Hawaiian islands cruise - hiring cars?

[rosiebee]

We'll be doing the Hawaiian Island cruise in Jan 2012 on the Pride of America. I've read lots of great reviews of the island destinations and most cruisers talk about picking up hire cars on the different islands.

We're coming from the UK and will be spending 2 days in Waikiki before boarding POA. First trip to America so forgive me if I sound a bit dim, but will we be able to book cars for the islands while we're in Waikiki?

Any recommended firms? Also we don't want to be driving each day so which are the islands where a car will be most use, also does anyone recommend any organised trips?

We'll be staying in Waikiki for a week after, so may hire a car for a couple of days then, or have a go at the public transport. Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks, Rosie:)

[CruiserBruce]

Come over to the Hawaii board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62

 

There will be tons of info for you.

[Fattony]

You could also book in advance, through the Web sites of various rental companies (e.g., Budget/Avis, Hertz, Alamo, National, Enterprise). We found rental cars significantly pricier than on the mainland and you should, of course, look for discount codes you're eligible to use, such as from airline frequent flyer programs. The boards for the various rental companies found on this site often have discount codes, as well. I don't know how often rental locations in the islands sell out in advance (i.e., whether there's any risk in waiting until you're in Waikiki). You could also ask a travel agent in the U.K.

[marym933]

We did the POA in April 2010. I booked most of our shore excursions with Roberts http://www.gorabbitgo.com/ The price was about 1/2 what NCL wanted to charge. They picked us up and brought us back to the pier. They are a very professional company.

[ell52]

We've used Discount Hawaii Car Rental and Aloha Rents numerous times with good success.

 

Both sites are consolidators and give you access to all the major car rental companies. We also check the individual rental companies to compare prices, but have found that these sites give the best prices.

[PatriciaF]

We found that Discounthawaiicarrental had the best car rental rates. Book on line before you leave the UK. Roberts is much cheaper than the cruise ships and there are almost as many Roberts buses at the pier as the cruise ship's.

 

My favorite beach in Kauai, at Ke'e Bay, is not reachable by tour bus. So--for us, Kauai is definitely a car rental day. Or, go in the other direction and check out Waimea Canyon, the "grand canyon of the pacific," and Fern Grotto on your own. Of course, one of the must do's on Kauai is a helicopter tour--but you only have one day and perhaps if it is your first trip, you can defer it until you go again.

 

You usually have two days in Maui--parking by the pier can be an issue, so perhaps you would want to rent for just a day. bicycling down Mount Hakelakela, you can book this as an independent and save a lot of money, is fun and not strenous as you are going downhill the entire way.

 

Hilo and Volcanoes National Park are must dos on the Hilo side of the Big Island, Hawaii, and can probably be done cheaper in a rental car than on a tour.

 

We have found that the car rental shuttle has frequent pick up and drop off by the ship.

 

Perhaps you should check out a guide book to determine what things are must sees and compare it to the Roberts or NCL offerings. I highly recommend the books by Andrew Doughty but don't know if they are readily available in the UK.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Doughty/e/B001JS9A2G/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1312668151&sr=1-1

[Cruisin' Chick]

We rented a car on Kauai for our honeymoon but that was years ago. Our last two trips to Hawaii was via Princess and the RT from LA. If you decide to do another Hawaiian cruise, I strongly recommend this as each sea day is packed with activities, including many Hawaiian ones, and you get Hawaii to boot.

[Splinter]

Don't use a rental car for Honolulu. It is very crowded with horrible traffic, and parking is both hard to find and expensive. The Bus is a great way to get around most of the sights there, including Waikiki. Save rental car arrangements for a drive around Oahu or other locations out of the city.

 

We have rented cars in Hilo, Nawiliwili, Kona, and Lahaina. We generally use Alamo, since you can make an on-line reservation and can cancel at the last minute without incurring any charges. Keep in mind that the distance of the car rental agency from the pier varies, and while most companies provide shuttles, the times these are available varies. For example, the last shuttle in Lahaina from the Alamo site (near the west airport) is 3:30PM. Since our ship did not leave until 6PM, we didn't want to drop off that early, so they advised us to do a key drop and then a cab back to the pier. Fortunately others were doing the same thing, and we were able to share the costs of the cab.

 

In Kauai, you can drive to either the north shore through Princeville, or go west and take in Waimei Canyon. Both are lovely drives, but be aware that afternoon traffic can be heavy on this 2 lane road.

 

In Hilo, you can drive to Volcano National Park, but a tour there is probably better.

 

In Kona, a drive down the coast (south) is probably the nicest.

 

For Lahaina, if you have a long day there, you could drive at least part way to Hana if you get an early start, or take in the Maui Ocean Center aquarium. The drive north from Lahaina all the way around the west end of the island is a little less spectacular than the Hana road (and nearly a twisty and turny) but shorter and a nice drive too.