Car rentals at the cruise ports?

[karioncruising]

I am new here and I am sure this has been asked before, but I am overwhelmed by all the posts. I heard that on Kauai the rental agencies will pick you up at the dock. Will they pick you up at Hilo too? Someone said it is 30 minutes to the Hilo airport. Are there any car rentals at the dock? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[Dusty2]

They will in Maui.

[vbmom87]

I am new here and I am sure this has been asked before, but I am overwhelmed by all the posts. I heard that on Kauai the rental agencies will pick you up at the dock. Will they pick you up at Hilo too? Someone said it is 30 minutes to the Hilo airport. Are there any car rentals at the dock? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I am sure you will find this a valuable source of information. If you haven't yet found the search button, do take a look at the upper right side of your screen and you will find a search button. I like Advanced Search as you can search by title. It will often help you finding old posts that cover a subject you are interested in.

 

I booked through http://hawaiicruisecars.com/

 

Their website does list what the shuttle options are in each port. However, always verify with whomever you are renting through. I have read a post where one of the Enterprise locations was listed as providing transport to their office, but in fact they stopped this service. So just double check.

 

All the ports except Kona have shuttle pick ups from the airport. In Kona you can rent through Thrifty at the King Kam Hotel which is across the street from the pier. You can also rent with the off-airport site of Enterprise. YOu call them and they will pick you up. They are about 5-10 minutes from the pier according to other posters on this forum. YOu do not want to rent from the airport in Kona. That would be a hefty taxi bill and you would lose pressure touring time.

 

As far as Hilo, from what I have read, the airport is close by.

[gargoyle999]

We were on a cruise to Hawaii last month on the Carnival Spirit. There were shuttles available except in Kona as mentioned. King Kam Hotel is right across the street there.

 

Some of the car rentals are not at the actual airport, but nearby. But when you rent you want the airport location. Just keep track of where you are when you get the car. I overheard some people complaining in Honolulu they had a hard time finding the place. This was Thrifty.

 

We actually spent $15 at each port (except Kona :)) and took a cab to beat the group. Also you may be waiting awhile for the shuttle to come back if it's not right there when you get off. They didn't have several lined up waiting. Once it took off you'd be waiting for it to come back. The locations are maybe 15 minutes away, but that's 30 minutes for the shuttles to make a round trip.

 

I used the website listed above to make all my reservations as well and used Thrifty in each port.

[Nancyquilts]

In our experience - all ports will have car rental shuttles. In Honolulu you have to arrange for it, but everywhere else they come by the piers. The

Hilo pier isn't far from the airport - I'd say 10 minutes at the most. All the rentals are in the same area at the airport.

In Kauai the rentals are off-site, so you probably won't go to the airport - at least we didn't with Thrifty.

Do book your cars ahead of time. There often are none left for walk-ups.

[Cruising Carol]

Had the travel agent make reservations. In Hilo, we had off airport Enterprise; in Kauai, the airport Dollar. Both the same base price for a compact; but Enterprise had a cheaper total because no airport fee. In Hilo, received a Dodge Charger; in Kauai, a PT Cruiser. Both worked well with the roads on the respective islands. Both had shuttles at the pier without making a call to the office.

[karioncruising]

Thanks for all the great information. Can hardly wait until October.

[Nanatravel]

We rented cars through the web link that you were given at the average of $34 for a compact car. We had Thrifty on Hilo @ the airport - Dodge Caliber seated 4 very comfortabley. On Kauai we had Thrifty @ the Lihue airport also had a Dodge Cavalierliber - like small SUV. On Maui, we had Enterprise which is at the Sheraton hotel, a little farther from Lahaina but no more than 15 minutes. All companies offer shuttle pick up and return and do have set hours of pickup & latest return. We registered for the frequent driver programs at each agency. Found Enterprise program not to be worth anything special. Thrifty is great as the paperwork is all ready, just sign, take the keys and go to the lot and get in your car.

 

Do fill up with gas before you return the car. In Hilo it cost us almost $20 for 2 gallons of gas!

[alansfreed]

All the ports except Kona have shuttle pick ups from the airport.

 

Actually, you can indeed take a shuttle to the major car rental agencies at the airport. I know this for a fact because we took one just a few weeks ago.

 

I had reserved a car ahead of time through Enterprise (near the harbor), but when I called to confirm things that morning, I got an answering machine that said that this location was "closed until Tuesday" (we were there on a Monday). I wasn't going to waste time trying to figure out if they were open or closed or what the deal was, so we just hopped in one of the several shuttles that were waiting for people as we got off the tenders.

 

We rented a car at the airport, which was something like 8 miles north of town, but it wasn't horribly out of the way. Given the chance to do it again, I probably would have just gone to the King Kam Hotel, though, for convenience.