We are finishing three weeks on the islands--one on Maui followed by two on Kauai. While there have been some challenges this trip, it's no where near "I don't want to come back." Indeed, we are sad to be leaving tomorrow and already thinking about when our next trip might be.
Point by point:
Covid is surging. That's true in most places, and I'm not sure there's a place easier than Hawaii to vacation while it is happening. Nearly all activities are outdoors in situations where you aren't cheek-by-jowl with those around you. Yes, the beaches and hiking trails can be "busy" but it's nothing like e.g. Disney World is "busy." Heck, even most of the restaurants are open-air seating. They may be "indoors" but most are open-sided with a good cross breeze, so we have felt comfortable everywhere we've gone. We are also all vaccinated, and so that helps too.
Hawaii is reimposing restrictions. Yes, you have to wear a mask indoors. But, that's true at many other places with lots of tourists---and it's even true for me back home at the moment too, though it might not be for you. The restriction on gatherings isn't an issue for us on vacation; we don't often book Big Tours or Events that might not be able to run now, etc. The other things are things that might happen. Until they do, I'm not going to worry about them.
Residents are angry. I'm sure some are, and reportedly with good reason. But, we are trying to keep our own footprints light, and avoiding the worst of the congestion, because we don't want to be in it any more than the residents do. Oahu is busy and congested? That's not exactly new, and one reason why Oahu is ranked fourth out of the four islands I've visited so far. We decided to avoid the road to Hana even though this was our first visit to Maui, because it sounded unpleasant. We'll go some other time, and we found plenty of things to keep us busy on the western and southern sections of the island. Yes, there are a few comments about the haole, but that's not particularly new either. We make a point of paying attention to local custom and culture while we are here, and approach others with an open and humble spirit. We try to spend some of our time and money with locally-owned smaller businesses. That's because we'd rather be seen as visitors than tourists. We've found that most of the residents we've interacted with appreciate that and have welcomed us.
It's crowded. I guess the beaches have more people than usual, and a little more patience is required in the stores. I'm in Hawaii, so I'm willing to live on island time and give myself a little more wiggle room in travel when I've got something scheduled. But, in our time here, we've not been put off by crowds/lines hardly anywhere.
Shortages (rental cars/restaurants). Rental cars are an issue, for sure. But, things seem to be getting better (see the other thread on this) and happily I have a corporate negotiated rate that I'm allowed to use for personal travel that keeps a lid on costs. We were able to reserve the cars we needed, and one that we couldn't use the negotiated rate for was very expensive, but I can live with that. As for restaurants, we haven't had a problem. We made a few in advance, but most we've gotten by paying attention to e.g. Open Table periodically and catching things other people cancel. Did we always have our choice of places? No, but the meals have been good and some have been great. We also don't mind (and often prefer) going to a casual place off the beaten path that might to cater more to residents. The food is often better and more interesting at them anyway.
Lodging is expensive. I own timeshares, so I don't care what the cash rates are. Booking the timeshares might be an issue, but I do that far enough in advance that it wasn't an issue. I booked these three weeks well in advance.
