Car rental Hawaii

We are going to Hawaii in December and are thinking of renting a car for the day on each island. Has anyone done this before and would you recommend doing that instead of taking the tours? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you

Lots of info on the ports of call boards here.....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=55274905

On both of our cruises to Hawaii we rented cars at each island. We researched exactly what we wanted to see on each and believe we saw more and had much more fun doing it than if we would have toured.

We used discount Hawaii car rental and they made all the reservations for us. Pickups were right near the ship.

If we take another cruise to Hawaii we will do the same thing.

P&J

We rented a car in Oahu. The rental place is at the airport. The company said they would send a shuttle which they did after a wait. You pick up the shuttle at the park next to the pier. It was about 20 to 30 minute wait. Returning to the ship we had to wait at the company's place at the airport. We waited there about a half hour or longer. Luckily we got there with time to spare. The shuttle is also goes to hotels etc,

It was easier on Hawaii. There you wait in lines for the shuttle right outside the pier area. I don't recall waiting a long time there. We took a drive at the National Park all the way to the ocean. It is quite a ride. I recommend doing that.

Two things about renting a car.

#1. Bring you own GSP. It'll get you around without having to ask for directions even though the roads are marked clearly.

#2. Get to the office at the terminal as soon as you can. The line to board their shuttle taking you to their location can take a while if they have a crowd.

In Honolulu we use -

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

677 Ala Moana Blvd Ste 100, Honolulu, HI 96813

(808) 536-1555

It's a short walk to the office from the port but the also offer a shuttle service.

Rentals must be back by 6pm.

In Hilo, simply walk off the ship, there are plenty of rentals available outside the security area.

We are going to Hawaii in December and are thinking of renting a car for the day on each island. Has anyone done this before and would you recommend doing that instead of taking the tours? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you

I rented a car in Maui and the car company provided a shuttle to/from the rental office. Since the islands are relatively small getting around is pretty easily. However, even in Maui and Honolulu there is rush hour traffic just like in the states so make sure you plan accordingly and allow extra time to return the car and get back to the ship. You should get yourself a good guide book (you can find in any book store in the travel section) and plan out your day and what you what to see with some purpose. Renting a car is a great way to see the islands if you want complete freedom to see and do what you want at your leisure; however, you are responsible getting back to the ship on time.

we rented a car on each island but in December traffic will be heavy during holiday season, we found that especially so on Kauai.

We are going in February. On Oahu they no longer have shuttles to the airport but only to the Waikiki offices of the rental company. Too bad because the airport locations are open later however I don't want to pay a taxi in each direction (I read it is about $30 each way). I have booked cars for several of the islands too.

Um...whether you want to do that totally depends on what you want to do. Certainly renting a car to visit Volcanoes National Park makes more sense than if you just want to go somewhere close to the port and lie on a beach for the day.

Oahu (unlike the other islands) has a perfectly useful public bus system that goes all around the island. If you want to hit Waikiki Beach or the Arizona Memorial (even Hanauma Bay), no car is necessary. The buses might be slower, but you don't spend time getting to the rental agency, doing paperwork, and returning the car.

And because everyone is trying to get to the agency at the same time, shuttles can be overfilled. We had to wait a really long time to get to the agency on Maui.

Thank you all will do some more research, sounds like rental car it is.

We rented a car on each island. I think it was Kauai where we had a problem. When I took the shuttle to get the car I discovered a LOT of people waiting for cars. Even though we had booked well in advance there were no cars. Someone had rented out all of the pre-booked cars to people who had flown in that morning.

I waited THREE HOURS while my wife and son were back at the ship. Finally they arranged for a car through a different agency. However, all they could arrange was a mini van that was a huge pain to get my son in and out of as he has to transfer from a wheelchair. He has zero use of his legs and only partial use of hands and arms. It was extremely difficult to manage transfers with this vehicle due to the height of the seats from the ground. With this hassle and the 3 hours of port time that was lost (I so very much enjoyed sitting on the low stone railing for that time...) it really made a difference in our limited port time there.

