere so can't tell you if they had less of a selection (it's certainly possible). I never felt the menus looked limited though, but I did feel many restaurants had very similar menus and played it safe.  I did have great Opakapaka at Honu Seafood in Lahaina, so if you choose a seafood restaurant hopefully you can find something beyond Mahi Mahi and Ahi tuna (which yes, is pretty much on menus everywhere).  What I'm not sure of, is how much I would have paid for that same fish pre-Covid.  Most fish are listed as market price, and usually were about $50-$60 a person (the Opakapaka we had there was $120 for the two of us).

Hopefully by the time you go, the restaurants are at full capacity or close to it.  Even though I personally enjoyed having less people in the restaurants, I booked weeks in advance for most places, and even though I was booking that early there wasn't much selection as to dates/times.  The lack of capacity really put a lot of pressure on the better restaurants, so some of them may not have dinner reservations available (if you want Mama's you might as well book now -- Mama's is booking 3-6 months ahead ). Some were also by reservation only and didn't take walk-ins.


----------



## Ralph Sir Edward

Question. What if you don't have a phone?


----------



## Henry M.

Print out the forms. You'll have to do the line in Hawaii and they'll get you checked out.


----------



## csodjd

Ralph Sir Edward said:


> Question. What if you don't have a phone?


Is that a thing?


----------



## mjm1

We went through the process and arrived on Maui yesterday afternoon. Flew from Las Vegas to Honolulu then on to Maui. No issues the entire way. We did print everything in case we needed it, but used our phone successfully. Thank you to all you have shared their prior experiences.

Best regards.

Mike


----------



## Ralph Sir Edward

csodjd said:


> Is that a thing?



Yes! I don't have a smart phone, I don't want a smart phone, and I refuse to pay for a smart phone.


----------



## JIMinNC

marmite said:


> Hopefully by the time you go, the restaurants are at full capacity or close to it.  Even though I personally enjoyed having less people in the restaurants, I booked weeks in advance for most places, and even though I was booking that early there wasn't much selection as to dates/times.  The lack of capacity really put a lot of pressure on the better restaurants, so some of them may not have dinner reservations available (if you want Mama's you might as well book now -- Mama's is booking 3-6 months ahead ). Some were also by reservation only and didn't take walk-ins.



Yes, for our current trip we made some dinner reservations up to 90 days out, some at 60, and a couple that only reserved at 30 days. We already have Mama’s lined up for our February trip as well as Kimo’s, Hula Grill, and Lahaina Grill.


----------



## DaveNV

I was just asked a question, and couldn't provide the answer.  Hoping someone with experience in this thread can help answer it:

Once the Safe Travels account is set up, and a photo of a vaccine card is uploaded, is it verified in some way? Or is that all that is needed?  Then once the Health Questionnaire is filled out 24 hours before the flight, the green-check-mark QR code is provided, and life is good to go?  

Trying to minimize potential problems.

Dave


----------



## Henry M.

When I went in September, I only needed to upload a photo of the vaccine card. The QR code is provided after you fill out the health questionnaire, but the green check mark is only added after someone verifies your information, either at the airline pre-check counter on the mainland or by an agent at whatever airport you arrive at in Hawaii. 

In my case, I went through the American Airlines process in Dallas, and the green check mark appeared after AA checked my QR code and gave me a wristband. In Dallas, they set up a pre-check station at one particular gate in Terminal D. We went there before heading to our departure gate in Terminal A.

Once you get your wristband, you can bypass the checks in Hawaii and head straight to baggage claim or the car rental counter. They will want to see the green checkmark that says you are exempt from quarantine.


----------



## DaveNV

Henry M. said:


> When I went in September, I only needed to upload a photo of the vaccine card. The QR code is provided after you fill out the health questionnaire, but the green check mark is only added after someone verifies your information, either at the airline pre-check counter on the mainland or by an agent at whatever airport you arrive at in Hawaii.
> 
> In my case, I went through the American Airlines process in Dallas, and the green check mark appeared after AA checked my QR code and gave me a wristband. In Dallas, they set up a pre-check station at one particular gate in Terminal D. We went there before heading to our departure gate in Terminal A.
> 
> Once you get your wristband, you can bypass the checks in Hawaii and head straight to baggage claim or the car rental counter. They will want to see the green checkmark that says you are exempt from quarantine.



Thanks, Henry. The question came up because my husband's vaccine card shows both (now three) Covid vaxx shots, but the State of Nevada's tracking website only shows the second shot.  The pharmacy where he got his shots somehow messed up the recording of the first shot.  We think they typoed his last name, or something.  The concern was that if the Safe Travels people want to verify the shot data on the image we uploaded of the CDC vaccine card, there is a discrepancy in the number of reported shots.  

We only learned about the issue when the State folks called him to ask when he was planning to get his second shot.  He told them he'd already had both shots, on schedule, back in March.  They said they only had a record of one shot, which turned out to be his second one.  The data error has since been corrected (today, theoretically) but we didn't know if the Safe Travels people do anything more than receive the CDC shot record image, and then the Health Questionnaire when it's time to fly.  

