Rental Car Review and Tips - Hertz: Kona - Hilo - Maui - Kauai

[GoHuskies!]

Our ship--the Grand Princess--is docking in Kahului on our December 20 cruise.  This was a change from the original plan which was Lahaina, but a welcome one for us.  Lahaina is a bit too carnival-like for me, after you have been there several times.  And you are close to the airport car rentals by shuttle.  Plenty of interesting car destinations from Kahului without having to drive an hour first.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

While I don't like tendering, I'd much prefer to have Lahaina be the port stop than Kahului.

[princeton123211]

3 minutes ago, scottca075 said:

While I don't like tendering, I'd much prefer to have Lahaina be the port stop than Kahului.

Same-- Lahaina would have been my preferred too. Kahului you are close to maybe Paia and can get a jump on the Hana road but other than that you are driving a bit to get most other places, especially beaches. 

[CruiserBruce]

8 hours ago, scottca075 said:

While I don't like tendering, I'd much prefer to have Lahaina be the port stop than Kahului.

Totally agree. West coast of Maui is far more interesting than non-tourist area of Kahalui. 

[princeton123211]

11 hours ago, GoHuskies! said:

This was a change from the original plan which was Lahaina, but a welcome one for us.  Lahaina is a bit too carnival-like for me, after you have been there several times.

I read this a few times and am still trying to make sense of it. I've been to Maui far more times than this poster has and am trying to figure out the "carnival" part of it or why anyone would want to end up in Kahalui when the ship was kind enough to bring them over to Lahaina. 

[Silver Sweethearts]

12 hours ago, GoHuskies! said:

Plenty of interesting car destinations from Kahului without having to drive an hour first.

Just curious what interesting car destinations you have in mind?  

[GoHuskies!]

On 8/20/2021 at 9:44 PM, princeton123211 said:

I read this a few times and am still trying to make sense of it. I've been to Maui far more times than this poster has and am trying to figure out the "carnival" part of it or why anyone would want to end up in Kahalui when the ship was kind enough to bring them over to Lahaina. 

My first time to Maui was in 1983, at which point we bought a condo there.  Since then we've been to Maui more than 30 times, and have traveled that death highway between the center of Maui around Olowalu to Kaanapali innumerable times.   If you want T-shirt shops, restaurants, art studios, and Lahaina history (which is considerable and very interesting, but read Michener first), then Lahaina is for you.  Oops--forgot golf a way north.  But central and eastern Maui are absolutely loaded with interest.  Look it up.

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, GoHuskies! said:

My first time to Maui was in 1983, at which point we bought a condo there.  Since then we've been to Maui more than 30 times, and have traveled that death highway between the center of Maui around Olowalu to Kaanapali innumerable times.   If you want T-shirt shops, restaurants, art studios, and Lahaina history (which is considerable and very interesting, but read Michener first), then Lahaina is for you.  Oops--forgot golf a way north.  But central and eastern Maui are absolutely loaded with interest.  Look it up.

My story is similar to you...have had a timeshare since 1985, been to Maui over 30 times. But virtually any part of Maui is better than Kahalui.

[GoHuskies!]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

My story is similar to you...have had a timeshare since 1985, been to Maui over 30 times. But virtually any part of Maui is better than Kahalui.

 

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

My story is similar to you...have had a timeshare since 1985, been to Maui over 30 times. But virtually any part of Maui is better than Kahalui.

Yeah--I admit that Kahului itself is pretty boring--the most I can say is that it's a quick foot trip over to the Maui Mall where the Guri Guri shop has the best gelato-like "ice cream" you'll ever find.  But it's a central place for sites in almost any direction.

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 8/27/2021 at 11:32 AM, GoHuskies! said:

Since then we've been to Maui more than 30 times, and have traveled that death highway between the center of Maui around Olowalu to Kaanapali innumerable times.

If by "death highway" you mean Kahekili Highway, it runs from Wailuku to Kapalua and not around Olowalu to Kaanapali.

[GoHuskies!]

On 8/31/2021 at 2:34 PM, Silver Sweethearts said:

If by "death highway" you mean Kahekili Highway, it runs from Wailuku to Kapalua and not around Olowalu to Kaanapali.

