Car Rental in Maui and Kaui

[bellacarmella]

We will be on the Pride of Am. April 15. In Maui on the 17 to 18th. We would like to rent a car but don't want to be shoved on buses etc to get to rental office. Can anyone give me an idea as to the best way to do this. Is one car rental better than another. Any particular one that has check in and out near ship or do all bus you to the airport for pick up.

My husband has little patience for this stuff so the easier it is the better for the whole family

[suziehmkr]

We rented on Kauai & in Hilo (Kona too, but didn't make port) - I believe that Kona is the only place that has a rental agency near the port (Enterprise?) - The rest are at the airports. It was really quite painless to take the shuttle and the drivers were nice & informative. We rented at Alamo in both places. Do rent ahead though because many do sell out in advance.

[K8sMom]

Two years ago, we rented from Thrifty on Oahu, Big Island, and Kauai and from Budget on Maui. This year we are renting from Thrifty again on the three islands and from Dollar on Maui. They all picked us up in their shuttle at the dock and then on to the airport (or the off airport location in Oahu). We did not feel like we were "shoved on buses". It was really quite easy and painless.

[K8sMom]

Two years ago, we rented from Thrifty on Oahu, Big Island in Hilo, and Kauai and from Budget on Maui. This year we are renting from Thrifty again on the three islands and from Dollar on Maui. They all picked us up in their shuttle at the dock and then on to the airport (or the off airport location in Oahu). We did not feel like we were "shoved on buses". It was really quite easy and painless. The airports are not far from the dock in any of these locations

[dcp81]

We just returned from the January 8 Pride of Aloha cruise and used Thrifty on Kauai, Maui and on Hilo. We didn't rent a car in Kona or on Oahu.

 

I joined the Blue Chip program for Thrifty online and got my card in about 2 weeks. If you book your car reservations online, they guarantee the lowest rates they have available and it dramatically speeds up the process. If you don't book in advance, you may not get a car. At most ports, if you don't have reservations, you can't even get on the shuttle.

 

If you are a blue chip member, they have express lines and the paperwork is all filled out when you get there. We were in an out of the office in less than 5 minutes. You reveiw the coverage, initial three places, sign the form, show your drivers license, credit card and blue chip card for verification and you are out the door. We completed our transactions in less time than it took most to pick out their vehicle.

[brittany21]

i just booked a dodge stratus thru thrifty for when ill be in Maui mar 3rd, it was 28.99 per day. There pick up/ drop off is at the airport, so u may have to take a cab or bus there.

[K8sMom]

When renting in Maui, be aware that there are two airports there. If you cruise is going into Lahaina, you need to rent from a company that is at the airport in West Maui - Kapalua - JHM, and not Kahului - OGG. When we were there, Thrifty did not have a rental place at JHM. So we rented from Budget and this year from Dollar.

[beachchick]

Basically, for both Maui and Kauai your only choices for getting to the car rental places are to take their shuttles/buses or take a cab. If you are dead set against using the shuttles, then just get a cab and ask the driver to take you to whichever company you are using. Pretty much all of them are at the airports on both Maui and Kauai. I know of no company that does the rental check out/check in at the pier (but, I've been wrong before).

 

A cab ride would not be ridiculously expensive. I'd say that on Kauai the airport is about 5 or 6 miles from the pier, and on Maui it's a bit less than that for Kahului and a few miles more than that for Lahaina (West Maui Airport). In order to keep your DH in the proper "hang loose" Hawaiian attitude, taking a cab is likely to be your best bet.

 

beachchick

[BoscoBreaux]

We will be on the Pride of Am. April 15. In Maui on the 17 to 18th. We would like to rent a car but don't want to be shoved on buses etc to get to rental office. Can anyone give me an idea as to the best way to do this. Is one car rental better than another. Any particular one that has check in and out near ship or do all bus you to the airport for pick up.

My husband has little patience for this stuff so the easier it is the better for the whole family

 

In both Maui and Kaua'i, the car rental places are part of each island's airport complex. In both cases, shuttles stop by periodically (about every 20 mintues) and take you from the ship to the car lot. They return frequently, usually with last trip back around 7pm. The shuttles are as comfortable as taxi service in my experience, but if you wanted to take a taxi to and fro, you wouldn't have any problem.

Also in my experience, it doesn't matter which company you take. I have been happy with Budget, but they are all pretty much the same.

[brittany21]

When renting in Maui, be aware that there are two airports there. If you cruise is going into Lahaina, you need to rent from a company that is at the airport in West Maui - Kapalua - JHM, and not Kahului - OGG. When we were there, Thrifty did not have a rental place at JHM. So we rented from Budget and this year from Dollar.

 

 

Yes, our pick up is at the Kahului airport... that is where we are docking tho.