If they take the CDC card image at face value, no worries. But if they tried to do something when we first uploaded the image, they might have a problem. The last thing we want to do is arrive in Hawaii at nearly 11:00PM and learn things didn't go through.

Dave


----------



## Henry M.

In my case, I don't know if there is a way for Hawaii to do anything other than take the card at face value. I am not aware of a web site where I can search a Texas database on COVID shots. I don't remember the exact sequence that happened before the QR code showed up after I uploaded the picture of the card. I understand your concern. I'd have it too.

I guess you could always get a COVID test and get the exemption through that, rather than the vaccine. Walgreen's offers ID NOW tests that are valid for travel to Hawaii, and at least here, they are free.


----------



## DaveNV

I think we'll just go with what we've done, and cross our fingers.  If we get a wristband (flying Southwest, and they do the wristbands), then we'll be fine.  If we don't get a wristband for some reason, we'll deal with things manually on arrival. No sense overthinking things, right?  

Dave


----------



## Henry M.

Sound's like a plan!


----------



## controller1

DaveNV said:


> I think we'll just go with what we've done, and cross our fingers.  If we get a wristband (flying Southwest, and they do the wristbands), then we'll be fine.  If we don't get a wristband for some reason, we'll deal with things manually on arrival. No sense overthinking things, right?
> 
> Dave



I had a similar issue when the first pharmacy sent my shot information to the state health department with Middle Name/Last Name instead of First Name/Last Name. I went back to the pharmacy and they changed it and resubmitted it to the state. It took about a week before the state's records were correct but now it downloads correctly showing all three shots for me.


----------



## DaveNV

controller1 said:


> I had a similar issue when the first pharmacy sent my shot information to the state health department with Middle Name/Last Name instead of First Name/Last Name. I went back to the pharmacy and they changed it and resubmitted it to the state. It took about a week before the state's records were correct but now it downloads correctly showing all three shots for me.



We tried doing that.  The pharmacy said they could see both shot records, but they're on different computer systems.  Same name and birthdate in both places, but no explanation why they're on two different records.  We said, "Well, since they're both him, can you just join them together in one account?"  Nope.  They don't have the ability to do that.  "Can you call someone who has the ability?"  We can try. Days later, no change.  It was agonizing. Surely we aren't the first people to have a mistake made on a name.  But in this case, apparently it's too complex for the pharmacy staff to correct on their own.

Today we called the Nevada state people who track such things, and who are the ones showing only the second shot.  Talked to them about it, explained what we thought we knew.  They checked, and in just a few seconds, they said, "Yes, we can see both shots. Yes, the name and birthdate is right.  The issue seems to be that the first shot has an address in Washington state."  Huh?  We used to live in Washington state, and somehow, the pharmacy used that address instead of our Nevada address when they set up his account down here in Nevada expressly to get a Covid shot. Not sure how they even got hold of that old address - all the ID has the Nevada address on it. But the Nevada state people just fixed it right then and there.  And now, finally, both shots appear on his State record.  We've printed out that record, just in case, to show it's another validation of the shot history.

Needless to say, if we ever need to deal with that pharmacy again, we'll make sure they use the right address!  And now, we'll also find out if the Safe Travels folks in Hawaii do more than just read the uploaded vaxx card image.

Dave


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte

Henry M. said:


> don't remember the exact sequence that happened before the QR code showed up after I uploaded the picture of the card.


When we traveled in August, the QR code showed up after we completed the health questionnaire the day before our departure.  We had uploaded images of the vaccination records about one week earlier, when we created our accounts at SafeTravels.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte

Henry M. said:


> When I went in September, I only needed to upload a photo of the vaccine card. The QR code is provided after you fill out the health questionnaire, but the green check mark is only added after someone verifies your information, either at the airline pre-check counter on the mainland or by an agent at whatever airport you arrive at in Hawaii.
> 
> In my case, I went through the American Airlines process in Dallas, and the green check mark appeared after AA checked my QR code and gave me a wristband.


That's exactly how it worked for us in August when we flew to Kauai from Seattle on Alaska Air.


----------



## controller1

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> When we traveled in August, the QR code showed up after we completed the health questionnaire the day before our departure.  We had uploaded images of the vaccination records about one week earlier, when we created our accounts at SafeTravels.



That's how it happened with us also but that doesn't mean it has been verified. When the AA agent scanned my QR code she said there was a problem as the upload did not take even though it showed an uploaded file name. I then uploaded the CDC card image again and when the agent scanned the QR code the app showed a green check mark. It is that green check mark that is more important than the QR code.


----------



## T_R_Oglodyte

controller1 said:


> It is that green check mark that is more important than the QR code.


That is exactly correct.  The QR code is relevant only once, and that is when you are cleared for travel, whether you are cleared at a mainland airport or when you land in Hawaii.  

When you are cleared, you get the green check marks (and a wristband if you are cleared on the mainland).  The green check marks are the "good to go" identifier.


