With COVID-19 cases at an all-time high in Hawaiʻi, Gov. David Ige reinstated restrictions today on indoor and outdoor gatherings. Effective immediately, social gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors. Indoor capacity is set at 50%, which includes bars, restaurants, gyms and churches. Mingling is not allowed at […]
The recent surge in new COVID-19 cases in the U.S.—spurred by the highly contagious delta variant—is concerning for travelers, even those flying to the Islands, where daily numbers are at all-time highs. On Tuesday the state reported 389 new confirmed and probable infections statewide. Hawaiʻi has reported triple-digit cases for two weeks, peaking at 622
There has never been a tougher time getting around Hawaiʻi. With rental cars being booked out for months, visitors are left stranded without a set of wheels to take them to all of the beautiful places they’d like to see. To combat this issue, the County of Kauaʻi’s Office of Economic Development has collaborated with
Lifeguards are working longer hours on Oʻahu beaches—and that’s good news for beachgoers. Beginning on July 11, hours changed to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., extended from from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (Right now lifeguard towers at the beach will continue to operate under the old hours; mobile response vehicles will be working the
Starting today, U.S. travelers who have been fully vaccinated can fly to Hawaiʻi from anywhere in the United States without quarantine or getting a COVID test. (Fully vaccinated means 15 days after the second dose in a two-dose series—such as Pfizer or Moderna vaccines—or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine like Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen
July 8. It’s the day vaccinated U.S. travelers have been waiting for. It’s the anticipated day Hawaiʻi will allow Americans with proof they’re fully vaccinated to fly to Hawaiʻi—any island—without any travel restrictions. Meaning no quarantine or pre-travel requirements, as long as they upload their vaccination records to the state’s Safe Travels website and arrive
Effective immediately Honolulu County—which encompasses all of Oʻahu—will move into a less-restrictive Tier 4 of its COVID-19 restrictions. This change allows social gatherings of up to 25 people outdoors, including at parks and beaches. Outdoors weddings can now have up to 200 people. But the group size for indoor social gatherings remains at 10 people.
There are two major changes affecting travel to Hawaiʻi starting June 15: All inter-county travel restrictions will end. Meaning there will be no testing or quarantine requirements for people traveling between islands. If you have been vaccinated in Hawaiʻi—meaning, you got one or two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Islands, not anywhere else—you
June in Hawaiʻi means summer vacations, south shore swells—and hurricanes. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to early November, and this year the National Weather Service Honolulu Forecast Office is predicting a near- or below-normal hurricane season for the Central Pacific, with two to five tropical cyclones for the region. That’s lower than last year.
After more than a year of mask-wearing in Hawaiʻi, the state is dropping its mandatory mask mandate for outdoor activity, regardless of vaccination status, effective immediately. Credit dropping COVID-19 cases statewide—there were only 23 new coronavirus cases today—and increasing numbers of vaccinated people. As of May 25, 49% of Hawaiʻi residents were fully vaccinated. This
Kevin is back this week on the “Have Aloha Will Travel” podcast, and Cat is making a return of her own. Fresh off the plane from her island-hopping journey to Kauaʻi, Cat talks about what it was like traveling interisland using her vaccine passport. From getting vaccinated to waiting two weeks, inputting her information into
It was a strange feeling, to sit on a plane next to a stranger, so close our elbows almost touched. I hadn’t traveled anywhere outside Oʻahu in 14 months—my last trip Hawaiʻi Island right before COVID-19 forced the shutdown of the state—and here I was, wiping down the armrests with an alcohol wipe handed to
