Hawai'i Reopens - Sort Of

[Koolau]

https://news.yahoo.com/hawaii-reopens-tourism-amid-more-034036284.html

I cringe when I watch our local news showing the long lines of folks waiting to clear customs (whoops! I mean COVID Control.) We only had something like 8000 folks show up and simply clearing them to enter without 2-week quarantine took hours. Why anyone would come now, I have no idea. There's very little even open. Places not yet out of business are still in Tier 1 (maybe Tier 2) I can't keep track.

The idea is that you get a test within 3 days of travel to HI, get an entry on your phone - somehow I think - and then "prove" you got the test and passed it once you arrive here. I THINK there were issues with folks just bringing a piece of paper telling that you passed - but don't quote me. I just gave up on watching because it was too cringeworthy. I hesitate to whine about all this since tourism pays the lions share of our taxes - well, it used to!


Y'all come! But YMMV.

 

[njhowie]

I agree.

I've been getting the daily emails from Beat of Hawaii and it's been painstakingly clear for months that Hawaii's plan and approach has been a complete disaster all along. Even now it is so fluid that there's no way we'll be making a trip, though we are itching for one. No way in the world I'll go through all the time and effort involved with planning, the enormous cost involved, and then possibly have it ruined due to issues with testing.

Maybe in a year or two after things settle down. I'm really not interested in spending a week in paradise and having to wear a mask whenever in public.

 

[RonBoyd]

Starting today, visitors will arrive with the island on a Tier 4 status, which means there are no active virus cases. So long as Kauai remains on Tier 4 or Tier 3 status, which equates to a weekly average of under 5 active cases, visitors can continue to enjoy the island freely.

But what happens if there are more than 5 active cases of COVID on Kauai?

https://beatofhawaii.com/will-kauai-visitors-risk-all-and-return-with-this-looming/

 

[cathy63]

On our local Facebook group this week, there was someone frantically looking for a lab that can do a test for a trip next week. Apparently there are different rules for different islands and the few places on the state's list of acceptable options either don't exist here, or they can't guarantee a quick enough turn around. We'll wait and let things shake out a bit more before we plan a trip.

 

[skipro33]

Maybe my Hawaiian vacations are just over. By the time this whole CV-19 mess gets sorted out, the list of people heading to the islands will be huge. I go because I like to get away from the crowds, not become one in them. I figure it will take years before things are back to normal and I live my life as if I won't live that long. I guess I'll just have to evaluate each year. My favorite time and island is Maui in time for Halloween and before Thanksgiving. Other than the big street party in Lahaina, it's a mellow time to go. I'll stop and pick up a fishing rig at the local Walmart, a box of frozen squid and pack my grass mat before heading to any number of secret fishing spots I hit up. When it's time to leave, it's not hard to find a kid who'll take the fishing gear off my hands. While I relax with a pole in my hands, watching the ocean, DW is enjoying her version of Hawaii with spa treatments, shopping and long naps while reading.
I really miss the food too. Food trucks and small carts. I'll take my catch to one and trade it for credit towards their cooking. Yum!

 

[bmcgonig]

https://news.yahoo.com/hawaii-reopens-tourism-amid-more-034036284.html

I cringe when I watch our local news showing the long lines of folks waiting to clear customs (whoops! I mean COVID Control.) We only had something like 8000 folks show up and simply clearing them to enter without 2-week quarantine took hours. Why anyone would come now, I have no idea. There's very little even open. Places not yet out of business are still in Tier 1 (maybe Tier 2) I can't keep track.

The idea is that you get a test within 3 days of travel to HI, get an entry on your phone - somehow I think - and then "prove" you got the test and passed it once you arrive here. I THINK there were issues with folks just bringing a piece of paper telling that you passed - but don't quote me. I just gave up on watching because it was too cringeworthy. I hesitate to whine about all this since tourism pays the lions share of our taxes - well, it used to!


Y'all come! But YMMV.

You're used to the weather there, but someone like me who longs for a warm winter would be willing to jump through many hoops to spend the winter there! I don't really care if anything is open besides somewhere to buy food and wine [emoji16]

Read an article this week which quoted a Hawaiian real estate agent saying that she is selling lots of homes this year to people stateside without them setting foot on the island.