----------



## DaveNV

Well, alrighty then! We flew to Hawaii last night. The process to use the Safe Travels site worked well, if a bit awkward. The wristband thing from the airline worked like a charm. At the Honolulu airport they were funneling people into two directions - those with wrist bands and those without. I held up my wristband and they waved me on to Baggage Claim.

This morning we went into a restaurant for breakfast, and they asked for our ID and Covid vaxx cards. I showed them a photo of our Covid vaxx cards and drivers license on my phone and that worked fine for them.

Thanks, everyone, for the great tips.

Dave


----------



## DebBrown

I'm just starting to look at the requirements for our January trip to Hawaii.  I realize there are 11 pages of posts but I couldn't find specific info regarding the SMART Health Card.  Are we supposed to enter our info there? When you get to the "State", it only allows "Hawaii" so maybe this is for Hawaii residents? What is required of visitors NOW?


----------



## Luanne

DebBrown said:


> I'm just starting to look at the requirements for our January trip to Hawaii.  I realize there are 11 pages of posts but I couldn't find specific info regarding the SMART Health Card.  Are we supposed to enter our info there? When you get to the "State", it only allows "Hawaii" so maybe this is for Hawaii residents? What is required of visitors NOW?


Were you trying to enter information in the Hawaii Safe Travels site?






						State of Hawaii - Safe Travels
					






					travel.hawaii.gov


----------



## DaveNV

DebBrown said:


> I'm just starting to look at the requirements for our January trip to Hawaii.  I realize there are 11 pages of posts but I couldn't find specific info regarding the SMART Health Card.  Are we supposed to enter our info there? When you get to the "State", it only allows "Hawaii" so maybe this is for Hawaii residents? What is required of visitors NOW?



I believe the SMART cards are just for Hawaii residents.  As a visitor from the Mainland, I went with the easiest method:

Signed up for the Smart Travels site, one account for each traveler, login in with my email address.  Once logged in, these are the only three icons you need to be concerned about:





Click the Trips image, and enter your flight info. It's a manual thing, but once it's there, the trip will appear as a clickable link in future login sessions.

Click the Apply for Exemption icon and upload a clear image of your Covid vaccine card, showing you've had at least two shots, the latter one at least two weeks before the travel date.

24 hours before your flight, click the Health Questionnaire icon.  It asks a half dozen questions about whether you're sick.  Once you submit that, you'll receive an email with a QR code that looks like this:





When you arrive at the airport, your airline should have some sort of check-in place set up to pre-screen passengers.  They'll ask you to call up the Trips icon from the above website, which will show the above QR code.  (Or you can print it out - easier just to click the Trips icon from the travel.hawaii.gov website.) When they scan the QR code, they'll also look at the comparison of the uploaded Covid vaccine card, and the real card that you brought with you to the airport.  Once they confirm it's the same card, they approve your screening.  They'll put a wristband on you, and soon after, your Screened status changes from No to Yes.  You're good to go. 

On arrival in Hawaii, security at the airport will want to direct those without wristbands to a manual screening location.  Those with wristbands head to Baggage Claim and out the door.  You can remove the wristband anytime after that.  You may need to show your QR Code and Screened Status to the rental car or hotel people.  Just click the Trips icon again, and it'll be there for them to review.  To get into restaurants, you'll need to show ID and your Covid vaccine card.  I just took a full-size photo of my vaccine card and driver's license together, and presented that.  Nobody questioned it. I left my Covid vaccine card in the room safe, where it wouldn't get lost.

That was my experience, and it was simple and efficient.  Hope yours is as easy.  (On the way back to the Mainland, nobody asked for anything.)

Dave


----------



## DebBrown

DaveNV said:


> I believe the SMART cards are just for Hawaii residents.  As a visitor from the Mainland, I went with the easiest method:
> 
> Signed up for the Smart Travels site, one account for each traveler, login in with my email address.  Once logged in, these are the only three icons you need to be concerned about:
> 
> View attachment 42721
> 
> Click the Trips image, and enter your flight info. It's a manual thing, but once it's there, the trip will appear as a clickable link in future login sessions.
> 
> Click the Apply for Exemption icon and upload a clear image of your Covid vaccine card, showing you've had at least two shots, the latter one at least two weeks before the travel date.
> 
> 24 hours before your flight, click the Health Questionnaire icon.  It asks a half dozen questions about whether you're sick.  Once you submit that, you'll receive an email with a QR code that looks like this:
> 
> View attachment 42722
> 
> When you arrive at the airport, your airline should have some sort of check-in place set up to pre-screen passengers.  They'll ask you to call up the Trips icon from the above website, which will show the above QR code.  (Or you can print it out - easier just to click the Trips icon from the travel.hawaii.gov website.) When they scan the QR code, they'll also look at the comparison of the uploaded Covid vaccine card, and the real card that you brought with you to the airport.  Once they confirm it's the same card, they approve your screening.  They'll put a wristband on you, and soon after, your Screened status changes from No to Yes.  You're good to go.
> 
> On arrival in Hawaii, security at the airport will want to direct those without wristbands to a manual screening location.  Those with wristbands head to Baggage Claim and out the door.  You can remove the wristband anytime after that.  You may need to show your QR Code and Screened Status to the rental car or hotel people.  Just click the Trips icon again, and it'll be there for them to review.  To get into restaurants, you'll need to show ID and your Covid vaccine card.  I just took a full-size photo of my vaccine card and driver's license together, and presented that.  Nobody questioned it. I left my Covid vaccine card in the room safe, where it wouldn't get lost.
> 
> That was my experience, and it was simple and efficient.  Hope yours is as easy.  (On the way back to the Mainland, nobody asked for anything.)
> 
> Dave


Thank you!


