Aulani Transportation/Excursions

[fsufan53]

Hello fellow DVC members

We are going to Aulani 3/10-3/16 and I am debating renting a car or not. Our flight gets in at 9:40 PM on a Saturdy and leaves around 8:00 AM on Friday. I would prefer not to rent a car, does anyone have any thoughts on rental car vs. taxi vs. Aulani shuttle that would run us $199 both ways for both of us? (sounds ludicrous to me)

Also, has anyone done any of the excursions? I am in particular debating on doing a Aulani Pearl Harbor excursion versus another tour. However any excursion reviews would be fantastic!

Thanks

 

[ciao_gina]

I think your decision should depend on a few things:

1)Do you want to cook in your own kitchen? You can use the car to shop at Costco or Safeway, etc. and not have to pay the high breakfast prices every morning, etc.

2)Do you want to explore the island on your own and/or pay less for excursions? Some excursions don't meet right by Aulani so you may have to take a bus or cab to get there.

3)Do you plan to just stay at the resort and eat at the resort? The restaurants are not getting great reviews and you may want to go to other nice or local cheap eats that are not walking distance.

We are renting a car and shopping for food on the first day, cooking in our room and researching lots of places to eat that the locals eat and non-disney less expensive excursions.

 

[living20057]

You can always take a shuttle to the hotel. After a long flight you might not want to drive in an unfamiliar area. You could always rent a car at the hotel. I was looking at Hawaii23.com. A shuttle from the airport would $58 each way.

 

[polarprincess]

there is a shuttle that will go from the airport to aulani for 100 round trip. i still have the info on that one if u are interested, but we decided to rent a car. the excursions through aulani are definitely more expensive than elsewhere and than doing yourself. i think i figured about 60 dollars per person more than what you could do yourself so you have to figure out if it is worth it. we had 4 people to pay for, so was definitely cheaper to rent.

 

[living20057]

there is a shuttle that will go from the airport to aulani for 100 round trip. i still have the info on that one if u are interested, but we decided to rent a car. the excursions through aulani are definitely more expensive than elsewhere and than doing yourself. i think i figured about 60 dollars per person more than what you could do yourself so you have to figure out if it is worth it. we had 4 people to pay for, so was definitely cheaper to rent.

What is the name of that company?

 

[amym2]

We took a cab from the airport to that area a couple of years ago (stayed at the JW Marriott next door) and I seem to recall it was about $30. I had arranged it through a company that had great reviews (can't remember the name) and it was horrible- nasty, dirty car, driver constantly on cell phone answering call and trying to write down addresses while driving. So I would not recommend a cab!

My sister and BIL flew in that evening and rented a car, so we had a rental car the rest of the trip. I can't imagine not having a car. We drove to Pearl Harbor no problem and enjoyed a couple of visits to the Koa Pancake House just a few minutes down the road. Definitely worth the rental car price in my opinion!

 

[fsufan53]

Thanks to you all for your response. I would prefer not to get a car if we dont have to. I dont mind paying a little more for excursions and eating on site some, as we plan to do a luau and mayb the Polynesian Cultural Center.

What is the number of that shuttl company? Would it be $100 round trip for me and my wife?

 

[disnanny]

I would also like the name of the shuttle company for $100. return. We debated renting a car at the airport, but felt we would probably only use it to get to Aulani and then return.

We have been to Hawaii a number of times so this trip is to relax and unwind after a very hectic year.

thanks for the information

 

[nuts]

We were just there last month. I strongly recommend you rent a car. There is too much to see on the island away from Aulani. It's a great resort, but this is not Disneyworld, it's not all self contained. I rented one with a GPS and had zero issues getting around. Airport to resort is about 30 minutes, depending on traffic.

 

[cleophus12]

I understand that there is an Alamo rental car desk at Aulani. Has anyone rented by the day to avoid the parking charges and how inconvenient is that? We would like access to a car, but don't really think we will need one every day. We plan on using the resort for most of our trip, but would like to be able to leave for food when we want.

 

[SuperRob]

I understand that there is an Alamo rental car desk at Aulani. Has anyone rented by the day to avoid the parking charges and how inconvenient is that? We would like access to a car, but don't really think we will need one every day. We plan on using the resort for most of our trip, but would like to be able to leave for food when we want.

If you're a DVC member, there are no parking charges.

I'd think that it would be convenient to rent by the day, but it would cost you more than you would pay to rent for your stay. Cheapest shutting I could find was Hawaii23 (http://www.hawaii23.com/index.php) and it was $58 each way. Deduct that from the cost of your rental, you may find that the car is more convenient for the expense.