I will be the guinea pig - I used an AC for Hawaii

[traveller1]

I just booked a week at Ko Olina in November using the AC in my account. Total cost for a 2 bedroom was $312. I chose Ko Olina because it is an easy resort for hunkering down (pretty self contained). Airfare will be with Hawaiian using miles (easy to deal with if we cancel). I called Interval to understand what their covid policy is with AC's and the answer seemed to be "it depends" but the gist seemed to be that if Hawaii is still under a mandatory quarantine they will work with us to rebook somewhere else. I decided to roll the dice. It will be my third time trying to get over to Hawaii this year.

Sorry for my naivety but what is AC???

 

[Luanne]

Sorry for my naivety but what is AC???

Answered in post #46

AC= Accommodations Certificate given by Interval International

 

[klpca]

I am coming from the east coast (Florida) and it appears unlikely I can meet this requirement. We are overnighting in SFO on a Saturday and flying to HNL on a Sunday. We arrive on a Sunday at 1:40 PM (6:40 PM EST). There is a 5 hour time difference in November. I will not be able to find anyone to test us Thursday after 6:40 PM so the earliest I can be tested is Friday morning within this 72 hour window. It is doubtful our results can be back on time with a sample being sent to the lab over the weekend so I am likely going to have to quarantine for a few days upon arrival. I wish they would relax this 72 hour period a little as it is impossible to meet if you live on the east coast.

Could you change your original flight to arrive one day prior and get tested in SF? Maybe the airlines will help you with this?

 

[amy241]

Could you change your original flight to arrive one day prior and get tested in SF? Maybe the airlines will help you with this?

We are only overnighting in SFO, not staying several days. I won’t have a rental car, etc. I thought of this but to do this we would have to change 2 sets of tickets, book at least 2 nights at SFO, and pick up a rental car. It ends up being such a hassle and an additional expense on top of the Covid testing.

 

[Luanne]

We are only overnighting in SFO, not staying several days. I won’t have a rental car, etc. I thought of this but to do this we would have to change 2 sets of tickets, book at least 2 nights at SFO, and pick up a rental car. It ends up being such a hassle and an additional expense on top of the Covid testing.

That would give you enough time to get a test, but not get the results. Why do you think you would need a rental car? We always stay in San Francisco for two nights both coming and going when we go to Maui. Never rent a car.

 

[christineK]

The State of Hawaii has just announced a pre-test program, starting Oct. 15. If you get an approved covid test within 72 hours of arriving in Hawaii, and it is negative, you don't have to quarantine for 14 days. Here is the link to the Hawaii State Department of Health website with the info: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel/#travel-FAQs
BTW--if you do have to quarantine, it is actually 15 days because they don't count the day you arrive. And, please note that resorts are responsible for enforcing the quarantine, and they don't want to be penalized or closed down, so, at my resort, The Whaler on Kaanapali Beach, they are strictly enforcing the quarantine.

 

[amy241]

That would give you enough time to get a test, but not get the results. Why do you think you would need a rental car? We always stay in San Francisco for two nights both coming and going when we go to Maui. Never rent a car.

I would need to rent a car at SFO to get to a Covid testing site to take the test. We are supposed to land around noon time. But if I a. Only there for the one day - before the Hawaii flight the next day - there would be insufficient time to get results back.

What hotel do you use at SFO?

 

[frank808]

You can uber to a testing site. If you do not have the test on arrival, you will quarantine in your room till you get the results and then forward it to the dept of health. Once verified, you are out of quarantine. Might be worth it as then you would only have to quarantine for 2 days or so.

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[Luanne]

I would need to rent a car at SFO to get to a Covid testing site to take the test. We are supposed to land around noon time. But if I a. Only there for the one day - before the Hawaii flight the next day - there would be insufficient time to get results back.

What hotel do you use at SFO?

