Kihei and Poipu Trip

[artringwald]

When we took our last trip to Hawaii, we arrived home on March 1, 2020, shortly before the pandemic lockdown. This is the first time we’ve left the Twin Cities since then. We didn’t want to go anywhere until we were both fully vaccinated. We had to postpone our Hawaii trip and an Alaskan cruise several times, so we were really looking forward to Hawaii, but were wondering how much the pandemic would affect everything. I thought our experiences might help those planning a trip.

CLEAR Health Pass for Hawaii (not recommended)
Before we went to the MSP airport, I registered both of us for a free 2 month trial of CLEAR Health Pass. With it you can store your COVID testing and vaccine information. Several partners, including Hawaii, accept CLEAR Health Pass to prove vaccination. After you register, you have to go to the airport to collect your biometrics. What a joke! It should only take a couple of minutes to scan your eyes, face, and fingerprints. Their scanners were either out of order or couldn’t get consistent results. After 20 minutes and several personal trying to help, they finally got us scanned and verified. I’ll cancel my membership as soon as we get home.

Safe Travels for Hawaii (works great)
FYI, it’s not an app, it’s all through a web site. With Safe Travels, you apply for a quarantine exception by uploading your vaccination card ahead of time and enter your flight info. Within 24 hours of your flight, they’ll email a heath questionnaire. Along with questions about how you’re currently feeling, they want to know when you got your last flu shot. Since we were in Seattle by then we had to guess. Fill it out, submit it, and they’ll email a QR code. When you check in for the flight going to Hawaii, the agent scans the QR code, and puts a colored plastic band on your wrist. When you arrive in Hawaii, hold up your wrist with the band, and they let you through without any hassle. The rental car agency may have looked at the band too, because they didn’t ask for and COVID information. Just make sure you read all the information on their web site and in their emails.

Baggage Carousels
My Hawaiian Airlines app said our luggage would be at carousel 3. The sign in baggage claim said it would be in carousel 1. I found it in carousel 2. It’s not the first time this has happened. If there’s luggage coming down any of the carousels, go look to see if yours is there.

Rental Cars in Maui (piece of cake)
TIP: book it early and keep checking for lower prices. I was nervous because of some horror stories about people not getting their reserved car or having a long wait. It couldn’t have been easier. Last time we were in Maui, the Kahului Airport was still under construction. It’s finished and they did a nice job accommodating rental cars. All the major companies are in a single building inside a large parking ramp. A tram runs continuously from the baggage claims to the rental cars vendors. I reserved through National and paid a little extra for a car in the Emerald Isle. The keys were in the cars and I could choose from a wide variety of makes and models. I chose a small SUV by Ford, hopped in, and checked out at the gate.

So we’re staying at Wailea Ekahi Village on the south end of Kihei. It looks like it will be sunny, very warm, and humid all week. As we drove through Kihei on Friday, the car said it was 100 degrees. Fortunately, the condo’s AC works well. I’ll report later on Maui restaurants and attractions.

 

[slip]

Enjoy you time. I hope it’s a great trip for you!

 

[artringwald]

Here's some picture of the grounds at Wailea Ekahi Village.

 

[Luanne]

@artringwald Have you had your first cinnamon roll yet?

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Safe Travels for Hawaii (works great)
FYI, it’s not an app, it’s all through a web site. With Safe Travels, you apply for a quarantine exception by uploading your vaccination card ahead of time and enter your flight info. Within 24 hours of your flight, they’ll email a heath questionnaire. Along with questions about how you’re currently feeling, they want to know when you got your last flu shot. Since we were in Seattle by then we had to guess. Fill it out, submit it, and they’ll email a QR code. When you check in for the flight going to Hawaii, the agent scans the QR code, and puts a colored plastic band on your wrist. When you arrive in Hawaii, hold up your wrist with the band, and they let you through without any hassle. The rental car agency may have looked at the band too, because they didn’t ask for and COVID information. Just make sure you read all the information on their web site and in their emails.

From our experience yesterday flying SEA-LIH.

This is exactly right, with a couple of added caveats.

We created the Safe Travels account a couple of weeks before the flight and uploaded our vaccination info. When you arrive at the airport, and you are flying Alaska Airlines, you then have an option of going to a Hawaii clear area for flight checkin. You will check your bags there, they scan the QR code you receive from HI after completing the health questionnaire, and when all checks out they give you the wristband. If you have the wristband you just walk right out the airport after you get off the plane.

When you arrive at the airport, you can also do a conventional check-in, or if you aren't checking bags you can go straight to the gate. Also, if you haven't created a Safe Travels account you will go to the gate. In that case, you will need to be present proof of vaccination or acceptable COVID test at the gate. This turned into a huge line. On arrival in Hawaii, because those people didn't have the wristbands, they then had to go through intake protocols at LIH. I don't know how long that took, as we were at the front of the plane and out the door before before there was any chance for lines to build up.

If you are in the Safe Travels, there is one thing to be aware of. After you get cleared (i.e., after the QR code you get from the state is scanned), your trip info on your Safe Travels account is updated to show that you have been screened and cleared. When we went to pick up our car, the rental agency said they couldn't accept the wrist band or the QR Code - I had to show them the updated trip info in my Safe Travels account.

