Car rental and parking in Lahaina

[greatnitz]

Hello,

 

Our cruise ship stops in Lahaina for a couple days and was looking into renting a car and self exploring the island.   Has anyone done this before?  How was your experience?    How did you get from the tender location to the car rental agencies at Kapalua Airport and then back again...and where did you park overnight?   I read another post where somebody recommended parking at "The Warf" which is $50 overnight.  Assuming the Wharf is still an option, I'm guessing the plan would be to Uber to the airport to rent the car and park at the Wharf overnight and then Uber back to the ship once we drop off the car.   How is the walk from the Wharf to where the tenders are?

 

Thanks,

Darren 

[CruiserBruce]

There are many discussions here about renting cars in Lahaina. The nearest car rental place is before the airport, about 10-15 minutes driving.

 

The Wharf parking area is maybe 3 blocks from the tender dock.

[BermudaBound2014]

It's a bit confusing because they don't rent cars at the actual Kapalua Airport. 

 

Most of the car rentals are located on the corner of Halawai and Honoapaiilani, so check the physical address for the car rental before heading all the way to the Kapalua Airport (which technically isn't even in Kapalua haha).

 

I put a pin in for Enterprise, but Budget, Avis, Enterprise, Alamo, etc.. are all located in the same spot on Halawai. You will uber from the tender to the car rental and back. 10-15 minutes or so. 

 

 

 

 

 

I just measured and google is saying it's less than 750 feet from the back of the wharf to where the tenders are. The parking will be a bit farther back than the wharf itself, but you can likely drive a golf ball from the tender to your car (although you'd have to clear the 3 story wharf ;-)). I suggest you do not leave anything in your car overnight. Not even a phone charger. Nothing in the trunk. I actually leave my cars unlocked with the windows down at trail heads and such but those areas are likely more vulnerable than a parking lot in Lahaina, but still it's good advise. Violent crime is pretty much non-existent here, but petty crime is another story. 

 

 

 

Hope that helps, Enjoy Maui!!

[luvinthecruiselife]

My undertstanding is only the airport car rentals locations are open on the weekend.  Depending on which ship you are coming in on, you may have an hour drive to the airport to pick up a car.  We are on quantum anchoring at Lahaina wharf pier.  Nothing is open on the weekend and we have to the airport to pick up our car which is an hours drive away

[Silver Sweethearts]

21 minutes ago, luvinthecruiselife said:

My undertstanding is only the airport car rentals locations are open on the weekend.  Depending on which ship you are coming in on, you may have an hour drive to the airport to pick up a car.  We are on quantum anchoring at Lahaina wharf pier.  Nothing is open on the weekend and we have to the airport to pick up our car which is an hours drive away

Odd.  A brief check of car rental agencies on the west side indicate at least several operating out of 11 Halawai Drive (not at the airport) as being open weekdays and weekends.  It might not be a bad idea to check your information again.

 

As a side note, your ship will be tendering and not docking in Lahaina.

 

 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

Using Discount Hawaii Car Rental and Costco Car Rental to look for cars, they refer to 11 Halawai Drive and 30 Halawai Drive as "Kapalua Airport" so the confusion is understandable

 

https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/en-us/

https://www.costcotravel.com

 

If you can't take an Uber or cab to the car rental, the Maui Bus, West Maui Islander can drop you close by.

[princeton123211]

On 4/17/2023 at 10:47 AM, BermudaBound2014 said:

It's a bit confusing because they don't rent cars at the actual Kapalua Airport.

Most major rental companies use airport codes to designate their locations. The ones you’re talking about, at least the Avis/Budget location, are coded as “JHM” or Kapalua Airport so it’s an easy misconception to have for someone who hasn’t been there before.

[luvinthecruiselife]

On 4/17/2023 at 4:09 PM, Silver Sweethearts said:

Odd.  A brief check of car rental agencies on the west side indicate at least several operating out of 11 Halawai Drive (not at the airport) as being open weekdays and weekends.  It might not be a bad idea to check your information again.

 

As a side note, your ship will be tendering and not docking in Lahaina.

 

 

My post said anchoring at Lahaina Wharf.  All my information to date has stated that OGG is the place to pick up cars.  We have booked through National and OGG is the spot.  There seems to be a lot of information floating around as to what is and isnt open when, where etc.  I still have a week to figure it out.  Thanks for the info.  I will continue to check.  Would rather pickup a vehicle closer than go all the way to the east side

[princeton123211]

32 minutes ago, luvinthecruiselife said:

All my information to date has stated that OGG is the place to pick up cars.  We have booked through National and OGG is the spot.  There seems to be a lot of information floating around as to what is and isnt open when, where etc.