We don't stay near SFO, we stay in San Francisco. We like the Union Square area and our favorite is the Hilton Union Square on O'Farrell. But I will book us into whoever is the most reasonable for the dates we want to stay. I use booking.com a lot for hotels in San Francisco.

And I agree, you don't need a car. You can take a cab, or an Uber or Lyft. If you are staying at the airport you can take BART into San Francisco. As I said earlier with just an overnight you'd probably have time to get a test, but not get the results. This looks like a good reference for where you can get tested if you do decide to do it in San Francisco. https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/...et-a-coronavirus-test-in-the-Bay-15136054.php

 

[echino]

I was trying to figure out the way to take an approved test if I live in Canada, but I did not find anything.

Kaiser and CVS websites say you have to be a resident of the state where you are tested. Maybe it changes when they update the websites specifically for Hawaii travel testing.

 

[Luanne]

I was trying to figure out the way to take an approved test if I live in Canada, but I did not find anything.

Kaiser and CVS websites say you have to be a resident of the state where you are tested. Maybe it changes when they update the websites specifically for Hawaii travel testing.

When I was looking up the information for San Francisco it looks like for some sites you may have to be a CA resident as well. So the idea of waiting to test until you get to your stop off destination may not work, making it even more difficult.

 

[kckaren21]

So, I couldn't hold myself back and booked a 2 br Marriott on Kauai using my AC for the screamin' deal of $312!
Hopefully all will work out with getting our negative covid test in the 3 day window and the quarantine not necessary...it's worth the gamble and I'm feeling lucky!

I called and the front desk clerk said the Marriott Waiohai is not doing the 'resort bubble' (where guests can wear a gps tracker and have freedom to use the whole property), which I thought would work for us, since it has it's own beach and great snorkeling. I thought that could be a vacation saver if the quarantine was not lifted. I read that Kauai is being allowed to do that, I wonder what resorts will do it? Not sure how to find out, unless I call each one, and even then they may not announce it until they have it in place.

 

[echino]

Waiohai has no incentive to do the bubble. It's a timeshare, so they don't depend on tourists coming. Maintenance fees are due anyway.

 

[amy241]

You can uber to a testing site. If you do not have the test on arrival, you will quarantine in your room till you get the results and then forward it to the dept of health. Once verified, you are out of quarantine. Might be worth it as then you would only have to quarantine for 2 days or so.

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But if I won’t have SFO test results on arrival, I may as well just have it done in Florida before I leave. The result would be the same - quarantine until results are received.

 

[Luanne]

But if I won’t have SFO test results on arrival, I may as well just have it done in Florida before I leave. The result would be the same - quarantine until results are received.

So, out of curiosity, are you staying at a hotel near the airport, or in the city? How much time do you have in the area?

 

[kckaren21]

Waiohai has no incentive to do the bubble. It's a timeshare, so they don't depend on tourists coming. Maintenance fees are due anyway.

I didn't consider that, but if that's the reasoning, then none of the timeshares will do it, I guess

 

[amy241]

So, out of curiosity, are you staying at a hotel near the airport, or in the city? How much time do you have in the area?

We are staying at the Grand Hyatt at SFO. Our flight arrives on 11/14 around noon. We fly out the next morning to HNL.

 

[Luanne]

We are staying at the Grand Hyatt at SFO. Our flight arrives on 11/14 around noon. We fly out the next morning to HNL.

Do you plan to go into San Francisco? BART is an easy way in and out. There is a station at the airport and the hotels should have shuttles to the airport. Actually I just looked at the website for the Hyatt and it looks like the AirTrain will get you back and forth from the airport. Very cool.

 

[OLDEMAN]

I see tourist out and about everywhere and I doubt many are doing the 14 day quarantine. Once in a while, the news will report that they caught someone and they are being fined. Those people got caught on social media with pics of themselves at the beach or out hiking. Or, maybe the manager of a building turned them in. So if you are here while that is happening, don’t post online and be careful about management. They also track your cell phone, so you need to leave that in your room. As more people arrive, they can’t keep up. But play it safe.

