I Got Sick in Hawaii: It Nearly Ruined Our Vacation

On Mother’s Day this year, we were vacationing in Hawaii. And then I got sick. It nearly ruined the whole trip.

And I say nearly, because I did get to at least enjoy a couple of days before I was down for the count.

Maybe you’ve been there before. You’re excited about a beautiful getaway and then boom. You get sick.

After two days in Oahu, I started to feel a rawness in my throat. When I would eat, it felt like pieces of razor blades going down.

I thought I was having a reaction to something, so I took more allergy pills. But then on the third day I woke up with a fever.

Oh gosh no. The fever was a telling sign that something was really wrong.

No. Not now. Please not now.

So I texted my sister, who is a nurse and lived there at the time. (Note that she has since moved, so that’s why it’s in the past tense.)

She thought that maybe I had a little cold or flu. 

But I noticed the orange juice had tasted spicy that morning and was about to contact the restaurant and ask them what they put in it.

Then I thought—is my taste off? I can barely smell. Oh no.

So, my sister brought over COVID Rapid tests, and as soon as I tested, both lines appeared. I had it.

Just when I had recovered from long COVID, which took me three years. Now I was reinfected.

And I’m sure I got it while traveling. Before going to Hawaii, I had just come back from Germany. And I was around a lot of people.

My sister recommended I take the antiviral pill, but I thought all I had were sinus issues and a fever. It started like a little cold and it’d pass.

Then she recommended a flu/cough/cold medicine at least. So I took some, and it helped with the coughing.

But I started getting so dizzy and could only stay in the room. As much as I wanted to lie around on Waikiki Beach, I couldn’t.

I’d leave the room to walk down to the microwave and warm up light meals, which was a task. I drank a lot of water to flush this virus out.

I wasn’t able to sightsee or do any of the things I planned to do. I couldn’t dine out or walk around. The hotel was simply beautiful, but I couldn’t enjoy it.

After a week in bed, it was time to fly out. By this time I was feeling better. The fever was gone, but I still had congestion and dizziness.

I wore a mask at the airport, of course. Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time there because the outbound flight was delayed several hours.

And I didn’t feel like waiting around but had no choice. I ended up taking a red-eye flight out and got home the next morning.

Then I rested in bed for two days. Now I was still dealing with COVID symptoms and jet lag.

After that, I started doing things around the house. But I wasn’t fully healed. I kept pushing.

Guess what happened? I increased activity, and more symptoms came, and they were so bad.

I ended up going to the ER for pulmonary issues and was bedridden for two weeks. Then I went to the doctor to find out I also had a double ear infection and another infection.

This was on top of long COVID symptoms. So now I’m taking two antibiotics.

I’ve lost 20 pounds that I really couldn’t afford to lose. But I’m slowly getting better.

Look, I didn’t write all of this to complain. Some people have had illnesses much, much worse. Some people didn’t survive COVID.

But I did feel like I was legit dying at times. Especially when those other symptoms came around after the initial infection, it was just outright scary.

So I’m going to let my body get all the rest it needs. Whether it takes weeks or months.

And I’ll be taking precautions when I’m around people. I’m not getting COVID again.

It ruined my vacation in Hawaii and my life so far. I just hope I don’t have long COVID yet again for months or years.

In the meantime, I’m back to blogging and will catch up on posting the backlog of trips I’ve taken.

And if you’re dealing with illness right now, I hope you find healing. It’s certainly not fun to be sick in paradise or anywhere else.

Your travel friend,

Luna

Read More

• Find out how I manage getting sick while traveling. 

• On another trip, find out what it was like to stay at the Royal Hawaiian Resort. 

• I manage to travel despite my severe allergies. Let me tell you more.

Originally published: July 6, 2026