 

[W2R]

https://news.yahoo.com/hawaii-reopens-tourism-amid-more-034036284.html

I cringe when I watch our local news showing the long lines of folks waiting to clear customs (whoops! I mean COVID Control.) We only had something like 8000 folks show up and simply clearing them to enter without 2-week quarantine took hours. Why anyone would come now, I have no idea. There's very little even open. Places not yet out of business are still in Tier 1 (maybe Tier 2) I can't keep track.

The idea is that you get a test within 3 days of travel to HI, get an entry on your phone - somehow I think - and then "prove" you got the test and passed it once you arrive here. I THINK there were issues with folks just bringing a piece of paper telling that you passed - but don't quote me. I just gave up on watching because it was too cringeworthy. I hesitate to whine about all this since tourism pays the lions share of our taxes - well, it used to!


Y'all come! But YMMV.

So glad to read that the COVID-19 situation is improved to an extent such that the 2 week quarantine is no longer deemed necessary. With the return of tourist money, let's hope that the local economy begins to recover.

My brother in St. Louis usually snowbirds to his condo on Maui, but figured he wouldn't go there this year due to the 14-day quarantine which he did not want to endure. So then, thinking that Hawaii was not a possibility for him this winter, he volunteered to be one of those to get the Pfizer vaccine during the trials. That should complicate things if he tries to go now, I'd think! Oh well, his problem, not mine. He's a smart guy and he'll figure it out.

 

[Chuckanut]

I am using Hawaii as an indicator of how travel during Covid times is working. I make no judgement at this time since it is too early. I watch not only the requirements to enter the area, but also what is available to a visitor upon entering. Time will tell.

 

[Koolau]

https://beatofhawaii.com/will-kauai-visitors-risk-all-and-return-with-this-looming/

This is just one of the issues that makes us seem "backward" (for want of a better word.) Please don't get me wrong. I love my adopted state and consider myself kama'aina - even if maybe not all local folks would agree. It's just that we've whipsawed with Covid from open to closed to tiered to... who knows what and on which Island.

I don't claim to have the answer, but this particular problem of reopening is just par for the course, it seems. Nothing works the first time. But, y'all come (YMMV).

 

[Koolau]

On our local Facebook group this week, there was someone frantically looking for a lab that can do a test for a trip next week. Apparently there are different rules for different islands and the few places on the state's list of acceptable options either don't exist here, or they can't guarantee a quick enough turn around. We'll wait and let things shake out a bit more before we plan a trip.

Another wrinkle I've heard is that some mainland testing facilities won't "do" kids under a certain age (maybe 6??). The main reason we did not visit the mainland this year was NOT that we were concerned about Covid on the mainland. It was wondering whether we could even get back home. My take is that folks have often been treated like lepers when they arrive. As nearly as I can tell, you must have a trackable phone to come (without the test). That way, they can track you - and do. Where they get the 'man'power, I have no idea, but they have caught and charged several people stupid enough to break quarantine and take their phones along. But I digress so YMMV.

 

[Koolau]

You're used to the weather there, but someone like me who longs for a warm winter would be willing to jump through many hoops to spend the winter there! I don't really care if anything is open besides somewhere to buy food and wine [emoji16]

Read an article this week which quoted a Hawaiian real estate agent saying that she is selling lots of homes this year to people stateside without them setting foot on the island.

Heh, heh, if you have a Costco card, you can buy food and wine.

Don't count on finding many restaurants open. Even with some "tiered" reopenings of seated-dining, most places can't make enough money with the social distancing - other than staying with carry out.

Can't comment much on RE issues. I've heard that prices are fairly stable but sales are down. Can't confirm (especially about sight-unseen RE purchases - doesn't seem too wise, but YMMV.)

 

[W2R]

This is just one of the issues that makes us seem "backward" (for want of a better word.) Please don't get me wrong. I love my adopted state and consider myself kama'aina - even if maybe not all local folks would agree. It's just that we've whipsawed with Covid from open to closed to tiered to... who knows what and on which Island.

I don't claim to have the answer, but this particular problem of reopening is just par for the course, it seems. Nothing works the first time. But, y'all come (YMMV).

What a mess. But it seems to me that none of the other states are handling things in an ideal way, either, so it may not be due to being a "backward" state. New York comes to mind, and many other states as well. Decisions in New Orleans seem pretty crazy and inconsistent too. But then again our country is dealing with a crisis that is new and largely unknown, and the people making decisions are politicians with no expertise in dealing with such situations.

