Going Back to Oahu

I’m going back to Oahu tomorrow! The last time I went to Oahu — or Hawaii for that matter — was right at the end of 2017 to visit my housemate David and his lovely girlfriend, Lynn. This time Jackie and I will be visiting them together, but this time David’s no longer our housemate and they’re married (we were supposed to be there last June, but couldn’t due to COVID)! Jackie and I are also super excited to go on another adventure to a place we’ve never been together. We’re not sure of all we’re going to get up to, though we know we’ll be in good hands with our friends making us feel at home. COVID is still happening at large, so we’ve had to do a number of things to prepare for the journey of going back to Oahu.

Prepping for Going Back to Oahu

Going back to Oahu is not something I had on my radar, but when David suggested that we come on out to work remotely from their place instead of overcast Portland, I decided it made sense. So, I started putting a plan together to make it happen. With that plan was doing some prep.

Getting our Flights Together

First things first, securing some flights. Alaska Airlines had a great buy-one-get-one sale at the end of December and I was fortunate enough to jump on it. It was right around the time when flights were super low and I’ve been noticing the climb as the year gets warmer and people are getting back into traveling. I scored us each round-trip tickets for $200 per person! That’s $100 each way! That’s very low for a direct, six-hour flight from Portland that is usually in the multiple hundreds per person. I know from owning and renting Cessna that the price is dirt low as I pay around $100-130 per hour to fly upwards of four people!

Mentally and Physically Prepping

Traveling during this time is riskier than ever, so getting yourself mentally and physically prepped is important. Making sure that you’re masking up and taking all the precautions you can is so crucial to keep yourself and others safe. The last thing Jackie and I want is to cause anyone harm with our travels, so we’re doing as much as we can to prepare. Thankfully we went through the majority of mentally and physically prepping when we went to and from Sayulita, Mexico for a month at the beginning of the year. That was our first time flying again — outside of me flying around Portland — and getting prepped for that all fell into place.

Pre-travel Testing

To travel to Hawaii, everyone has to have an authorized negative COVID test result within 72-hours of the last leg heading into Hawaii. Since we had direct flights from Portland, we had to make sure our 72-hour testing window would allow for our Wednesday, 5:45 pm departure. That meant we had to get tested AFTER 5:45 pm on Sunday. We ended up doing everything through Legacy Health’s GoHealth Urgent Care website. You can also just do a walk-in to get tested, but we both figured this was easiest.

It took a bit to get through some insurance logistics, but within a couple of hours, we both had registered, had video calls with providers, and were scheduled the following morning for our rapid COVID tests. We had testing appointments an hour apart, but they said it was all good for us to come in and get tested at the same time. GoHealth is an approved testing location with the state of Hawaii, so that made everything much simpler as they knew exactly what to do and what we needed as we left.

Register with Safe Travels Hawai’i Program

Before or even after you get tested, be sure to go to the State of Hawaii’s Safe Travels Hawai’i program and register. Once you create your Safe Travels Hawai‘i account, you will next need to enter your traveler information and trip details on the program’s application form. It is important to get the correct test and upload the correct form. Visit Safe Travels Hawai‘i Help for answers to questions about the online application form.

Bottom line

The whole process of travel has changed a lot — especially traveling to Hawaii. It makes sense, Hawai’i is a beautiful place that we’re lucky to count as part of the United States. So, let’s do everything we can to respect the state and keep those people living and taking care of that beauty safe as well! Take some time to prepare yourself, get your documents together, and your mind and body for going to the great state of Hawai’i — the more you do today — the better your trip will go!