Jay71

Wouldn't mind some feedback too. There will be about seven of us on the trip. Is it worth packing into a minivan or splitting up into two vehicles. Lack of flexibility with so many people aside, I'm concerned about getting to some places listed in the Kauai Revealed book.

ILuvParis

Actually, to help avoid any confusion, it's far northwest. To be honest, a 4WD would be very helpful if one plans to spend any time at Polihale Beach. The five mile road is not just bumpy, it is impossible to drive much more than about 5 mph (if you want to avoid damage to the car) and once you arrive, if you have a 4WD, you can drive on the beach. It is virtually deserted and the sand is quite deep in places - you would get stuck otherwise. Yes, you can drive the road in a regular car - I've done it a couple of times, but it is very S-L-O-W. There are huge ruts and holes.

KyRoamer

Check your rental contract. It may prohibit off road driving. Even extra insurance may be void if you damage car while driving off road.

CPRich

http://www.kauaiexplorer.com/kauai_beaches/ - Ke'e looks pretty darn NW, with Polihale south of west. (For some reason, almost every map of Kauai is rotated clockwise and lacks a N orientation arrow)

Drive the entire north coast of the the island, as far west as you can and you end up at Ke'e beach.

Drive down the south coast of the island, toward the west, and at the end of the road you get to Polihale. You can call that the northwest corner if you like, but I think 90% of the population would refer to it as the southwest.

I suppose that Hanakapiai or Kalalau is technically the "northwest" beach.

Back to the OP, the suggestion of the smallest car that can comfortably hold all your luggage/people is probably the best - gas is $3.35+/gallon and, other than this one spot, roads that every car can manage.

ILuvParis

I guess you're right! I always think of Napali as north, Ke'e as northeast and Polihale as northwest - probably, as you suggest, because most maps have the island rotated. Mea culpa!

cblaisd

For the sake of on-topic-ness in the Hawai`i forum, we have moved several posts from this thread to this thread in the Diners Club forum.

cblaisd and slippahs
Co-Moderators, Hawai`i forum

Jay71

Looking for advice on which car rental company to rent from in Kauai. I'm not sure if I want to bid for a car on Priceline. For their set prices, Priceline shows Alamo, Dollar, & Thrifty the cheapest, National & Budget midrange, and Avis & Hertz the most expensive. Is it a crapshoot such that I should just bid for one or is say Alamo really that much worse and I should just get a set priced car from Dollar?

Dollar and Thrifty also show near airport while the others list In-Terminal. Are they so for off site that it's a factor?

TIA.

Jon Maiman

I rented from National ealier this summer. Due to a mechanical delay on UA, I arrived a day later in Kauai then originally planned. Other than the manager having to screw around with the reservation for a half hour to restore my original rate, they were fine. Note I was charged the correct amount when I returned the car without further issue. National is located a few blocks from the airport. The shuttle was fast both on pick up and on the return. Cars on the lot were all okay, but a little bit on the older side. We had reserved a full size SUV and wound up with a Buick Rendezvous, which we liked. The other option was a Chevy Trailblazer, which also would have been fine. Two years ago I had rented one from National on the Big Island. Bottom line, National at LIH is basically fine. The cars are a little bit on the older side but otherwise okay. Based on some reviews I had read about National at LIH before my trip, I was a bit nervous. That turned out to be unnecessary.

--Jon

bocastephen

I rent on an alternating basis from Avis and National on the mainland, and do the same when in Hawai'i. I've rented from both vendors at LIH and I concur with the previous poster - National/Alamo have good rates, but usually older, higher mileage and often dinged up cars.

Avis cars appear to be newer, better maintained and I've found the staff to be more helpful and friendlier than their National counterparts - but that difference carries over to the mainland as well

linsj

National is my preferred rental company anywhere. At Lihue, when the shuttle dropped us off, the driver told us to choose any vehicle we wanted. (There were half a dozen on the lot; my flight got in a couple hours late.) I had reserved--and paid for--a compact, hoping for free upgrade. Got an SUV for two weeks for the cheapest price. Sweet deal.

Tummy

They're all really close together. If you have to take a shuttle, it's literally on the other side of the parking lot.

I've rented from Hertz, Avis, and Alamo on Kauai, and they're all basically the same. Unless you want something specific, Hertz have Toyota Camry Solara's for example, I would just bid on Priceline.

Though, during busy times, Priceline is often the same or more than what I've been able to get from Hertz + some coupon codes directly.

ILuvParis

National has the brand new Sebring Convertibles currently at LIH.

jedison

They are not all close together. Most are right next to the loop road that goes by the Terminal, while Thrifty is a 1/2 mile or so away. All require a shuttle bus. I used Thrifty, which was fine. Bit of brain surgery picking up my car, but I ended up with a Dodge Grand Caravan with 5,000 miles on it and was perfectly satisfied.

Rates were all over the place. I ended up using a travel agency to get the van or $279/week. Agency was www.discounthawaiicarrental.com.

CPRich

I rented from National this summer, about $32/day all in after an Entertainment book coupon. No problems picking up or dropping off.

magiciansampras

We used Hertz in Kauai and it was so-so. We had reserved a mustang months in advance but when we arrived, surprise surprise, they were out. So we took a van, went food shopping, came back and they had one waiting for us.

They did take some $$ off the reservation and the car was brand new, so those were good things.