Oahu traffic

[cos24]

Getting off the cruise on Sept. 22 -have a 4:45pm flight. looking to possibly rent a car and tour the island. Have heard because of the rail construction traffic is much worse than usual. any experience with this? don't want to miss flight.

[Astro Flyer]

Getting off the cruise on Sept. 22 -have a 4:45pm flight. looking to possibly rent a car and tour the island. Have heard because of the rail construction traffic is much worse than usual. any experience with this? don't want to miss flight.

I don't have any current experiences however even with just normal traffic I'd be very hesitant to rent a car for a few hours & to make a 4:45 PM flight.

[cccole]

Do you know what time you will be able to get off the ship? There are many things you can see on a 4 hour drive. Other things might be the Iolani Palace and a relaxing afternoon at Waikiki. Or if you like art, a visit to the Honolulu Art Museum with a visit to the Doris Duke home, Shagri La. The location is beautiful, and a great tour. The museum has a wonderful restaurant to enjoy lunch before or after the tour. Cherie

[cos24]

Do you know what time you will be able to get off the ship? There are many things you can see on a 4 hour drive. Other things might be the Iolani Palace and a relaxing afternoon at Waikiki. Or if you like art, a visit to the Honolulu Art Museum with a visit to the Doris Duke home, Shagri La. The location is beautiful, and a great tour. The museum has a wonderful restaurant to enjoy lunch before or after the tour. Cherie

 

The ship docks at 6am.

[dcikon2]

Traffic in Honolulu is HORRIBLE! However, going to the north shore from the pier is fairly easy. You won't have a lot of time if you head to the north shore. Spend the day in the Honolulu area.

[Astro Flyer]

Traffic in Honolulu is HORRIBLE! However, going to the north shore from the pier is fairly easy. You won't have a lot of time if you head to the north shore. Spend the day in the Honolulu area.

USA TODAY & Forbes magazine both rank Honolulu #2 only behind LA for the worst traffic in the US. :eek:

 

2. Honolulu

> Congestion score: 26.0

> Population density: 1,586.7 people per sq. mile (5th highest)

> Average commute time: 27 minutes (27th highest)

> Pct. driving to work: 79.5% (14th lowest)

 

Honolulu is one of the densest metro areas in the nation, with more than 1,586 people per square mile, as of 2010. Commuters were also considerably less likely to get to work by car, truck or van than most Americans, and were far more likely to walk or use public transit. Although just two Honolulu road segments, barely totaling 11 miles, were among the nation's 100 most congested corridors in 2012, the area still ranked exceptionally poorly. However, the city's congestion score improved from 2011, when it had the worst levels in the country. After years of planning and delays, Honolulu broke ground on a massive public rail transit project in 2011. The project has long been controversial due to its environmental impact, cost and the possibility of disturbing the burial sites of Native Hawaiians' ancestors.

[tahoe782]

We have driven in Honolulu twice. Years ago and 6 months ago.

No problem there years ago and this year it was like rush hours in LA.

Horrific!!!

Never again.

tahoe782

[surebeatssailing]

We have driven in Honolulu twice. Years ago and 6 months ago.

No problem there years ago and this year it was like rush hours in LA.

Horrific!!!

Never again.

tahoe782

 

We had planned to rent a car for 1 day when we disembark in oct post cruise. The day of the week is a sunday. Should we still expect heavy traffic volume?

[Astro Flyer]

We had planned to rent a car for 1 day when we disembark in oct post cruise. The day of the week is a sunday. Should we still expect heavy traffic volume?

 

It probably won't be as crowded in the Honolulu business district but many of the hardworking locals head for the beach or run errands on the weekend. Places frequented more by tourists may be less crowded as the weekend is when many tourists arrive or head home. I've noticed fewer crowds at Maui beaches used mostly by tourists on the weekend.

[CactusFlower527]

It probably won't be as crowded in the Honolulu business district but many of the hardworking locals head for the beach or run errands on the weekend. Places frequented more by tourists may be less crowded as the weekend is when many tourists arrive or head home. I've noticed fewer crowds at Maui beaches used mostly by tourists on the weekend.

