But now, Hawaii is preparing to truly welcome back travelers, according to Hawaii Gov. David Ige, who is targeting a Nov. 1 reopening.
“It is now safe for fully vaccinated residents and visitors to resume nonessential travel to and within the state of Hawaii,” said Ige, according to local news station KHON. “We want to invite and encourage fully vaccinated visitors and residents to travel for business or leisure, transpacific and interisland.”
The Aloha State initially reopened to visitors in the fall of 2020. Since then, it instituted mandatory pretravel testing and only began waiving that requirement for fully vaccinated visitors in July. Then, in August, the state asked tourists to stay home due to rising COVID-19 cases.
Even though Hawaii is open for travel, there are still pretty strict entry requirements. The Safe Travels Program remains in place, but fully vaccinated travelers no longer have to get a pretravel test or quarantine upon arrival. Under these guidelines, individuals vaccinated anywhere in the U.S. can skip testing and quarantine mandates, starting on the 15th day after completing their vaccination.
Vaccinated travelers must provide a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card with their name, birth date, type of vaccine, date(s) vaccine was administered and lot number(s) for each vaccine dose. Additionally, travelers must create an online account and register with the State of Hawaii Safe Travels Hawaii web program -- and this is not optional.
The only way out-of-state visitors who are not vaccinated can skip the mandatory 10-day quarantine is with proof of a negative COVID-19 test from a trusted facility.
Unvaccinated U.S. travelers 18 and older must register through the mandatory Hawaii Safe Travels online program. Within 72 hours of departure time, each traveler 5 or older must undergo an approved COVID-19 test with negative results through Hawaii’s trusted testing and travel partners. The negative test result must be in hand when boarding your final flight leg to Hawaii. Travelers must complete the Safe Travels health questionnaire 24 hours before departure and then produce the code for local officials upon arrival in Hawaii.
Unvaccinated travelers who don’t have proof of an approved negative test must quarantine for 10 days.
Hawaii has recorded over 82,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 900 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. After a worrying surge in cases and deaths in August and September, cases have decreased, which the governor cited for the decision to reopen for nonessential travel. Currently, 70% of residents are fully vaccinated.
Now that Hawaii is welcoming travelers with open arms again, you're probably wondering how to get there -- and where to stay. If you’re planning a trip to the Aloha State, there are several ways to get (and stay) there using miles and points. Check out these guides about using your points and miles to travel to Hawaii and where to stay when you're there.
