Renting car in Honolulu before flying home

Our flight home does not depart until 10:55 PM. So after getting off of the ship we have a whole day. The post cruise tours seem ok (a little pricey,) but we were wondering if it was feasible to rent our own car for the day and get ourselves to the airport later. Any suggestions?!

getting a car and probably going to the North Shore- getting a nice dinner before our 10:15 flight- like to get a place with a view of the sunset-you know, so I can cry all the way home:(

Our flight leaves at 9:15 and we are renting a car for the day and exploring the island ouside of Honolulu. We will have two pre-cruise days in Waikiki also. We'll either take a taxi or shuttle to pick up the car.

Have been thinking about using Easy Fly also for our luggage so we don't have to bother with it.

Pat

I would like to offer another perspective. We just returned yesterday. My trip report is still being compiled :D. We rented cars every day. While convenient, it is exhausting. Waiting for the shuttle - getting in line - going through the process - getting the car - driving around - getting gas - returning the car - getting another shuttle - etc. Every port. We went through the car rental process 5 times in a week and a half. How about spending time shopping at the aloha tower marketplace or other such mall that has a free shuttle. Or doing what we did and go to a dayspa for a massage or other spa treatments - Heaven and Earth dayspa is a $5 cab ride from the aloha tower marketplace. Then have a nice dinner and be at the airport by 7:15. After a long week and a half we were tired of renting cars.

I would like to offer another perspective. We just returned yesterday. My trip report is still being compiled :D. We rented cars every day. While convenient, it is exhausting. Waiting for the shuttle - getting in line - going through the process - getting the car - driving around - getting gas - returning the car - getting another shuttle - etc. Every port. We went through the car rental process 5 times in a week and a half. How about spending time shopping at the aloha tower marketplace or other such mall that has a free shuttle. Or doing what we did and go to a dayspa for a massage or other spa treatments - Heaven and Earth dayspa is a $5 cab ride from the aloha tower marketplace. Then have a nice dinner and be at the airport by 7:15. After a long week and a half we were tired of renting cars.

I can understand that.

I just booked the tubing tour with NCL for our second day in Kauai. I didn't want to go through all you described and nworry about getting back for a 2pm sail-a-way. O think it was a smart thing.

I'm also leaning towards the Grand Finale tour at the end for the same reasons. I want to relax and let someone else worry about the driving & luggage. I just don't like that early pick up time 7:30am :eek: On the last day, I love NCL for the fact that I like to sleep in have breakfast and not worry about rushing off the ship, so I didn't book it yet for that reason. :rolleyes:

I'm looking forward to reading your report.

I hated driving in Oahu - just like LA. Lots of one way streets, getting lost even with a GPS. I suggest you go on an excursion and pay the extra $. That is providing you want to see things like Pearl Harbor, Punchbowl or the Northshore etc. I rented a car thru Thrifty at the airport. Since I wasn't familiar with Honolulu, I paid extra for the GPS unit. Right off the bat it started giving me wrong directions. Turn right 30 yards, then make a u-turn, huh? What a waste. We were trying to find Red Lobster on Ala Moana Blvd and we passed it then caught up in downtown with all the one way streets and I had no idea where we were. Finally plugged back in the GPS unit and got to the mall and walked to our destination lol. It was an experience. Next time, I'll pay for someone else to drive. Especially knowing you have an overnight flight home (ours was at 10pm too and not getting home until 2 next afternoon) we could have used the rest to let someone else do the driving.

I hated driving in Oahu - just like LA. Lots of one way streets, getting lost even with a GPS. I suggest you go on an excursion and pay the extra $. That is providing you want to see things like Pearl Harbor, Punchbowl or the Northshore etc. I rented a car thru Thrifty at the airport. Since I wasn't familiar with Honolulu, I paid extra for the GPS unit. Right off the bat it started giving me wrong directions. Turn right 30 yards, then make a u-turn, huh? What a waste. We were trying to find Red Lobster on Ala Moana Blvd and we passed it then caught up in downtown with all the one way streets and I had no idea where we were. Finally plugged back in the GPS unit and got to the mall and walked to our destination lol. It was an experience. Next time, I'll pay for someone else to drive. Especially knowing you have an overnight flight home (ours was at 10pm too and not getting home until 2 next afternoon) we could have used the rest to let someone else do the driving.

We had the same problem with the GPS. Especially in Kona. We had to make a lot of u-turns because it got confused. The maps in the Revealed book and even the driving guides given with the rental car were much more helpful. I'm not saying don't get the GPS - but have maps too! It was the most useful for us on Oahu.

We rented a car from Alamo after the cruise on the Pride of Hawaii. There were serveral rental car vans waiting when we got of the ship. We drove to the dole plantation, had lunch on the north shore, then circled the coast to the eastern side of the island (the coast line, mountains, and small towns were very scenic) Took one of the tunnels back to Honolulu and had dinner prior to returning the car and catching the evening flight.

Our flight left at 10:30 pm so we rented a car from Thrifty. We rented from them at the other ports; Honolulu office was the most disorganized. After getting the car that we requested, we drove to the Dole Plantation, ate lunch on the North Shore, and leisurely drove on the east side of Oahu. Much more economical for a group of four.