Is Hawaii Open for Tourism?

It had been 9 months since I had last flown and I was itching to hear “trays up and seats in their upright position.” It’s been about 12 years since I’ve gone that long between flights and it was starting to feel unnatural. Between the stress of the year in general, work stress, family sorrows, and everything else going on in 2020, we were very excited to finally be getting away to a tropical paradise.

One of the questions I got asked from several friends while in Hawaii was if Hawaii is open. Well, kinda. As of October 15th, the tourist rules have been updated. You can either quarantine for 14 days (no leaving your hotel, condo, or house rental except for a medical emergency), or get a Covid test within 72 hours of your last departing leg. They are only accepting a specific type of Covid test from certain agencies, so make sure you investigate it further than this blog. Kaiser, CVS, and Walgreens were all ones that did the required test. At first, we were worried that Kent would have to take one as the original rule stated all ages. The rule got updated as we got closer to leaving that it is now for children age 4 and up. Yay!

As for the process with the new requirements and restrictions, it really wasn’t too bad. After booking our airline tickets we had to go online to fill out a form with our travel information and negative Covid test once we received it. Within 24 hours of departure we had to answer a questionnaire that asked if we were having any Covid symptoms, and then we were emailed a QR code to use at the airport. We obviously had to wear masks on the plane but that’s how traveling anywhere is right now. United served a little snack pack on the flights which included pretzels, cookies, mini water bottle, and sanitizer wipe. They also served a few soda options in economy, but alcohol is only served in First Class at this time, which we were thankfully able to snag a few seats on the first leg! Once we landed in Maui, we had to show our QR code and then were handed a pink slip that cleared us from having to quarantine. We also needed to show that information when renting a car and when we arrived at the hotel. All in all, the updated rules added a little extra time, but it was way less than a 14 day quarantine. 😉

When we first booked this trip, we weren't worried about Kent on the flight. We had prior trips planned about every other month so we knew Kent would be an absolute traveling pro by October. However, with the lack of flying and fact that he’s reached the stage of needing to move and be entertained, we weren’t sure how it would go. Well, Kent takes after his mom and is a natural at flying! He was so well behaved (except for vomiting in my hand after eating a pretzel that was too big. Yikes!).

We’ve learned that Kent gets fussiest when he’s hungry, so we stocked up on every snack imaginable, along with several packages of formula. The squeeze pouches were lifesavers because he could actually have a meal instead of just snacks to fill his little belly. We also brought a handful of toys, including a new toy that he got to pick out just for the trip, and sticky notes as he loves to pull the off surfaces and wave them around.

I’ve mentioned it before, but I stand by it even more so after our last trip. If you have kids, especially infants, get TSA Precheck! I thankfully was able to get my TSA precheck paid for by work and it’s valid for 5 year. At PDX I was able to breeze through security with Kent. They practically catered to me. I didn’t have to take off my sweatshirt, shoes, or Kent in his carrier. I didn’t have to unload my iPad from the diaper bag, or anything else I missed. The TSA agent spotted my bottled water immediately and grabbed it from me so they could quickly swab it. Note: If you have an infant you are allowed to bring through a sealed bottle of water. This is great if you need to make formula or need to fill a bottle or sippy cup with water and don’t want to pay $5 at the airport store (all the stores were actually closed when we flew out of Maui so glad I already had a bottle). Within a few minutes we got the go-ahead and we were on our way. It was the smoothest Security experience ever! Tip: We always check Kent’s carseat and stroller at the ticketing counter so we aren’t dragging a ton of items through the airport. We just put Kent in his front-pack carrier or carry him in our arms. It’s already difficult enough getting a suitcase, stroller, carseat, diaper bag, and baby to the ticketing counter that we don’t want to continue that fun experience through the entire airport. Traveling with kids is all about convenience and survival 😊

While in Hawaii, for the most part we went to the beach or pool and hung out at the hotel. However, we did go out and about a few times for baby stuff (I take formula in my carry on and checked luggage since Kent drinks a particular type but we buy extra diapers and wipes at our location so we don’t take up precious luggage space. There is an exception to this rule that I just learned. I always forget how expensive Hawaii is. And especially the ABC store. Save yourself some money and bring swim diapers with you. We paid $15 for 12 diapers that I remember were only $8 at home at Freddie’s.), a few dinners, and the Road to Hana. If you are planning on leaving the hotel or rental house at all during your vacation, I highly recommend just renting a car instead of ubering. I cannot imagine going out to dinner and having to put a car seat into an Uber, then take it all into a restaurant, and then put it into another car. I will pay extra for convenience and only having to put the car seat base into one car, one time. It was worth some extra money in my book.