If you’re tendering at Lahaina you definitely want to switch your rental car booking to one of the ones on North Kaanapali. Going to and from OGG is a waste of time and $ (and isn’t even a scenic drive). 
 

Personally I usually rent from the Avis/Budget one on Halawai Dr (and always have a great experience) but you have your choice of providers. The Avis/Budget is open everyday from 8-5pm. I think there is a hertz in the Hyatt and an Enterprise in the Sheraton at Black Rock.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, luvinthecruiselife said:

My post said anchoring at Lahaina Wharf.  All my information to date has stated that OGG is the place to pick up cars.  We have booked through National and OGG is the spot.  There seems to be a lot of information floating around as to what is and isnt open when, where etc.  I still have a week to figure it out.  Thanks for the info.  I will continue to check.  Would rather pickup a vehicle closer than go all the way to the east side

 

You do NOT want a car from OGG, you will be no where near it. You are tendering at Lahaina and will be anchoring off Lahaina Harbor. See the map below.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/JMNGGYmtkMnbugvdA

 

Cancel the car at OGG. You want the National Car Rental at 30 Halawai Dr, Lahaina; also called JMH (Kapalua Airport), even though it is not physically at the airport.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

37 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Personally I usually rent from the Avis/Budget one on Halawai Dr (and always have a great experience) but you have your choice of providers. The Avis/Budget is open everyday from 8-5pm. I think there is a hertz in the Hyatt and an Enterprise in the Sheraton at Black Rock.

 

Avis and Budget are at 11 Halawai Dr and Alamo and National are at 30 Halawai Dr.

 

Avis and Budget are owned by the same company and Alamo and National are owned by the same company (Enterprise).

[BermudaBound2014]

10 hours ago, scottca075 said:

......they refer to 11 Halawai Drive and 30 Halawai Drive as "Kapalua Airport" so the confusion is understandable

 

3 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

.... so it’s an easy misconception to have for someone who hasn’t been there before.

 

 

Exactly why I said it was "a bit confusing" .... and I even provided a map to help :). 

 

Pre-covid I rented cars from OGG. It wasn't until two years ago that I started renting from the Halawai Drive location. The confusion was real.

 

I rented from enterprise last year and budget this year. I can say w/ absolute certainity that neither are open on the weekends at this time. They may have been open on the weekends pre-covid, but no longer. They may open again on the weekends in the future. I rent my cars on a monthly basis and pick up on a Friday to get the 'free weekend' on the back end.

 

If anyone is arriving in Lahaina on the weekend, and want to rent a car, you may be forced to rent from OGG location, although turo owners might make other arrangements for you to pick up right at the wharf if interested in going that route. If you are arriving in Lahaina during the week, you should absolutely rent from the west side.

 

I have used both beachin rides and speedy shuttle from the west side to the airport. Beachin rides is a bit less expensive and is private, but  you need to book them long in advance. I pay $125 including tip. I'm guessing uber is going to be more expensive. The bus is a possibility but it will eat up several hours and you will still need to uber from QueenK to the rental location. 

 

Hope that helps 🙂

 

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[luvinthecruiselife]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

 

You do NOT want a car from OGG, you will be no where near it. You are tendering at Lahaina and will be anchoring off Lahaina Harbor. See the map below.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/JMNGGYmtkMnbugvdA

 

Cancel the car at OGG. You want the National Car Rental at 30 Halawai Dr, Lahaina; also called JMH (Kapalua Airport), even though it is not physically at the airport.

 

59 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

 

Avis and Budget are at 11 Halawai Dr and Alamo and National are at 30 Halawai Dr.

 

Avis and Budget are owned by the same company and Alamo and National are owned by the same company (Enterprise).

They are closed on Saturdays. I would suggest that before you provide information that you are so adamant about, you check and confirm that the information you are providing is accurate.  A lot of folks will take your advice and will be sorely disappointed.  I can only go with what the rental outlets show and clearly they show they are closed in both locations on Saturday.  I guess if I really want the rental I will drive the hour or so to get it.  Add to the adventure, then ill be on the east side and will continue on the road to Hana.  

[luvinthecruiselife]

6 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

 

Exactly why I said it was "a bit confusing" .... and I even provided a map to help :). 

 

Pre-covid I rented cars from OGG. It wasn't until two years ago that I started renting from the Halawai Drive location. The confusion was real.

 

I rented from enterprise last year and budget this year. I can say w/ absolute certainity that neither are open on the weekends at this time. They may have been open on the weekends pre-covid, but no longer. They may open again on the weekends in the future. I rent my cars on a monthly basis and pick up on a Friday to get the 'free weekend' on the back end.

