11/09/2021
MY WAIKIKI, HAWAII BLOG FROM OCTOBER 2021:
Hawaii was amazing as always, but of course you had some extra COVID19 pre-cautions but it honestly didn’t change the trip one bit.
Before arriving into Hawaii, you must complete the pre-registration at the Hawaii State website at: https://travel.hawaii.gov/ #/ You make an account, answer some questions and upload your COVID vaccination cards & passports or photo ID’s. Once that is complete, you will sign on again 24 hours prior to departure and complete the pre-arrival section, which ask about 10 questions. Once that is complete, they will email you a QR scan code. When you arrive at the airport and to your departure gate, before boarding the plan, they will ask you for the QR code, they will also want to see your COVID19 vaccination card. Once all complete they will give you a wrist band, this will allow you to pass all extra COVID19 pre-checks at the Hawaii airport. You just proceed to the line that say wrist bands and head towards baggage claim. Its honestly very simple and definitely let your clients know this will be the easiest process if they are fully vaccinated.
Once we claimed our luggage we called for a Uber drive. I decided to do this as the shuttle service seemed a little on the high side. The cost was about $50 per person roundtrip. So weeks before my trip, I did some research and it seemed like the Uber & Lyft drivers were a much easier and better option for us. It cost approx. $25 from the Honolulu airport to our hotel in Waikiki. The process was quick and seamless, I would high recommend for anybody arriving into Honolulu and not getting a rental car.
We arrived at our hotel, “The Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel”, around 12pm. We were very surprised not to see a line at the check in counter as we always have in the past. When checking in, they required us to show our COVID19 vaccination cards & our driver’s license. We didn’t think our room would be ready but by surprise they said our room was available for check in. I personally have stayed at this hotel about 5 times. I stay at this hotel for the location. It’s located in a perfect spot with everything within walking distance. The rooms are simple, but clean. Bathrooms could use some updating but for the price it’s clean, great location and staff is extremely nice. They have a smaller pool but lots of lounge chairs out by the pool. Also attached to the hotel is a restaurant/bar called “Tiki’s Bar & Grill”. A great spot for happy hour, sunset dinners or lunch.
As for COVID19 restrictions in Waikiki:
• You must wear a mask when entering any store or restaurant. Once seated at the restaurants or bar, you can remove your mask.
• COVID19 vaccination cards are required when dining in ANY restaurant. They will require to see them along with your government issued photo ID or passport. They will also require a phone number and the name of the hotel your staying at.
• When walking outside, mask is not required, but I did see about 50% of the people wearing them while walking outdoors.
• Mask are not required at the pools or beaches.
Even with these restrictions, Hawaii was as beautiful as always. I think having these extra protocols made be feel a little safer and more at ease. I never saw any tourist angry about the extra restrictions, everybody seemed fine with it. We were able to enjoy lots of Waikiki as it wasn’t crowded at all. We did some shopping, beach days and even rented a car for the day and drove up to North Shore, Dole Pineapple Plantation, Waimea Falls, Sharks Cove & Hanauma Bay. It was an amazing 5 days. I think right now if you are fully vaccinated, its definitely the time to travel to Hawaii. Less crowds & no COVID19 test required when returning back to California.
I did notice one thing about the cost of food, it seemed a little higher then normal but I’m sure that’s because of the economy. Also lots of the restaurants have down sized their menus as well. We spoke to a few locals and bartenders and they said because of tourism being down most of the restaurants had to revamp their menus. Lots of bars/restaurants also got rid of the happy hour menus, we were only able to find a few happy hours on the island.
But over all it was an AMAZING anniversary trip. Looking forward to my next Hawaii adventure, maybe Kauai next time.