I didn't learn that until I was at the very front of the line. Since I had done all of that work on a home computer, I didn't have the SafeTravels set up on my phone. So I had to step back from the line while I navigated to the web site on my phone. And it didn't accept the password I thought I had set up for the account, so then I had to make a password reset request. And by the time I got done with all of that there were now 15 people in line As another two busses had discharged customers.

One added suggestion at the airport - only send one person to get the rental car. The shuttle buses still maintain distancing on the bus. So if you are a group of three or four people and want to get on a shuttle, the driver won't take you if there isn't appropriate space. But the driver will take solo people to fill the single seats.

 

[artringwald]

@artringwald Have you had your first cinnamon roll yet?

On our first morning I was there at 6 AM to get it. I was disappointed. The new owners must be skimping on butter and sugar. They were dry and didn't have as much glaze on top. The place has lost some of it's charm. The former owners were so entertaining. The staff there didn't even smile (behind the mask). Of course, I'll give it another try.

 

[Luanne]

On our first morning I was there at 6 AM to get it. I was disappointed. The new owners must be skimping on butter and sugar. They were dry and didn't have as much glaze on top. The place has lost some of it's charm. The former owners were so entertaining. The staff there didn't even smile (behind the mask). Of course, I'll give it another try.

That's too bad. We won't be back on Maui until March 2022. I wonder what changes we will notice. Did you notice if the little coffee building, kind of in front of Cafe O' Lei is still there?

 

[artringwald]

One added suggestion at the airport - only send one person to get the rental car. The shuttle buses still maintain distancing on the bus. So if you are a group of three or four people and want to get on a shuttle, the driver won't take you if there isn't appropriate space. But the driver will take solo people to fill the single seats.

I started doing this a couple of years ago, just to save our backs from schlepping luggage on and off the shuttle. DW finds a shady place to wait with the luggage at the terminal, and I pick up the car. So much easier.

Thanks for the tip. Rental cars in LIH might be following different rules. I'll have my QR codes ready.

 

[artringwald]

That's too bad. We won't be back on Maui until March 2022. I wonder what changes we will notice. Did you notice if the little coffee building, kind of in front of Cafe O' Lei is still there?

If you're talking about this one, it's still there and very busy.

We ate at Cafe O' Lei last night and the Cajun mahi mahi was delicious.

 

[Luanne]

If you're talking about this one, it's still there and very busy.
View attachment 38133

We ate at Cafe O' Lei last night and the Cajun mahi mahi was delicious.

Yes, that's the place. We are there just about every morning. The only mornings we don't walk down there are the ones where we go on a sunrise whale watch.

 

[Luanne]

@artringwald Cafe O'Lei is usually one of our first stops for dinner when we get to Maui.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I started doing this a couple of years ago, just to save our backs from schlepping luggage on and off the shuttle. DW finds a shady place to wait with the luggage at the terminal, and I pick up the car. So much easier.

We've been doing that for years now also. Much easier and less stressful. But with the pandemic protocols it's even more helpful.

We do the same thing on departure. I drop off DW with the luggage near the gate. Then I drop off the car and take the shuttle back. Saves struggling with the luggage on the rental shuttle both directions.

Thanks for the tip. Rental cars in LIH might be following different rules. I'll have my QR codes ready.

Just to be clear. At the rental car counter the QR code is meaningless. Doesn't get you anything. That was my mistake. I thought the QR code would work at the rental car counter also, so I was prepared to show them that.

The only thing that matters is having your Safe Travels account on a device at the car rental counter, where they can see that your QR code has been screened and accepted.

When we got to the Point, they said having the wristband was good enough. I don't know why that wasn't good enough for Alamo.

 

[Luanne]

We've been doing that for years now also. Much easier and less stressful. But with the pandemic protocols it's even more helpful.

We do the same thing on departure. I drop off DW with the luggage near the gate. Then I drop off the car and take the shuttle back. Saves struggling with the luggage on the rental shuttle both directions.

We do this as well. Although there have been a couple of times that I've gotten the luggage before dh boarded the tram to get the rental car.

 

[artringwald]

Just to be clear. At the rental car counter the QR code is meaningless. Doesn't get you anything. That was my mistake. I thought the QR code would work at the rental car counter also, so I was prepared to show them that.

I'm glad you made that clear! We're also renting from Alamo. So this is what they wanted to see from the web site?

 

[youppi]

The only thing that matters is having your Safe Travels account on a device at the car rental counter, where they can see that your QR code has been screened and accepted.

They asked us to show our at the rental car, The Point at Poipu and also at Ka'anapali Beach Club because as fully vaccinated Canadian we are considered at the same level of unvaccinated American (PCR test mandatory, no bracelet).
I took a picture of the sign at KBC about the info they looking for

 

[artringwald]

Keawakapu Beach

 

[Luanne]

Keawakapu Beach

View attachment 38146

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Do you ever go to Maluaka Beach? We've been going there for years, well before there was a hotel there.