The Road to Hana was an interesting experience, but not what I, or others, expected. The Road to Hana is a windy road with over 600 turns in a 52 mile stretch. First things first, if you have less than half a tank of gas, stop in Paia to fill up. There are no gas stations along the route and hardly any cell service if you run out of gas. Note: If there are certain destinations you want to stop along the way, you can save them as pins on Google Maps, since the GPS doesn't require cell service. Along the way there are hikes, waterfalls, black sand beaches, and lots of scenic stops. We were told that by the end of the day we would be sick of seeing waterfalls after all the ones we saw. The thing we weren’t told was that the landmarks aren’t super clearly advertised. We ended up turning around trying to find one of the locations and still couldn’t locate it. The other aspect to be warned about is the locals on the road. For about 7 months, Hawaii basically hasn’t had any tourists or visitors and the locals have gotten used to that. As I mentioned, the Road to Hana is extremely windy and dangerous. There are over 600 turns, 59 one way bridges (some on blind curves), and has areas that haven’t been maintained. I drove the speed limit (or a tad bit over) as the road was new to me and made me slightly nervous with my infant in the car. I had multiple locals riding my butt on the drive and flying around curves. We kept having to find small areas to pull over so they could fly by us, which just added additional stress. We eventually made it to Hana, which you’d imagine would be a super touristy town since the road is called the Road to Hana. Nope. We found out that it is more about the treacherous journey than the destination in this case. When googling directions back to the hotel from Hana, we were routed back on the same road that we came in on. But we noticed that there was a road that created a loop, continuing on. For whatever reason, that was not a route that Google suggested to us, but it was clearly a road, so we decided to adventure on and take that path. Now we know why it’s not Google’s top choice. The road was not paved and was felt a little sketchy in parts as we terrained up the side of the mountain with parts of the guardrail missing. At this point Brad was driving, so I could sit in the backseat with Kent and have a mini freakout. Though the route was crazy, the views were breath taking! If you have the guts to take this rough path I’d highly recommend it!

An additional plus to continuing the loop, besides the view, was that we came across an adorable winery, MauiWine. We stopped for a short break, to stretch our legs and taste some real Hawaiian wine. Brad and I tried a pineapple wine flight that included a sparkling pineapple wine. You know I had to bring back a bottle of that home with us! Definitely worth a quick pitstop.

One of the other days we took a trip out to Lahaina, where there is a cute shopping area. There were several boutiques, ABC stores, along with some brand name stores such as the Sunglass Hut (perfect if you lose your sunglasses on the first day. Doh!) We found some Dole Whip, gelato, and delicious frozen coffee. One thing to note is that half of all stores and businesses are still closed. due to Covid. If there is a certain place you want to check out, or restaurant you want to eat at, make sure you call ahead first. Lahaina is also where excursions depart from. Larry and Rachelle graciously watched Kent one night so that Brad and I could go on a date night. We went on a wonderful sunset cruise that served us cocktails, appetizers, and dessert run by Trilogy Excursions. The crew on the Trilogy was so welcoming and wonderful. After the cruise, we went across the street and found a few restaurants to grab some dinner. The whole evening was amazing.

As mentioned, we spent most of our time at the beach, pool, or in the hotel hanging out. Though we mostly kept to ourselves, and didn’t go out too frequently, we were very thankful to be able to go on vacation, especially to Hawaii. It was quite different than when we’ve gone to Hawaii in the past since half of all businesses were still shutdown, but being able to sit on the beach and then jump in the warm ocean was good enough for me!