Maybe I'm cutting Hawaii more slack than I should, due to my past life over there. I know they mess up, oh gosh, do I ever know. But it seems to me that they are doing no worse than anybody else, this time.

 

[Koolau]

What a mess. But it seems to me that none of the other states are handling things in an ideal way, either, so it may not be due to being a "backward" state. New York comes to mind, and many other states as well. Decisions in New Orleans seem pretty crazy and inconsistent too. But then again our country is dealing with a crisis that is new and largely unknown, and the people making decisions are politicians with no expertise in dealing with such situations.

Maybe I'm cutting Hawaii more slack than I should, due to my past life over there. I know they mess up, oh gosh, do I ever know. But it seems to me that they are doing no worse than anybody else, this time.

Yes, and then there is the light rail! Just heard that the project that started out at 3.X Billion - with the Feds planning to kick in almost a B just jumped another B to 9B - and the Feds are unhappy with all the (almost used the 'C' word) 'cost discrepancies' so still are not kicking in what they 'promised.' I figure 15B when all is said (but never completely done.) Hmmmm. 15B with way less than 1.5 million people on Oahu. If my math is correct, that's about $10,000 per man, woman, child, monk seal, booby (bird), reef shark, and probably egret on the Island. Oh, and none of this includes running the thing or maintaining it (maintenance - not a Hawaiian word.)

But, I'm not bitter!

I'm just grumpy today, so forget everything I've said and listen to W2R instead and Y'all come 'cause YMMV.

 

[W2R]

Yes, and then there is the light rail! Just heard that the project that started out at 3.X Billion - with the Feds planning to kick in almost a B just jumped another B to 9B - and the Feds are unhappy with all the (almost used the 'C' word) 'cost discrepancies' so still are not kicking in what they 'promised.' I figure 15B when all is said (but never completely done.) Hmmmm. 15B with way less than 1.5 million people on Oahu. If my math is correct, that's about $10,000 per man, woman, child, monk seal, booby (bird), reef shark, and probably egret on the Island. Oh, and none of this includes running the thing or maintaining it (maintenance - not a Hawaiian word.)

But, I'm not bitter!

I'm just grumpy today, so forget everything I've said and listen to W2R instead and Y'all come 'cause YMMV.

They've been talking about a light rail here for the 24 years since I moved here (and according to Frank, decades before that!). I don't know WHAT it is that attracts the powers that be to light rail systems. They haven't thought it through here, either but they talk as though it is going to be reality right away. Yeah right. I suspect it's just pie in the sky to promise the little people (like us).

 

[Koolau]

They've been talking about a light rail here for the 24 years since I moved here (and according to Frank, decades before that!). I don't know WHAT it is that attracts the powers that be to light rail systems. They haven't thought it through here, either but they talk as though it is going to be reality right away. Yeah right. I suspect it's just pie in the sky to promise the little people (like us).

Hawaii talked about light rail for 25 years as well. The planets aligned and it finally started despite massive (but fragmented) opposition. I give it 50:50 it will ever truly be finished, but we will get at least 20+ miles for our $15 B.

I just deleted my explanation about why the "powers that be" would want light rail. I like posting here. Just keep in mind the price tag (pick your own number $9B official now or $15B which is my number.) Do you need any more info - especially having lived here?

 

[bmcgonig]

Heh, heh, if you have a Costco card, you can buy food and wine.

Don't count on finding many restaurants open. Even with some "tiered" reopenings of seated-dining, most places can't make enough money with the social distancing - other than staying with carry out.

Can't comment much on RE issues. I've heard that prices are fairly stable but sales are down. Can't confirm (especially about sight-unseen RE purchases - doesn't seem too wise, but YMMV.)

If you have to do a 14 day quarantine, and you're in an Airbnb or a rental, I'm assuming you can't go to Costco during that time. How do people solve initial grocery shopping etc?

 

[audreyh1]

If you have to do a 14 day quarantine, and you're in an Airbnb or a rental, I'm assuming you can't go to Costco during that time. How do people solve initial grocery shopping etc?

That’s what I want to know!

 

[JoeWras]

Never been to the island. Probably won't make it in my lifetime. Sad.

 

[RonBoyd]

Never been to the island. Probably won't make it in my lifetime. Sad.

So, you don't know what you're missing.