 

If anyone is arriving in Lahaina on the weekend, and want to rent a car, you may be forced to rent from OGG location, although turo owners might make other arrangements for you to pick up right at the wharf if interested in going that route. If you are arriving in Lahaina during the week, you should absolutely rent from the west side.

 

I have used both beachin rides and speedy shuttle from the west side to the airport. Beachin rides is a bit less expensive and is private, but  you need to book them long in advance. I pay $125 including tip. I'm guessing uber is going to be more expensive. The bus is a possibility but it will eat up several hours and you will still need to uber from QueenK to the rental location. 

 

Hope that helps 🙂

 

 

thanks for the info.  You confirmed what i know.  I prefer not to go with turo.  As a National Executive Elite monthly renter as well, I will make the trip to OGG and go from there.  I will look at beach in rides to take us there.  There are 8 of us.  Thanks again!

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, luvinthecruiselife said:

thanks for the info.  You confirmed what i know.  I prefer not to go with turo.  As a National Executive Elite monthly renter as well, I will make the trip to OGG and go from there.  I will look at beach in rides to take us there.  There are 8 of us.  Thanks again!

You are most welcome. Jim and Jules from Beachin rides are great. Small mom and pop that live in napali. 
 

If I may make one more suggestion, their transport will hold all 8 of you very comfortably, and by the time you pay for the transportation to OGG (both ways) it may be easier on both the pocketbook and driver to just rent Beachin rides for the day. I know they do offer tours. I think it’s worth inquiring. Jules will get back to you right away (remember Hawaii is currently 6 hours behind EST). If you need suggestions Jim will certainly help with that too, or just ask here and I’m sure you will get lots of possibilities. Again, just a suggestion, not trying to make things more confusing. 

 

Hope that helps 🙂

[luvinthecruiselife]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

You are most welcome. Jim and Jules from Beachin rides are great. Small mom and pop that live in napali. 
 

If I may make one more suggestion, their transport will hold all 8 of you very comfortably, and by the time you pay for the transportation to OGG (both ways) it may be easier on both the pocketbook and driver to just rent Beachin rides for the day. I know they do offer tours. I think it’s worth inquiring. Jules will get back to you right away (remember Hawaii is currently 6 hours behind EST). If you need suggestions Jim will certainly help with that too, or just ask here and I’m sure you will get lots of possibilities. Again, just a suggestion, not trying to make things more confusing. 

 

Hope that helps 🙂

Excellent thank you.  I am in Vancouver so PST.  I will look into renting for the day and touring.  We are in Lahaina for 2 days so on top of everything else we have to have a place to park the rental near the wharf.  If they will come and pick us up from ship and spend 2 days with us and drop off at ship, its a no brainer.  Thanks again, greatly appreciated.

[princeton123211]

24 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I rented from enterprise last year and budget this year. I can say w/ absolute certainity that neither are open on the weekends at this time.

Avis/Budget are open 7 days a week. I get that lovinthecruiselife has elite status at National but I still don’t think it’s worth the time and expense to get over to OGG. It’ll be wasting a bunch of your vacation in a taxi. 
 

[BermudaBound2014]

28 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Avis/Budget are open 7 days a week. I get that lovinthecruiselife has elite status at National but I still don’t think it’s worth the time and expense to get over to OGG. It’ll be wasting a bunch of your vacation in a taxi. 
 

 

Sigh.. I'm almost feeling guilty correcting you so often in a single thread, although I can see why you are confused this time.

 

The fact is that the app you are using is wrong. All the rentals on Halawai are closed on Saturday and Sunday. I speak from personal experience. To doublecheck, I just went to do a dummy booking at costco and they confirm closed on the weekends.

 

I'm sure if you (or lovinthrcruiselife) called the number you just posted they will confirm what I've stated. Or better yet, try to do an actual booking (which is how I found out that the offices are closed on the weekend). 

 

Edited to add: I just triple checked and I'm floored at how many different sites are showing the offices are open on the weekends. They aren't. Try to do a booking and you will quickly see that you are unable to rent or return on any Saturday or Sunday from the Kapalua airport locations.

 

Because I'm a dork and hate to give wrong information, I just called the enterprise office on Halawai directly. If you call, press one for the hours. You will see they are closed Saturday and Sunday. Here's the number:

 

I tried to call avis/budget but no one answers the phone and no prompts for hours, but I'm certain if we called tomorrow during office hours they will also confirm they are a Mon-Friday operation too.