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## Lv2Trvl

Great explanation Dave. We flew SFO-HNL-KOA Tuesday. Third trip in the last year to HNL and neighbor islands.  Everything works as you describe. Still amazed at how many arrive at airport clueless to QR codes and Travel Hawaii. The line at HNL was like the Disneyland que, back and forth to be cleared there instead of where they started. Had to have been easy a 45-60 minute wait. You can't buy a ticket to Hawaii or check-in without being alerted to the requirements a zillion times.
Aloha 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## csodjd

Lv2Trvl said:


> Great explanation Dave. We flew SFO-HNL-KOA Tuesday. Third trip in the last year to HNL and neighbor islands.  Everything works as you describe. Still amazed at how many arrive at airport clueless to QR codes and Travel Hawaii. The line at HNL was like the Disneyland que, back and forth to be cleared there instead of where they started. Had to have been easy a 45-60 minute wait. You can't buy a ticket to Hawaii or check-in without being alerted to the requirements a zillion times.
> Aloha
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


It continues to amaze me how many people say they had no idea they had to do anything more than be tested or vaccinated. That said, there aren’t any good summaries of the process like Dave’s above. It would be really helpful if the Safe Travels website would have something like that.


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## DaveNV

csodjd said:


> It continues to amaze me how many people say they had no idea they had to do anything more than be tested or vaccinated. That said, there aren’t any good summaries of the process like Dave’s above. It would be really helpful if the Safe Travels website would have something like that.



They probably don't have a walk-through because different people traveling from different areas would have different requirements.  And logically, there is nothing pre-screening does that can't be done on arrival - other than take a lot longer.  When I held up my arm with the wristband, the security guy waved me on toward Baggage Claim.  I was out the door in seconds. Easy-breezy.

Dave


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## csodjd

DaveNV said:


> They probably don't have a walk-through because different people traveling from different areas would have different requirements.  And logically, there is nothing pre-screening does that can't be done on arrival - other than take a lot longer.  When I held up my arm with the wristband, the security guy waved me on toward Baggage Claim.  I was out the door in seconds. Easy-breezy.
> 
> Dave


I’ve prescreened now a few times at LAX, American Airlines gate 41, and there has been almost nobody there. In and out in 2-3 minutes. We do get there a good hour or so before the flights leave and kill the time in the Admiral’s Club.


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## jmdickie

That is very helpful information Thanks!!! I guess it is a little different for us Canadian travellers. I believe we also need a neg test 72 hours prior to arrival. Do you know if the wrist band is something we get as well if we have provided all the required documents and test?


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## DaveNV

jmdickie said:


> That is very helpful information Thanks!!! I guess it is a little different for us Canadian travellers. I believe we also need a neg test 72 hours prior to arrival. Do you know if the wrist band is something we get as well if we have provided all the required documents and test?



I don't know the answer to that. You might start by contacting your airline and asking what they know.  The Covid vaccine cards the US uses are from our CDC (Centers for Disease Control.)  Canada may have something similar?  Not sure.  But if you start with your airline, they can tell you what they know, especially if you're flying from Canada.  If you're connecting through a US airport, I'm not sure what you should do. Good luck!

Dave


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## GrayFal

DebBrown said:


> I'm just starting to look at the requirements for our January trip to Hawaii.  I realize there are 11 pages of posts but I couldn't find specific info regarding the SMART Health Card.  Are we supposed to enter our info there? When you get to the "State", it only allows "Hawaii" so maybe this is for Hawaii residents? What is required of visitors NOW?


I arrived 11/26. I first joined the free version of Clear Health App.  Uploaded my  vaccine card and ID info.  Once I was approved, then I went to the safe Hawaii site and was able to link the two together. Clear health app is one of the approved partners. 24 hours before you fly, go back to safe Hawaii and fill out the shirt questionnaire.  At the airport, they scanned my code, checked my photo ID and we were given our  bands. There were many people who had not used the clear app and were spending a lot more time on lines trying to get everything uploaded.


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## DaveNV

GrayFal said:


> I arrived 11/26. I first joined the free version of Clear Health App.  Uploaded my  vaccine card and ID info.  Once I was approved, then I went to the safe Hawaii site and was able to link the two together. Clear health app is one of the approved partners. 24 hours before you fly, go back to safe Hawaii and fill out the shirt questionnaire.  At the airport, they scanned my code, checked my photo ID and we were given our  bands. There were many people who had not used the clear app and were spending a lot more time on lines trying to get everything uploaded.



