Picking up and dropping off rental cars

[c-leg5]

Do the shuttle buses only allow one person per car to go and collect rental car or can the whole group pick up the car and get straight on the road? Likewise at the end of the day is it necessary to return to the port and drop off passengers before returning to the airport with the car? Just trying to determine how much extra time we need to allow for this. Seems like if everyone is trying to drop off the cars at the end of the day it may be a problem getting back to the port in time. I am thinking particularly about Hlo if it makes any difference. How long does it take to get from the airport to the dock?

[pizzalady1]

Do the shuttle buses only allow one person per car to go and collect rental car or can the whole group pick up the car and get straight on the road? Likewise at the end of the day is it necessary to return to the port and drop off passengers before returning to the airport with the car? Just trying to determine how much extra time we need to allow for this. Seems like if everyone is trying to drop off the cars at the end of the day it may be a problem getting back to the port in time. I am thinking particularly about Hlo if it makes any difference. How long does it take to get from the airport to the dock?

 

It is a 5-10 minute ride to the airport from the pier. How large is your group? The number they let on the shuttle depends on how many are waiting for the shuttle. If no one else is waiting, they won't mind taking the whole group. If the shuttle is going to be full, they will ask for a name and will only let one person on. Coming back is easier for a group to get on because the returns are staggered. We rented on every island and the only one that had a huge line for the shuttle was Honolulu at the pier, but they let two of us on with no problems.

[Nanatravel]

Thanks. If they don't allow the 2 of us on the shuttle we will be in deep trouble. DH's sense of direction is terrible in strange places. The only port/airport he might survive in would be Lihue as we have been there before. Time will tell what happens in Maui and Hilo. I will try to report back.

[Kajuntraveler]

What company did you use in Hilo and on Kauai? We could not find one at the pier or that had shuttle service to a nearby rental location?

 

I think Thrifty has a location at the pier on Maui?

 

What company will shuttle you in Oahu? We will be there a few days early, and we thought it would be great to drop our car off at the airport and take a shuttle, but we could not find one that did this.

 

Thanks,

[pizzalady1]

What company did you use in Hilo and on Kauai? We could not find one at the pier or that had shuttle service to a nearby rental location?

 

I think Thrifty has a location at the pier on Maui?

 

What company will shuttle you in Oahu? We will be there a few days early, and we thought it would be great to drop our car off at the airport and take a shuttle, but we could not find one that did this.

 

Thanks,

 

We used Thrifty at all the ports (except Kona) and selected the airport location. The airport rental locations are only 5 minutes or so away from the piers and they send shuttles. In Kona we did Enterprise who also had a shuttle but you had to call them. The other option in Kona is Thrifty or Dollar at the King Kam hotel location.

[CruisingGoddess]

What company did you use in Hilo and on Kauai? We could not find one at the pier or that had shuttle service to a nearby rental location?

 

I think Thrifty has a location at the pier on Maui?

 

What company will shuttle you in Oahu? We will be there a few days early, and we thought it would be great to drop our car off at the airport and take a shuttle, but we could not find one that did this.

 

Thanks,

 

This site tells you all the companies with shuttles to the pier:

 

http://www.hawaiicarrentals.net/hawaii-cruise-ship-car-rentals.html

 

Hope that helps!

[c-leg5]

It is a 5-10 minute ride to the airport from the pier. How large is your group? The number they let on the shuttle depends on how many are waiting for the shuttle. If no one else is waiting, they won't mind taking the whole group. If the shuttle is going to be full, they will ask for a name and will only let one person on. Coming back is easier for a group to get on because the returns are staggered. We rented on every island and the only one that had a huge line for the shuttle was Honolulu at the pier, but they let two of us on with no problems.

 

Thanks for your reply. We have a larger than normal group so will certainly factor in extra time.

[beachchick]

Aloha. I'm going to respond with inter-posts, if that's okay.

 

What company did you use in Hilo and on Kauai? We could not find one at the pier or that had shuttle service to a nearby rental location?

 

The rental locations for Hilo and Kauai are at the airport. In both cases, it's less than 10 minutes by shuttle. Every major company sends shuttles to the piers. You need to look at the airport locations (designator ITO for Hilo and LIH for Lihue) and go from there.

 

I think Thrifty has a location at the pier on Maui?

 

No. In fact, no rental company has a location right at any pier in Hawaii. At Hilo, Nawawiliwili (Lihue), and Kahului, the closest and pretty much only locations are at the nearby airports. Honolulu, Kona, and Lahaina are different. I'll try to hunt down one of my recent posts detailing the differences so you can figure out what works for you.

 

What company will shuttle you in Oahu? We will be there a few days early, and we thought it would be great to drop our car off at the airport and take a shuttle, but we could not find one that did this.

 

Well, most companies have locations both at the airport (HNL) and downtown. Several/most will only shuttle to/from the pier for the downtown locations because they are much closer than the airport. Thrifty shuttles to both the airport and downtown from the pier, and a few companies will allow you to rent at one location and drop at the other (say, at HNL when you fly in, but drop downtown when ready to go to the ship), but--and this is a big but--they also tend to have hefty drop fees (e.g., $35). We got Alamo to waive it for us one time, but it was on a Christmas Eve eve and everyone was in the Mele Kalikimaka spirit so that's probably why.

 

Thanks,

 

May I suggest that you do an advanced search on this forum only for "rental car" because it's a common subject and discussed at length on several threads? I suggest this primarily because many members, including me, sometimes don't want to retype detailed information that was recently posted.

 

Here are some to get you started:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=881278

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1137996

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1109627

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1000397&highlight=rental+car&page=3

 

beachchick

[Nanatravel]

I know we have two rentals with Thrifty and one with Enterprise. (No retanl at Oahu.) All offer port to pick up shuttles and return. Hilo airport and Lihue air ports aren't very far but Kaanapalli in Maui is a ways from the tender pier.

[beachchick]

I know we have two rentals with Thrifty and one with Enterprise. (No retanl at Oahu.) All offer port to pick up shuttles and return. Hilo airport and Lihue air ports aren't very far but Kaanapalli in Maui is a ways from the tender pier.

 

Actually, the Ka'anapali beach area is only 10 minutes by shuttle from the tender pier--and that's if you hit red lights along the way. You're renting from one of the hotel/resort locations in Ka'anapali? If you mean you're renting from the West Maui Airport locations (that's Kapalua), they are another 5 to 10 minutes further north from Ka'anapali, so maybe 15 to 20 minutes by shuttle from the pier.

 

beachchick