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

15 minutes ago, luvinthecruiselife said:

Excellent thank you.  I am in Vancouver so PST.  I will look into renting for the day and touring.  We are in Lahaina for 2 days so on top of everything else we have to have a place to park the rental near the wharf.  If they will come and pick us up from ship and spend 2 days with us and drop off at ship, its a no brainer.  Thanks again, greatly appreciated.

 

I'm excited for you. I think this is a no brainer if they are available. The logistics of getting from Lahaina to OGG to rent a car and reversing the process the next day seem heavy to me. Plus, why not have a driver do all the work!! If you can only get them for one day I would go with that. There is enough to do on the west side between your feet, the bus, and uber to keep a group of 8 well entertained for a day in Lahaina/Kaanapali. Keep us posted!!

[BermudaBound2014]

@princeton123211... I just reread my response to you above. Please accept my apologies if I came across as snarky. I do understand why you think the offices are open on the weekend. They aren't, but the internet and apps haven't caught up to the post-covid hours of operation. The car rental offices on Halawai have been closed on the weekend for at least two years.

Edited April 19, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[princeton123211]

52 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I tried to call avis/budget but no one answers the phone and no prompts for hours, but I'm certain if we called tomorrow during office hours they will also confirm they are a Mon-Friday operation too.

Please do and report back. I think you’ll find they’re open 7 days.
 

Picked up a car there last week for a trip to Hana and back. You can also make a reservation with Avis online for pickup and drop off on Sat/Sun which is telling.

 

But what do I know?

[BermudaBound2014]

9 minutes ago, princeton123211 said:

Please do and report back. I think you’ll find they’re open 7 days.
 

Picked up a car there last week for a trip to Hana and back. You can also make a reservation with Avis online for pickup and drop off on Sat/Sun which is telling.

 

But what do I know?

 

I'll be sure to follow up tomorrow and report back. You have me extremely curious now. This is all very very strange since I just finished a monthly rental from Budget and they were closed Saturday and Sunday which ended up giving me 3 extra days at no charge. Was your trip to Hana on the weekend?

 

I will call tomorrow and report back. I think accurate information online is important. I've never been adverse to admitting when I'm wrong. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, luvinthecruiselife said:

They are closed on Saturdays. I would suggest that before you provide information that you are so adamant about, you check and confirm that the information you are providing is accurate.  

 

I guess that is one reason I stopped using National about 10 years ago. Enterprise management has really ruined a once great company. Avis & Budget are open 7 days a week at JMH. Hertz at the Hyatt Regency Ka'anapali is open 8am - 12pm, Saturday and Sunday. It is my mistake thinking National would try to stay competitive its two largest competitors.

 

42 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Sigh.. I'm almost feeling guilty correcting you so often in a single thread, although I can see why you are confused this time. The fact is that the app you are using is wrong. All the rentals on Halawai are closed on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Don't know what to tell you. I just booked a car rental from Avis direct on Saturday April 29, 2023 and a car from Avis through Costco on Saturday May 6, 2023. Both went through with no issues and both sites tell me Avis is open 8am - 5pm, 7 days a week at 11 Halawai Dr.

 

Also booked a Budget car on Saturday May 13, 2023 from Budget direct, no issues.

 

I guess we can all call tomorrow and confirm.

 

If Avis, Budget and Hertz are all open on weekends, there is no way I'd pay for transportation to and from Kahului and then a rental car on top of that.

[BermudaBound2014]

I stand corrected and apologize for adding incorrect information to this thread. I just got off the phone with Budget on Halawai and they are now officially open 7 days a week. This also includes Avis since they are in the same building. Thanks to Princeton and Scott for providing accurate information.

 

Enterprise, Alamo, and Dollar rental car are also on Halawai (building directly across the street) and they are, in fact, still closed on the weekends. Number is above if anyone wants to verify directly. Those arriving in Lahaina on the weekend will need to use Budget/Avis if renting on the west side.

 

I'm glad to be wrong on this because it opens up options for luvinthecruiselife. I would absolutely recommend renting from the Kaanapali office verses driving to OGG, even if Budget/Avis aren't your first choice.

 

I started renting from the west side because it's less expensive. The OGG locations add an airport tax to the rentals and this adds up when renting by the month. The cost for a west side rental may end up less expensive and save you significant time. IMO, it's worth a call.

 

Here is the number/location for Budget/Avis on the west side. It's listed as being in Lahaina (as are all west side addresses). As mentioned, even though this location is listed as serving the Kapalua airport, it's not in Kapalua. Technically it's located most specifically in Ka'anapali. 😁.

 

 

This information is accurate to the best of my knowledge but always subject to change, so for those renting cars, it's probably best to call direct to verify all hours. Who knows, enterprise/alamo may add weekend hours again too!!! 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2023 by BermudaBound2014