Just an add-on comment:  We had tried joining the Clear Health app, but were unable to do so because of how my husband received his shots.  He got both done at WalMart, but they somehow managed to enter them on two different shot record accounts in their computer.  As a result, there was no way for the Clear Health people to verify his shot history.  It was easier for us to work directly with the Safe Travel site, and upload our shot card image there.  The end result was the same, just that we had to do things ourselves.

Dave


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## GrayFal

DaveNV said:


> Just an add-on comment:  We had tried joining the Clear Health app, but were unable to do so because of how my husband received his shots.  He got both done at WalMart, but they somehow managed to enter them on two different shot record accounts in their computer.  As a result, there was no way for the Clear Health people to verify his shot history.  It was easier for us to work directly with the Safe Travel site, and upload our shot card image there.  The end result was the same, just that we had to do things ourselves.
> 
> Dave


It's always something! 
I also submitted/uploaded my vaccine card directly to Safe Hawaii as well as Clear App.
When I did my husbands after I was the guinea pig, I just did clear then safe Hawaii. His went thru smoothly.


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## jabberwocky

jmdickie said:


> That is very helpful information Thanks!!! I guess it is a little different for us Canadian travellers. I believe we also need a neg test 72 hours prior to arrival. Do you know if the wrist band is something we get as well if we have provided all the required documents and test?


I'm curious about this as well.  Hawaii has aligned its travel requirements with the US Federal government for those arriving from outside of the US.  You need to be tested and provide this to the airline along with your record of vaccination; however, there is apparently no requirement to use the Safe Travels site for entry into Hawaii for foreign travelers on direct international flights.  My question is how do they distinguish that you aren't subject to quarantine (at hotels, car rentals, dining etc.) while in Hawaii - or are they not checking this anymore?

From the Safe Travels Overview Site:



> All travelers, including those from Japan, Canada, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Tahiti who board a plane on the final leg of their trip to the Hawaiian Islands without first securing a negative test within 72 hours before departure from a Trusted Testing and Travel Partner will be subject to mandatory quarantine. Beginning November 8, the State of Hawai‘i will align with federal international requirements. There will be no additional State of Hawaiʻi requirements for passengers flying directly into Hawaiʻi from an international destination. The airlines will screen passengers prior to their departure to the United States.


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## SmithOp

First I want to thank everyone for contributing their experiences using Safer Travels. We flew in to HNL yesterday and everything went smoothly, I felt prepared because of what I read here.

I had the three accounts set up on Safer Travels (myself, wife, and son). Set up trip details, Uploaded pics of vaxx cards, filled out Questionnaire day before travel, then printed from the trip web page that showed the QR code.

We flew out of Long Beach, LGB, on Hawaiian Air. Check in and drop off bags was easy peasy, she told us they would update Safer Travels at the gate.

TSA was a headache, my printed at home boarding passes all came up with my name on the scanner screen, even though the printed copy showed correct traveler name. Got sent back to get new boarding passes - I printed them on the check in kiosk to save time. Second pass at TSA we were shunted to a different agent - she says “no need to show boarding passes, just ID”! So we breezed through, didn’t even have to take ipads, etc out of carryon bags. Note to self, don’t print boarding passes at home.

Safer travel update at the gate was quick, she checked ID, scanned QR code, then updated a few screens. Gave us pink wristbands. Upon arrival we skipped past the check and went right to bag claim. I saw several people that had not prepped before, they were scrambling to take pics and update on cell phones at the gate, and at the destination.

Taxi had signs, all drivers and riders must wear masks. All shops have mask required signs. All bars/restaurants are checking vaxx cards, people are ok showing pics on phone.

HHV gave us a wristband at check in after checking vaxx card, all the venues on site accept the wrist band, and actually thanked us for using it to make the check quicker. All the hot tubs are drained, but pools are open and crowded, all the lounge chairs in use. Not many people on the beach or lagoon, maybe because they want $75 for two lounge chairs and an umbrella .

I see mostly US visitors here, with a lot of kids, not nearly as many other nationalities here.







Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


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## DaveNV

Hope my notes helped you out a bit.  I've taken to using my cell phone for anything digital - such as boarding passes, and the Safe Travels QR code - easier, simpler and more "real time" than anything I'd ever print.

A word about visitors:  I'm told Japanese visitors aren't coming to Hawaii yet because they have to quarantine when they get home - even if they're vaccinated.  So they don't want to travel yet.  So the huge number of tourists you'd normally see are still missing. Makes it easier to have fewer people to deal with, but is still hard on local businesses in Hawaii.

Dave


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## csodjd

DaveNV said:


> Hope my notes helped you out a bit.  I've taken to using my cell phone for anything digital - such as boarding passes, and the Safe Travels QR code - easier, simpler and more "real time" than anything I'd ever print.
> 
> A word about visitors:  I'm told Japanese visitors aren't coming to Hawaii yet because they have to quarantine when they get home - even if they're vaccinated.  So they don't want to travel yet.  So the huge number of tourists you'd normally see are still missing. Makes it easier to have fewer people to deal with, but is still hard on local businesses in Hawaii.
> 
> Dave


Same with South Korea.


