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If you want to visit or visit Hawaii, but can’t imagine going anywhere without your dog, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Can you bring your dog to Hawaii?”
Can I Take My Dog To Hawaii On Vacation
When we moved from London to Maui, we had to solve a big problem: how to take our beloved dog, Hattie. We knew it was possible to bring him to Hawaii, but we had heard horror stories of dogs being isolated for up to six months after arriving in Hawaii.
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Yes, you can bring your dog to Hawaii, but to avoid the six-month quarantine, you must apply for Direct Airport Release (DAR). You need to start this process months before you arrive in Hawaii. We’ll look at how we went through this process and what we learned.
Our dog Hattie is met by a veterinarian at the gate to Maui to be dropped off directly at the airport. He avoided 6 months of quarantine in Hawaii!
If you’re visiting or vacationing in Hawaii, check out our Hawaii tips for a list of what to pack, our favorite activities, where to stay, rental car deals, and even discount codes.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture has checklists to guide you through the process of bringing your dog to Hawaii. It’s a great resource, but I actually found it a little confusing at times.
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Our dog was ready to leave the cold of England and head to the beaches of Maui. He has no regrets about going to Hawaii.
The microchip number will be used to identify your dog upon arrival in Hawaii and that number will be used in your dog’s blood test. If your dog does not have a working microchip, get one.
Hawaii is a rabies free state (surprising!) and the strict rules they have put in place are their way of protecting their habitat to keep them rabies free. Hawaii is the only rabies-free state in the union.
This means they have to make sure every animal coming into the state has enough rabies antibodies in its blood.
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To do this, your dog must have at least two rabies vaccinations in its lifetime, and the most recent rabies vaccination must be active (not expired) before arriving in Hawaii.
Hattie has never had a rabies vaccination in her life (the UK is rabies free) so we had to give her two shots. The shots had to be spaced 30 days apart and we also had to wait 30 days for his blood test after the second shot.
Planning and adequate time are important to make sure you have done all of this before bringing your dog to Hawaii!
Now that you have given your dog two rabies shots and given him time to build up rabies antibodies, it’s time to get a blood test at one of three approved laboratories.
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For us coming from the UK, this was the hardest part of the process. If you live in the US this will be very easy to do. Tell your veterinarian the names of the laboratories and they will be able to coordinate sending samples to them.
Your dog’s blood samples will be sent to the laboratory and the laboratory will send the results (pass or fail) directly to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. You should also get a copy of the results from your veterinarian.
If you want to check the status of the test and make sure the results have been received by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, you can search using the Animal Quarantine Microchip Search.
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Once you’ve done all the hard work, this is where everything comes together. Before you apply for a permit, you need to do two things:
Once you have these two details, it’s time to apply for your license. If you are unsure of the details, the Hawaii veterinarian of your choice can assist you with the application process.
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If you are applying for a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit, submit your application documents at least 30 days before you plan to arrive in Hawaii. The documents you must submit include:
We also sent a shipping label to the Department of Agriculture to use our license overnight. We were very nervous about getting the permit in time for our flight.
If you fly to a neighboring island like us, the Ministry of Agriculture will send you a permit. This is the permit you will need to show your airline before you leave for Hawaii (they will check) and you will need to give it to your veterinarian when you arrive.
No more than 14 days before the flight, return to your veterinarian for a health check and to certify that your dog is fit to fly. You will also want to have your dog treated for ticks at this appointment as your veterinarian will need to note this on the health certificate as well.
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It takes a lot of work and time to take your furry friend with you to the islands. but it’s worth it. I was really nervous about the process and didn’t know what would happen when we landed, but it couldn’t have been easier.
Our veterinarian met us at our gate, scanned Hattie’s microchip number, reviewed the license papers and off we went. That was the easiest part of the whole process.
Yes, the process of getting your dog to Hawaii is a long one. But if you take this step, it’s worth it. Now Hattie can enjoy Hawaii’s beaches and lie in the sun on our lanai all day. She loves it and we love having it here.
For your dog’s flight, rabies blood test, health certificate, and license, you can expect to pay more than $500. We paid $755 to bring our dog to Maui, based on cost:
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Most of these costs are typical, but choosing the right airline will save you money. It costs $100 to fly a dog to Hawaii with Alaska Airlines. It’s $225 on Hawaiian Airlines.
Are you looking for more air budgeting tools? Find out how much air travel costs for a family of two and a family of four. See how we book travel and get cheap tickets to Hawaii. Visit the cheapest Hawaiian Islands and book your accommodation with points!
I’ve just listed all the steps you can take to bring your dog when you go to Hawaii. The steps for taking a dog on vacation are exactly the same. You have to decide if it’s worth bringing your dog to Hawaii for the trip.
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It will take months of planning and is very expensive. The total cost of moving Hattie (including rabies shots) was approximately $1,000.
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If you decide to bring your dog with you to Hawaii, know that your accommodation options will be more limited. While traveling between the islands, we were lucky enough to find several hotels and rentals that allowed us to bring Hattie. But this always makes programming more complicated.
We know bringing your dog to Hawaii is complicated, so to help you navigate it all, we’ve created a video sharing our experience with the process. Watch our video below as we walk you through our experience bringing our dog Hattie to Maui.
I am the co-founder of The Hawaii Vacation Guide with my husband Jordan. We have lived in Maui and Oahu and continue to travel, experience and learn about the Hawaiian Islands. We are traveling with our children, Henry and Edith. I am a designer! I love planning mainland trips and island adventures, day trips and everything in between. I spend a lot of time Hawaii SUPing and my favorite time of year in Hawaii is whale season!
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