Rental car on Oahu

i have reserved a car through Discount Hawaii Rental Car for the day we are in port in Honolulu.

It is an Alamo rental car. Do they pick you up at the port? I did check a box for cruise port, but want to hear from someone who used Alamo. Or is there a better agency to go with.

Also are there plenty of shuttles or is it a mad dash for everyone to get on the bus?

I scheduled a 730 am pickup so hopefully they really do open that early.

How did you find the traffic navigating around the island?

We plan on using our iphone for navigation or should we rent a gps?

Thanks for any help you can give me and if you have any do not miss sites that would be great. We have been to the Arizona so will skip it and PCC too. We do want to hit punch bowl cemetery this time.

Thanks again

Cheryl

i have reserved a car through Discount Hawaii Rental Car for the day we are in port in Honolulu.

 

It is an Alamo rental car. Do they pick you up at the port? I did check a box for cruise port, but want to hear from someone who used Alamo. Or is there a better agency to go with.

 

Also are there plenty of shuttles or is it a mad dash for everyone to get on the bus?

 

I scheduled a 730 am pickup so hopefully they really do open that early.

 

How did you find the traffic navigating around the island?

 

We plan on using our iphone for navigation or should we rent a gps?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me and if you have any do not miss sites that would be great. We have been to the Arizona so will skip it and PCC too. We do want to hit punch bowl cemetery this time.

 

Thanks again

Cheryl

Does your reservation confirmation not indicate the location you are renting from? My understanding is that most rentals are from the airport location and that they no longer send shuttles to the port in Honolulu. I'd call DHCR and inquire.

There are car rental companies in the Waikiki area much closer to the ship which MAY provide a shuttle, or if not, they may be a very short taxi ride away. You would probably need to contact them directly to book, but you could ask DHCR. There was discussion on this board about this recently and you could search for those threads, or just google Waikiki car rental and see which is closest and then call them for info. One potential problem I recall is that these offices tend to close at 4:00 or 5:00 pm. You may need to ask them about any options for drop off after this hour.

Sorry to say traffic in Honolulu and Waikiki is as bad or worse than many big cities on the mainland. The interstates are crowded and confusing. Once away from Waikiki, and the Pearl Harbor, airport area, it's a country drive and very easy. The GPS on your phone should be fine. Hopefully the driver will have someone to assist, as the driver will need both eyes on the road, initially.

Google "Circle Island Tours" to see what to look for along the way that interests you. This will take you along the North Shore and all the way around down the Windward, east side, coming back into Waikiki past Diamond Head from the East.

How did you find the traffic navigating around the island?

 

We plan on using our iphone for navigation or should we rent a gps?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me and if you have any do not miss sites that would be great. We have been to the Arizona so will skip it and PCC too. We do want to hit punch bowl cemetery this time.

Honolulu has some of the worst commuter traffic in the U.S., but that is what it is, commuter traffic, which means if you leave Waikiki and head towards Haleiwa (North Shore) you are going opposite traffic. Ditto if you leave Waikiki and head towards Hanauma Bay, you are going opposite traffic.

If you are just wanting to drive to local sights (Punchbowl, Chinatown, Diamond Head, etc) then avoid the commuting hours when people are coming into Downtown Honolulu and Waikiki.

No need for GPS, use Waze.

For ideas on the island circle tour TripAdvisor (parent company of Cruise Critic) has several good plans in the Top Questions of the forums and the forums are a great resource. Here are the links plus a link to the Oahu Drive Guide, which you can get in hard copy in the Baggage Claim Area at HNL.

TripAdvisor Oahu

Oahu Driving Tour

Oahu Drive Guide

Waze works quite well here (as well as other map apps you may have on your iPhone) and I second having a passenger to help navigate. Sometimes within Honolulu you're warned of turns a little late, where a passenger looking at the phone will be able to give you an earlier heads up. Also a friendly note- it's a quite pricy ticket to so much as hold your phone while driving. So definitely get a passenger to do it.

Traffic at rush hour can by slow in and into town. Rush hour in the mornings is typically over before 9 (I don't go out earlier so can't comment on how much earlier it clears up but I expect 7:30 is still quite busy) and is worst in the afternoon from 3-6. Unlike most cities on the mainland, if you're stuck in traffic and need to change lanes people will frequently let you over if you put your blinker on. It's glorious. (On the flip side, if you see a blinker don't be surprised if the person simply moves over. They're not cutting you off, they're assuming you saw the blinker and were planning on letting them in.)

Outside of rush hour and outside of Honolulu it's generally smooth sailing with the exception of Kalanianaole highway southbound through Kailua and Waimanalo some weekend days.

What sorts of things do you like to do? Punchbowl cemetery is certainly nice. If you're a beach person I can suggest a few nice options. The drive along the kaiwi coast is quite nice with many stop offs for scenic points along the way.

~Katy

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