 

[OLDEMAN]

I am very disappointed that there are individuals that would not respect quarantine..sneaking out, etc...This pandemic will go on and on if others do not respect and honor the lives of others on these beautiful islands or anywhere else. Hawaii is my dream state..i have been waiting and saving for 5 years to return..but i would never take a selfish chance to hurt a lifemthrough any travel means...i hope those of you that do travel there..respect and do as asked and go,beyond to remember the locals are agitated from the results ofmthis pandemic so give extra care and leaway im kindness and patience tomtheir shortcomings.

 

[frank808]

We are staying at the Grand Hyatt at SFO. Our flight arrives on 11/14 around noon. We fly out the next morning to HNL.

IIRC the Grand Hyatt just opened this summer. If you get a room facing the runway it should be good for plane watching. Looked very convenient and at the end of the airport accessible by the tram that runs around SFO.

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[frank808]

I am very disappointed that there are individuals that would not respect quarantine..sneaking out, etc...This pandemic will go on and on if others do not respect and honor the lives of others on these beautiful islands or anywhere else. Hawaii is my dream state..i have been waiting and saving for 5 years to return..but i would never take a selfish chance to hurt a lifemthrough any travel means...i hope those of you that do travel there..respect and do as asked and go,beyond to remember the locals are agitated from the results ofmthis pandemic so give extra care and leaway im kindness and patience tomtheir shortcomings.

On the news tonight. Attorney General officer visited 3 hotels and 95 rooms. All were doing their quarantine except for 2 rooms. So 2% not following their quarantine.

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[luv_maui]

I am coming from the east coast (Florida) and it appears unlikely I can meet this requirement. We are overnighting in SFO on a Saturday and flying to HNL on a Sunday. We arrive on a Sunday at 1:40 PM (6:40 PM EST). There is a 5 hour time difference in November. I will not be able to find anyone to test us Thursday after 6:40 PM so the earliest I can be tested is Friday morning within this 72 hour window. It is doubtful our results can be back on time with a sample being sent to the lab over the weekend so I am likely going to have to quarantine for a few days upon arrival. I wish they would relax this 72 hour period a little as it is impossible to meet if you live on the east coast.

Now I’m thinking similarly it may be difficult to satisfy the results by the time we land. We land at 2:30pm in Honolulu 11/28, so west coast 72 hrs prior is 5:30pm 11/25, day before thanksgiving. Not sure if we could even take the test that late, Wednesday before thanksgiving and especially the next day Thanksgiving! We are only coming for 1 week so if We had to take the test friday after thanksgiving we might not get test results until 1/2 way through our trip, so not really worth it. Will need to find out how well this relationship with CVS will work for Hawaii travelers. Now I’m really pessimistic on coming. We will not get on the plane if we don’t have negative test results before our flight leaves.

 

[controller1]

Now I’m thinking similarly it may be difficult to satisfy the results by the time we land. We land at 2:30pm in Honolulu 11/28, so west coast 72 hrs prior is 5:30pm 11/25, day before thanksgiving. Not sure if we could even take the test that late, Wednesday before thanksgiving and especially the next day Thanksgiving! We are only coming for 1 week so if We had to take the test friday after thanksgiving we might not get test results until 1/2 way through our trip, so not really worth it. Will need to find out how well this relationship with CVS will work for Hawaii travelers. Now I’m really pessimistic on coming. We will not get on the plane if we don’t have negative test results before our flight leaves.

Note the 72-hour requirement has been changed to "three days" so the time of the test does not matter. Only the date matters.

 

[luv_maui]

Note the 72-hour requirement has been changed to "three days" so the time of the test does not matter. Only the date matters.

Ah!!!! Thank you!! Now I have hope. We take the test Wednesday early morning and hope we find out in time and they send tests out Wednesday, but thanksgiving the next day really hurts our chances.