Nope.  Honoapiilani highway.  I did drive Kahekili in 1983, at night, before it was paved or even graded in places.  I don't consider that a highway, or at least one that people might take to get to Wailuku, Kahului or Kihei.

[sunquest76]

On 8/19/2021 at 5:12 PM, jennybenny said:

no longer rent cars in Maui

How do you get around without a rental car?

 

[Henery]

On 11/18/2019 at 2:50 PM, ebay33 said:

I recently returned from Hawaii where I had rented a car at four different locations.  They were all booked directly with Hertz and every single location was different on everything from picking up the car to returning the car.  Hopefully this recap will assist others that are looking to rent a car when in Hawaii.  I used Hertz exclusively because I am a Gold Plus Rewards Five Star member, which makes it much easier and faster to complete the rental at the time of pickup. Note that I booked a private tour for Oahu for the entire day, so I do not have any information for the Honolulu rental car experience.

 

First stop was Kona. Kona was a tender port, and the Hertz rental car location was right off the port. This location is inside a Courtyard Marriott and is the easiest of all of the rental car locations to both get to and to find. The location is easily accessed on foot and is truly right across the street from the dock. I arrived at the rental car office at just after 7:00 am and would recommend getting there as early as you can.  At 7:10 there were probably 25-30 people in line.  I was lucky enough to be 4th in line. This location opens at 7:00 am M-Fri and 8:00 am on weekends. Good news here is that the employee showed up a half hour early and opened the doors for business.  The second employee also arrived early and I'm sure things really started to move after that.  Since I was 4th in line, I was finished before the second employee opened up. The advantage to the Gold Plus membership is everything is already confirmed, signed and ready to go, so my keys were in the folder and my car was already assigned. You are given a card key to open the gate to exit .  The same card is used to access the same gate to return your car.  The Hertz location closes early, but you can drop off your car at any time using the key drop box located right next to the rental car office inside the hotel lobby.  You don't have to rush back before they close to return the car. This Hertz location has a huge parking lot full of cars and plenty of spaces to park in when dropping off the rental car.  Overall, this is a great location to rent a car, but it is also a popular location because of how easy it is to find, so just be prepared to arrive early or to wait in line.  The exact address of this location is: 75-5660 Palani Road, Suite 200, Island of Hawaii (Kailua-Kona), HI US 96740

 

Next stop was Hilo. Hilo requires a shuttle from port. The distance from the dock to the rental car location is too far for walking. Be sure to rent from the "city" location and not the airport location. A shuttle is provided to and from the city location. The shuttle picks up early, so try to be ready for pickup around 7:15-7:30.  I'm sure the shuttle comes again after this, but why miss the first shuttle? The shuttle ride is a short 5-10 minute ride to the rental car office. There were 3-4 parties in the shuttle.  I made sure to be the first one off the shuttle because I knew all of the paperwork would be ready to go. Sure enough, a quick stop at the counter and I had the keys and car location and was ready to go.  Less than 60 seconds in the rental car office. This location provided two scheduled times for the return shuttle - 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm. You have to return the car by 4:30 or you'll miss the last shuttle and the office will be closed.  This is another good reason to get the day started early with the first shuttle in the morning. This city location was great, not too crowded, and super fast pickup and return. The exact address of this location is: 80 Kuhio Street, Island of Hawaii (Hilo), HI US 96720

 

Next stop was Maui. This was the first place that I ran into problems.  I had booked the wrong Hertz location. You have to make sure you book the correct harbor port.  I incorrectly booked this one:  200 Nohea Kai Drive, Maui (Kaanapali-Lahaina), HI US 96761  This one was wrong. The correct port was located in Kahului Harbor which was this location: 170 West Kaahumanu Avenue Maui (Kahului) , Hawaii , United States , 96732 I was lucky enough to notice this using the GPS on my phone.  I saw the wrong Hertz office was 45 minutes away.  My phone showed a location that was less than a mile away and I immediately changed my booking.  Next time I'll be more careful to make sure of the correct pickup location. This location was accessible by an easy walk from the dock.  The car was ready for me upon arrival at the Hertz desk located in the lobby of the Maui Beach hotel. The rental car must be returned by 5:30 pm or it will be dropped off after close. This Hertz does provide a shuttle, but it really isn't necessary as it is very easy to walk back to dock. 

