Hawaii

[kadee79]

During one stay in Honolulu, we found a little "hole-in-the-wall" native store that had fresh fruit bowls that were very reasonable in price.  It was just around the corner from our hotel & a McDs.  It was great having that fresh fruit along with a sweet roll from our hotel for our breakfast every morning.

I finally found the "Secret Island" I talked about in my earlier post...it's part of that ranch that someone else mentioned...Kualoa Ranch.  We did my grandson's 16th birthday party there, it was great with all the different activities available to all the kids.  I think my son got a group rate for all the kids that came rather than paying for each individual.  But take a lunch & have a great time.


www.kualoa.com/toursactivities/secret-island-beach/

[Regis]

Jun 9, 2021 8:26:24 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Jun 9, 2021 7:16:56 GMT -5 Regis said:

We went last month - to Maui and then Oahu, both for five days.  Did pretty much everything posted above.  A couple of things I'd say are very important:

1.  Make dinner reservations at restaurants at least two to three months in advance.  I tried to make reservations in mid-March for a popular place on Maui (Momma's Fish House) and they were completely booked.  First available at that time was early June.
2.  If you don't have much luggage and no kids, rent a convertible.  And do it early, too.  When we were picking ours up, some people were walking up and trying to rent a car.  There were none available.
3.  If you plan on spending a day at the beach (we loved Waikiki), rent some chairs and an umbrella.  While it wasn't that hot, there were no clouds in the sky and you can get sunburnt pretty easily.  Being cooked like a lobster is not a great vacation in my opinion.

I read there are covid travel restrictions. How difficult were those to get through?

Not bad at all.  Need to download an app, AlohaSafe, put information into the travel.hawaii.org website and get a negative Covid test 72 hours before you last leave the mainland US.  Maui was more restrictive than Oahu, and the reason we went there first.  Nothing was necessary to do flying from Maui to Oahu.

[garion2003]

Some great ideas! My family is from Kauai, so I've been a few times.  Others who have been as tourists can probably give more details, while I've done some of the sights on the island the focus was being with family. Kauai is a smaller island and not as bustling, it's also nicknamed the "Garden Island" for a reason.  If you want big city amenities and nightlife then Oahu or Maui are probably best.  Kauai is also small enough that you can really explore it.  A good place to get shave ice is at Hee Fat grocery in Kapa'a town. 

[Artemis Windsong]

This is a click through of beautiful places in Hawaii.

www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/the-most-beautiful-places-in-the-hawaiian-islands/ss-AAKZXs1?li=BBnbklE

[teen persuasion]

Just saw this article: Travelling to Hawaii? Be prepared to pay

Currently, to visit the islands or move between them, travelers, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not, have to show a negative Covid test result taken within 72 hours of traveling. These tests range in price, with some people paying $200 or $300.

Vaccinated travelers complain that the tests are expensive and unnecessary and that getting the correct information about what is required is too difficult.

“Today’s Hawaii travel is much tougher than you might think,” said Cheryl Temple, a former mayor of the town of Orting in Washington who is currently in Kauai. “Read every word when researching and click on every link. It’s all there, but I missed a small but significant piece.”

[minnesotapaintlady]

Jun 13, 2021 18:54:35 GMT -5 teen persuasion said:

Just saw this article: Travelling to Hawaii? Be prepared to pay

Currently, to visit the islands or move between them, travelers, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or not, have to show a negative Covid test result taken within 72 hours of traveling. These tests range in price, with some people paying $200 or $300.

Vaccinated travelers complain that the tests are expensive and unnecessary and that getting the correct information about what is required is too difficult.

“Today’s Hawaii travel is much tougher than you might think,” said Cheryl Temple, a former mayor of the town of Orting in Washington who is currently in Kauai. “Read every word when researching and click on every link. It’s all there, but I missed a small but significant piece.”

A lot of that is being lifted as of June 15th.  No testing will be required to fly inter-island and proof of vaccination is all that will be required to fly to and from the mainland without testing if you were vaccinated on the islands.  Once they reach 60% vaccination rate they will no longer require testing for those vaccinated on the mainland.  Right now they're at about 50% (68% with first dose).  I have a lot of family traveling to the mainland for our family reunion the end of June.  Some came last week, some are coming this week and some early next week, and the rules for the ones this week are different than for the ones last week.