With the sun and the sand beckoning, thousands of travelers have landed in Hawaii since the island state reopened for tourists. With strict testing requirements in place, the actual processes needed before you can get there are quite confusing if you’re planning your holiday travels to Hawaii. Here’s is a step-by-step guide to the Hawaii pre-travel testing program:
Step 1 – Buy tickets to Hawaii and reserve your hotel room
This part of the process remains pretty much the same. You can plan your travel to Hawaii as you would normally. Book your air tickets and reserve your room at a hotel or resort of your choice.
Tip – Keep your flight information handy for the steps to follow. Also, find out about the social distancing and sanitization procedures followed at hotels before making your reservation.
Step 2 – Register with Hawaii’s Safe Travels program
This is where you start the actual pre-travel procedures. First off, you’ll need to set up a Safe Travels account with the state’s Department of Transportation. Enter your personal information, primary contact information, and email address on the registration form. Make sure you verify your phone number and email address to help speed up your arrival process in Hawaii.
Step 3 – Share details of your Hawaii travel plans on the Safe Travels app
After registering and signing in, you’ll need to click the ‘Trips’ section on the Safe Travels homepage. Here, you’ll need to add details of your upcoming trip to the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s database. You must provide information about your arrival date, destination airport, and flight details, as well as your preferred ID type. You’ll also need to share details about your accommodation in Hawaii, including hotel reservation info. Once all these details have been submitted and your trip registered on the Safe Travels app, you can move on to the next step of the process.
Step 4 – Take a COVID-19 test from any one of the state’s trusted testing partners
The Hawaii pre-travel testing program mandates that travelers to the state must produce a negative COVID-19 test result or proof of U.S. vaccination. The test should have been taken within 72 hours of arrival if you want to avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine for arriving passengers. The COVID-19 tests must be taken from a state-approved provider. If not, the authorities may not accept your test results.
Please check this website for the list of trusted partners for testing on the U.S. mainland – https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/. Some of the mainland’s trusted testing providers include Kaiser Permanente, CVS Health, Carbon Health, and Walgreens.
Several airlines are also offering pre-travel COVID-19 testing. Here are the details –
- United Airlines offers testing for passengers flying from San Francisco International Airport.
- American Airlines provides testing if you’re boarding from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
- Hawaiian Airlines provides drive-thru testing facilities near San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.
- Southwest Airlines provides COVID-19 testing if you’re flying to Hawaii from Oakland Airport.
- Alaska Airlines offers rapid COVID-19 testing at a pop-up clinic in downtown Seattle.
Within the state has there are eight trusted testing partners for inter-island travel. This includes Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health, Urgent Care Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente, CVS Health/Longs Drugs, Minit Medical, and Walgreens.
Step 5 – Upload proof of your negative COVID-19 test to the Safe Travels website
Once you have received your coronavirus test results, you have to upload them to the Safe Travels website. For this, you’ll need to go back to the Safe Travels homepage. Click on ‘Documents.’ Then select your trip and upload the PDF copy of your negative COVID-19 test to the website for review.
Step 6 – Fill up and submit an online health questionnaire within 24 hours of your flight
This is the last part of the Hawaii pre-travel testing process and has to be done on the Safe Travels website. Click on ‘Health Questionnaire’ and provide answers to all the questions listed. The questions range from whether or not you’re feeling ill, if you’ve had a flu vaccine, or have taken medicines to treat a fever within the last 24 hours. If you complete this step within 24 hours of your arrival in Hawaii, the questionnaire will generate a QR code that can be scanned at your destination. This notifies the airport officials that you’ve already provided proof of a negative COVID-19 test and turned in all the required documentation. This, in turn, will make your arrival process in Hawaii easy and uncomplicated.
Step 7 – Catch your flight to Hawaii and enjoy your holiday there!
Pack a travel-sized protection kit that you can carry with you. The kit should include hand sanitizers, disinfectant towels, extra face masks, and gloves. Avoid public transport to minimize the risk of being exposed to pathogens on the way to the airport. You can further reduce your risk by booking your contactless airport parking spot online, ahead of your travels. While at the airport, make sure you follow CDC protocols and guidelines on distancing, mask-wearing, and sanitization.
Check out our blogs for info on finding top-rated airport parking, best parking spots in your city, the most affordable insurance for your car, and top-rated car washes near you.
