Vaccinated travelers have been wondering one fair question: when are the traveling perks going to start rolling in? The answers are starting to take shape.
A growing list of countries is happy to accept people who can prove they’ve been fully vaccinated for covid-19, regardless of passport, which is a perk in itself. A sizable list is also now sparing vaccinated travelers from testing requirements too, which can help save both expense and hassle for potential trips.
Hawaii is the latest ultra popular destination set to exempt vaccinated travelers from any testing needs, which means the tourism boom for this Pacific paradise is only just beginning.
Hawaii To Drop Testing And Quarantine For Vaccinated Travelers
Hawaii’s Governor, David Ige, signed a proclamation this week exempting vaccinated travelers from pre-flight testing requirements to visit Hawaii, and or quarantine. The move will become official once Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency signs off on the directive, so it’s not “live” yet, but is expected soon.
In other words, if you arrived in Hawaii today, you’d still need a negative test, even if you’ve been fully vaccinated, but for trips later in the year or perhaps even later this month, they would not be subject to testing for vaccinated travelers.
Hawaii Lt. Governor Josh Green, a qualified ER surgeon in addition to being Lieutenant Governor, who’s spearheaded much of the covid-19 travel response, stated May 1st is a likely date for intra-island vaccination exemptions. Vaccinated transpacific travelers, like those coming from the US mainland may have to wait a bit longer.
How It Will Work
To be eligible to skip out on testing and quarantine when the program goes live, vaccinated travelers would need to upload proof of vaccination to the Hawaii Safe Travel platform, which is the same used to validate covid-19 test results.
For everyone else, a negative test within 72 hours of departure is still an accepted way to skip quarantine requirements. Maui now wants a second test after arrival (at no cost to traveler) and Kauai is offering island discounts to encourage travelers to test again after arrival, though it’s not mandatory.
The “good” travel news from Hawaii comes as nations including Barbados, Greece, Croatia and others embrace vaccinated travelers once again. If travel is something you’re eager to get back to, vaccination is going to open more doors than any other singular passport, for a long time.
That’s great but also such a shame, I was due to fly to Hawaii on 30th April but had to cancel because Boris won’t let me leave the country 🙁
I wish I had something polite to say about Boris.