Oahu Car rental

We are sending our DD and fiance on a special birthday cruise. They will be in Oahu for 2 nights pre-cruise in early Sept. Based on my only brief trip to Oahu in 2008 (won a 4 day trip to the Pro Bowl), they should see Pearl Harbor, climb Diamond Head, see Hanuama Bay, and maybe Pāpalaua Falls if time permits.

I don't see any other way than to rent car. They will be staying in a condo at the Ilikai (Hawaii-50) next to the marina (Gilligan's Island).

If they pick up car at HNL, what should they do with the car on embarkation day?

I see that there is an Enterprise location near the pier where they may be able to walk (0.5 mi) or get an Uber.

I see various posts about shuttles, but none seem to pertain this situation.

Any suggestions?

They could always uber- we usually do. A lot less hassle and when you factor in the rental rate, gas, parking, and the hassle of returning it (and it is a royal PITA to return rentals downtown and not to the airport- they’re all in parking garages) it might break even or even come out ahead to use UberX. You can just give them a gift card.

We did Uber three times in Honolulu/Waikiki back in May. Never again. I never saw such clueless drivers and we did not even leave the city, We had one driver take 45 minutes (we were tracking on the app) circling Iolanai Palace because they could not figure out where it was. Many of the drivers are dependents of military personnel and the ones we had were not familiar with the area.Obviously not familiar with GPS maping on their phones either.

The places you list for visiting seem far enough apart that a rental car would be more practical. They could return it to HNL and just take a taxi to the pier. It would not be too expensive and would be easy to do.

Thank you for the insight.

I factored in the distance and the car rental does seem to be the only way to go, but the night parking fee at hotel is a pain. I'll look for alternative spots. We decided not to return car in the city. They will return back to the airport and catch an Uber to pier for $12-15. A lot better than an extra $50 for one way rental. They are now staying 3 nights so the car will allow them to really see a lot. Got a great deal from Hawaii Discount Car Rentals.

We've often found street parking behind the Ilikai near the harbor. We've also rented a car just for a day for the things we wanted to drive to. There's a good public bus system in Honolulu, so they could take the bus to Iolani Palace. I would not take a bus to Hanuamama Bay - takes too long and sometimes is full.

We stayed at the Ilikai and parked in the garage on Hobran St, above the Red Lobster. It was $20 per day with in & out privilages. We rented at the airport and returned it to the airport. We used Pacific Shuttle www.pacific-shuttle.com who picked us up at the car rental agency and dropped us off at the pier. The cost was $23 for both of us, plus tip.