We made the best of it and were determined to enjoy ourselves and not rant, rave, or dwell on the problems. It ended up as a good port stop but was very far from a great port stop.

Note: While waiting 3 hours for a car that I had booked 2 months in advance I maintained a calm and relaxed attitude toward the rental people. There was a guy there who spent most of his time ranting and raving and making sure everybody knew just how important he was and how outraged he was about the snafu. It did him no more good than my more relaxed (actually more resigned...) attitude. I always wonder why people like that think their histrionics are going to do any good.

We rented a car on each island. I think it was Kauai where we had a problem. When I took the shuttle to get the car I discovered a LOT of people waiting for cars. Even though we had booked well in advance there were no cars. Someone had rented out all of the pre-booked cars to people who had flown in that morning.

 

I waited THREE HOURS while my wife and son were back at the ship. Finally they arranged for a car through a different agency. However, all they could arrange was a mini van that was a huge pain to get my son in and out of as he has to transfer from a wheelchair. He has zero use of his legs and only partial use of hands and arms. It was extremely difficult to manage transfers with this vehicle due to the height of the seats from the ground. With this hassle and the 3 hours of port time that was lost (I so very much enjoyed sitting on the low stone railing for that time...) it really made a difference in our limited port time there.

 

We made the best of it and were determined to enjoy ourselves and not rant, rave, or dwell on the problems. It ended up as a good port stop but was very far from a great port stop.

 

Note: While waiting 3 hours for a car that I had booked 2 months in advance I maintained a calm and relaxed attitude toward the rental people. There was a guy there who spent most of his time ranting and raving and making sure everybody knew just how important he was and how outraged he was about the snafu. It did him no more good than my more relaxed (actually more resigned...) attitude. I always wonder why people like that think their histrionics are going to do any good.

This is a bit scary because of the limited time in port. I would be very upset about all the time wasted. I commend you for your patience and glad that inspite of this snafu you at least enjoyed yourself.

This is a bit scary because of the limited time in port. I would be very upset about all the time wasted.

Goes with the territory. And booking a Princess tour is no guarantee. Our "See Antigua on Your Own" bus was at least an hour late picking us up at the port. Our tour to Mt. Etna consisted largely of standing around in the parking lot of a tourist restaurant, and when we got to Taormina, the tour operator had screwed up and we spent a lot of time standing in another parking lot until it got straightened out. And there's always delayed docking, slow immigration, whatever.

Honestly, if you really want to see a place, a cruise is usually a second rate way to do it. As much as I enjoyed my Hawaii cruise, just a sliver of it consisted of actually being in Hawaii. I was glad we'd already spent a decent time in our lives flying to and visiting each island. Having days instead of hours meant that delayed car rentals, bad traffic, rotten weather, etc., was much less catastrophic.

Shepp - We have been to Hawaii before although it has been a loooong time. Twenty five years ago was the last time and at that point we did not go to Maui. We did however on our honeymoon in 1973 but it was for the day. I actually have no pictures of Maui!!! However I do remember walking in Lahaina and the Iao Needle. My dh however doesn't remember it at all. I just spent a bit of time reading old threads about tendering in Maui and car rentals etc. I decided to bite the bullet and spend more $$$ by doing Princess tours. I wanted to whale watch and also go to Iao Needle so I booked going to the Needle for a morning tour and the whale watch for afternoon. There is an hour and 15 min between them so hopefully we can get a bite to eat.

The big question is can you meet at the tender dock for the afternoon tour or would we have to go back to the ship on the tender?

Shepp - We have been to Hawaii before although it has been a loooong time. Twenty five years ago was the last time and at that point we did not go to Maui. We did however on our honeymoon in 1973 but it was for the day. I actually have no pictures of Maui!!! However I do remember walking in Lahaina and the Iao Needle. My dh however doesn't remember it at all. I just spent a bit of time reading old threads about tendering in Maui and car rentals etc. I decided to bite the bullet and spend more $$$ by doing Princess tours. I wanted to whale watch and also go to Iao Needle so I booked going to the Needle for a morning tour and the whale watch for afternoon. There is an hour and 15 min between them so hopefully we can get a bite to eat.