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## jestme

Alright, I'm lost. I will be flying direct to Oahu from Canada in January and I am fully vaxed.
The state of Hawaii site says "

The State of Hawai‘i is in alignment with federal international requirements. There are no additional State of Hawaiʻi requirements for passengers flying directly into Hawaiʻi from an international destination. The airlines will screen passengers prior to their departure to the U.S. International passengers entering the U.S. from another state or territory will be treated as domestic travelers when entering the State of Hawai‘i."

to my knowledge, as of Dec 6, requirements for international travel to the U.Ss are proof of a passed Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 1 day of departure.

Then on the same page from the state, they go on to say "
*NOTICE:* To avoid mandatory quarantine, the Vaccination Exception Program is an option for those who have been vaccinated. Details at HawaiiCOVID19.com/travel/faqs. The State of Hawai‘i will ONLY accept Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from TRUSTED TESTING AND TRAVEL PARTNERS, including any tests verified through the State’s Digital Health Pass Partners – AZOVA, CLEAR and CommonPass. For the full list of Domestic trans-Pacific, International and airline partners, go to TRUSTED TESTING AND TRAVEL PARTNER

Getting a NAAT test back, in 24 hours is next to impossible. Do I need to get BOTH tests, the NAAT one 72 hours in advance to make Hawaii happy, and the RAT test a day before to be ok to enter the U.S or can someone please guide me ?


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## Henry M.

I would upload my vaccine card to the safe travels web site and use that to be exempted from the quarantine. Do you have a document that shows the two vaccinations and the date they were administered?

The COVID test is to get into the country. Once in the US, you need something to get the exemption from the state of Hawaii, which includes showing proof of full vaccination (that is, you should be beyond two weeks after your last shot).


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## jestme

Henry M. said:


> I would upload my vaccine card to the safe travels web site and use that to be exempted from the quarantine. Do you have a document that shows the two vaccinations and the date they were administered?
> 
> The COVID test is to get into the country. Once in the US, you need something to get the exemption from the state of Hawaii, which includes showing proof of full vaccination (that is, you should be beyond two weeks after your last shot).


Yes, I have documentation for the vaccines, including the type and dates administered and it is well past the 14 days. If it was as simple as showing proof of vaccination, thats simple. Its the testing negative proof that conflicts.


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## DaveNV

jestme said:


> Yes, I have documentation for the vaccines, including the type and dates administered and it is well past the 14 days. If it was as simple as showing proof of vaccination, thats simple. Its the testing negative proof that conflicts.



I think the proof of negative testing is for those who have not been vaccinated.  When we traveled to Hawaii last month, our vaxx cards were enough to avoid quarantine.  (see Reply #255 above.)  I'd suggest checking with your airline to find out current requirements.

Dave


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## slip

DaveNV said:


> I think the proof of negative testing is for those who have not been vaccinated.  When we traveled to Hawaii last month, our vaxx cards were enough to avoid quarantine.  (see Reply #255 above.)  I'd suggest checking with your airline to find out current requirements.
> 
> Dave



Remember Dave, Jestme is coming from Canada. I don't know if that is different or not.

But I would start with what Dave said, I would check with the airline first.


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## djyamyam

jestme said:


> Getting a NAAT test back, in 24 hours is next to impossible. Do I need to get BOTH tests, the NAAT one 72 hours in advance to make Hawaii happy, and the RAT test a day before to be ok to enter the U.S or can someone please guide me ?



That's how I would interpret it.  The Dec 6 change for the rapid test of 1 day prior to flight is required just to get on the plane to go to any state in the US.  You can't board the plane without it.

The 72 hr NAAT test to HI allows you to not have to quarantine upon arrival.  If you didn't get that test, then you'd be subject to the 10 day quarantine.

I see it as a two tiered process


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## maph

jestme said:


> Alright, I'm lost. I will be flying direct to Oahu from Canada in January and I am fully vaxed.
> The state of Hawaii site says "
> 
> The State of Hawai‘i is in alignment with federal international requirements. There are no additional State of Hawaiʻi requirements for passengers flying directly into Hawaiʻi from an international destination. The airlines will screen passengers prior to their departure to the U.S. International passengers entering the U.S. from another state or territory will be treated as domestic travelers when entering the State of Hawai‘i."
> 
> to my knowledge, as of Dec 6, requirements for international travel to the U.Ss are proof of a passed Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 1 day of departure.
> 
> Then on the same page from the state, they go on to say "
> *NOTICE:* To avoid mandatory quarantine, the Vaccination Exception Program is an option for those who have been vaccinated. Details at HawaiiCOVID19.com/travel/faqs. The State of Hawai‘i will ONLY accept Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) from a certified Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) lab test results from TRUSTED TESTING AND TRAVEL PARTNERS, including any tests verified through the State’s Digital Health Pass Partners – AZOVA, CLEAR and CommonPass. For the full list of Domestic trans-Pacific, International and airline partners, go to TRUSTED TESTING AND TRAVEL PARTNER
> 
> Getting a NAAT test back, in 24 hours is next to impossible. Do I need to get BOTH tests, the NAAT one 72 hours in advance to make Hawaii happy, and the RAT test a day before to be ok to enter the U.S or can someone please guide me ?