 

[artringwald]

Do you ever go to Maluaka Beach? We've been going there for years, well before there was a hotel there.

We've driven past it but didn't stop. We'll have to check it out. Thanks!

 

[Luanne]

We've driven past it but didn't stop. We'll have to check it out. Thanks!

There are two places you can park. One is a lot across the street from the church. The other is down past the beach, and kind of hard to find the access the first time. We like the end towards the church as it's usually less crowded, but a couple of years when we've been there that part of the beach has been kind of washed away.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

They asked us to show our at the rental car, The Point at Poipu and also at Ka'anapali Beach Club because as fully vaccinated Canadian we are considered at the same level of unvaccinated American (PCR test mandatory, no bracelet).
I took a picture of the sign at KBC about the info they looking for
View attachment 38141

Correct. Would have been good if I had seen something such as that before we left.

Highly recommended if you have a Safe Travels account: after your QR code is scanned, go to your Safe Travels account on a device and take a screen shot of what is shown in step 4. Then keep that screen grab at finger touch on your mobile device. That way, if you are at a location where you don't have good web access, you can call up the image.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I'm glad you made that clear! We're also renting from Alamo. So this is what they wanted to see from the web site?
View attachment 38140

Exactly!!!!

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Life is good at the Point. We are here for two weeks. Just DW and I for the entire time - like things were 20 years ago, when we were thinking about how nice it would be if we could have multi-generation family vacations at the Point.

That dream came true, but this year it's just the two of us. I'm not sure what to think about think about that - it's good in the sense that we can just drill in on what we want. For me it's kind of nice to have a trip that isn't quite so daily activity filled. But it's wistful at the same time, to not have family members here.

 

[artringwald]

Life is good at the Point. We are here for two weeks. Just DW and I for the entire time

Same way for us. We have fun when siblings or our son's family come with us, but the older we get, the harder it is to keep up with running around all the time. Getting bored this trip sounds attractive. We haven't missed a year since our first purchase in 2004, so we've done just about everything on Kauai we wanted to. The only place I really want to visit this trip is this monument. Even with the hints you gave, I had a heck of a time finding it.

 

[artringwald]

Hunting and Foraging for Food in Kihei
Restaurants are still under capacity restrictions, and staffing increases haven’t matched the surge in tourism, so finding food in Kihei can be challenging. The first night here we were too tired to go out, so we tried to order delivery. First we went to the website for That's A Wrap Café, filled out our order, our delivery information, and clicked the button. We got a “can’t deliver at this time” message. Then we went to the website for Manoli's Pizza Company. Again, we filled out our order, our delivery information, and clicked the button. We got a “can’t deliver at this time” message. Why couldn’t they tell us that before we filled out all the forms??? I already had a DoorDash account, so I looked to see what else might be available. L&L Hawai’ian Barbecue caught my eye, we placed the order, and it was delivered in ½ the promised time. The food was great!

Saturday afternoon I went shopping at Safeway. TIP: If you don’t have one, sign up for their loyalty card and you’ll save a bunch. While I was there, I picked up Subway sandwiches for dinner.
Sunday night I called Southshore Grindz to see if they’d take reservations. They didn’t, but they said they usually had seating available. Unfortunately, Google Maps is broken. We couldn’t find it where Google Maps said it was. Fortunately, when I went to the 2nd floor to ask for help, the hostess at Cafe O'Lei Kihei said she didn’t know where it was, but they could seat us. The Cajun mahi mahi was awesome! Walking back to the car we went to the other side of the building and found Southshore Grindz. It was nearly empty so it couldn’t have been that good. I’m glad Google Maps didn’t know exactly where it was.

Yesterday, we decided to go out for lunch at Manoli's Pizza Company. OpenTable allowed us to book a reservation for noon. When we showed up, the sign said “seat yourself”. Did OpenTable know that? So the waitress came, handed us menus, and said they don’t start making pizza until 3. A pizza place that is open for lunch that doesn’t start pizzas until 3? The Jaxson Burger and Mahi Mahi sandwich were both excellent so we weren’t disappointed.

Tonight’s dinner will be on the Trilogy Sunset Sail, and we have reservations for Gannon’s on Thursday. The rest of the time we’ll eat in the condo. I share all this not to complain, just to request that you need to be patient… we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Coconut's Fish Café was in the news because tourists were being so rude to the overworked staff. Let’s all preserve the Aloha spirit.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I'm in the process of booking a bunch of reservations for dinner. I've found that sometimes on OpenTable that either it says that they don't go out that far into the future or say no tables are available. I've found two things: (1) If I skip the Google "Make Reservation" (Right side of screen at the top when I do a search by restaurant name), and instead go to the website of the restaurant, that their reservation button shows openings that I didn't find earlier. (2) I found in a couple of cases that I couldn't find an available reservation but when I called the restaurant they didn't have any problem giving me a res. I think that they probably only put some of their available times on OpenTable - - perhaps because of the commission that they have to pay. I have also found that sometimes OpenTable wouldn't show any availability but then a couple hours later it seemed "wide open".