 

The big question is can you meet at the tender dock for the afternoon tour or would we have to go back to the ship on the tender?

Reply to RED text: We rented a car and drove to the Iao Needle. Probably half the cost (at most) of the Princess excursion.

Reply to PURPLE text: Plenty of time to eat. You can probably get a burger at Cheeseburger In Paradise for "only" about $15. We passed on that and wandered down the street for some Hula Pie!

We always rent cars when we vacation on any of the islands and generally do the same when we happen to be in Hawaii on a cruise. The exception would be if we plan to do something where it is easy to use public transit (like going to Kanapali Beach on Maui). Most cruise excursion prices are ridiculous when compared to the price of a rental car, which also gives you the freedom to go where you want, when you want, with who you want. Having spend my share of time sitting on a tour bus waiting for that last "shopper" to return (15 min late) we long ago swore-off large group excursions.

Hank

We always rent cars when we vacation on any of the islands and generally do the same when we happen to be in Hawaii on a cruise. The exception would be if we plan to do something where it is easy to use public transit (like going to Kanapali Beach on Maui). Most cruise excursion prices are ridiculous when compared to the price of a rental car, which also gives you the freedom to go where you want, when you want, with who you want. Having spend my share of time sitting on a tour bus waiting for that last "shopper" to return (15 min late) we long ago swore-off large group excursions.

 

Hank

Cost of the Princess excursion to the Arizona memorial: $89 per person

Cost to rent a car for all 3 of us and then visit the (FREE) Arizona memorial: $89

After the Arizona memorial we still had the car for the rest of the day and we had an extra $178 that we didn't spend on the Princess excursion.

We are going to Hawaii in December and are thinking of renting a car for the day on each island. Has anyone done this before and would you recommend doing that instead of taking the tours? Any information would be appreciated. Thank you

My vote is get the car. Although, since we always take land vacations there, we've never done it on a cruise to Hawaii. There is so much to see and do on each island, that for us, a cruise to the islands isn't worth it (we'd rather cruise other places) and we are fortunate enough to have Marriott and Hilton Vacation Clubs to get us over there for a couple of weeks at a time, affording us to be able to go more often and do at least two islands each visit. However, that being said, we always rent a car (we like the jeeps .... can do more!) on the land vacations to Hawaii and I've found Hawaii Discount Car Rental to be the best for prices and performances, so would recommend that. I always maintain that most times, going and seeing on your own, works so much better than the tours. We find the tours move much slower and we can accomplish more of what we want, when we want, after doing the research ahead and going on our own. So, like many of the other posters have already said ... research ahead, decided what you want to do, bring your GPS as it's VERY helpful ... and have a blast! :)

Our Hawaii experience was greatly enhanced by our car rentals, allowing us greater independence on our port days (even though sometimes we found ourselves in the same places with Princess tour buses). Nevertheless, renting the car and returning it took away a significant portion of our limited hours on each island.

Although we reserved our cars from the same agency (Alamo) on each island, there were significant differences in how the rentals were handled on different islands. And of course the price varies quite a bit too (Oahu was our most expensive rental).

Of course we wanted to get the maximum amount of time out of our rental cars, but because we sometimes waited until the latest time possible to return the cars, we experienced some tense moments wondering if we would get back to the ship in time. Hawaii traffic can cause significant delays (especially on Maui, in our experience). And agency personnel can be quite stubborn at times about refusing to provide a trip back to the ship, even if you are just a minute late. When we returned our car on Maui, we (and over a dozen ship passengers) were stuck at the agency for a while until they decided to pay for cabs to take us back to the ship.

As the cab drove through Lahaina on our way back to the ship, I remember passing by various interesting points of interest we hadn't had time to see, telling myself that it might have been better not to rent a car there (though we did get to experience some very interesting scenery in our car on Maui).

If you want the best price and selection, I think you should reserve your cars as soon as possible. When I called three months before our cruise to reserve our cars, I was surprised to learn that some of the cars I wanted were already sold out.

Tim