Hawaii Port Car Rentals

I would assume that renting cars in Hawaii cruise ports is in pretty high demand. What has your experience been as far as location of rental facilities relative to the docked area, wait times and convenience? Is renting a car worth it? Any tips on how to make the experience as painless and quick as possible?

There are many threads about car rentals and the logistics involved.

"Worth it" is a personal judgement only you can make. But I doubt you will find many people here that give a serious argument against car rental in Hawaii. It gives tremendous freedom to explore.

If you decide to rent...join the company's frequent renters club...no cost and in most places you will encounter much shorter wait times.

Many posters here recommend Discount Hawaii Car Rental website (DHCR). We have used them twice. No upfront payment. Can cancel and rebook if rates drop. You pay when you pick up the car so no worries about last minute cancellations if plans change. You usually get the second driver free.

Not sure what ship you are on. For Nawiliwili and Kahului the various car shuttles will run nonstop from inside the port to the nearby airport locations. A 5 min ride. Whichever company you choose, sign up for their membership and it will get you in the fast track line. Usually in our car and on our way within 30 min or so of leaving the dock.

If you are docking in Lahaina, it's a bit different. You'll have to check the various threads on the subject for info. Not sure if there is an option right in Lahaina or if you'll have to taxi to the West Maui airport, I believe it is.

In Kona, there is a shuttle to the airport location, but most people simply walk 5 min to the King Kam hotel and rent there. I would book well in advance here. Never rented in Hilo, but I believe the same applies re the shuttles to the airport.

give costco a try. name rental companies, competitive rates.

give costco a try. name rental companies, competitive rates.

I second that

We used Discount Hawaii Car Rentals in each port. Lots of others on this board have, too. Highly recommended.

give costco a try. name rental companies, competitive rates.

We used Discount Hawaii Car Rentals in each port. Lots of others on this board have, too. Highly recommended.

For our ports, Coscto had better prices and also no prepayment & a free additional covered driver like DHCR.

For our ports, Coscto had better prices and also no prepayment & a free additional covered driver like DHCR.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have checked Costco before and not found a better rate, but after reading this I checked for our upcoming trip. The savings with Costco on Oahu from DHCR was $40. Not huge, but enough for a couple mai tais!!!! Costco did not beat the DHCR rate in Hilo but I am happy with the Oahu savings. Thank you again for the reminder. Cherie

For those who have used Costco, are you able to have Costco put in your loyalty program number or do you need to call the agency directly? Thank you.

For our ports, Coscto had better prices and also no prepayment & a free additional covered driver like DHCR.

Awesome ! I agree that people should check all options. :)

Awesome ! I agree that people should check all options. :)

Absolutely...the best prices can be elusive & it's always good to check for the best option. ;)

I've recently discovered that Hotwire has some great rental car prices although the downside is that it requires payment at booking & is non-refundable.

Just to provide a different opinion than others. ;-) On our last trip in 2014 on the POA, based on the advice I found here on CC, we rented cars in each port. I do agree that it is the most cost effective way to see the islands (we were 2 couples) and I did like not having to get on and off 50 passenger buses and be at the whim of others. That said, we did find it a little stressful with directions (my GPS did not always take us to the right location) and inconvenient waiting for the shuttle buses to the airports (in one port they would only allow the renter to board the bus since there were a lot of people waiting, thus then you had to make a trip back to the port to pick up the rest of the group), parking was not always easy, and traffic made us nervous at times due to concerns we wouldn't make it back on time (got behind an accident on Kauai). Also in some ports I think we may have enjoyed some history or commentary about what we were seeing beyond what we read in the guidebooks and brochures.

On our upcoming LA round trip we plan on taking taxi's in Honolulu (to Diamond Head, then to Pearl Harbor), have booked small group tours in Hilo and Maui, a private driver/tour in Kauai, and a ship's tour for Ensenada. When I asked my husband and travel companions if they wanted to do the car rental thing again they all said "NO!".

Everyone has their own motives and tolerances, so only you know what is right for you! I just wanted to offer up a different experience.

'nbist'...those are good things to consider before renting a car & each of us has our own comfort level.

Due to traffic & problems navigating around the island, I don't rent a car on O'ahu. The other islands have much less traffic & are easier to navigate...until there's an accident or brushfire. There are very limited alternate routes on the other islands & some are not recommend for visitors to use because of their condition.

