Car hire

We%26#39;re honeymooning in Oahu (7 nights), Maui (6 nights) and Kauai (5 nights) in late May and wondered if anyone can help with car hire advice.

Do we need a car in each location? We%26#39;re staying at the Kahala Hotel in Oahu, The Four Seasons in Maui and the Grand Hyatt in Kauai. I imagine we%26#39;ll probably need a couple of days to recover from jet lag in Oahu but then we%26#39;l be ready to see the island.

Is it cheaper to hire a car for the entire duration or just for the 1/2 days we might require it. I just don%26#39;t want to end up paying for parking at the hotel for a car we%26#39;re not using, but will do if it works out cheaper.

Is it cheaper to book in advance from the UK or on the day? Sometime, prices go up the nearer you get.

Can we see the best bits of each islands on tours rather than hiring a car?

Lastly, any car hire recommendations near our hotels would be great.

Thanks all.

Car hire

On Kaua%26#39;i, if you want to see the island, you should hire a car. Half day will cost you as much as full day, so you might as well rent for the duration. The rental counters are just off the airport; you take their shuttle to their site.

Car hire

Morph.

pzp is absolutely right on. YOU WILL NEED A RENTAL CAR ON KAUAI.

This island is so very beautiful, and diverse, that you will want to share it with your family. Just sitting at hotel is fine for some folks, but you paid a good chunk of change to fly out into the middle of the pacific, so why sit at a hotel, and vege.

The Car Rental companies will have vans that will pick you up from across the road, after you get your luggage. They run about every 5 minutes, so no worries. They then transport you in a very short time to their facilities, get you signed in, and you are on your way to your hotel.

We have used Dollar on our last visits. Cars clean, no critters, and happy service. We travel a bit different than most. Would always stay in a condo, washer and dryer, and travel with only one carry on each. We could walk directly to vans, and be there ahead of the rest of the passengers, and no wait at the counter of the car rental.

We would be on our way to Poipu, before the rest of the passengers even got their luggage. Or if we did check the two bags, Erica would pick them up, and be at the curb about the time I pulled up with the rental car. Every thing went smooth each time.

Enjoy experiencing beautiful kauai.

Denny And Erica

At most hotels, you will be paying a ';resort fee'; nightly on top of your room rate. At the Grand Hyatt Kauai, this includes valet parking and many other things including use of the washers and dryers in the Poipu building, free tennis, newspapers, etc. You could still park in self parking but the valet parking is included in this rate. You will need a car in Kauai and Maui.

On Oahu, you won%26#39;t need it the entire week. You will have jet lag coming from England. The grounds of the Kahala Hotel are fantastic and the beach is wonderful to relax on. You can take a quick taxi into Waikiki for some great dinners or shopping, and maybe only need a car for a couple of days when you go around the island.

Rent (hire) your cars in advance and pick up at airport. On Oahu, since it is your first stop and Honeymoon, have a limo pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the Kahala.

Thanks everyone

While in Oahu you should ask at your hotel desk about Hanauma Bay snorkel trips. The last time I was there they had vans that picked you up from your hotel and took you to Hanauma Bay on snorkel excursions. I believe I paid $15.00 for the trip, which included snorkel gear. It was AWESOME!

Hey, we%26#39;ve been to Hawaii 4 times in the last 5 years and would definitely recommend renting a Jeep Wrangler convertible for Maui and Kauai. We book in advance directly from the rental companies(we used Budget last time)

Try to stay away from driving tours, it%26#39;s way better to explore the islands on your own with a good guide book and a map(it%26#39;s better than sharing a tour bus with dozens of other tourists). We love the freedom of hopping in the jeep and exploring at our own pace.

We have done a few good snorkeling/sailing excursions, like Molokini crater(Maui) and Na Pali Coast (Kauai) .

On Oahu, you really don%26#39;t need a car if you are staying anywhere near Waikiki or Honolulu. Honolulu city has a fantastic public transit system, we even took the bus to Hanauma Bay! We do rent a car when we want to head to the North Shore.

Hope this is helpful. You will absolutely love Hawaii, it gets under your skin in a very good way!!!

Hi Wendy!

We%26#39;re from Ottawa and travelling to the islands Feb/March. Will be in Kauai for almost 2 days in port via 7 day cruise. Want to book a car rental as read NCL only rents vehicles for 4 hours!!!! Ridiculous! What recommendations can you make to see on Kauai and would you know if rental is near port or do we have to book online? You%26#39;ve been 4 times out of 5 years???? Amazing....this is ';our'; first, my second time in over 20 years. Would love some info on ';do it yourself'; tours and if any costs involved in some of these excursions. I want to stay away from the booked excursions on the cruise as they are so pricey. We have 27 more sleeps and starting to get excited!!!!! Any advice/suggestions would be very much appreciated! This cold stuff outside is driving us crazy!!!!!

Hey Angel, I know what you mean about the cold. I%26#39;m in hibernation mode right now. See if you can book a rental from one of the companies at the Lihue airport, it%26#39;s not far from the port (nothing is really far in Kauai by Canadian standards). If they can%26#39;t pick you up at the port, it%26#39;s just a short cab ride to the airport to get your rental. We went with a Wrangler soft top convertible from Budget. The rental agent even clued us in on some fun local happenings. Get your self a good guide book and you can drive yourself to most places rather than paying for a tour. One tour I would recommend is the boat trip to Na Pali, although if you%26#39;re there in the winter months, it might be too rough. In that case opt for the helicopter tour. Have a great holiday, I%26#39;m envious.......I have to wait until Sept!!!

Hey Wendy,

So you are doing the deep freeze thing too!!!! I never minded winter before until this year...the old bones thing you know. Plus knowing we are going to the islands doesn%26#39;t help either!! We got some really good guide books and maps from the fella we bought our entertainment book from. And you are so right about the tours being majorly $$$. Since I have been doing a lot of research we are going to cancel all of our excursions with the cruise and just rent a car on the islands and do our own thing. Even with the price of gas higher than ours, I%26#39;m sure with a compact or economy we can do a lot better and I want to get away from the time frame thing as do enough at work trying to meet schedules. I%26#39;m on vacation...not at work!!!!

So you going in Sept? Where will you be going and where? First time or returning? This is our first as a married couple...was in the DR last year for a wedding...then caught the bug! We were forewarned!

We are outside Ottawa at -14....

Mahalo