Kauai Is Reopening, Find Out How You Can Visit

The Hawaiian island of Kauai is planning to reopen to tourists more than a month after it opted out of the state’s travel testing program. The popular island and travel destination, will now allow travelers to avoid quarantine if they test negative with a pre-travel test within 72 hours of traveling to Kauai, stay at an approved “resort bubble” property, and test negative for a second time more than 72 hours after arriving. The news was confirmed by Hawaii’s Gov. David Ige. The island-specific testing protocols went into effect on Tuesday.

“This proposal will allow Kauai to move forward with limited tourism in ‘resort bubbles’ while honoring the county’s request to opt-out of the Safe Travels pre-travel testing program,” said Gov. David Ige.

“Travelers who participate in this program will be able to enjoy resort amenities and visit the pool for the first three days of their vacations, until they are eligible to take their post-travel test,” said Mayor Kawakami. “Once the post-travel test shows they are COVID-free, they can enjoy all that Kauai has to offer.”

How it Works

To qualify, travelers must:

Take a pre-travel test within 72 hours before traveling to Kauai and receive a negative test result.
Stay at an approved EMQ “resort bubble” property.
Take a post-travel test more than 72 hours after arriving on Kauai and receive a negative result.

Participation in the post-travel EMQ program is voluntary and open to all travelers, including visitors and residents. Visitors can also stay in non-EMQ hotels and motels, but they will be subject to the full 10-day traveler quarantine without a post-travel testing opportunity and cannot leave their rooms. Residents can also fulfill their 10-day travel quarantine at home without leaving their property.

The County of Kaua‘i’s modified quarantine program will remain in place for critical infrastructure workers, essential medical travel, or other special circumstances. To apply for a modified quarantine, please visit www.kauai.gov/COVID-19 and click on the “modified quarantine request” button at the top of the page.