Hawai’i Travel Requirements Are Changing Beginning July 8, 2021

Hawai’i Governor David Ige has announced that beginning July 8, 2021, travelers vaccinated in the U.S. or its territories will no longer have to undergo a pre-travel COVID test when traveling to Hawai’i in order to avoid being quarantined for 10 days once they arrive.

Fully vaccinated trans-Pacific travelers will need to upload proof of their COVID vaccination to the state of Hawai’i Safe Travels website (travel.hawaii.gov) in addition to bringing a physical copy of their vaccination cards with them. The Safe travels website does not yet accept COVID vaccination cards but should be reprogrammed shortly.

Submitting proof of vaccination should be easier than satisfying Hawai’i’s stringent pre-travel COVID testing procedures.

Travelers who aren’t fully vaccinated will need to submit the results from a negative pre-travel COVID test in order to avoid a mandatory 10-day quarantine upon arrival. The pre-travel test must be a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test, or NAAT, and must be performed by a state of Hawai’i approved testing partner. The test must be performed and travelers must have their negative test results within 72 hours prior to the final leg of departure. Adding to the stress of obtaining a valid test result is that some approved travel partners, such as CVS.com, will not guarantee that a result will be received within 72 hours.

The governor’s announcement did not specifically address the issue of children. Unless it is clarified subsequently by the state, children ages 5 and older who are not vaccinated will still need to follow the current pre-travel testing procedures in order to avoid the 10-day quarantine.

 Wil Lovato is a contributor to DVCNews.com and has been a Disney Vacation Club owner since 2009. His DVC Home Resorts include Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, and Aulani. He can be found posting on many Disney discussion forums under the username of “wdrl.”