You've experienced an accident delay but even without an accident I've read that returning from Kauai's north shore in the afternoon will have delays.

Such delays can create stress & even rarely missing the ship. Driving conditions are just one of the factors to consider when deciding our individual comfort levels.

Yes Astro Flyer. Exactly. We all have our own comfort level.

I have traveled extensively on business over the last 30 years, rented more cars than I care to remember, and maneuvered in cities finding my way long before GPS. That said I was surprised at how we found the shuttles, driving, parking, car return, etc., to really feel like a hassle for the short time we were on each island. If I wanted to save money, go to out of the way places, or were staying on an island for a longer period of time I would definitely rent again, but not for a short port day when I plan to do the same route a tour would anyway.

I don't want to discourage anyone from renting a car if that is what they want to do. Just wanted to offer up some things to think about.

Just to provide a different opinion than others. ;-) On our last trip in 2014 on the POA, based on the advice I found here on CC, we rented cars in each port. I do agree that it is the most cost effective way to see the islands (we were 2 couples) and I did like not having to get on and off 50 passenger buses and be at the whim of others. That said, we did find it a little stressful with directions (my GPS did not always take us to the right location) and inconvenient waiting for the shuttle buses to the airports (in one port they would only allow the renter to board the bus since there were a lot of people waiting, thus then you had to make a trip back to the port to pick up the rest of the group), parking was not always easy, and traffic made us nervous at times due to concerns we wouldn't make it back on time (got behind an accident on Kauai). Also in some ports I think we may have enjoyed some history or commentary about what we were seeing beyond what we read in the guidebooks and brochures.

 

On our upcoming LA round trip we plan on taking taxi's in Honolulu (to Diamond Head, then to Pearl Harbor), have booked small group tours in Hilo and Maui, a private driver/tour in Kauai, and a ship's tour for Ensenada. When I asked my husband and travel companions if they wanted to do the car rental thing again they all said "NO!".

 

Everyone has their own motives and tolerances, so only you know what is right for you! I just wanted to offer up a different experience.

All of the above - as you, this is our third cruise on the POA and I said no more car rentals. I think just the hours on shuttles and lines acquiring the car really always put a damper on the day,,,,,THEN returning the car. Oh yes, and parking is impossible Everywhere!

Also.....the GPS issue - all of the streets starting with K then sounding the same :D

We have found HI has very friendly and fun drivers - we called and are meeting the driver we had last year - he gave us a million dollar tour on Kaui, even snuck us into a private garden that was amazing!

I actually commented once that driving around the islands can turn a Honeymoon into a Divorce:rolleyes:

Just to provide a different opinion than others. ;-) On our last trip in 2014 on the POA, based on the advice I found here on CC, we rented cars in each port. I do agree that it is the most cost effective way to see the islands (we were 2 couples) and I did like not having to get on and off 50 passenger buses and be at the whim of others. That said, we did find it a little stressful with directions (my GPS did not always take us to the right location) and inconvenient waiting for the shuttle buses to the airports (in one port they would only allow the renter to board the bus since there were a lot of people waiting, thus then you had to make a trip back to the port to pick up the rest of the group), parking was not always easy, and traffic made us nervous at times due to concerns we wouldn't make it back on time (got behind an accident on Kauai). Also in some ports I think we may have enjoyed some history or commentary about what we were seeing beyond what we read in the guidebooks and brochures.

 

On our upcoming LA round trip we plan on taking taxi's in Honolulu (to Diamond Head, then to Pearl Harbor), have booked small group tours in Hilo and Maui, a private driver/tour in Kauai, and a ship's tour for Ensenada. When I asked my husband and travel companions if they wanted to do the car rental thing again they all said "NO!".

 

Everyone has their own motives and tolerances, so only you know what is right for you! I just wanted to offer up a different experience.

ill be going on the LA Roundtrip in October-- Anyways, we are planning on taking a taxi to Pearl Harbor... Do you know how far it is from the port & what I should expect to pay? It seems that Honolulu has the most expensive car rental rate. We are still in trying to plan last minute things for the island!!

We have found HI has very friendly and fun drivers - we called and are meeting the driver we had last year - he gave us a million dollar tour on Kaui, even snuck us into a private garden that was amazing!

 

I actually commented once that driving around the islands can turn a Honeymoon into a Divorce:rolleyes:

Would you mind sharing the contact info for the tour you took and a little info on where you went, what you saw, number of hours you toured?

