jiejie

I'm trying to plan a trip for my parents (about age 80) to Hawaii for the fall. This is not their first trip but it's been a number of years, and my Dad is a native of Hawaii. Familiarization with Hawaii is not a problem but driving ability is. Dad is in the early stages of Alzheimers and has characteristics that would make driving inadviseable. Mom still has the skills but is very uncomfortable driving in unfamiliar and mountainous areas (even small mountains and hills). So, self-drive looks like a dicey proposition. Depending on relatives is also not an option for various reasons I won't go into. They will go to Oahu (family visits) and Maui (pleasure) incl Hana.

Does anybody have any recommendations for a car service that could provide a friendly and safe driver with car, maybe on a per-day basis? Or a private driver recommendation, for either island. I'll take open forum suggestions or PM's. Thanks in advance!

Tony10s

Not familiar with private driver services , but there are plenty of site seeing shuttle services that will take groups to many destinations, Hana included
Akina Tours comes to mind
Plus Taxis could help out the parents
With the exception of upcountry and Hana , most roads are flat with little incline or decline within Maui.

Often1

If you will not be physically traveling with your parents, I would highly advise using a skilled TA with experience in booking HI travel. This will cost some money, but it's important that the services you book in HI all understand that they have an ongoing relationship with the TA and depend on the TA for future business and therefore can't disappoint your parents.

If something does go wrong, it's also good to have an experienced TA because you simply call the TA and have them fix the problem rather than trying to handle yourself and dealing with people you have never spoken with before and will never speak with again.

jiejie

Thanks for the inputs, will take under advisement. The Maui portion is for tourism but they definitely won't do a group or join-in tour, taxi service or going through a TA might work. The Oahu portion is not sightseeing and their destinations are not on the tourist trail so need private transport. Yes, I'd love to be the driver, but looks like work will not allow me to go along. *cry*

Ukalady

I'm not sure if this would work for you and your parents, but I've used Star Taxi (http://www.startaxihawaii.com/) with great success on Oahu. The drivers we had were absolutely top-notch--professional yet friendly. They always picked us up when they said they would and got us where we needed to--and added a lot of aloha on every trip with their personalities.

They drive not just the "usual" tourist routes, but will put together whatever you need on Oahu. Prices aren't bad, either--we found better by far than standard taxi metered service. Plus, it's just your traveling group and the driver--no strangers.

Good luck!

1st Cav Vet

In addition to the fine recommendations above, it would not hurt to try a Hawaii Hospice or other service group that may know of car service that would work for you.

jiejie

Again, thank you so much for the ideas!