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Driving in Honolulu

tmorr01

By tmorr01,
in Hawaii

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tmorr01

tmorr01

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We are on the Royal Princess for a January cruise to Hawai'i and it will overnight in Honolulu. I am considering renting a car for the day. Does anyone know how difficult it is to get around in the area? Is traffic OK or bad, etc. 

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Tyskie

Tyskie

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We rented a car for 2 days - circumnavigated the island - wonderful trip.  Not difficult, traffic was the same as any big city at rush hour.  We also rented in Maui and Kauai.  You won't be disappointed.

 

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cr8tiv1 Holiday Sharing Rare

cr8tiv1

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Driving on Oahu is simple, but bring along your patience.  

 

Renting a car from the airport will cost you an airport fee.

Parking near the cruise ship is expensive.

Watch out for one way streets.

Try to drive opposite flow of traffic.  It recently took me 90 minutes to go from Downtown to Pearl City (East to West/17 miles) at the peak of rush hour.  

Handicap placards will still cost you parking meter coins (10 minutes for a quarter or more Downtown).

Factor in twice as long as miles during normal driving times (15 miles = 30-35 minutes).

 

Still driving on Oahu is the best way to get around the island.  

 

NONE of the islands have a round that circles the island.  Like any other state, there are some places that "only" the locals go.  

 

Order your online tickets for Pearl Harbor for $1.

 

 

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dockman

dockman

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and remember to stop at all ped crosswalks if there is a person ANYWHERE in the cross walk...big fines for violations as lot of people have been hit over the years...and no talking on hand held cell phones while engine is running.

 

avoid H1 during commute hours as it can be pretty bad traffic.....

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cr8tiv1 Holiday Sharing Rare

cr8tiv1

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, tmorr01 said:

We are on the Royal Princess for a January cruise to Hawai'i and it will overnight in Honolulu. I am considering renting a car for the day. Does anyone know how difficult it is to get around in the area? Is traffic OK or bad, etc. 

 

Here's a plan.  Rent your car for the first day.  Do all you want and return the car late at night.  No paying for overnight parking.  You can enjoy your second day leisurely.  Plan your day well so you are not doubling back and forth.  

 

No problem being on Princess Thread.  You will get more responses here.

 

And I beg to differ....I hate driving when I come home.  Luckily, I know all the ins and outs and detours.  Most drivers are overly polite.  They will stop to let people in on the freeway or out of a driveway.  Just be alert.  

Edited by cr8tiv1
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caribill

caribill

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Main problem is picking up and dropping off the rental car.

 

You may have to take a cab/Uber to the airport to pick up the car and the same to get back to the ship after returning it.

 

When we went, there was only one rental car place anywhere near the cruise port and I have been told that location is no longer in business.

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KeepCalmBearOn

KeepCalmBearOn

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There is no need to go to the airport to get a car. Waikiki is three miles away and has all the major agencies (Hertz, Avis, National, Alamo, etc). Look at Costco Travel and Discount Hawaii Car Rental for the best rates.

 

https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com/en-us/

 

Honolulu has some of the worst commuter traffic in the U.S. so it is important to know and plan accordingly.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Philob

Philob

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On 11/30/2022 at 2:28 PM, scottca075 said:

There is no need to go to the airport to get a car. Waikiki is three miles away and has all the major agencies (Hertz, Avis, National, Alamo, etc). Look at Costco Travel and Discount Hawaii Car Rental for the best rates.

SWMBO's been researching this. Most of the Waikiki rental counters open late, 10am, and close early, like 3pm early.  Don't know if you can drop off the car after 3, but I usually get someone from the agency to sign off that the car was returned undamaged.

 

SWMBO's friend was there Thanksgiving week and some of the rental counters weren't open. They were walk ups and they went to a few before they found one open. Maybe it was a temporary thing, but best to call the agency directly to check.

Edited by Philob
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KeepCalmBearOn

KeepCalmBearOn

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4 hours ago, Philob said:

SWMBO's been researching this. Most of the Waikiki rental counters open late, 10am, and close early, like 3pm early.

 

I can't speak to "most of the Waikiki rental counters". I use Hertz or Avis for 90% of my rentals. The only times I've used the Hertz and Avis Waikiki rental counters has been when my car I picked up from them at the airport has had an issue. I was able to exchange at the Waikiki rental counter rather than go back out to the airport and in every case Hertz and Avis Waikiki rental counters opened at 8AM.

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Traveller20074

Traveller20074

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/29/2022 at 1:54 PM, tmorr01 said:

We are on the Royal Princess for a January cruise to Hawai'i and it will overnight in Honolulu. I am considering renting a car for the day. Does anyone know how difficult it is to get around in the area? Is traffic OK or bad, etc. 

 

 

challenging.   we wanted to get to Walmart really quick one night...there was a parade lol    it's challenging and a GPS is necessary...

 

one of the guides told us there is 1 million people along with the ones who live in the city. I believe it lol

Edited by Traveller20074
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