Car Rental/Kauai

We are going to be in Kauai on 10/16/17 on the Emerald Princess fro 8 AM to 5 PM. How hard is it to rent a car from the pier and tour the island on our own. We could sign up for a tour, but I don't want to be on a bus all day.

You will shuttle to the airport to pick up your car. Discussed here frequently.

You will want to reserve your car in advance. Often recommended here is Discount Hawaii Car Rental website. We've used them on two different trips. You can cancel and rebook as often as you like if prices drop. The website will tell you which companies will make shuttle loops from the pier. Most of them do. The cars are at the airport about 5 min away. Just look for your companies shuttle.

It is very easy to drive around in Kauai on your own.

We just did this 2 weeks ago. We rented from Alamo, and we were very happy with the service and the cleanliness of the vehicle. All of the rental companies have a shuttle that will pick you up at the pier, and it's a short ride to the airport where the agencies are. The shuttle will also take you back to the ship. It's a great way to see the island.

Thanks, we booked a car through Discount Hawaii Car Rental for the day.

You will want to reserve your car in advance. Often recommended here is Discount Hawaii Car Rental website. We've used them on two different trips. You can cancel and rebook as often as you like if prices drop. The website will tell you which companies will make shuttle loops from the pier. Most of them do. The cars are at the airport about 5 min away. Just look for your companies shuttle.

 

It is very easy to drive around in Kauai on your own.

Do their prices change dependent on the season or ??? Why would the prices change?

I booked ours early to get the size car we wanted. I have heard the rates could go up or down due to demand. I can always rebook.

Do their prices change dependent on the season or ??? Why would the prices change?

I'm no expert on car rental pricing, but they seem to operate much like the airlines, with prices which fluctuate based on current demand, sales and promotions. If you compare intermediate sized cars from all the major rental companies, the one with the lowest price will vary from day to day. You may book with Budget for the type of car you want, and then find that Thrifty has a better promotional rate a couple months later which beats that price. The point is that it's best not to be locked in to a reservation because you just never know.

I reserved cars at the different ports in Hawaii and have checked to see if I the rates went down, they didn't go down but have gone up in some cases more then doubled. I booked for this May all thru discount Hawaii car rental and they can all be cancelled

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Is there higher rate for DHCR for port pick-ups than for just a car rental at the airport. In other words, do they charge more for those who are picked up at the cruise port?

Is there higher rate for DHCR for port pick-ups than for just a car rental at the airport. In other words, do they charge more for those who are picked up at the cruise port?

No. The port shuttles are free, provided by the rental companies for their customers regardless of how they made their reservations. They are not provided by DHCR and they would have no reason to tack on a fee.

No. The port shuttles are free, provided by the rental companies for their customers regardless of how they made their reservations. They are not provided by DHCR and they would have no reason to tack on a fee.

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We recently used AVIS for a car on Kauai, it was OK but they were very busy and the process took awhile. It appeared that the other major companies were also busy. This was a week day, mid day, non holiday period. They tried very hard to sell us their comprehensive vehicle insurance which was very expensive, we had previously researched this and bought third party insurance.

Does anyone know or remember what time the shuttles run to the rental car agencies. I imagine they're available first thing in the am to take you to your car, but returning? What the latest you can return your car and still get the shuttle back to the ship? Trying to debate for the maui and kauai overnight ports. Thanks for your help.

Like others have said, Costco is cheaper.