Suggestions for arrival in Honolulu please

[auntsister]

Hi. We will be arriving in Honolulu in September for a cruise. We will be flying in 2 days before our cruise starts and will stay 2 nights on Wakiki. I was thinking of taking a cab to our hotel but I am thinking it might be best to rent a car at the airport. One question is how to get the car back to the airport and still get to the dock, or is there a way to leave the car at the dock?

We want to see Pearl Harbor while in Hawaii and I thought we could do this on Sunday am ( we are arriving Sat. pm) and lpan to go to a luau( Germaines) on Sunday night. I also would like to see the north shore and maybe the Dole pineapple plantation.

I don't know if we should do North shore on the day back from cruise as we will arrive about 7 am and our plane leaves late that night, or should we do North shore first and see Pearl Harbor on return. I don't know if we will need to rent a car both times or if maybe we could get transport to Pearl Harbor if we booked the tour through the cruise line.

This is our first trip to Hawaii and also first cruise so need any advice please.

[lambs2]

Your Hawaiian vacation plans sound very similar to what ours were last summer. Here is what we did. Since we (like you) were staying at a hotel on Waikiki for the pre-cruise days we decided NOT to rent a car pre-cruise because of 1) having to pay for parkng at most, if not all, hotels on Waikiki, and 2) stories about the bad traffic and one way street scenarios on Waikiki. So, we caught a shuttle from the airport to our hotel and then used The Bus to go to Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head (great walk and incredible views) on the days before our cruise. We also spent a lot of time walking the beach of Waikiki. Also caught the free Hawaiian show and fireworks at Hilton Hawaiian Village on the Friday evening before our cruise. If you want too you can also catch The Bus (very reasonable $2. per 90 minute cost) to places on the North Shore, as well!

 

On the day we returned from our cruise we had a very late flight (10 pm) and so decided to rent a car that day and go see the sights on the north shore. We kept our luggage in the trunk and never opened it all day. Had the things we needed for the day with us inside our car. On that day we started at Haunama Bay, then drove our own circle tour of Oahu. Got help here on the board to plan our drive. Fabuous day and even got to see the Dole Pineapple Plantation that day (don't miss their pineapple whip and/or ice cream!!!)

[bug_dan]

There are options should you want to rent a car. Thrifty runs shuttles from the airport to the pier, so if you rent through them, you could pick the car up the day you arrive, and the day you embark on your cruise, drop your luggage off at the pier, and check in, then return the car to the airport.

Other companies such as Alamo or National etc. have offices at the airport and Ala Moana vicinity. They run shuttles from their Ala Moana offices to the pier. Beware though, some of them charge a drop off fee. If you fill out an online reservation, it will show if there is a dropoff fee, some cases it's around $30. I know National does not have one and Alamo used to have one, but I've heard of it being waived??? The Ala Moana locations are slightly closer to the pier than the airport and devinitely closer to Waikiki.

 

Parking is definitely expensive in Waikiki, hotels seem to charge anywhere from $10 to $20 per nite and about the only on street parking is up along the Ala Wai Canal or Kapiolani Park which, depending what hotel you are using, may involve a bit of walking. For us the convenience of a car outweighs the expense of parking. The one way streets in Waikiki can be a bit frustrating, but really, once you're used to it, it's not so bad.

[cruiseman40]

Just wanted to add another option is to drop car off at Waikiki Location if you rented from there. They'll drop you off (entire passengers) at the airport, hotel, or even pier after you drop of car rental. I almost dropped off luggages at Pier but ask them if they would drop all of us off if we dropped car off first. I was greatful that Thrifty's accomodated us completely!

[auntsister]

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't know about all the parking fees at the hotels.

I think I will do as Lambs2 did and rent a car on my return . We can take a cab to the hotel from the airport and then maybe try the bus some. We live in a very rural area and drive everywhere as there is no public transportation. A bus might be fun! I really want to go to North shore and see everything there ( got to stop at one of the shrimp trucks!) and I also want to visit the Dole plantation. I was at Disney World in May and didn't even get a chance to try the Dole Whips even though I knew from the Disboards that they are great!

Any suggestions on things to see on the north shore will be appreciated. I think we are sticking with the cruise tours while on the ship as it just seems easy and also safer.