 

Final stop was Kauai. This Hertz office is located at the airport and is more of what you would expect when renting a car.  A shuttle is provided at the port and it is about 10-15 minutes to the airport Hertz office. The shuttle picks up between 7:30 am - 7:45 am. This was the only location that provided true Gold Plus service with the car preassigned and waiting to be picked up with keys already in the car and no need to stop in the office at all. The car must be returned by 8:00 pm for the final shuttle.  Since it is an airport location it is open later than that and you could always drop off the car later and take a taxi from the airport, but that would add some additional cost to the rental.  Better to just catch that 8:00 pm shuttle. The exact address of this location is: Hertz - Kauai - 3250 Hoolimalima Place, Kauai (Lihue), HI US 96766

 

All of the rentals were booked in February for an October trip.  The only change that had to be made was my mistake in Maui.  The change went amazingly smooth, so no complaints there.  I would highly recommend renting a car in all of these locations.  There is so much to see and do!  For those that are interested in pricing, here is what I paid at checkout: Kauai - $48.26, Maui - $40.23, Hilo -$38.99, Kona - $39.76.  The only other expense related to the rental cars was gasoline, which varied in cost based on miles driven during the day as I had to return the rental car on full at each location.

 

 

Would you know off hand if there are rental car shuttles to the airport when the kailua pier cars are sold out?.

 

[ebay33]

UPDATED - APRIL 2023

 

I posted the original post back in 2019 regarding rental cars in Hawaii.  I just returned from Hawaii and repeated the entire itinerary.  I can now report back on changes and updates to the rental car process. 

 

 

I recently returned from Hawaii where I had rented a car at four different locations.  They were all booked directly with Hertz and every single location was just a little different. Hopefully this recap will assist others that are looking to rent a car when in Hawaii.  I used Hertz exclusively because I am a Gold Plus Rewards Five Star member, which makes it much easier and faster to complete the rental at the time of pickup. Note that this time I also rented a car in Oahu for the entire day, so that is all new information for the Honolulu rental car experience.  On this trip I did not visit Kona, so I have no update to the Kona information.

 

First stop was Hilo. Hilo no longer provides a shuttle from port. The distance from the dock to the rental car location is too far for walking for most people.  It would be about a 45-minute walk, so you would have to make sure to have time for the walk and the weather would have to be clear. Be sure to rent from the "city" location and not the airport location. I had to take an Uber to and from the port. Neither Uber ride was any problem with booking and the wait times were less than 3-5 minutes. The Uber ride takes about 10 minutes each way. The cost was just around $15 each way (including a $5 tip there and back). The nice thing about Hertz with Gold is your car should be ready to go and you don't have to spend much time getting the car. Sure enough, a quick stop at the counter and I had the keys and car location and was ready to go.  Less than 60 seconds in the rental car office. You have to return the car by 4:45 or the office will be closed.  This is a good reason to get the day started early in the morning. This city location was great, not too crowded, and the staff was friendly and helpful. The exact address of this location is: 80 Kuhio Street, Island of Hawaii (Hilo), HI US 96720

 

Next stop was Maui. Last time I rented in Maui I ran into problems. Fortunately, I learned from my past mistake and had no issues this time!  Last time I had booked the wrong Hertz location. You have to make sure you book the correct harbor port.  I incorrectly booked this one:  200 Nohea Kai Drive, Maui (Kaanapali-Lahaina), HI US 96761 This one was wrong. The correct port was located in Kahului Harbor which was this location: 170 West Kaahumanu Avenue Maui (Kahului) , Hawaii , United States, 96732.  The location was accessible by an easy walk from the dock.  The car was ready for me upon arrival at the Hertz desk located in the lobby of the Maui Beach hotel. The rental car must be returned by 5:30 pm or it will be dropped off after close. I did opt to return it after closing, but they make that easy with a key drop box in the hotel lobby and a nice, well-lit parking lot to leave the car.  This is always my favorite of all of the car rentals in Hawaii. Great location, easy to use, no additional charges, and easy to drop-off.  It is a win-win for sure!

