Last shuttle to pier in Kauai-Thrifty?

[cruisin24]

I was wondering if anyone knows the time of the last shuttle leaving the Thrifty office returning to the Nawiliwili pier?

 

I am only booking a rental car for the first day in Kauai as we have an Air Ventures tour early the next morning. So I am booking the lst day pretty full. We are trying to go the canyon 1st thing in the am after picking up rental then to Poipu Beach for a quick walk around, driving to Wailua Falls then to Opaeka'a Falls then up to Kilauea Lighthouse. So I may not be returning rental to Thrifty until 7-8pm at night. Is that too late to still get a shuttle back to the ship? I prefer not to have to worry about getting a taxi.

 

Also, could anyone tell me approx. driving times from Waimea Canyon back east around and up to the lighthouse. I will factor in the stops along the way and congestion etc.....but I wouldn't mind getting some kind of idea as to how many hours to drive straight from the Canyon to the Lighthouse.

 

Thanks, Debbie

[PDAZ]

I believe we were told 8 pm, but I won't swear to it! If you do have to get a cab, it really isn't that far of a distance back to the ship.

 

I think it was about an hour drive from the ship to the lighthouse (can't help you with the canyon -- we didn't make it there :cool: ), although we did run into some traffic so my time might be distorted. Keep in mind that the lighthouse closes at 4 pm so if you do go with this itinerary, I'd go directly to the lighthouse from the canyon/Poipu Beach and hit the waterfalls on the way back.

[cruisin24]

PDAZ,

 

Good point!! I will do the lighthouse first then back track to the falls. I guess I was thinking..if the lighthouse is closed it wasn't a big deal as I am not as interested in seeing the birds but more of the landscape and I thought I could see that from the lookout before the entrance. Will we get a much better view if we go all the way in? If so, I will definitely go the way you suggested.

 

Thanks again,

Debbie

[wallaby20]

Have pre-booked thrifty for Kauai, and Maui. Did not state that we were arriving by ship. Do I need to do this, or do we just hop on the shuttle bus to the airport pickup point?

[PDAZ]

PDAZ,

 

I guess I was thinking..if the lighthouse is closed it wasn't a big deal as I am not as interested in seeing the birds but more of the landscape and I thought I could see that from the lookout before the entrance. Will we get a much better view if we go all the way in? If so, I will definitely go the way you suggested.

 

 

Someone else asked this, but I didn't notice where the gate was. If you can get in the parking lot, you'll be able to see some of the view, but honestly, you need to walk down the the lighthouse area to get a good view. The lighthouse itself isn't much; you can't go up inside it, but walking around the grounds is a treat -- not so much for the grounds but for the view from them.

[PDAZ]

Double post!

[PDAZ]

Have pre-booked thrifty for Kauai, and Maui. Did not state that we were arriving by ship. Do I need to do this, or do we just hop on the shuttle bus to the airport pickup point?

 

Have you signed up as a Blue Chip member? Really makes a difference in getting through the lines quicker!

 

I don't think I indicated that I was arriving by ship either (but I'm not sure). I looked at my reservation confirmation, and there's no mention of the ship so maybe I didn't. At Maui, the shuttle was only taking people with reservations, and my name was on the list -- maybe they have all the rentals scheduled for the day?

 

I also booked the airport locations, but the rental sites weren't actually there (with the exception of Hilo). In Kauai, the rental location is off-site from the airport. The Thrifty shuttle was the last to arrive at the port in Kauai; several of us were tempted to take a different shuttle, but it's a good thing we didn't since they would end up at another site! In Maui, the rental location may be on airport property, but it wasn't near the terminals or near the other rental locations.

[wallaby20]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

[sun-lover]

The last Thrifty shuttle trip back to the ship is definitely 8pm.

 

We spent last week on the Pride of America and here's my take on Thrifty Blue Chip. Most people were Blue Chip members and they had 2 lines--one for Blue Chip, one for not Blue Chip. Since the line for Blue Chip was much longer the people without Blue Chip ended up getting their cars much quicker. This happened in all ports.

[PDAZ]

We spent last week on the Pride of America and here's my take on Thrifty Blue Chip. Most people were Blue Chip members and they had 2 lines--one for Blue Chip, one for not Blue Chip. Since the line for Blue Chip was much longer the people without Blue Chip ended up getting their cars much quicker. This happened in all ports.

 

The word must be getting out. It was the opposite for us last month -- only a few people in the Blue Chip line and long lines for the rest. I did notice that Thrifty by far was the most popular rental -- not sure why -- but I think when I go back, I'll use a different company.