[win1]

Another option is to rent a car for the day for your Circle Island tour. There are locations in Waikiki where you would pick up the car for the day and enjoy your do it yourself tour I think the Waikiki locations open about 8AM and give you plenty of time to circle the Island.

We saw a line of about 6 people waiting for the rental office to open when we were visiting in May. People do rent cars for the day in Waikiki. Make sure the office you select can accomodate your return times.

I recommend the chocolate covered banana at the Dole plantation.

enjoy your cruise.

Winnie

[gwynnetx]

Hi. We will be arriving in Honolulu in September for a cruise. We will be flying in 2 days before our cruise starts and will stay 2 nights on Wakiki. I was thinking of taking a cab to our hotel but I am thinking it might be best to rent a car at the airport. One question is how to get the car back to the airport and still get to the dock, or is there a way to leave the car at the dock?

We want to see Pearl Harbor while in Hawaii and I thought we could do this on Sunday am ( we are arriving Sat. pm) and lpan to go to a luau( Germaines) on Sunday night. I also would like to see the north shore and maybe the Dole pineapple plantation.

I don't know if we should do North shore on the day back from cruise as we will arrive about 7 am and our plane leaves late that night, or should we do North shore first and see Pearl Harbor on return. I don't know if we will need to rent a car both times or if maybe we could get transport to Pearl Harbor if we booked the tour through the cruise line.

This is our first trip to Hawaii and also first cruise so need any advice please.

 

we just got back (as in this morning) from our hawaiian cruise, and this is what we did. we flew in 4 days early so we could explore oahu. we took the roberts hawaii shuttle from the airport to our hotel in waikiki. you go out the baggage claim door and one of the people in the yellow vests will direct you to the shuttle. it's $9 per person, one way, $16 (?) for a return ticket. they drop off at all waikiki hotels; just tell them where you want to go. i don't know how many of you there are, and it may be cheaper (and a bit faster) overall to take a cab. we were just 2, so the shuttle was less expensive.

 

we used our "fly in" day to get to the hotel, have lunch, get settled in, and explore waikiki on foot. the next morning, we took the #20 bus out to the airport ($2) and picked up the car. the reason we did this is that it's quite a bit cheaper to rent from the airport and to return it to the same place you pick it up. (again, depending on how many people you have, it may work out better to take a taxi. and some people don't have the patience for the bus. (or, if you have a lot of people, it may work out cheaper to rent from a waikiki location, pay the extra money, and pick up from there. just make sure the rental company has a shuttle to the pier!) also, thrifty rental shuttled us from their airport location to the pier. (if you call the central thrifty number, they might tell you that they don't provide shuttle service from the airport to the pier, but they do. don't believe them!)

 

then we drove up to the north shore, stopping at the dole plantation on the way. in the afternoon, we went to the polynesian cultural center. the polynesian cultural center also has a good luau and show that you can see while you're there. (i've seen both and recommend them. personally, after this trip, i would highly recommend the old lahinia luau on maui. better food, more authentic.)

 

we did pearl harbor after disembarking the ship. our flight left at 10:15 pm, hawaii time, and we didn't want to sit at the airport, of course. so as soon as we boarded the ship at the beginning of the week, we made a beeline to the excursion desk and made a reservation for the pearl harbor and uss missouri tour. (apparently, you can't book post-tours before the cruise. you have to do it once you board.) we did "easyfly" for our 2 big bags and picked up our 2 smaller ones at the dock after disembarking. they went under the bus and then we just got them when we were dropped off at the airport after the tour. the cruiseline took care of the 2 big bags and we didn't see them until we went to baggage claim at our final destination this afternoon. easy, easy.

 

anyway, i drove all around honolulu and waikiki and didn't have a problem. i didn't find the one way streets all that confusing. just make sure you have a good map, and most rental places provide one.

 

good luck!

[gwynnetx]

then we drove up to the north shore, stopping at the dole plantation on the way. in the afternoon, we went to the polynesian cultural center. the polynesian cultural center also has a good luau and show that you can see while you're there. (i've seen both and recommend them. personally, after this trip, i would highly recommend the old lahinia luau on maui. better food, more authentic.)

 

just wanted to clarify that i enjoyed the polynesian cultural center's luau, but if i had to choose between it and the old lahinia luau on maui, i would choose old lahinia. but the pcc one is enjoyable, too.