Mary2e

I seem to recall walking right up to the Avis window across from baggage claim and also being able to walk to the car, though a shuttle was available.

I've only rented from Avis on Kauai and have been happy.

Jay71

Thanks for the feedback and everyone's personal experiences.
We're leaving in just under a month. I figure this is slow season so I may wait a couple of more weeks until booking.

ILuvParis

My recommendation, as I have posted elsewhere, is Priceline. You can usually get a convertible, for the price of an intermediate car booked in the regular fashion. There is no better car on Kauai. Of course, this means you don't get to choose which company and more often than not, you'll end up with Alamo.

BiziBB

This is my experience with PL - ended up with a convertible through Hertz; Was lucky to pick up the very last Mustang, but the alternative was arguably better - a Jeep ragtop for those who missed out.

If you are okay with a Wrangler SUV or similar, you could see a little more of the famous Kauai hinterland, at the convertible rate.

alanwar

I have generally found that renting from Alamo and using the costco codes and coupons has the best rate. I never tried priceline but for my next trip I might.

ASflyer

http://p070.ezboard.com/HawaiiPuerto...abiddingfrm227

Tummy

That explains... I've never used Thrifty, so it's not even on my list of places to look for.

If you Priceline, Thrifty is not one of their partners, so don't have to worry about it. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, and National are all across the parking lot.

Jay71

Just a follow-up to this thread.

Booked online for our mid October trip at the Dollar website using a Dollar Express membership. Total price on the Dollar website was cheaper than the total prices on Priceline (based on what I was bidding) and what Hotwire was offering. I did use Bidding for Travel/Better Bidding for bid ranges but it didn't help (Some people posted successful bids of $14 for an intermediate in the past. I needed a winning bid of about under $18 for the compact to get a comparable price to the Dollar website and didn't get it). I ended up just booking a compact for 8 days for just under $200USD. PL and Hotwire were over $200USD after the taxes and fees.

It's about a 5 min walk/1 min drive from the terminal to the Dollar lot (which is just separated by the airport parking lot I think). They have a shuttle stop just outside the arrivals area and the shuttle seems to be quick (obviously since the round trip is so close). Zero wait for the shuttle.
Most other rental joints are just next door but my buddy booked from another car rental agency and had to be driven to a location off the airport. I'll have to ask what place that was.

No line up a the Dollar Express pickup lane and only a 2 person line at the regular lane. Ended up with the advertised compact, a Dodge Caliber. Just over 7000miles on it. Was great driving four people around during the day with beach gear in the trunk and surf boards on the roof. However, there wasn't enough room to fit four people plus their luggage (some luggage had to go in the other car with 3 people). The Caliber didn't have a lot of guts to it though, especially when loaded up with people.

Car return was pretty quick. Drove it into the returns area and was 3rd in line. Took about five mins to get to me. The Dollar guy's inspection took less than two min and I was off to the shuttle with a receipt that he printed with a portable device. Zero wait for the shuttle.

Ripper3785

stay away from thrifty on Kauai. 1st trip, two years ago, our car was infested with roaches. They were aggressive and caffeine addicts. Got starbucks, driving around, and I spot a roach headed towards one of our straws. Don't even think of going to the car at night. Interior light came on and they'd all scatter. After trying to ignore it for a day and a half, we took the car back. They did us right and gave us a roach free magnum and told us we wouldn't have to refuel the car on return, but we did end up having to fight for that.

Rented from them again last weekend, unprofessional (hello don't complain about this or that in front of customers!), unhelpful ("I'm sorry we can't control the rates, if you have a discrepancy you'll have to call corporate" BS) agents. They gave us a jeep compass as a "or similar" for a jeep liberty. Sure it's 4wd, but doesn't have 4WD low gear. It's a crossover, not a SUV, with a variable transmission 4cyl. Ever try a variable transmission in the sand? Got very lucky at polihale.

Fool me twice,shame on me. Should have known better.

broadwayblue

So I have a reservation with Avis (picking up at LIH) starting next Saturday. It's for an Intermediate, and the total for 5 days is $167 (tax included.) I was considering a convertable, but the price is hundreds more ($403 all in.) What should a competitive rate be?

cmjaffe

RIpper,
Next time try Alamo. Got the Costco rate (which was $179ai-) got Torrent AWD (mid SUV) and it worked out great at Polihale though Mike didn't feel comfortable driving on sand.. he was about to chicken out after the first couple of turnabouts and since we didn't have cell reception on either of our phones (ATT and T-Mobile). Found out Verizon works ok there since we found another family from CT there. Turned out to be an "adventure" that the kids tease Mike about.
Now we need to figure out where to go next. Realize the we really liked No. Shore and Hanalei Bay so we'll probably look into staying in Princeville area for week. Now to make sure we get air.
BroadwayBlue...
I'd suggest try making a ressie w/Alamo.. they were upgrading those who wanted a convertible (Xmas week) at fairly reasonable rate. Also they had a very good rate w/Costco (don't know if you're member or not).
Have a great trip to Kauai. Can't believe it's been 10 days since we left Lihue and we're planning to return as soon as we can.
Carolyn

broadwayblue

Thanks for the tip. I had actually just made a res. with Alamo for Maui (our second stop) as the Avis rate there was really out of whack. I may take your advice and get one for LIH. I've had good experiences with Avis in the past, so I just went with them.

I'm pretty excited...started planning this trip a year ago and it's now less than a week away! I'd be happy to hear about your favorite Kauai experiences.

kaukau

Should be able to rent cars for $30-$35 a day here from Dollar or Budget or Alamo or whoever, from our experience going holoholo on the neighbor islands.

ILuvParis

You can probably get a convertible on Priceline for less than $300, which would, in all likelihood be Alamo. You have several days to bid. If you insist on staying with Avis, you might ask at the desk when you arrive how much more a convertible would be. Unless they're sold out, it would probably be far less than $403.

kaukau

Anyone ever try the $20 trick for getting upgrades at the rental car places? @:-)