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

[csodjd]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[lfarmwife1961]

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]

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

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