 

Next stop was Kauai. This Hertz office is located at the airport and is more of what you would expect when renting a car.  There is no shuttle provided, so you have to get an Uber to and from the airport.  There was no problem getting an Uber, with about a 4-minute wait.  The Uber ride was about 10 minutes and was $13.94 with $5 tip. This was the only location that provided true Gold Plus service with the car preassigned and waiting to be picked up with keys already in the car and no need to stop in the office at all.  Since it is an airport location it is open later and you could always drop off the car later or earlier as needed.  I kept the car overnight.  Parking on the street was no problem at all. When walking from the port, head towards the ABC store.  It is about a 5-minute walk to/from the street parking from the port.  Parking is free and is clearly marked on the street.  You can't park the car for more than 24 hours, but that should not be an issue unless you are staying an extended amount of time.  When returning the rental car, there was a person offering $5 rides to the ship port, so I didn't have to use Uber for the return trip. There were a few other passengers taking advantage of this service, so it was a good deal for both the driver and the passengers. The exact address of this location is: Hertz - Kauai - 3250 Hoolimalima Place, Kauai (Lihue), HI US 96766

 

Final stop was Oahu.  This Hertz office is located at the airport and is more of what you would expect when renting a car.  There is no shuttle provided, so you have to get an Uber to and from the airport.  There was no problem getting an Uber, with zero wait time because it is a huge ship port..  The Uber ride was about 15 minutes and was $27.48 with $5 tip. Since the car was being rented from the airport, and I was departing the airport that evening, I only needed a 1-way Uber ride this time. This was the other location that provided true Gold Plus service with the car preassigned and waiting to be picked up with keys already in the car and no need to stop in the office at all.  Since it is an airport location it is open later and you could always drop off the car later or earlier as needed.   This Hertz is the only location that really wasn't fair on the billing.  I filled up the tank at the nearest gas station I could find.  I filled it up less than 4 miles from the airport. For some reason, they went and charged me for the fuel and that added about $18 on the final bill.  Of course, by the time the final charge comes through, I'm back home and it isn't worth the fight. The exact address of this location is: Hertz - 300 Rodgers Blvd, Oahu (honolulu), HI US 96819

 

All of the rentals were booked in February for an April trip.   I would highly recommend renting a car in all of these locations.  There is so much to see and do!  For those that are interested in pricing, here is what I paid at checkout: Kauai - $50.56, Maui - $7.32 (free rental day), Hilo -$42.02, Oahu - $70.39.  The only other expense related to the rental cars was gasoline, which varied in cost based on miles driven during the day as I had to return the rental car on full at each location.

 

For anyone that is interested, I also rented cars at Papeete - Moorea - Raiatea (3 separate locations) in French Polynesia the week before arriving in Hawaii.  I will post in the French Polynesia section on my experience with those car rentals. 

[carohs]

Those are good rates, are you booking through Hertz directly? I will be booking through National/Enterprise, did you notice if they offered a shuttle at any of the ports?

[CaribbeanBound]

ebay33: great post and update.  Very helpful posts.

[93yearsyoung]

On 5/5/2023 at 2:10 PM, ebay33 said:

Next stop was Kauai. This Hertz office is located at the airport and is more of what you would expect when renting a car.  There is no shuttle provided, so you have to get an Uber to and from the airport.  There was no problem getting an Uber, with about a 4-minute wait. 

 

Things must have changed dramatically or you were very lucky. Covid decimated the ranks of Uber and taxi drivers on Kauai. There are not many left on the island. In October 2022, the cab line was an hour when the ship first docked and stayed that way for almost two hours. My daughter tried finding an Uber, but the only one she could find was not available for an hour. Maybe because it was Sunday, who knows.

 

She wound up calling a friend from our Kauai church who came and picked us up for the service, and kindly returned us to the ship after we bought her and her husband a nice breakfast/brunch.

 

The cab line was still long, just not an hour, when we returned.