Thanks.

We used Discount Hawaii Car Rentals in each port. Lots of others on this board have, too. Highly recommended.

I've heard numerous reports about Discount Hawaii...I called them yesterday to check rates and availability for when we are on the POA in Kauai. They told me that they no longer offer shuttle services from the port. Anyone use anyone different in Kauai that you can recommend.

Thanks!!

Discount Car Rentals is a broker. They don't provide the cars, the standard rental companies do. Same with the shuttles, provided by the car companies.

I think I would call a couple of the companies on Kauai to confirm shuttles are no longer offered. If no longer offered, I would think taxi to the rental sites would be the next option.

I used Hawaiicarrentals dot net for all of mine next week. They have a page that tells exactly what you need to do at each port to pick up your car. I ended up using Dollar for all of them. Another thing I did was go back and check the rates a month or so after booking (if you did it well in advance the first time) and found out that in 3 of my 4 ports the rates went down! I just went in and rebooked them at the cheaper rate. I also used Costco for my original Oahu rental, but it turns out that Dollar through the above site was $25 cheaper. They have their own discount code for these rentals. E.g. Kona and Oahu were only $15 per day.

I've heard numerous reports about Discount Hawaii...I called them yesterday to check rates and availability for when we are on the POA in Kauai. They told me that they no longer offer shuttle services from the port. Anyone use anyone different in Kauai that you can recommend.

 

Thanks!!

Interesting. They haven't updated their website to reflect this.

From their website next to each "Brand" Courtesy shuttles are sent to the harbor from their airport location automatically

Weird.

I've heard numerous reports about Discount Hawaii...I called them yesterday to check rates and availability for when we are on the POA in Kauai. They told me that they no longer offer shuttle services from the port. Anyone use anyone different in Kauai that you can recommend.

 

Thanks!!

Call DHCR back and ask for a clarification on this. As noted, DHCR does not provide the shuttles, the car companies do. Maybe this is what they were trying to convey to you. With hundreds of people arriving in port wanting cars, the car agencies would be shooting themselves in the foot if they discontinued shuttles.

Regardless of the mechanism you use to book, Costco, DHCR, other brokers, or direct with the car company itself, the shuttles from the airport agencies will all be at the cruise dock. All you need is a reserved car to ride them.

We rented cars on every stop of the POA. Found it fairly easy to rent every car. We joined the thrifty blue chip program and most of our rentals were with Thrifty. We rarely waited for a shuttle more then 15 minutes. We rented all our cars thru Autoslash.com. Great experience. They continually checked the rates and canceled and rebooked for us if the rates went down. No upfront credit cards required. No issues at any of our cruise stops and I found the prices to be better on auto slash then I could book myself.

My rates with taxes and fees were:

Maui (OGG) 2 days $64 (+$12 to park at Airport)

Hilo Airport Thrifty 1 day $42

Kona (KING KAMEHAMEHA HOTEL) Hertz $29

Kauai (LIH) Thrifty 2 days (+$20 to park at anchor mall) $57

Just to provide a different opinion than others. ;-) On our last trip in 2014 on the POA, based on the advice I found here on CC, we rented cars in each port. I do agree that it is the most cost effective way to see the islands (we were 2 couples) and I did like not having to get on and off 50 passenger buses and be at the whim of others. That said, we did find it a little stressful with directions (my GPS did not always take us to the right location) and inconvenient waiting for the shuttle buses to the airports (in one port they would only allow the renter to board the bus since there were a lot of people waiting, thus then you had to make a trip back to the port to pick up the rest of the group), parking was not always easy, and traffic made us nervous at times due to concerns we wouldn't make it back on time (got behind an accident on Kauai). Also in some ports I think we may have enjoyed some history or commentary about what we were seeing beyond what we read in the guidebooks and brochures.

 

On our upcoming LA round trip we plan on taking taxi's in Honolulu (to Diamond Head, then to Pearl Harbor), have booked small group tours in Hilo and Maui, a private driver/tour in Kauai, and a ship's tour for Ensenada. When I asked my husband and travel companions if they wanted to do the car rental thing again they all said "NO!".

 

Everyone has their own motives and tolerances, so only you know what is right for you! I just wanted to offer up a different experience.

We are probably stopping at the same ports that you did. Can you possibly share with me the private small tour people that you used. How reasonable were they? Are they located on the Internet? Thanks so much. :)