So we finally made it to Hawaii! I was a little worried at first about traveling with my dog because I wasn't sure if she wouldn't be treated with care, whether or not airline attendants would let her out of their site and whether or not she would be comfortable on the ride.

Getting my dog prepared for travel wasn't at all as complicated as it sounded. Moving to Hawaii, our travels were postponed because Hawaii is a rabies free state so all animals entering the state have to go through a quarantine. The quarantine process takes about 4 months.Check here for the 5 days or less quarantine program check list 120 days quarantine details.

It used to be that you would have to keep your pet in a kennel while being quarantined but these days you don't have to do that anymore. To prepare your animal for travel you have to make sure you pet is up to date on its rabies shots and other vaccines and be sure you have all the original copies of their rabies certificates as well as all other vaccination records.

Next you have to get a rabies blood test done to determine if you pet has enough antibodies in its system. The FVAN test itself was about $200.00, then they send it off to a lab that takes a couple of days and the results get back in about 2 weeks and you can check the aqs-microchip pdf website to see the exact date your pet will have fulfilled its quarantine obligation by putting in your pets microchip number. Once it is determined that your pet is rabies free and has enough antibodies in it's system, you have to wait four months from the time the blood work arrived at the lab. Not more than 14 days prior to departure your pet has to get a health certificate (the okay for flight certificate) AND you have to make sure that your pet has some sort of flea protection on.

The cost for us to prepare our dog for travel was up around $700.00 for the blood work, health certificate, Advantage and vaccines and the microchip. The Vet gave us a check list of all the things we needed before we could go to ensure our travel was as smooth as could be.

When we booked our flights through Hawaiian Airlines they were very helpful in letting us know what needed to be done. We did not have to book a separate flight for your dog but we did have to notify them about our plans to travel with our pet and they send you a confirmation reservation for you dog title AVIH, so don't be alarmed if you get something that says that.  

Upon check in we needed to be sure our pet was in her travel kennel and have all the original paper work with us when checking in. All the copies of the paper work should have been mailed to animal quarantine at least 2 weeks prior to our arrival on the island of Oahu and cost $165.00 that is mailed with your paper work. At check in, TSA inspected the kennel to make sure our pet had enough room to turn around as well as enough padding or bedding for our pet. Then they took her but assured us there would be someone watching after her to make sure she got on the airplane in the cargo hold safe and sound.

Now, we couldn't travel directly to the Big Island from the mainland because it is mandatory that we stop in Honolulu first to be inspected at the quarantine station at Honolulu International Airport. The cost for her to fly to Honolulu was $225.00. It took about 45 minutes to an hour to get all checked in. It cost us another $30.00 to check two bags under 50 lbs. each as well. It was $15.00 per bag but I got a notices that their new policy is $20.00 per bag under 50 lbs. now, we booked just prior to the rate change.

Upon boarding the plane, double check with the people at the counter at the gate to make sure they know that you have a pet flying with you.  They will let you know that your pet is boarded to give you a piece of mind.  Before departing, the pilots or attendants will remind you to notify an attendant that you have a pet on board because at the end of the flight everyone with pet or not will receive a form to fill out asking questions about whether or not you have an animals or plants entering the islands.  I think they really just want to know if you have a pet to make sure your card gets to the pilot because they have to take the animal to the quarantine holding facility themselves.

Take off went very smooth, the flight was pretty comfortable.  We traveled on a Boeing 767 so there was more leg room then most the planes I have flown on and every row gets their own luggage compartment so you don't have to fight to find a place for your things. 

The attendants were very nice and helpful, the food was good, it wasn't too cold or too warm on the flight and it took about 5.5 hours to get there.  I think the only thing that sucked was that there really wasn't much to look at except water...lots and lots of water.

I was pretty surprised that the land looked like a farm land from up above. Flat farm country mostly at least from what I could see when landing. The airport was really, really cool though. It was more like a mall then anything else. The landscaping was beautiful and it was humid as could be. Nonetheless it was still Oahu.

Now from there we had to go from one end of the terminal to the other end and it got to be confusing but then again... the people working in the airport were wonderfully helpful. They instructed us on the easiest and fastest way to get from one end to the other. I would swear it it that they knew who we were because they stopped us and guided us to where we needed to go. That or we just looked really lost and could tell. Yeah, it was probably the latter but still...

So we hopped on the shuttle to the other end of the airport, claimed our luggage and then went to the quarantine station to get our Baby Girl. We didn't have to wait very long, though I have heard that sometimes it takes quite a while. They asked for our paper work, we filled out a form which only took a minute and we were done.

Then we paid another $60.00 to have her put back on a plane to Kona.  When we got off the plane she was waiting for us.  They asked for our boarding passes and ID and then we were done.

Overall flying Hawaiian Airlines was a pretty good experience. We didn't run into any problems, everyone was helpful and the flight was as comfortable as a 5.5 hour flight could be. I give traveling on Hawaiian Air with our without pets five stars.

The ticket prices were fair and we booked directly through Hawaiian Air, the quality of service was excellent and the experience (other than the humidity on the Islands) was worth it to me to fly Hawaiian Airlines from now on.

All together with flying from San Diego to our final destination in Kona we spent about $2000.00 one way for 1 adult, 1 child and 1 pet.  Without our pet we actually only spent about $700.00  one way.