[MNcruisingcouple]

On 5/5/2023 at 4:10 PM, ebay33 said:

Next stop was Maui. Last time I rented in Maui I ran into problems. Fortunately, I learned from my past mistake and had no issues this time!  Last time I had booked the wrong Hertz location. You have to make sure you book the correct harbor port.  I incorrectly booked this one:  200 Nohea Kai Drive, Maui (Kaanapali-Lahaina), HI US 96761 This one was wrong. The correct port was located in Kahului Harbor which was this location: 170 West Kaahumanu Avenue Maui (Kahului) , Hawaii , United States, 96732.  The location was accessible by an easy walk from the dock.  The car was ready for me upon arrival at the Hertz desk located in the lobby of the Maui Beach hotel. The rental car must be returned by 5:30 pm or it will be dropped off after close. I did opt to return it after closing, but they make that easy with a key drop box in the hotel lobby and a nice, well-lit parking lot to leave the car.  This is always my favorite of all of the car rentals in Hawaii. Great location, easy to use, no additional charges, and easy to drop-off.  It is a win-win for sure!

 

 

 

Really appreciate these details!  Just wondering what day of the week you were on Maui.  It appears from the Hertz website that this location is now closed on Saturday and Sunday.  In 2019 I know we rented from this location on a Sunday, but obviously things change. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by MNcruisingcouple

[KeepCalmBearOn]

23 hours ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

Really appreciate these details!  Just wondering what day of the week you were on Maui.  It appears from the Hertz website that this location is now closed on Saturday and Sunday.  In 2019 I know we rented from this location on a Sunday, but obviously things change. 

 

Which Hertz location on Maui are you referring to? The Hertz at OGG is open 7 days a week, as is the Hertz location at the Hyatt Regency Ka'anapali, but the Sat & Sun hours are 8AM-12PM. You can do drop-off at the Hyatt Regency at any time.

[MNcruisingcouple]

10 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

Which Hertz location on Maui are you referring to? The Hertz at OGG is open 7 days a week, as is the Hertz location at the Hyatt Regency Ka'anapali, but the Sat & Sun hours are 8AM-12PM. You can do drop-off at the Hyatt Regency at any time.

 

The location at this address 170 West Kaahumanu Avenue Maui (Kahului) which is within walking distance of the port seems to be closed on Sunday.

[KeepCalmBearOn]

14 hours ago, MNcruisingcouple said:

The location at this address 170 West Kaahumanu Avenue Maui (Kahului) which is within walking distance of the port seems to be closed on Sunday.

 

That is the one in the Maui Beach Hotel. I wasn't even aware it had reopened post Covid.

[MNcruisingcouple]

On 6/14/2023 at 11:22 AM, scottca075 said:

 

That is the one in the Maui Beach Hotel. I wasn't even aware it had reopened post Covid.

 

@ebay33 specifically references that location in the update they provided on May 5th.  That's why I asked what day of the week they rented from that location.

[Hawaiian Mongoose]

On 5/5/2023 at 5:10 PM, ebay33 said:

The exact address of this location is: 80 Kuhio Street, Island of Hawaii (Hilo), HI US 96720

Aloha Ebay33,

 

Thanks for updating your original posting. When I put 80 Kuhio Street into either Bing or Google maps the location is shown as within the Hilo harbor area.  

 

Looking right now the Hertz site shows: Island of Hawaii, Hilo - Hilo HLE Off Airport 400 East Kawili Street

as the only non airport/private flights site in the Hilo area. 

 

Can you clarify the details for this location?

 

Thanks,

 

 

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, Hawaiian Mongoose said:

Aloha Ebay33,

 

Thanks for updating your original posting. When I put 80 Kuhio Street into either Bing or Google maps the location is shown as within the Hilo harbor area.  

 

Looking right now the Hertz site shows: Island of Hawaii, Hilo - Hilo HLE Off Airport 400 East Kawili Street

as the only non airport/private flights site in the Hilo area. 

 

Can you clarify the details for this location?

 

Thanks,

 

 

That Kuhio address is for the Hawaii Department of Transportation offices of the Port Authority. Hertz has two offices in Hilo, one at the airport and the one at 400 East Kawili Street. 

 

 

 

[Hawaiian Mongoose]

Thanks for the clarification.