Mr. Roboto

In my last 3 trips to HNL I've rented a car and stayed at the Marriott Waikiki. I find the their parking garage very tight when making turns, especially if another car is approaching you in the opposite direction, also the spaces are not that wide. I had a Ford Escort this past May and I felt it was just the right size for parking there. It's not just the Marriott, it seems HNL parking garages are all built for smaller cars.

The parking lot is attached to the Kealohilani Tower (the shorter & older building), so if your room is in the taller Paoakalani Tower you'll have to ride down to the ground floor, walk past a few shops (and the Hertz office!), cross the lobby, and take a 2nd elevator ride up to your room. This is what happened to me, but I was travelling alone and so it wasn't a hassle at all. However, you mentioned you have 3 children in tow, which might be an inconvenience (you didn't mention their ages).

terryellen

thanks for the tip on the garage...our kids are 6,8 and 10...and good travelers..a small walk would be fine...I am more concerned about parking spots and negotiating the garage...I will have to see how much luggage we have and how much storage space we need

Christian

Any suggestions where I could find the cheapest Dec26-29 rental of a softtop jeep (Wrangler or Tracker or other).
Must have roof rack for surfgear (is that standard in Hawaii?)
Thanks and Mahalo!

hotelsales

Try looking online first and see what the average is. Then go to priceline.com as they usually will take a bid $10 - $15 less than what the average is. You name your price and select type of vehicle you are willing/able to pay for. Dec 26 - 29 is going to be TOUGH as that is peak peak peak season for Hawaii. Sorry but no one will be discounting a soft top jeep in Paradise during their business time of year. Supply & Demand....

Good luck & Mahalo!! Do you have frequent renter status with any of the car companies?

susiesan

We will be staying at the Ilima Hotel in central Waikiki for 3 nights precruise, April 25-28. I'd like to rent a car for 2 of the days we are on Ohahu to get out of the city and to go to dinner. I only need an economy car. I'd like to rent from an office close to our hotel that I can walk to. Should I wait until we get there or make a reservation? Any way to find out which companies have offices in Waikiki and where they are in relation to our hotel? I don't care who we rent from as long as it's cheap.

jtkauai

basic answer: no, don't wait. have some reservation, and then see if you can better it as it gets closer or when you are there. you can pick up cars in waikiki, so just check with the rental companies, and google the map or whatever. try islandair.com's link to car rentals. their rates have been good.

cblaisd

There is a National and Alamo office on Ala Moana, easily walkable from the Doubletree or Hilton Hawaiian Village. I have saved huge amounts of money renting from either of those and then returning the car at the airport (no drop charge). I often will take a cab (especially if with spouse) from the airport to the hotel and then pick up the car at the Ala Moana location and return it at the airport. This lets us have a car for when we want it for shopping, etc., but not have to pay the airport charges or deal with the mess that that Alamo office is at HNL for picking up a car (returning is fine).

E.g., for a trip in a couple of weeks, I got a National rate of $22/day, pick up at Ala Moana, drop off at HNL. This is 50-70% cheaper than some of the alternatives.

But I agree with jtkauai: there is no downside to having a reservation; you can cancel it if you don't need it.

susiesan

I e-mailed discounthawaiicarrentals.com and asked what I should rent to pick up at a Waikiki location close by our hotel, Ilima Hotel. They said choose "brand X" which would be Thrifty, which appears to be 2 blocks or so from our hotel. So I made a reservation with no cancellation penalties. I'd like to be able to return it to the airport and then take the Thrifty shuttle to the cruiseship dock saving on a cab or shuttle transfer.

Ripper3785

Did you ask Thrifty about this? Or do they normally do that? I'd never heard of that before. The docks are about halfway between the airport and waikiki.

susiesan

According to past NCL passengers who post on Cruise Critic, if you have rented from Thrifty at the airport, they will pick you up at the cruise ship docks or drop you off there. I have a car rented from them for the day after the cruise since our flight does not leave until 4:00. I will shuttle over to the airport to pick up the car. Icalled the airport office and asked them myself to confirm this is true.

I will check when we rent at the Seaside location if we can drop off at the airport and use the free shuttle.

PremEx

cblaisd writes: Thanks for that suggestion! I needed a car for only one day and that takes care of my one day's driving about...plus provides my return to airport transport on the day of my departure! Perfect!

I tried Alamo, but they were charging $30 airport Drop-Off. But per your suggestion...National was not! No Drop-Off fee! Public weekday rate was around $43 all-in, but with my AARP discount I got the car with all taxes and fees in for only $25! And no Drop-Off charge!

Heck...I'd have paid more than that just for a taxi back to the airport! Now I can have the car to putt around in for 24 hours and use it to get me back to the airport too.

Great Tip and Mahalo!

cblaisd

Glad it worked out!

Btw, since my previous post, I changed the rental to picking up with National at HNL and dropping off at Ala Moana. Still no drop charge, and same rate

gya007

Hi Cblaisd and others,

The National option is good to get back to the airport. Do you recommend doing the same thing on arrival? i.e. pick up at HNL and drop off locally? I'm staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We are a couple and a 3-yr old.

TIA
-G

cblaisd

Yes, I would, generally speaking. The National office is a 10 minute walk from the HHV.

If you want to come from the airport and then not need a car for a few days, the one way option is great; then get a car from the Ala Moana location and drop off at the airport.

Until they raise their fares (like Hertz) or institute a drop-charge for one way (like Alamo/Avis/et al) this is an excellent deal, imo.

You can also avoid the $20/25 HHV parking fees for whatever nights you don't need a car.

dvs7310

I know that Hertz has Audi A4 and A6 models at HNL, but do any of the other rental car companys offer BMW products? I would prefer to rent a 3 series or MB C-Class over an A4 if I can find it.