We on the other hand... During the 70's and early 80's vacationed in Hawaii every year for ten years (sometimes twice a year). We went on four cruises with HCL's Independence & Constitution. We have, for instance, hiked extensively most of the islands, including up Diamondhead twice. We have been back more than ten times since but not in the past eight years. We are at an age where now we dream(ed) of one last trip but doesn't look like that will happen. That is what "sad" is.

As I finished this and was reminiscing, I recalled that our evening meal yesterday was (Ahi) Poké -- I keep Sushi-grade Ahi (Yellow-fin Tuna) and Salmon on hand at all times.

 

[cathy63]

If you have to do a 14 day quarantine, and you're in an Airbnb or a rental, I'm assuming you can't go to Costco during that time. How do people solve initial grocery shopping etc?

That’s what I want to know!

Grocery delivery services like instacart are available in Hawaii.

If you're quarantined in a hotel, you have to use meal delivery services or call room service.

 

[RonBoyd]

Grocery delivery services like instacart are available in Hawaii.

If you're quarantined in a hotel, you have to use meal delivery services or call room service.

This is what I was referring to in my earlier post about Kauai. Say it was your final few days of a two-week vacation when a "lock down" is declared and you get this surprise additional two weeks with the added economic impact. That should attract a lot of tourists.

 

[Koolau]

If you have to do a 14 day quarantine, and you're in an Airbnb or a rental, I'm assuming you can't go to Costco during that time. How do people solve initial grocery shopping etc?

Obviously, Costco is only an option for those NOT in quarantine - thats everyone but a few visitors to the Islands (recently - not now under the new guidelines.) To be honest, I haven't much followed the quarantine issue though the nightly news used to be filled with one or two folks who posted on Twitter or FB about breaking quarantine. I do know that there WAS provision made to supply folks with food/necessities as they quarantined. I don't think anyone starved though they may not have had access to wine.

Keep in mind, back when quarantine was mandatory for all who arrived, we really didn't have much in the way of tourists - mostly just returning residents. The dynamic has now changed. Assuming you got your test on the mainland and can prove it, the quarantine is over. If you got the test but don't have the results, you only quarantine until the results are available.

The whole idea of coming to Hawaii on vacation, only to quarantine always puzzled me. Why not stay home and turn up the heat and look at pictures or videos of beaches and verdant mountains. YMMV

 

[ItsAllGood]

I'm on Kauai tonight (see "Kauai" thread). Covid test a breeze, arrivals a breeze. Walmart shopping test - we felt very safe and welcome. This island is ready for visitors. We are regular 2x per year visitors to Kauai and jumped at the chance to come again. Take the right precautions, fly Alaska Air, and come. IMHO

 

[Koolau]

I'm on Kauai tonight (see "Kauai" thread). Covid test a breeze, arrivals a breeze. Walmart shopping test - we felt very safe and welcome. This island is ready for visitors. We are regular 2x per year visitors to Kauai and jumped at the chance to come again. Take the right precautions, fly Alaska Air, and come. IMHO

So glad it is finally working. Kauai is (arguably) the most beautiful island in the Hawaiian chain. My hope (prayer) is that our reopening will be successful. IIRC our state has the highest rate of unemployment. We need to get the tourists back. They are our life blood and we love them.

 

[gcgang]

Read an article this week which quoted a Hawaiian real estate agent saying that she is selling lots of homes this year to people stateside without them setting foot on the island.

True dat!

At Maui Country Club, since May 1, we’ve actually ADDED 35 members, even after subtracting about 20 resignations. Some are like your Realtor, joined without ever visiting the club. Many others are 2nd generation kids of Members who have moved back. Others are California techies fleeing California. Jack Dorsey (Twitter) bot a small lot right at MCC’s entrance for ~$2mm.

Unemployment still about 30% here, as Maui’s economy is most dependent of all islands on tourism.

Some of the hi end restaurants (Mama’s, Hali’imaile) have said they MAY open before the end of the year. Depends on how tourism reopening goes. I haven’t dined in a restaurant since Valentines Day. Lots of food trucks and take out.

I don’t think any of the big resort hotels have been open since March. I saw a report that they were going to work together to plan reopening. We’ll see how that works.

Mask wearing is ubiquitous and many locals are vocally wary of the tourists bringing the Covid here with them.

It has been wonderful to not have tourists, from an uncrowded enjoyment of the natural world, and driving to get there, viewpoint. There were about 12,000 rental cars parked in fields and along the backroad to Costco.

But without tourism, I have no idea how the State of Hawaii will meet its financial obligations.