I'm going through the same process, trying to find out what's required for my Maui trip on Dec 24.  I've been directed to a link on the Air Canada site website that will tell you everything you need to know for your trip, including links to any forms that you'll have to fill out.  You plug in the departing/arriving dates and airports and it will give this information for each of the outgoing and return legs of the trip. Very helpful!

Air Canada Travel Ready


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## jestme

maph said:


> I'm going through the same process, trying to find out what's required for my Maui trip on Dec 24.  I've been directed to a link on the Air Canada site website that will tell you everything you need to know for your trip, including links to any forms that you'll have to fill out.  You plug in the departing/arriving dates and airports and it will give this information for each of the outgoing and return legs of the trip. Very helpful!
> 
> Air Canada Travel Ready


Thanks. I appreciate your assistance. I have seen that area of Air Canada. Keep in mind, Air Canada only cares about getting you there, not if you have to quarantine for 14 days once you get there. The rules change almost weekly, and im waiting another week or so becore I try Air Canada, Expedia, and calling the GoHawaii travel and Hawaiigovernment sites. That is if we are still allowed to go to the US by then.
From my experience, different sites show different and sometimes outdated rules / advice.
Enjoy Maui, we were in Kaanapali 3 years ago.


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## bevans

My wife and I are going to The Big Island January 1 and filled out the information on the safe travels site including pdf's of our vaccine cards with all three shots. I see you log in 24 hrs prior to departing for Kona for QR code but do we need proof of a negative test prior to leaving? Thanks, Curt


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## slip

bevans said:


> My wife and I are going to The Big Island January 1 and filled out the information on the safe travels site including pdf's of our vaccine cards with all three shots. I see you log in 24 hrs prior to departing for Kona for QR code but do we need proof of a negative test prior to leaving? Thanks, Curt



Yes, that's correct. No test needed with vaccination at this time.


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## DaveNV

bevans said:


> My wife and I are going to The Big Island January 1 and filled out the information on the safe travels site including pdf's of our vaccine cards with all three shots. I see you log in 24 hrs prior to departing for Kona for QR code but do we need proof of a negative test prior to leaving? Thanks, Curt



If you're coming from another state, then No.  When you get to the airport, your airline will have a special check in place to get a wristband that shows you've been cleared for travel.  When you arrive in Hawaii, show the wristband to Security, and you'll be out the door.  Nothing further will be said.

See my Reply #255 above for full instructions on what we did last month.

Dave


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## bevans

Thanks for clarifying!


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## DaveNV

bevans said:


> Thanks for clarifying!



Curt, the Safe Travels website is definitely confusing in describing what is required, as you've no doubt seen.  They present a list of things required for exemption without saying you can provide ONE of them to satisfy them.  It reads like you need ALL of them.  I think that's where the negative Covid text question comes in.  A negative test is only required if you have not been vaccinated, to avoid mandatory quarantine.  But you've had all three shots, so you're good to go.  Just be sure to bring your physical CDC Covid vaccine cards with you to the airport, as the airline will want to compare it to your QR code data, (which links to the image you uploaded of that same card.) Once they confirm it's the same card, and you've been vaxxed, you'll get your wristband. 

Be sure to arrive early enough before your flight to have time to get the wristband - it isn't automatic, and there may be a line. On the day we got ours, we sought out the location to get our wristband, (next to an unused departure gate quite a walk from our gate), and when we arrived, there was only one person ahead of us in line.  Then, immediately after us, the airline moved the wristband people to a location near our departure gate. Within a few minutes there were dozens of people in that line. Some were still waiting in that line when boarding started.  

After you arrive in Hawaii, the only places that may ask to see your Safe Travels "Trip" screen showing you've been cleared, may be the rental car and/or hotel front desk on check-in.  We didn't have to show that screen afterwards.

Also, be sure to do as we did, and take a phone photo of your CDC Covid vaccine card and drivers' license together, filling the image window.  I did that for the both of us.  Restaurants will want to see proof of your vaccine status.  We just showed them the picture on the phone, and it was fine.  We didn't need to carry the physical card around with us.  We both had both images on our phones, so whoever got through the door first could show images for each of us.  It was pretty routine, and easily provided the information the restaurant wanted to see.  Masking was also required until seated in restaurants.

Hope this adds a bit more help.  Have fun!

