IMPORTANT NOTE: Visitors to Kauai are NOT eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine, even if they received their first dose prior to their trip. Please keep this in mind while planning travel
On March 2, Mayor Derek Kawakami sent proposed changes to travel rules for Kauai to the Governor. If approved, they would go into effect on April 5, 2021. For travel before that date, please see below. For travel on or after April 5, 2021, please click here for more information about the proposed rules
Kauai's COVID-19 Travel Rules: Resort Bubbles, Interisland Travel, or 10-Day Quarantine
Visitors and residents traveling to Kauai have several options under the current COVID-19 emergency rules.
If you have been in the State of Hawaii for more than 72 hours, you are eligible to take an approved pre-travel test for interisland travel to Kauai.
If you are traveling from out of state, you can take a pre-travel test, stay in a “Resort Bubble” for 72 hours or more, then take a post-travel test to be released from quarantine.
Otherwise, you must quarantine for 10 days after arriving on Kauai.
These emergency rules went into effect on January 5, 2021 after Governor David Ige approved Mayor Derek Kawakami’s Amended Emergency Rule 23 on interisland travel, and Emergency Rule 24 on Enhanced Movement Quarantine (EMQ) “resort bubble” properties.
Interisland Travel
Travelers flying to Kauai from Oahu, Maui County, or the Big Island of Hawaii, who have been in the State of Hawaii for more than 72 hours before departing for Kauai, can avoid quarantine by taking the following steps:
• Create a Safe Travels account and complete the mandatory State of Hawaii Travel and Health Form at: https://travel.hawaii.gov/
• Take a pre-travel test from one of the State of Hawaii’s Trusted Testing and Travel Partners after you have been in Hawaii for more than three days, but within 72 hours of departing to Kauai: https://hawaiicovid19.com/travel-partners/
• Once received, upload negative test results to your Safe Travels account. If your test results are not available prior to arriving on Kauai, you will have to self-quarantine until your negative results do come in.
• Safe Travels records will be used to verify that you have not traveled out of state in the past three days.
Transpacific Travel “Resort Bubbles”
Travelers from out of state now have the option of a shortened three-day quarantine by participating in the resort bubble post-travel testing program. To qualify, travelers must do the following:
• Create a Safe Travels account and complete the mandatory State of Hawaii Travel and Health Form at: https://travel.hawaii.gov/
• Take a pre-travel test within 72 hours before the final leg of departure for your trip to Kauai and receive a negative test result.
This test can be any COVID-19 diagnostic test (antigen or PCR test) with emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The lab does not need to be on the state’s Trusted Testing and Travel Partners list for use in Kauai’s resort bubble program.
• Make a reservation at an approved Enhanced Movement Quarantine (EMQ) “resort bubble” hotel on Kauai:
o The Cliffs at Princeville
o Hilton Garden Inn Kauai Wailua Bay
o Koa Kea Hotel & Resort at Poipu
o The Club at Kukuiula
o Timbers Kauai Ocean Club & Residences at Hokuala
o Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club
o Hanalei Bay Resort
o The Point at Poipu
o Lawai Beach Resort (Effective 03/15/2021)
• Complete the Kauai Arrival Form.
• Guests should consult their resort for transportation options as travelers will not be allowed to rent a car until released from quarantine.
• Provide proof of your negative pre-travel test result to resort staff upon check-in.
• After three days on Kauai, take a post-travel test. Guests can consult resort on post-travel testing options. Please note, the County of Kauai, in partnership with the Kauai District Health Office, is now providing free COVID-19 testing for anyone without symptoms. These tests can be used by participants in Kauai's Enhanced Movement Quarantine (EMQ) “resort bubble” program as a post-travel test needed to be released from quarantine. For more information please visit https://www.kauai.gov/COVIDTest.
• Resort staff will verify your negative post-travel test result and will update the system to release you from quarantine.
Properties interested in learning more about becoming an EMQ may email the Kauai Emergency Management Agency at kema@kauai.gov.
Quarantine for 10 Days
Participation in either the interisland Safe Travels program or the “resort bubble” post-travel testing program is voluntary.
Travelers may also stay in non-“resort bubble” 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 until after the 10th day. Returning residents may quarantine at their residence without leaving their property for 10 days.
All travelers subject to quarantine must complete the Kauai Arrival Form.
Critical Workers and Medical Appointments
The County of Kauai continues its modified quarantine program for critical infrastructure employees and those who must travel for medical needs. To apply for a modified quarantine, click here.
Travelers approved for a modified quarantine must also complete the Kauai Arrival Form.