 

Look out if they have some sort of event though.. the day we docked - they were having some 5k Run downtown, had roads shut off, and it was taking the shuttles FOREVER to get people picked up and to the airport, hotels etc... from the time we disembarked at 8 am til we were sitting in our chair at the airport gate = 4 HOURS! But we had a 1 pm flight.

[Duane T]

Traffic is relatively lite on Sunday mornings. But the ongoing freeway improvement projects and the light rail projects are going to unexpectedly cause traffic jams.

 

 

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Edited June 18, 2014 by Duane T

[ksimpso3]

We went in Dec last year and only had issues with traffic near one shopping mall. We docked on Dec 7 and didn't get off the ship until 9:30. We got the shuttle to rental car shop and got on the road before noon. We drove to Pearl Harbor. We didn't buy tickets ahead of time so we couldn't go to the USS Arizona but we walked around for a couple hours. We then drove around a little and got some lunch. We found a little park across the water from the ship so we got to see her one last time before leaving. We had plenty of time to get to the airport before our 6 o'clock flight. Traffic was not really a factor at all for us.

 

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[Scrapnana]

I was there on Tuesday, February 11 and the traffic was horrendous. There were 4 or 5 excursions that were supposed to return to the ship at about 3:15. The first one returned at 3:30 and I heard a couple were after 4 pm.

[Halehuaka_i]

Yes, traffic in Honolulu is horrible, but there are some good options for a short day with a rent-a-car.

First, head to the Arizona Memorial. It opens at 7 in the morning, good timing for you. Besides the Arizona, there is the USS Bowfin Submarine, the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum. Depending on the crowds, it can be 2-4 hours. Then you can head to the Pearlridge Mall for last-minute shopping and local food in the food court. As long as you are headed back towards the airport before three, traffic is not a problem.

Iolani Palace (in downtown Honolulu) does not have tours on Mondays, so that would just be a walk around stop.

If you are into museums, check out the Bishop Museum, opens at nine. It has an incredible collection of Hawaiian artifacts. Good stop for a couple hours. There is a snack shop for lunch if you want.

The Honolulu Zoo is all the way on the east side of Waikiki. It's a nice, relaxing way to spend the day. Opens at nine, BUT get out of there by two, because afternoon traffic across town starts by three.

Your other option is a post-cruise tour. Check to see what's available.

With a rent-a-car, please use common sense and keep your valuables with you. Unfortunately there are a few who will take the opportunity to "relieve" you of your things.:(

Sorry, I didn't want to end this long post on a down note. You will see that 99.9% of Hawaii's people are friendly, honest, helpful and full of Aloha. Come and enjoy!

Lei

[Astro Flyer]

Yes, traffic in Honolulu is horrible, but there are some good options for a short day with a rent-a-car.

First, head to the Arizona Memorial. It opens at 7 in the morning, good timing for you. Besides the Arizona, there is the USS Bowfin Submarine, the Battleship Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum. Depending on the crowds, it can be 2-4 hours. Then you can head to the Pearlridge Mall for last-minute shopping and local food in the food court. As long as you are headed back towards the airport before three, traffic is not a problem.

Iolani Palace (in downtown Honolulu) does not have tours on Mondays, so that would just be a walk around stop.

If you are into museums, check out the Bishop Museum, opens at nine. It has an incredible collection of Hawaiian artifacts. Good stop for a couple hours. There is a snack shop for lunch if you want.

The Honolulu Zoo is all the way on the east side of Waikiki. It's a nice, relaxing way to spend the day. Opens at nine, BUT get out of there by two, because afternoon traffic across town starts by three.

Your other option is a post-cruise tour. Check to see what's available.

With a rent-a-car, please use common sense and keep your valuables with you. Unfortunately there are a few who will take the opportunity to "relieve" you of your things.:(

Sorry, I didn't want to end this long post on a down note. You will see that 99.9% of Hawaii's people are friendly, honest, helpful and full of Aloha. Come and enjoy!

Lei

 

Mahalo! :) We used The Bus to go to Pearl Harbor & on the way to the bus stop from the pier discovered the church where St. Father Damien (Joseph de Veuster) was ordained. Another time we printed photos from a website of the historical buildings in Honolulu to walk around town including Iolani Palace and the state capital building.