Dave


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## bevans

This trip also includes my daughter and son in law (both fully vaccinated) who have two children ages 10 and 7 who will have one vaccine injection when we leave. What are the requirements for children on this age? Thanks for the help sorting travel out from TUG members. Curt


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## lynne

bevans said:


> This trip also includes my daughter and son in law (both fully vaccinated) who have two children ages 10 and 7 who will have one vaccine injection when we leave. What are the requirements for children on this age? Thanks for the help sorting travel out from TUG members. Curt


Both adults and children over 5 must be fully vaccinated:
*What does it mean to be fully vaccinated and when will I be eligible to travel?*
*Travelers are considered fully vaccinated on the 14th day after the completion of their COVID-19 vaccine. Click here for vaccines listed for Emergency Use by the World Health Organization and accepted by Safe Travels.*

From the Safe Travels website: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/faqs/
*For my Hawai‘i Safe Travels account, I’ve received a vaccination exception for domestic travel from the U.S. to Hawai‘i. Does this cover my unvaccinated children who are traveling with me?  *
*No. Children 5 years and over who are not vaccinated will need to have the specified negative COVID-19 test from a Trusted Testing Partner in order to be exempt from quarantine. Children under 5 years are not required to test and will not be quarantined if traveling with an adult who has a pre-travel test exemption or vaccination exception.*


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## PcflEZFlng

DaveNV said:


> 24 hours before your flight, click the Health Questionnaire icon.  It asks a half dozen questions about whether you're sick.  Once you submit that, you'll receive an email with a QR code that looks like this:
> 
> View attachment 42722
> 
> When you arrive at the airport, your airline should have some sort of check-in place set up to pre-screen passengers.  They'll ask you to call up the Trips icon from the above website, which will show the above QR code.  (Or you can print it out - easier just to click the Trips icon from the travel.hawaii.gov website.) When they scan the QR code, they'll also look at the comparison of the uploaded Covid vaccine card, and the real card that you brought with you to the airport.  Once they confirm it's the same card, they approve your screening.  They'll put a wristband on you, and soon after, your Screened status changes from No to Yes.  You're good to go.


@DaveNV - Fantastic summary you gave last month. I have one further question:

At the airport, do they actually make you go to the website on your phone and sign on to your account (using a web browser, I presume, since there isn't a Safe Travels mobile app)? Could you not just show them the email with the QR code?


----------



## DaveNV

PcflEZFlng said:


> @DaveNV - Fantastic summary you gave last month. I have one further question:
> 
> At the airport, do they actually make you go to the website on your phone and sign on to your account (using a web browser, I presume, since there isn't a Safe Travels mobile app)? Could you not just show them the email with the QR code?



Thanks!  There was no signing in required.  I know they need to scan the QR code to get to the data, so the email might work? I didn't want to waste time scrolling through a zillion emails to find the right one, and hope the attachment would be visible.  I just left my phone logged into the Safe Travels site, and showed them the QR code screen there.  They didn't ask to see anything more than the QR code. So a printout or the email might work.  Maybe try it to see? Then report back whether it worked.  If it's not too busy, maybe ask the airline people what they can scan?

Just don't forget to bring your physical CDC Covid vaccine card with you to the airport.  The airline will want to view that while they're checking the QR code.

Dave


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## PcflEZFlng

Thanks Dave. DW and I are going to Poipu in a couple of weeks. We were invited by friends just a few weeks ago (woo-hoo!!), so it was very unexpected and spur-of-the-moment. We immediately made flight reservations and arrangements for our dogs. We also created accounts on Safe Travels and uploaded our CDC cards. But as you mentioned above, the instructions their website provides are less than clear so we had questions. Then yesterday I remembered this thread and scrolled down to your post!

We figured that since the email would arrive within a day of the flight, it would be near the top and easy to locate. But it seems it would be just as easy to set the phone's browser to the website and have it ready, like you mentioned.


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## DaveNV

It takes many more words to describe what to do, than to actually do it.  I know it'll be a piece of cake for you, as long as you follow the steps I mentioned.  It's truly a no-brainer.  (Just be sure your phone is charged up. )

Poipu will be amazing!  Have a great time!!

Dave


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## PcflEZFlng

DaveNV said:


> It takes many more words to describe what to do, than to actually do it.  I know it'll be a piece of cake for you, as long as you follow the steps I mentioned.  It's truly a no-brainer.  (Just be sure your phone is charged up. )
> 
> Poipu will be amazing!  Have a great time!!
> 
> Dave


Thanks! I hope to take some good pictures and post them!


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## DebBrown

Not to sound too crazy, but I am a bit worried that Hawaii will change their travel policy due to Omnicron.  In the past, has there been much notice? or will we wake up to find new rules?  Our trip is scheduled for 1/15.  We have two VRBO condos rented and still can cancel with 100% refund so we're at the point when we re-evaluate.


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## daviator

Now that all the special travel requirements are no longer in effect, maybe this doesn't need to be a sticky any more?  I think it's unlikely that the restrictions will return.


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## NTP66

daviator said:


> I think it's unlikely that the restrictions will return.


My man, let's not jinx this...


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## pedro47

daviator said:


> Now that all the special travel requirements are no longer in effect, maybe this doesn't need to be a sticky any more?  I think it's unlikely that the restrictions will return.


I agree will you 100%.


----------

